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All 16 Doctor Who Regeneration Sequences, Ranked Worst To Best

Doctor Who has featured plenty of regenerations over the years, with the best embodying some of the show's most important themes and elements.

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25 City Of Death

First aired: September 29, 1979 (Fourth Doctor)

When it comes to Doctor Who, many new fans might be overwhelmed about getting started because the series has so many episodes, history, and lore across its six decades. Starting with the 2005 reboot is one way to go, but for those who want to go back to classic Doctor Who, the 1979 serial, "City of Death," is a nice starting point that requires little prior knowledge.

This is from the show's 17th season with a script by Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). This has the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) ed by Laila Ward as Romana, Julian Glover as Count Scarlioni, and even an appearance by John Cleese. The episode is almost more Douglas Adams than Doctor Who, but it has enough for fans of both to love. The Doctor and Romana go to Paris to eat and end up involved with an alien who wants to steal the Mona Lisa, and absurdity and fun follow.

24 Remembrance of the Daleks

First aired: October 5, 1988 (Seventh Doctor)

There are many episodes about the Daleks, as they are the most iconic of Doctor Who villains, even if they didn't always have the best stories. This specific episode came from the 25th season, and the Seventh Doctor, and it was the 25th Anniversary episode of the series. While the Daleks are normally at odds with the series protagonist, The Doctor and Ace show up to help them fight during an all-out war between the Daleks and the military, but the episode is much bigger than just that battle.

This episode celebrates Doctor Who as a series, with a return to 76 Totter's Lame in 1963 for this battle. Not only are there Daleks to battle, but there are Renegade Daleks, and the two factions are attacking each other. While the Daleks had taken a beating over the years and had almost become irrelevant in the lore, this episode revitalized the entire idea of them. It ensured that there was a blueprint to use when the series was revived years later, and it's easy to see the future in this 1988 episode.

23 Demons of the Punjab (2018)

First aired: November 11, 2018 (Thirteenth Doctor)

"Demons of the Punjab" is an episode involving the Thirteenth Doctor, and it was one of the most moving stories of her run on the series. When Taz asks to go back in time to Punjab to learn more about her family's tragic history, the Doctor agrees, and they go back to when the family was torn apart after the division of the countries. This is a very different type of Doctor Who story, which isn't about fighting aliens but instead about watching a young hero die and his bride face this devastation.

Sometimes, it is important for Doctor Who to deal with these issues. This is a story about ethnic cleansing, religious intolerance, and many things that affect the real world today, just as it was a decade ago. The villains here don't need to be aliens because the greatest evil in this instance comes from humans. There are aliens in the Thijarians, but they are simply observing the horrors and atrocities the humans bring upon themselves, and that makes for a hauntingly terrifying and somber episode.

22 Pyramids Of Mars

First aired: October 25, 1975 (Fourth Doctor)

"Pyramids of Mars" is one of the four-part Doctor Who serials that came out in 1975 during the reign of the Fourth Doctor. In this season, the show was really laying into the idea of sci-fi horror, with the scary horror tropes mixed with science fiction flavor to create something unique and special. In this case, it is the idea of mummies and Egyptian gods but changed into something different with the Doctor's brand of science fiction and fantasy rather than straight horror.

Written by Stephen Harris (the pseudonym used by Robert Holmes and Lewis Griefer) and directed by Paddy Russel, the series sees a brilliant villain in Sutekh, the God of Death, who is actually a member of an alien race known as the Osirans. He is based on the Egyptian deity Set, and uses an archaeology professor named Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard) to help free him. With great special effects and a quality horror story, this remains a fun adventure for Doctor Who fans with a taste for the macabre.

21 The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (2006)

First aired: June 3 / June 10, 2006 (Tenth Doctor)

"The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" make up a two-part Doctor Who story for the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant). This episode starts on a sanctuary base for deep-space expeditions where the Doctor and Rose encounter Oods, a docile race of aliens used to help work on the station. However, soon, they realize there is a great danger on the planet Krop Tor, which is orbiting a black hole. This comes from the Beast (voiced by Gabriel Woolf from "Pyramids of Mars").

The story is another horror tale mixed with the sci-fi ideas that Doctor Who fans love. The villain here is close to the Devil himself, meaning that everyone, including the Doctor, might be in over their heads. The setting aboard the space station creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, so when the possessed Toby (Will Thorp) starts his attacks, it is a terrifying situation. The best Doctor Who episodes are horror-centric, and this one has what might be the ultimate evil gunning for the Doctor.

20 The Curse Of Fenric

First aired: October 25, 1989 (Seventh Doctor)

Sylvester McCoy's tenure in the TARDIS was tumultuous, with in late 1989. Nevertheless, McCoy's Seventh Doctor, alongside Sophie Aldred as Ace, went down swinging. 1989's "The Curse of Fenric" proved that, despite its impending demise, Doctor Who was still capable of thrilling sci-fi storytelling and creative twists. McCoy's Doctor Who had been taking daring risks, attempting to weave more mystery into the aging franchise via the "Cartmel Masterplan," which would have ultimately rewritten the Doctor's origin story wholesale.

While that arc was never fully realized onscreen, "The Curse of Fenric" perfectly represented what Doctor Who was trying to achieve as the 1990s beckoned. Not as narratively or visually sophisticated as other all-time great Doctor Who stories, "The Curse of Fenric" showcased the darker side of McCoy's Seventh Doctor, the strength of Ace as his companion, and the big, lore-breaking swings Doctor Who was prepared to take. It could even be said that by delivering such a strong outing so close to the show's cancelation, "The Curse of Fenric" helped to make the case for Doctor Who's eventual comeback.

19 Fugitive Of The Judoon

First aired: January 26, 2020 (Thirteenth Doctor)

Through no fault of her own, Jodie Whittaker's stint on Doctor Who is notably lacking in standout episodes, made worse by the controversial Timeless Child arc. There were notable exceptions, and 2020's "Fugitive of the Judoon" earned a place among the best Doctor Who episodes. At its core, "Fugitive of the Judoon" is a tense thriller that puts the Doctor between a Judoon platoon and its quarry on present-day Earth. "Fugitive of the Judoon" coaxed out some of Whittaker's strongest performances by separating the Doctor from her group.

Yaz, Graham, and Ryan shone brightly, aided by a cameo from Captain Jack Harkness foreshadowing a threat in the Doctor's future. A wild final act kicked "Fugitive of the Judoon" into overdrive, bringing back the chameleon arch to debut a brand-new Doctor portrayed by Jo Martin and bolting an undeniably fascinating new dimension onto Whittaker's era. Martin's Fugitive Doctor was a revelation, her sparring with Whittaker sublime, and the execution perfectly measured. It would all fall apart in "The Timeless Children," but the setup and promise left behind as "Fugitive of the Judoon" rolled credits was a rare treat.

18 The Five Doctors

First aired: November 23, 1983 (20th anniversary special)

1983's 20th-anniversary special was an imperfectly glorious celebration of all things Doctor Who. The episode was, ittedly, dampened by the misleading title. The show recast the First Doctor after William Hartnell's death, and Tom Baker declined a return, resulting in his Doctor inserted via footage from an unaired episode, "Shada." Even so, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee blended wonderfully with Peter Davison, and the companion mashup added a fresh flavor to the familiar faces. With Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master ing the fun, "The Five Doctors" often felt like the greatest hits for Doctor Who fans.

"The Five Doctors" was brimming with fun, and the love letter to Doctor Who's first 20 years felt genuine, not gimmicky. An often overlooked strength of "The Five Doctors" is its compressed running time. Doctor Who serials usually comprised four to six 30-minute installments, and stretching a single narrative for so long inevitably resulted in many classic Doctor Who capers bloating with needless filler. As a single 90-minute special, "The Five Doctors" was snappier and more action-packed by comparison, with the feature-length format big enough to accommodate the massive cast but tight enough to avoid pacing pitfalls.

17 The Daleks

First aired: December 21, 1963 (First Doctor)

It is hardly unreasonable to claim that Doctor Who spent the First Doctor's entire era discovering itself. Only after William Hartnell regenerated into Patrick Troughton did Doctor Who resemble what audiences know and love today. None of that would have been possible without "The Daleks." Appreciating the true impact of this iconic serial is virtually impossible from a modern perspective. A marked departure from "An Unearthly Child" and its caveman-based antics, "The Daleks" may seem primitive, but it represented a bold step toward finding Doctor Who's soul in its rawest form.

Terry Nation's imaginative vision and world-building drove "The Daleks" forward. Examined through a contemporary lens, "The Daleks" contained prime examples of the horror imagery and sci-fi morality Doctor Who would later come to embrace every week, and while the serial lasted two episodes longer than necessary, the cultural impact "The Daleks" left in its wake is a testament to the quality of Nation's concept. Some elements haven't aged well but as the keystone of what Doctor Who ultimately became, the first appearance of TV's most lethal pepper pots deserves to be recognized.

16 The End Of Time

First aired: December 25, 2009 (Tenth Doctor)

Doctor Who hit new heights of acclaim and popularity under David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, so when the actor stepped down in 2009, the occasion demanded a massive regeneration storyline. "The End of Time" was certainly that. Russell T Davies' parting shot as Doctor Who showrunner (the first time around) conjured up an emotional tour de force, digging deeper into what it means to regenerate. John Simm's Master resurfaced even more complex and compelling than his original stint in season 3. However, Timothy Dalton's Rassilon anchored "The End of Time" with a truly fearsome enemy.

Doctor Who thrives when putting the Doctor in the most desperate situations, and "The End of Time" takes Tennant's Time Lord to the very edge, culminating in a noble sacrifice. As expected, Tennant rose to the occasion, but his partnership with Bernard Cribbins' Wilf made "The End of Time" truly special. The Doctor-companion dynamic so often mirrors that of a teacher and student, but as the Tenth Doctor's arrogance ballooned in his dying adventures, it was the Time Lord looking to Wilf for a role model. That reversal proved the critical difference between sentimental nonsense and a touching farewell.

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Why The Tenth Doctor's Regeneration Was So Violent In Doctor Who

The Tenth Doctor's regeneration was the most explosive in all of Doctor Who, but did this contradict canon or provide David Tennant's perfect ending?

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