Doctor Who: The 14th Doctor’s Regeneration May Be the Biggest Red Herring
Doctor Who fans are confident Neil Patrick Harris’ Toymaker manipulated the Fourteenth Doctor’s regeneration, but this could be a major misdirection.
David Tennant is back on Doctor Who, but not as the Tenth Doctor. Tennant became a household name when he first joined Doctor Who in 2005, taking over from Christopher Eccleston as the Tenth Doctor and remaining in the series’ lead role until his departure in early 2010. Then-showrunner Russell T Davies exited the series at the same time as Tennant, but are now returning along with Catherine Tate as companion Donna Noble, to see Doctor Who through its 60th anniversary in 2023. However, this isn’t another adventure for the Tenth Doctor. Instead, Tennant has become the first actor to play two separate incumbent Doctors, coming back to the sci-fi series as the Time Lord’s fourteenth incarnation.
The Fourteenth Doctor made his shocking first appearance at the end of 2022’s “The Power of the Doctor,” a special episode marking the centenary of the BBC, and featuring the final regular appearance of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. There had been much speculation surrounding Whittaker’s regeneration. While Ncuti Gatwa had been announced as the next Doctor to lead the long-running sci-fi series, it was also known that David Tennant would be appearing in some capacity on the upcoming 60th anniversary specials. When the Thirteenth Doctor then regenerated back into the body of the Tenth Doctor, fans immediately started speculating on what could have caused this repeat regeneration.
The Celestial Toymaker and the Fourteenth Doctor’s Regeneration
Neil Patrick Harris is playing the Celestial Toymaker on the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials — a villain last seen all the way back in the 1966 serial, “The Celestial Toymaker,” which pitted this all-powerful immortal against William Hartnell’s First Doctor. While it was only recently confirmed that Harris would indeed be bringing the classic villain back to Doctor Who, fans have suspected he was playing the Toymaker almost since his casting was announced, back in June 2022. Naturally, once the Doctor had been seen returning to a previous incarnation, fans started theorizing about what part the Toymaker had to play in this surprise regeneration.
A plethora of theories have emerged online claiming the Toymaker influenced the Fourteenth Doctor’s regeneration, possibly returning the Doctor to this particular previous appearance in order to endanger Donna Noble. When the Tenth Doctor and Donna parted ways, the Doctor was forced to erase her memories in order to save her life, warning her family that Donna would die if she ever remembered him. The Toymaker certainly has cause to be seeking revenge on the Doctor, after the Time Lord destroyed his dimension in their last encounter. Manipulating events in order to have the Doctor and Donna reunite, while returning the Doctor to the appearance in which Donna knew him, would be a fittingly cruel form of vengeance.
The Toymaker was seen to have godlike powers over reality when he was in his own universe during his original appearance on Doctor Who. While his power was not thought to extend into the material universe, it is possible that after years of plotting, the villain has learned to extend his abilities. It’s also possible that the Doctor is back in the Toymaker’s realm without even realizing it, giving the villain absolute control over the reality around him. Either of these theories would explain the return of the Doctor’s old face. However, this could all be misdirection. The Fourteenth Doctor’s regeneration may have had nothing to do with any interference from the Toymaker.
The Thirteenth Doctor Could Have Manipulated Her Own Regeneration
Fans have been quick to assume the Toymaker has already started nefariously pulling the strings, forcing the Doctor back into their old appearance. However, it’s possible that the return of the Tenth Doctor’s face had more to do with the Thirteenth Doctor than any external interloper. Although the Fourteenth Doctor seemed surprised by the return of his old body after regenerating, the regeneration process could have been influenced by factors in the Doctor’s subconscious. There is a precedent on Doctor Who for regeneration being affected by a Time Lord’s own mindset, or even by deliberate choice.
The 1969 serial “The War Games” featured the final appearance of the Second Doctor and saw the beginnings of his regeneration. The final episode in the serial established that Time Lords can choose their next appearance when regenerating. The Time Lords offered the Doctor a choice of appearances when forcing him to regenerate, though none satisfied the Doctor’s particular tastes. Similarly, when the Eleventh Doctor regenerated into the Twelfth, an element of unconscious choice affected his appearance. The Twelfth Doctor resembled Lobus Caecilius, whom the Tenth Doctor had saved from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient Pompeii. The Twelfth Doctor would later realize that he deliberately chose this appearance as a reminder of his duty to save people.
Other hints of a Time Lord’s ability to influence their own regeneration included the regeneration of Melody Pond aka River Song on the Season 6 episode “Let’s Kill Hitler.” Melody claimed she was “focusing on a dress size,” as her regeneration began. The 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” then saw the Eleventh Doctor meeting the Curator — one of his future incarnations, played by Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker. The Curator claimed that at some point in his future, the Doctor might find himself revisiting a few of his favorite old faces. This suggests that he had chosen to return to the appearance of his fourth incarnation.
The Fourteenth Doctor’s shocked reaction to the reappearance of his tenth incarnation’s body would suggest that the Doctor did not consciously choose to return to this form. However, it’s possible that something in the Thirteenth Doctor’s final adventure led her thoughts to dwell on her tenth incarnation, influencing her regeneration. The Tenth Doctor was notably more reluctant to change at the end of his life than other incarnations. Perhaps the Thirteenth Doctor felt she was finally ready to find closure for that version of herself. Alternatively, the change may have been connected to adventures yet to come.
Donna Noble may Have Affected the Fourteenth Doctor’s Regeneration
While the Toymaker may not have been directly responsible for the appearance of a familiar face at the end of the Doctor’s latest regeneration, his schemes and the upcoming events of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials might have had a part to play in the return of the Tenth Doctor’s face. Trailers for the 60th anniversary specials have hinted that something is coming for Donna Noble, with a spaceship crash landing right in front of her as she is once again drawn into the Doctor’s world. The Thirteenth Doctor may have sensed, on some level, that Donna was in danger, triggering the return of the face that Donna knew.
There are a number of ways the Doctor might have been able to tell Donna was going to need their help. The most obvious comes back down to the Toymaker. Even if the villain did not directly interfere with the Doctor’s regeneration, he may have used his reality-warping abilities to instill the Doctor with a need to return to Donna Noble. This may have had an unintended consequence of causing the Thirteenth Doctor’s mind to drift back to her tenth incarnation at the moment of regeneration. Alternatively, a psychic connection of some kind may exist between the Doctor and Donna after Donna previously absorbed the Doctor’s Time Lord consciousness. It was this event that caused the Doctor to wipe Donna’s mind, but it’s possible a piece of the Doctor now lives within Donna.
There also exists a much darker possibility behind the Doctor’s return to their old body. Trailers for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary specials have featured Donna asking whether the Tenth Doctor’s face came back “to say goodbye.” Perhaps the Doctor is not getting ready to run to Donna’s rescue, but is preparing to bid her a final farewell. Donna’s reunion with the Doctor, resulting in the potential return of her memories, poses a threat to her life. The 60th anniversary could mark Donna Noble’s final adventure with the Doctor, who may have returned to the appearance of his tenth incarnation in order to say a last goodbye to his old friend.
