ANALYTICAL: REGENERATION RECOVERY - PART 1: COMMON SYMPTOMS

Well, after a fun little POINT OF DEBATE, it's time to get back to work on that ANALYTICAL essay I was promising:

After multi-incarnation adventures, regeneration is the next aspect of the series that seems to fascinate me most. I love watching the stories where the Doctor transforms into a new body. It's quite the emotional roller-coaster, really. We're sad to see someone go but excited to see what the next one will be like. And it's just really cool to see how the whole event will be handled. All of it just completely draws me in and I adore the whole process. 

I recently watched all the stories where the Doctor regenerates (not the first time I've done this, actually - more like the thirtieth!). As some of you may recall in another essay I did about regeneration (a BOOK OF LISTS  I did a long time ago https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-book-of-lists-ranking-regenarations.html), I tend to consider the first story of the new Doctor to be part of the whole regeneration process. So that means I watched how each new Doctor recovers from such a traumatic metabolic process. I couldn't help but notice some interesting patterns...   



REGENERATION RECOVERY

The Doctor has now dealt with regeneration fourteen times. Two more times than a Time Lord is meant to. We've seen this process take him (and now, her) through all sorts of side effects. Some of those side-effects are frequent. Some only manifest themselves now and again.

It's particularly noteworthy that bodily regeneration always seems to go fairly smoothly. Everything seems to work just fine from the neck down after a regeneration. We never see the Doctor becoming temporally crippled, for instance, cause his new legs aren't working well, yet.Twelve once joked with Davros that he might end up missing an arm in the future because of the regeneration energy he used to save him, but this has yet to happen. As turbulent of a process as regeneration might be, the Doctor's new body always seems to be okay after it springs into existence.

Mentally, however, the regeneration experience can do all sorts of short-term damage (some might even speculate long-term damage, in some instances). Any number of nasty things seem to happen to the Doctor's brain as he recovers from his latest transformation. These side-effects break down into two distinct categories. Each category, of course, has several different symptoms.

Quite by accident, the most extreme example of each of these categories is displayed in consecutive regenerations. The Fifth Doctor shows us the full extent of physical side effects. While Six provides us with the strongest example of the psychological damage such a process can cause.


1: Physical Side Effects:

Admittedly, since both categories are the results of mental trauma, it is a bit difficult to distinguish between the two. But, to me, there are certain problems that occur to the Doctor's mind that have more of a physical effect on him than psychological.

As the Doctor is stumbling around in the corridors of his TARDIS in Episode One of Castrovalva, we see these negative physical symptoms to their fullest extent. He even explains that his synapses are on a sort of overload, right now. That he must isolate himself from outside influences for a time so that they can heal. A very physical cure for a physical problem. Much of the maladies that he displays as he tries to work his way to the Zero Room seem to be the result of these neurological imbalances affecting him in a more direct manner. Or, a more physical manner. A neurologist would be needed to help him with these issues rather than a psychologist.

About the only thing he does that doesn't fit this model is when he starts impersonating previous incarnations. This seems more of an identity crisis. But the problem is pretty short-lived. Otherwise, he seems to experience issues that are of a more physical nature. Even when he's acting very neurotic, it comes across more as a result of synapses being over-stimulated than something psychological.


2: Psychological Side Effects:

When he regenerates next, we see the pendulum swing in a completely different direction. The Doctor could definitely use a therapist as he moves through all sorts of violent mood swings. He is a manic barometer, this time (someone even calls him that!). Some even like to claim that it was insanity that caused him to pick the outfit he ended up wearing. Once he did finally stabilize, he was just too proud to admit how crazy the choice had been and kept wearing it!

As with Five, not all of this Doctor's symptoms are purely psychological. We do see him pass out once or twice. Something that I label more of a physical side effect. However, we also see him go into such a fit of pique that he becomes incapacitated but doesn't actually lose consciousness. Which, again, strikes me more as a complete psychological breakdown rather than something physical. 




Special Note: 
As mentioned, both these incarnations are showing the most extreme version of these two categories. This might actually be the two occasions when damage from a regeneration had a long-term effect.

For instance: Doctor Five was very weak when he first emerged from his regeneration. Many attribute this to the sense of vulnerability or even fallibility that he continues to show throughout the rest of his era. He was in a very delicate state when he was first called into existence and this seems to persist throughout the rest of his life.

While Doctor Six is quite mercurial during his span. Which could be because he's so psychologically damaged from the regeneration that creates him. I would even claim that it takes an extremely long time for his particular side effects to fully die down. I still think he's very unstable from regeneration until about halfway through Vengeance on Varos. A problem that persists for so long is bound to have that kind of long-term effect on his personality.

In the case of most other incarnations, stability is usually achieved by the end of their first story. Also, the severity of the side effects experienced by these other incarnations is usually not as intense as Five and Six had it.. So I would say only these two versions were legitimately forged  by the nature of their regeneration. The personalities of other Doctors were not influenced so greatly in such a manner.




PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:

Again, we see several of these on display during the Fifth Doctor's crisis. But other Doctors show these symptoms, too. Quite a few, in fact. These first two symptoms that I'm listing, here, are actually the most common of them all. With almost every Doctor struggling with them at some point.


Loss of consciousness:
No doubt, regeneration must be a very exhausting process. Which means some serious napping is required after the event. The need for rest is so severe that, quite often, the Doctor doesn't actually make it to a place where he can have a proper lie-down. He tends to just pass out where he stands. In stories like Spearhead from Space, Christmas Invasion and Deep Breath, he emerges from his TARDIS after regenerating and hits the ground within seconds.

In some situations, he does actually make it to a bed or a couch or something of that nature before nodding off. Stories like Robot or The Woman Who Fell to Earth show this happening. But even when the Doctor manages this, the need for sleep is very intense. They tend to go into a pretty heavy slumber.

It is with great exception that a new Doctor doesn't pass out for, at least, a bit after he/she is created. We didn't see the War Doctor or Doctor Nine exhibit these symptoms at all when they first emerged (I like to believe Rose.happens only moments after the War Doctor transitions into Nine - the Doctor seeing his face for the first time in a mirror is a strong indicator that he is fresh from the regeneration) But then, we didn't really see much of either of these regenerations. It could be that they still "caught some zzzz's" during an untelevised moment.

Memory Loss
Another very common symptom. Quite frequently, the Doctor legitimately forgets who he/she is for a while.

This seems more like a physical symptom to me than psychological. The Doctor could lie forever on a therapist's couch and try to draw these memories out and nothing will be effective. The brain just needs some time to heal. No amount of psychological aid is going to make a difference. Just look at how the Thirteenth Doctor describes a whole series of  physiological influences that gets her to remember who she is as she faces down Tzim-Sha (or Tim Shaw).

The first time we really see this displayed is in Castrovalva. The Doctor is climbing up a mountain and he hears Tegan and Nyssa calling out "Doctor!" over and over. "I wonder who he is." is his response. He experiences this problem several more times in later incarnations. In The 96 Telemovie, it's a crucial element of the plot. If the Doctor doesn't remember in time who he is, the Earth will be destroyed. It also serves as a convenient way to re-introduce the show's premise to a new audience.

It should be noted that, on some occasions, he has a different memory problem. In some cases, his memories get scrambled a bit rather than completely lost. The newly-formed Fourth Doctor does a strange summary of the Third Doctor's last season during his first few bits of conversation. Five believes during certain moments of Castrovalva that Vicki and K9 are still around. And Doctor Six keeps calling Peri by different names during Attack of the Cybermen.

Even more interesting to note is that there are instances where the Doctor has experienced memory loss and, because it happens so frequently, he blames his amnesia on regeneration. When, in truth, something else caused it. The Rani actually injects him with a chemical that affects his memory in Time and the Rani, knowing that he'll just think he's experiencing a regeneration side effect. We can also assume that the Ninth Doctor blames regeneration amnesia for why he probably doesn't have a very clear memory of what he did with the Moment during the Time War. In truth, he can't recall what happened because he had a multi-incarnation experience and the timelines became too tangled for him to retain things.


PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS

While there aren't a whole lot of common symptoms in the physical spectrum - they do tend to happen with far greater frequency. We see a slightly greater variance in psychological drawbacks to the process but they don't happen quite as often as the physical stuff.

Erratic Behavior
This is the most common of the psychological issues. K'anpo Ripoche (or Cho-Je or just The Mentor) flat-out warns Sarah Jane and the Brigadier that the Doctor will be acting just a bit weird after he regenerates. That the turbulence of the whole process can make the Doctor behave oddly for a while. The way he chooses some completely inappropriate new outfits for his latest incarnation is a great example of this. Someone has to be barking mad to think running around on 20th Century Earth as a Viking or a court jester is a good idea. But, because he's fresh from the regeneration, it makes sense to him.

We can see this happen a bit with Doctors Two and Seven, too. In truth, of course, it's the lead actor playing up the comedy a little too hard before settling into the role. But we can stretch things a bit and say it's the regeneration getting them to behave erratically.

In the New Series, Twelve is definitely acting strange for a while when he's first created. His erratic behavior may even let him off the hook for, pretty much, murdering a cyborg (unless he jumped - but I doubt it!). I even get the impression that Nine was suffering a bit from this in Rose and during some of End of the World. Up until Jabe expresses her condolences and triggers a deep sadness in him, the Doctor seems a bit "goofier" than he acts for the rest of the series. I'll be the first to admit, this particular observation is highly subjective. But that's how it appears to me. Again, if this is the case, it has more to do with Eccleston finding the character. But it's also a fun way to justify the whole thing!

Identity Crisis
This is one we see from time-to-time. More often in New Who than Classic.

The most prominent example of it was in The Christmas Invasion. The Doctor brings the whole confrontation with the Sycorax Leader to a grinding halt to agonize over the fact that he has no idea what he's going to be like, now. He wanders about quite madly in his bathrobe describing character attributes that he may or may not have. Complaining about the uncertainty of it all. After a moment, he gives his head a shake and gets back to saving the world!

Thirteen delivers that almost haunting monologue describing how difficult it is to latch on to a new personality. Again, it seems like a legitimate moment where she needs to stop and try to figure out who she might be. It almost seems to paralyze her for a bit before she can get on with dealing with a dangerous alien that has come to Earth.

We do see lesser examples of this in Classic Who. That moment in Time and the Rani where the Doctor declares: "Perhaps this is my new personality: sulky and bad-tempered! You don't understand regeneration, Mel. It's a lottery - and I've drawn the short plank!". It is a  far swifter instance of this whole problem. His identity crisis on this occasion seems very short-lived - but it's still affects him for a moment.

Legitimately Abusive Behavior
In some ways, it's erratic behavior taken to an ultimate extreme. But it deserves its own category. There are some much deeper consequences when it occurs. People just find the Doctor silly when he's erratic - but things get far more tense when this symptom manifests.

The clearest example of this is with Six, of course. Many like to site the strangulation scene with Peri in Twin Dilemma as being the greatest example of this. Forgetting that he makes a similar attack on Azmael a few episodes later. What we are seeing in these instances is the regeneration driving the Doctor so mad that he is acting completely out of character. Doing things he would never do. His extreme panic attack in the service tunnels of Titan Three is actually another incident of this nature. It's been stated several times over the years that he is never cruel or cowardly - but he becomes ridiculously fearful when the Jocundans start pointing guns at him.

There are some lesser examples of this in a few other incarnations. Twelve gets pretty verbally abusive during Deep Breath. He harasses the hell out of that poor hobo. His pudding brain accusations also seem extra venomous (this does become a term he uses in a later story or two but he seems less harsh about it, then). And, again, there's that cyborg he may or may not have murdered.

Even Seven gets just a bit too surly with the Rani (who he believes to be Mel, at the time) as they try to fix the damage she's done to her latest invention.

These all seem like instances where the regeneration is causing the Doctor to be abusive.

Flashbacks
This one also bears similarities to another symptom but merits a separate classification. Rather than struggling with his/her identity, the Doctor is reverting to an old one.

The clearest example is in Castrovalva, of course. Peter Davison's impressions of previous Doctors is near-famous, these days. But it's important to note that, as he goes through them, he breaks away from time-to-time and makes panicked declarations to the nature of: "The regeneration is failing!". It's almost like trying to revert to a previous incarnation might be a sort of default setting when the current regeneration did too much damage to the psyche.

We see a more watered-down version of this as the Seventh Doctor makes his costume choices in Time and the Rani. Again, he might be having trouble with asserting his new personality so he starts intentionally picking outfits other incarnations wore.

While I labeled the Doctor's scrambled memories as being physical, there might be a psychological implication to this problem, too. Six calling Peri by all those wrong names or Four summarizing Season Eleven might also represent the slight desire to go back to a more stable time in his lives. Again, I will admit this is fairly subjective. But, one must admit, it's an interesting concept...




And there we have a fairly comprehensive list of the various symptoms the Doctor has experienced after regenerating. As you can see, the process can take a heavy toll. 

I'm going to write a second part to this essay. But we're switching from ANALYTICAL to FIXING CONTINUITY GLITCHES to accomplish this. There is something about the Doctor's regenerations that doesn't seem to quite line up with how we've seen other Time Lords regenerate. We're going to try to work out why that inconsistency happens. 

Here's another essay I wrote on regeneration. Just in case you're as fascinated with it as I am: 
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/08/analytical-weird-regenerations-it.html