Bi-Generation: Did It Work? (It's Complicated)

During the third 60th anniversary special of Doctor Who something unprecedented happened... a bi-generation! A double regeneration. And did it work? Well... that really depends on how you see regeneration itself...

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All footage used in this video is for educational purposes only.

#doctorwho #ncutigatwa #davidtennant

[Sonicsounds]

It’s refreshing to hear someone criticise the specials without using the term “too woke” and to actually talk about the stories without being a dick about it

[TheConman]

I know this is a small point but Rose’s reaction to ten regenerating is in character for her. She’s human and is in love with the doctor, a human realistically couldn’t be unattached to one face and love every incarnation. I think it was in the moment, they’d been separated for years and obviously she’d been through this all before and it was hard the first time

[theweirdofengland]

Not only did the Doctor settle down with River Song on Darillium for 24 years, but afterwards he spent 70 years at the university Bill Potts attended, working as a professor, living with Nardole and Missy.

[theweirdofengland]

I felt RTD was pastiching himself in The Giggle. The camp villain dance number, the Doctor offering to battle the Toymaker across the stars, the Toymaker hypnotising the human race with a repeating pattern, and of course a mysterious hand picking up the gold tooth - these were all lifted directly from the ‘Master trilogy’ (Utopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords) in 2007. And as you observed, Donna’s happy ending was just a platonic version of the happy ending given to Rose.

[Aria_Dragonneel]

Honestly River Song is the best person for the Doctor's wife. She loves all of him, at all stages of his life. She understands him, despite his appearance.

[allgreatfictions]

Honestly, I'm just sad we didn't keep Capaldi's sonic sunglasses. That was cool as fuck.

[purpledevilr]

David Tenant has quite a thing about odd regenerations.

The regrown hand. Siphoning off the energy to the hand. The hand allowing multiple people to use some energy. The hand regenerating to a new person. The face coming back and now this bi-generation.

[erubin]

I think Mel being there was meant to illustrate a point that not ALL of the doctor's companions end up dead or displaced. Her life actually got better (or at least more interesting) because of the doctor, in contrast to the Toymaker's mocking puppet show.

[mnmnm]

I do see what RTD wanted to do for Ncuti. I think he expected Moffat or Chibs to reconcile Doc's past, give them some sort of healing in their tenure. RTD wants Ncuti to be a Classic Doctor, a hapless traveller who's not running from his past but instead just there to help and not have that trauma bubbling underneath BUT the whole arc of the specials should've been that. 

We could've gotten 14 having a Heaven Sent type ep where he sees the horror he committed and be forgiven for his sins, maybe even by Susan or someone from his past. That'd allow him to regenerate into Ncuti and starting fresh, not having all that healing happen off-screen. He also shouldn't have said every Doc bigenerated it just doesn't make sense.

[jackdriffill]

The big finish audio said it best, every regeneration shares the same core traits, personalities and moral values, just in different levels and presenting in different ways

[anthonyfisher-]

My personal headcanon is because the 14th Doctor was within the first week or 72 hours or whatever it was of this regeneration that's why the Bi-regenoration happened. A bit like how the tenth doctor lost his hand and grew a new one. The regeneration energy still fizzing away inside casing him to Br-regenorate

[hurricane]

It is important to remember that anything rtd says in a commentary has yet to be canonised. It may well be that the plans to bi-generate every doctor doesn't happen in the end, so don't feel like its part of the canon if it it never shows up in an episode.

[SoundsOfTheWildYT]

Something about bigeneration didn’t sit right with me but I couldn’t single it out. I think you nailed it on the head with the reinventing the wheel thing. Sometimes a little gimmick can be great if it suits the story well, like the doctor Donna, but with the timeless child wing so recent, on top of this being the first “revisited face”, it’s just too much and doesn’t let the fundamental Who-ness shine.

[BionicTem]

There is always every doctor running about in time, doesn't matter what order they regenerate - the third doctor could show up and save the world in 2023 while 14 is chilling having sandwiches

[snylon]

i drank a litre of motor oil yesterday

[petermann]

4:50 That was my interpretation of it. 14 is going to have a half century or so vacation. And then once Donna passes peacefully, "Ok, I'm ready to go." And he regens as normal and floops back to the moment of bigeneration.

[SimpleGeekReviews]

But like, people who go through trauma often do feel like they die. Their lives are changed. They are different from what they used to be. Be it losing an arm, SA, losing a very close loved one, near death. It changes who you are. You may have the same face, but you might have a new personality.

So like the Doctor does it well. It is a death - this face, this body, will be different. The personality will be different. You are the Doctor, but you also another version of the Doctor.

I love Matt's last words. That really puts a nice pin on how we, as humans, go through life. Everything changes. We grow older, we experience life. We change. You can keep on going through life, so long as you do try to remember who you used to be.

[theinvisiblegentleman]

As much as I love David Tennant, I don't like the showrunners stockpiling extra Tennants in a "In case of low ratings, break glass."

Now there are two Tennants running around that aren't the main doctor. At this rate there will be 4 for the 70th, 8 for the 80th, and 16 for the 90th.

[unidragons]

personally don't like the idea of bi-generation would've rather the doctor just regenerated normally

[robboyte]

THANK YOU!!! I also wanted to see these three specials as an interconnected Toymaker storyline with plenty of Who callbacks and anniversary elements. Glad to see someone agrees with me.