Image Credit: Adapted from Super Festivals (CC BY 2.0, Flickr)

Image Description: Catherine Tate and David Tennant.

Georgia Harper shares her thoughts on the Doctor’s future.

I spent most of October dismissing, repeatedly and at length, the very possibility of Jodie Whittaker regenerating into David Tennant. Past Doctors show up all the time without needing a new incarnation, and Ncuti Gatwa had already been cast to take over the role, so it seemed inconceivable that this would take place. It also seemed to be a step destined to play directly to a vocal minority that expect Russell T Davies to retread his time in charge of the show, and return as Doctor Who’s ‘saviour’. Regeneration into Tennant again wasn’t going to happen anyway, I told myself, and would be a terrible idea if it did.

Safe to say, I had a lot of humble pie to eat when The Power Of The Doctor was finally broadcast – but the Fourteenth Doctor didn’t take long to win me over. First of all, the regeneration itself was spectacular – a fitting send-off for Thirteen with optimism about whoever she’d become. But this is not a normal regeneration – there’s new clothes, an old face, and… “I know these teeth!” It’s a brilliant callback, but also a clear signal that something has gone wrong – the Doctor is not supposed to retread the past.

Did the Doctor’s brief transformation into Sacha Dhawan’s Master send the process haywire? Does Neil Patrick Harris’ forthcoming villain have something to do with it? Is something else afoot? And will someone please tell Ncuti Gatwa what the hell is going on here?! We’re heading into the 60th anniversary with a crisis already unfolding and unanswered questions already burning – and it’s great to have Tennant and Catherine Tate’s Donna back for the journey. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll see more than a glimpse of the now-Fifteenth Doctor too!

Change and reinvention are at the heart of Doctor Who as we know it today – my world would be very different if they’d never recast William Hartnell! It remains to be seen whether regenerating into an old face, with the baggage of nostalgia that brings, is the right move – but it’s setting up to be a thrilling visit to the past that ultimately welcomes in a new future. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

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