Doctor Who--The "Death" of the Tenth Doctor

[Kane Knight]

This isn't really about the merit of Dave Tennant or Matt Smith, or even so much about the plot of the specials that led up to the Doctor regenerating from his tenth to his eleventh incarnation. Tennant and Smith are both great in the role of the Doctor.

So...What am I on about?

Most of this does come from the specials, though I suppose the first hints of it come from the "Regeneration" in The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, where the Doctor deliberately halts his Regeneration and comments that he doesn't want to change. Through the specials between series 4 and 5, however, the Doctor is warned of his upcoming death, and it's established that he is scared of it. The guy who's died like 9 times before. Oh, and can regenerate. But he's really scared of dying.

The End of Time goes so far as to have him lament that another man will walk away from it. Let's ignore the fact that Matt Smith's Doctor isn't all that different (A slightly nerdier but ultimately similar character) and that this doesn't seem to be a problem for the Doctor prior.

Anyway, two things that really bug me (relatively) about this: His "sacrifice" speech before he saves Donna's grandfather comes off as largely whiney. Then, of course, his final words are "I don't want to go."

The Ninth Doctor died with a smile. The Eleventh Doctor faces his "Death" with dignity. The Tenth is a whiney bitch. And he's faced dozens of situations before with a very real chance he'd die. Including one where he technically did.

This whole thing seems largely out of character for the Doctor, and I'm sure it's just an earmark of Russel Davies' run on the show (where he seems to have no problem rewriting the characters to fit a desire scenario).

I found myself torn on The End of Time; on the one hand, it had some great moments. On the other, the Doctor suddenly being scared of death (though perhaps not so suddenly) soured the tone for me greatly. I even think that scene with Wilfred Mott could have been outright epic without the whininess. And while his Regeneration was heartstring-pulling, I can't help but think they could have done it more organically, and made it flow to Smith's Doctor better.

I read someone earlier commenting that it kind of biased the fanbase against Smith, but for me it more tainted the tenth than the eleventh. Which is a shame, because Tennant was awesome and his Doctor should have gotten a better sendoff.

Thoughts? I've probably put too much thought into this, but I had over a week in a hospital bed with little to do but watch TV and think.

And again, this ain't about how it sucks Tennant left when he did. I've loved Smith's run so far.

[PapaGeorgio]

Ugh just typed out a 3 paragraph response but the fucking server load was too high. So I'll do a quick recap of what I said.

1. I agree with a lot of what you said. I try not to overthink things about DW as it's not the type of show to do it on. All that aside...

2. Think of his regeneration as almost having Multiple Personality Disorder. Not the exact same thing sure, but his character does change. And while his motives may be the same, how he gets things done can be different. He is not sure who he will become next, and he likes who he is now.

3. I love Matt Smith, think in a season or two he can easily overtake Tennant for me. This past season was one of my favorites besides the rainbow Dalek episode.

4. His regeneration is also painful. While in the end he'll be "ok" it not something he is looking forward too. People go through surgeries that are painful and leave them weak, they show similar fear even though after a while they bounce back. It also leaves him vulnerable.

5. Was while since I saw episode so not overly fresh in my mind. Some of my examples are bad, but hopefully you get the idea of what I was going for.

[Kane Knight]

I try not to overthink, but when you're doing nothing but lying down with a bunch of tubes shoved up your ass....;)

I do understand that regeneration is not the most desirable outcome, but this is a man who faced off against Daleks, Cybermen, statues that make you live to death, Jedune, and a dozen other threats, facing that same threat of death without this kind of response. And that's just the tenth Doctor.

And regardless of multiple personalities, Eccleston's Doctor did face it with a smile. Possibly because he wasn't alone at the time, but still, he knew he was "dying" and another personality would be there. And Smith's Doctor walks off stage right, knowing there's a chance he doesn't simply regenerate, but ceases to exist forever, and he does it with grace. Subtle, somber grace, but still grace.

I do think those are the main reasons it sticks with me. The Doctor doesn't seem afraid of death most of the time. Suddenly, he is. Even at his darkest moments in the new series, he faces down the worst threats time and space have to offer.

Unless they knock four times....

I do understand what you're saying that it's painful, that another personality rises up, etc., but again, that threat has always been there. Throw in the fact that Nine "died" from a similar sacrifice, absorbing the radiation of the Time Vortex to save Rose from burning up as opposed to walking into a radioactive death chamber to save Wilfred. Frankly, I think Nine should have let Rose fry, but I'm not RTD.

But the thing, the main thing, to compare the two: Ecclestone goes out joking about Barcelona. Irreverently talking about how he could have two heads or none. Telling Rose she was fantastic. And how he was, too.

Tennant goes out whining that it's not fair. That he could do so much more, that he dosn't want to go. He borderline derides Wilfred for such a human act, the very sort of thing the Doctor normally loves about humanity. Granted, he doesn't want to get in Wilf's pants, but still.

That one line overshadows everything else. "It's not fair." It overshadows "Wilfred, it's my honour." It overshadows "I've lived too long." And it continues, because right to his last words, the Doctor laments it rather than coming to terms with it.

Not saying he should love it, or look forward to it. Not saying he shouldn't even be attached to his current persona. I just wish he had gone out with more dignity. I mean, especially after the high note that he's taken care of his past companions.

And like his speech to Wil, the "I don't want to go" really overshadows that.

I did like series five a lot. I've watched it like four times since the DVDs dropped, and I'll probably watch it a lot more. I think it was probably more solid than any other single series since the reboot, at the very least. And Smith could be better than Tennant, though I think the fans will never give him the chance. Well, I think a good chunk of the fans won't. Tennant is huge and it's unfair for anyone to really follow him, because they won't get the level of credit they deserve. Actually, I think Eccleston is criminally underrated too, and gets overshadowed because the very next actor was Tennant.

[Kane Knight]

I even think a fear of death could be quite poingant, provided it didn't seem so out of character for the Doctor (Both specifically this one and the character in general). I just figured I should point that out. It more or less grew out of nowhere. Even his halted regeneration in series four wasn't really out of fear. This kind of cropped up over the course of the last three specials and neither gave it much cause to appear nor much time to develop. Though I think it'd be hard to make that jive with Tennants Doctor, period.

[XL]

I, for one, prefer Smith to Tennant already.

It came across to me that the death was centered more around Tennant leaving than in The Doctor dying/regenerating. The whole "I don't want to go" line seemed like it was designed for Tennant specifically instead of staying inline with the character.

[Kane Knight]

I, for one, prefer Smith to Tennant already.

It came across to me that the death was centered more around Tennant leaving than in The Doctor dying/regenerating. The whole "I don't want to go" line seemed like it was designed for Tennant specifically instead of staying inline with the character.

I was thinking more for the fans, really. Because they didn't want him to go. It was fanservice, but not in the usual "random catgirl shot" sense most people seem to think of it in.

Still, it was there less for the character. Or the plot. Or anything they really should have done it about. I think I tend to agree with the base notion here.

I don't prefer Smith yet. Not sure if I will or not, but series five was spectacular. Plus, The Eleventh Hour was a spectacular intro to Smith's Doctor.