OTP

[furius]

So I didn't start watching until college and I actually don't know why I love the New Doctor Who so much. I've thus far failed to explain to anyone I've introduced it to but almost every time I watch an episode, there's just this sense immense gratification and relief that I won't be and actually was/am not alone in my best and worst dreams....

Comments

Warning potential spoliers for old who abound ;)

[aria_elwen]

Time lords have 12 regenerations (although the Time lords can grant a new cycle so there must be some sort of limiter in place) but can only regenerate within certain boundaries (as I understand it) i.e the first doctor regenerated because to be blunt he was old, roughly 100/200 years and so is the only "natural" regeneration that occurred in the programme with regards to the doctor (Romana a timelady controls her own regeneration and it's very different). At the time it was called "renewal" not regeneration and BBC people used to make this quite explicit in interviews.
Second regeneration was forced by the time lords as punishment, 3rd dies of radiation poisoning, 4th fell off a very big telescope, fifth from some sort of virus (can't really remember now), sixth was shot, seventh was shot and then had a heart attack due to surgery gone wrong, eighth unknown and well you know the other two. ;) It seems that if the "death" would be slow the time lord body seems able to compensate and thus regenerate at the critical point. But if death is instantaneous then no go. So time lords can and do die.
I'm not going to get into the weird Master saga, the man was weird before the new series with regards to regeneration...

And... uhh... yes.... I've kinda rambled a bit and it's made even worse by the fact that I've only watched the confidential so far and not the episode in question...... :O