TIME FOR SOME UPDATES
Over the years, I have composed quite a few BOOK OF LISTS entries. When I first started writing this blog, it was the only style of essay that I wrote that was purely an opinion piece. It ended up giving us a nice break from the more formal analysis I was doing in the rest of my content.
These days, I write a few more types of entries that are "opinion-centric". BOOK OF LISTS essays, however, still seem to be a favorite for the readers. You seem to enjoy my ranking systems and learning the reasons why I have the preferences I have. Most popular are the BOOK OF LISTS entries that I create in December. I tend to tackle something big during that time of year. Like my Top Ten Who Stories or Doctors - From Worst to Best. These are my tastes regarding some of the major aspects of the show. They seem to attract a lot more attention than a list of preferences that I release during other months.
Regardless of whether these were end-of-the-year countdowns or just mid-year rants, quite some time has passed since certain BOOK OF LISTS were compiled. Which means, quite naturally, that more of the show has been made since these entries were posted. Some of the developments that have occurred in the show have an effect on the ranking systems I've created. For instance: a few years ago, I listed my preferences for all the different incarnations of the Master. At the time, Missy was the most current incarnation. Since then, of course, Sacha Dhawan has taken over the role. Some of you may be actually wondering: where might this new incarnation fit in my preferences?
For this last month of the year, I'm going to make some updates to an assortment of my BOOK OF LISTS entries. Some will pertain to larger issues that were covered in end-of-year countdowns. Others might not be quite so grandiose but will, hopefully, still hold your interest. The final update of the year will probably be the one that gets the most attention. I will reveal where Jodie Whitaker's Doctor stands in my Doctors - From Worst to Best series.
As we build up to that moment, however, I will try to offer some other updates that should pique your curiosity.
RANKING THE REGENERATIONS
This one goes all the way back to my very first BOOK OF LISTS essay. I went to the trouble of figuring out exactly how much I liked each of the Doctor's regenerations and put them in an order of some sort. It was quite the lengthy entry, but you still may want to read it (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-book-of-lists-ranking-regenarations.html). However, for the sake of expediency, I will list my order of preference here:
To be clear, the order is from worst to best:
Sixth to Seventh
Tenth to Tenth
Third to Fourth
Tenth to Eleventh
Seventh to Eighth
First to Second
War to Ninth
Ninth to Tenth
Second to Third
Eleventh to Twelfth
Eighth to War
Fifth to Sixth
Fourth to Fifth
There's probably a less-contrived way to present that list, of course. Instead of "Sixth to Seventh", for instance, I could have just said: "the sixth regeneration". But I think this makes it super clear which regeneration I'm talking about. And, things could have become really confusing when we get to some of the regnerations that occur in the New Series. The War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor really turn that regeneration count murky!
So, if you've taken a good look at things, you'll see that the list was created when Eleven turned into Twelve. One more regeneration has happened since this was written: Twelve to Thirteen. We're going to determine where this latest regeneration fits in the rankings.
MY WEIRD TASTES IN REGENERATION
Just in case you don't go to the trouble of reading the original essay, I will re-state an important note that I make in it. When some people determine their liking of a regeneration, they look purely at the actual sequence, itself. That final moment where the Doctor accepts that the current incarnation is done and the regeneration process is triggered. They think only, for instance, of that bit in the console room where Ten mutters: "I don't want to go." and then lets the regeneration energy rip.
Others consider the entire final story of a Doctor as part of their determining process. They look at the whole plot and themes that lead up to that fateful sequence. In this instance, a fan considers all of The End of Time - Part One and Two rather than just the final moment where Ten gets all weepy in the console room.
And then there's me. I'm not sure anyone else in fandom rates regenerations quite the way I do. I actually take into consideration the recovery period after the process occurs. So when I look at, say, the Tenth Doctor's transformation into the Eleventh, I also watch Eleven's first story. So I include End of Time - Part One and Two and The Eleventh Hour in my decision-making process. I know that's kinda weird but I never said I was normal!
With this in mind, then, we have quite the epic regeneration to place into this list. One that spans an entire five episodes. World Enough and Time opens with the Doctor emerging from the TARDIS in a snowy landscape and appearing to trigger a regeneration. That, to me, means this episode is part of his swansong. The rest of the episode is, essentially, the backstory that will take us to that moment. The Doctor Falls continues to lead us into that scene. A plot twist is then introduced in the final fleeting seconds of that episode that takes us to Twice Upon a Time. Here, the regeneration "properly" occurs. Twelve proclaims: "Doctor, I let you go." and then turns into Thirteen.
But then we have to factor in my weird tastes. For me, the recovery period afterwards is as important as the events leading up to the regeneration. This definitely includes The Woman Who Fell to Earth, of course. A good chunk of the adventure's subplot is this new Doctor trying to find herself after her transformation. But, if we want to get super-pedantic, Woman Who Fell to Earth ends on a cliffhanger. So, really, this does constitute a bit of a two-parter. The Ghost Monument should be included in the equation.
By my standards, at least.
MY ACTUAL FEELINGS ON THE REGENERATION
Part of what I did in my original Ranking the Regenerations post was to include a brief summation of how I felt about the stories that framed each regeneration sequence. Both before and after the process occurred. As I revealed, for instance, that my all-time favorite regeneration was from Fourth to Fifth, I also gave a brief review of both Logopolis and Castrovalva. I discussed all the amazing strongpoints that these two tales contain that cause this particular regeneration to be what I consider the best.
This has always been an important aspect of any BOOK OF LISTS essay that I write. If you go back to that earlier section in this entry where I just list my order of preference, you can see it's nothing particularly exciting to look at. But a detailed review of all the episodes surrounding each regeneration makes for far more interesting reading.
So, before I reveal where Twelve to Thirteen fits in my scheme of things, let's break down all the qualities and faults of the stories that are built around the actual event. As mentioned already, this is a pretty epic regeneration that covers quite a few episodes. So I will allow my review to go a little longer than normal.
THE REVIEW
This is one of those regenerations that has a lot more riding on it than usual. It's a bit like War Games to Spearhead In Space. Or End of Time to Eleventh Hour. Occasionally, a very specific change is occurring behind-the-scenes as the regeneration happens. In this instance, of course, we're changing Head Writers. Moffat is surrendering the reigns to Chibnall.
Moffat goes out in an unabashed fanwank. He does a Cyberman Origins Story, re-unites two incarnations of the Master and then brings together two Doctors to regenerate at the same time. This is the sort of stuff that hardcore fans like myself dream of. I'm not sure, however, if this caused quite a bit of alienation for more casual viewers. But, in some ways, I don't really care. Mondasian Cybermen, the Simm Master and Missy working together and the triumphant return of David Bradley as the First Doctor are all beautiful things for someone like me to behold.
Fortunately, this isn't just a bunch of fan service without any real actual substance to it. World Enough and Time is a particularly impressive episode that really sets up a gorgeous foundation. While neither The Doctor Falls or Twice Upon a Time are quite as good, they still maintain very high quality. I love how Twice is a uniquely villain-less episode. And that moment in Doctor Falls where he is setting off explosions and mentioning all the different occasions where he's beaten the Cybermen will be indelibly stamped upon my memory as being one of the most ultra-cool sequences of the show.
I also really enjoy the slightly meta-textual stuff that goes on as the Doctor appears to be reaching his end. How, at the conclusion of Doctor Falls, he's trying to choose a final line before he goes by re-stating dialogue his predecessors have used. Or the giant monologue he delivers in his true final moments. I particularly adored how he goes just a little bit surreal as he talks about how certain children know his true name. This all does a gorgeous job of cementing the end of an era. Even if it might be just a little bit too much on the self-referential side.
A huge tonal shift then happens as we move on to Doctor Thirteen. Some changes are more cosmetic. Like a whole new title sequence and theme song (gotta love that bass-drop!). Some run much deeper. Like having three companions for the first time in forever.
I actually think the most significant change was the running time for episodes. This, to me, represents the first time that a New Who episode is truly allowed to breathe. Yes, multi-part stories in the New Series compensate for more character and theme development. But now, a single episode can do this because they last a whole hour.
I know there have been lots of complaints about this latest iteration of the show. But I have no real problem with any of it. In fact, I'm quite fond of a lot of the choices Chibnall has made. Which means, of course, that I found both Woman Who Fell to Earth and Ghost Monument to be very solid episodes. Yes, they are very different from what has come before. That does make it a bit of a tricky adjustment. But I really do feel that Thirteen is off to a great start in Woman Who Fell to Earth. The high jump, for instance, from one crane to the other is quite exhilarating. And the monologue she delivers about forming her new personality after a regeneration is well-written and offers us some very interesting insights into the character.
Ghost Monument does a great job of continuing the momentum as the TARDIS fam get swept up in a sort of futuristic "Great Race" event. We also get our first tease of the Timeless Child arc that will become so significant in the next season. That final scene where the first female Doctor beholds the new TARDIS interior and, for once, likes the re-decoration is quite magical. Again, something significant is cemented, here. The Thirteenth Doctor has well-and-truly arrived. Let the adventure begin!
WHERE DOES IT PLACE?
As you can see, I have a lot of very positive feelings about this regeneration. I particularly like that it has such an epic quality to it. They give Capaldi a good long time to properly bow out. And the whole era, in general, ends on a very high note. And then I really love how Whitaker steps into the role. I also think that the radical changes to the format take the show in a great new direction. This means that, more than likely, this regeneration is going to make it very high on the list.
And it does.
Twelfth to Thirteenth is so strong of a regeneration that it enters into the upper echelon. It can't quite touch my Top Two. And I'm still just a little bit too much in love with that oh-so-brief Paul McGann regeneration. But, after that, it fits in just fine. While Eleventh to Twelfth still stands as a great regeneration, I do like Twelfth to Thirteenth that little bit better. Which means, of course, that this is my fourth favorite regeneration.
Just to be clear, I'll list my top five:
Eleventh to Twelfth
Twelfth to Thirteenth
Eighth to War
Fifth to Sixth
Fourth to Fifth
The rest of this list, of course, remains unaffected.
If we see any major trend, here, it's that the show seems to be doing a better and better job at creating really good regeneration sequences. The two most recent have made it into the Top Five. And, if we really want to get technical, Eighth to War was a regeneration filmed shortly before these two. Even though, chronologically speaking, it occurs much earlier in the Doctor's lives. So there's a lot to be said for how the show has been producing regenerations, of late. According to me, at least, they seem to be getting it right.
It's just gonna be really tough for anyone to ever take down those Top Two, though. They really are amazing pieces of work. I'm not sure they can ever be beaten.
Well, that's my first BOOK OF LISTS UPDATE of the month. It's taken quite a bit of time for me to finally sit down and write this. I really should have been on this sooner. Particularly since I am back in Lockdown and really don't have much to do!
I do have, at least, three more BOOK OF LISTS that I want to tackle before the month ends. So I'll be back in here sooner with more things to rant about. Hope you enjoy all the updates....
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