Doctor Who: Every Regeneration Ranked From Worst To Best

In 2022, Doctor Who will celebrate 60 years since its first episode went out. It's a truly impressive milestone, but it would never have reached it were it not for regeneration.

It's a genius idea that has allowed the show to carry on even when its lead actors decide to leave. A new regeneration is always a hot topic in the Doctor Who fan community, and the scenes in which it takes place are among the most epic in the history of the programme.

But not all regenerations are created equal.

There have been over a dozen rebirths across the show's six decades (that is discounting the time David Tennant regenerated into his own hand, which sounds dirtier than it was meant to). We've ranked every main one from worst to best, basing our decisions on the impressiveness and importance of the scene itself. We've tried not to include the storylines that led up to the Doctor's demise in this ranking, but sometimes, those are just too important to leave out.

Are you ready to see a lot of orangey-yellow light? Good, then let's crack on.

Left stranded on Earth due to the actions of his former self, most of the Third Doctor's adventures take place on our home planet, alongside UNIT. They also feature a bright yellow car called Bessie, and Jon Pertwee doing a lot of karate.

Yeah, this was a weird time for the show.

Eventually, Pertwee's Doctor gets his TARDIS back, but this proves to be his ultimate undoing. He travels to a planet inhabited by giant spiders, and destroys them all using the energy of a special crystal. Unfortunately, he too is caught in the blast, triggering his regeneration.

Unfortunately though, his actual final scene takes place under much less dramatic circumstances.

The Doctor manages to pilot the TARDIS back to Earth, collapsing in his laboratory with Sarah Jane and the Brigadier present. They then receive a visit from the Doctor's former mentor, who sort of looks like Lakitu from Mario Kart.

The mentor guides the humans through the process, before fading away as Pertwee's face changes into Tom Baker's.

It's hardly the most exciting regeneration in history, and the presence of a bloke floating on a cloud only complicates things further. The showrunners should have known better by this point.