What’s your favourite Doctor Who regeneration of all time?

i feel like 9 sacrificing his own life for rose is quite underrated, good to see it have a high score on this list

I think Thirteen's regeneration should get mad points since she was the first one to go outside and not wreck up the flipping Tardis.

Eleven's regeneration speech was so powerful: "We all change, all through our lives, and that's good - gotta keep moving - so long as we remember all the people we used to be". It's an idea that's genuinely helped me through bad times: the version of me who experienced trauma has changed but it's okay to remember the lessons those times taught me so long as I let myself move on. The line "I'll always remember when the Doctor was me" felt like such a sincere farewell from Smith to the fans. Really lovely stuff.

Another reason why the Fifth Doctor's regen is so great: it's a delayed one. (The first delayed regen being Pertwee's.) Pay close attention to the scene when he's landing Stotz's ship. The weird swirling venetian blinds pattern (that appears when he regenerates at the end) starts to appear. But his hands reach for the bridge of his nose, he concentrates and shakes it off. He's not allowing himself to regenerate until he's saved Peri. When I first realized what he'd done, it blew my mind. Really adds to the drama.

You missed out David Tennant regenerating into David Tennant after being shot by a Dalek. This officially counted as a regeneration I believe.

I love 12’s final speach. I feel like its perfect for people in this day and age who attack others and slag one another off and are just generally nasty. “Hate is always foolish and love is always wise!” And “Always try to be nice but never fail to be kind!”

11ths Speech is still my favorite. Because it literally applies to ALL OF US. Each one of us are different people throughout our lives. Even if our faces don't actually change like his does, we grow, we evolve...we are not the same person TODAY as we were 5 years ago. And that is good! Change is GOOD. Just remember the people you were along the way, so you can learn from your past mistakes and continue to grow and evolve from them.

For me it has to be the 12th Doctors regeneration, that was an acting masterclass by Peter Capaldi, humour, pathos, determination and a great speech, truly iconic

I think Tennant coming back is going to bring a huge boost to Ncuti. I can't wait to see how Tennant is going to make the change into the 15th doctor. I think Tennant will be a similar version of himself but not the same. This will create a great launch pad for Ncuti whom I believe is just going to knock it out of the park.

I’m very surprised how low 8th’s regeneration is here! It’s my personal favorite and really kept me craving to this day for a McGann spin-off series.

The War Doctor's regeneration makes sense because he became the war doctor for a specific purpose and when that purpose was completed and he accepted that he is the doctor and not a warrior, the regeneration potion he drank started to end and he regenerated once more

Matt Smith's is definitely my favorite. He was my Doctor, I loved Eccelston and Tennant, but Smith was my Doctor, I loved his era. He has some of the best moments in the series, and his final speech is one of them. His words made it... easy to move on to Capaldi, that he was telling us it's ok, his time was done. It was bittersweet, and I look back on his era very fondly and I never feel sad that it's passed, but happy it happened. The Eleventh Hour was a great episode and Time of the Doctor is too, a brilliant start and a perfect end. I, too, will always remember when the Doctor was him.

I liked the regeneration of the War Doctor. It left the regeneration into the next doctor open for later in the same way the 8ths regeneration into the War Doctor was brought back up for something special. Perhaps I'm just hoping Eccleston some day decides to reprise the role, even briefly.

Paul McGann did not "only play the Doctor once before 2013". He's played the Doctor in over a hundred audio stories since 2000. And The Night of the Doctor was not a "web exclusive", it was originally broadcast on the BBC Red Button service, available through terrestrial TV.

Tennant is my favorite so I'm glad that's number one on the list. There was so much emotion going on that it was hard not to tear up throughout the last thirty minutes. I feel like some of that emotion will show up in the 60th anniversary episodes.

The 5th doctor regeneration is probably my favourite I love the urgency. The 13th doctor's regeneration I really liked the optimistic way she accepted it and ended on a smile.

Love the 11th doctor regeneration but I have to say Jodi’s regeneration was absolutely fantastic.Every moment of her regeneration was really so good the close up on her face while changing so good .

Something interesting about the 12th to 13th regeneration is at the very end of the regeneration, you can hear 9th/10ths theme song which might have symbolized that the 13th Doctor was going to somehow get reconnected to the 9th/10th Doctors in some way. Also, just my idea, but the reason why the Doctor regenerates back into David Tennant is because the Doctor feels as though something is still incomplete, so a second (or third) incarnation as David is necessary to complete the 10th/14th Doctors arc

The criteria seemed to change gradually through the list, true Jon Pertwee > Tom Baker may have been graphically simple but some of your later ones seemed to be judged on their final speech rather than the regen itself (of which all the reboot ones are the same anyway), Jon's final words were among the best there have been!

The Doctor Who TV movie was my first introduction to Doctor Who. Living in the US, didn’t really have access to Doctor Who, and my parents weren’t really SciFi fans. I was re-introduced to Doctor Who when David Tennant was in his first tenure. I thought that his departure was incredibly emotional. I have had trouble figuring out which was more emotional for me… Tennant’s departure or Smith’s departure. Both, even now, bring me to tears. Super happy to have Tennant back, even for a very short time.

My regeneration is the best and you know it!

Time and the Rani was extremely underwhelming even at the time, it really did look like someone had knocked it up in 5 minutes on a ZX Spectrum. Contrast to Caves of Androzani which was so memorable to my then 5 year old brother that he spent the next year regenerating at every opportunity, crawling into a corner to croak "I've changed my dear" (it was only on watching the video 20 years later we realised he'd got the line wrong)

Peter Davison's main frustration with his regeneration scene was that, there he was, acting his heart out, while he was certain that everyone at home had their eyes glued to Nicola Bryant's cleavage, right above his head. It should also be noted that once the transition to Colin Baker is completed, magically Nicola's blouse has been buttoned up.

Caves of Androzani is historically considered the best final episode and regeneration in the Classic Series. I agree and think it is the best of all final episodes and regenerations.

A big part of why I consider Tennant’s farewell to be the best is the song in the background “Vale Decem” or “Farewell Ten”. It fit the scene so perfectly. Edit: also, idk if it’s just a theory or not, but I’ve heard the Ood were singing it directly into Tennant’s mind.

Capaldi's regeneration is my favorite. It always gives me chills.

I can honestly say I did not cry when Tennant's doctor died, that ridiculously OTT ending where he met evry...single...fucking one of his companions for a tearful goodbye. Coupled with the fact that they only did a few specials that year rather thana proepr season, made me rather glad he was gone. Shame really, as before that I reallly liked him, such a shitty last year and a self-indulgent goodbye.

13s regeneration has been the best in the revival, if you ask me. No dramatics, no fan service, just her accepting her fate and enjoying a quiet moment. It felt like an actual death, which we've arguably not had since 5s regeneration decades ago

5th doctor regen easily, regenerates like a true hero, no self indulgent speeches or whining, no opera music, just a simple heroic regeneration, not to mention caves of androzani is a great story

3rd to 4th doesn't deserve to be bottom. It's a low-key scene and at the time introduced the word regeneration and was a fitting end to an amazing Doctor. I'd put 7th to 8th and 6th to 7th much lower than 3rd to 4th.

In my opinion, the Eccleston regeneration is still the best one of new who in terms of visuals. The actual morphing as the hair grows longer for example is great and I wish they took the time to go back to doing it like that instead of making it progressively more destructive

My favorite hovers between 10, 12 and lately 13. I like 13's simplicity, 12's speech and 10's acting. They are all brilliant in their own way.

THE CAVES OF ANDOZANI was the first "classic" WHO story I saw in its entirety. Thought Peri was confused...just imagine how *I* felt! Apart from that: I'd have to say that Tom Baker had the best closing line of the 20th century series and Eccleston had the best closing line (so far) in the 21st.

I'm a little nervous about Russell T Davies coming back on to the show. Obviously we owe him a lot for getting it started again and both Eccleston and Tennant were beyond fabulous. However, as the show went on, RTD had the tendency of aggrandising The Doctor beyond all bounds. Instead of being mysterious, he became mythical and basically God like. In Torchwood, where I feel RTD had more leeway, it became more obvious his lack of commitment to characterization and character development when juxtaposed with spectacle and sometimes outright melodrama. While more restrained in Doctor Who, I was beginning to tire somewhat of these tendencies in the show. For these reasons, I found the beginning of the Moffat era refreshing. That in returning, RTD chose to interject Tennant between the regeneration from the previous and the new doctor could suggest again that reliance on spectacle at the expense of both plot and character development. I've been watching the show for almost 40 years, so obviously I'm in for the ride. I'm still excited to see what new adventures the Doctor will have!

"Raggedy man... goodnight" KILLS me every single time 😭

I'm not that surprised the 10th Doctor got number one, but I am surprised that the song didn't get a mention. Vale Decem is one of my absolute favorite pieces of music in the whole of Doctor Who, and it really helps elevate the emotion of scene, with it starting as a slow soft choir, building louder as it moves closer to Tennant's final line, then the crescendo right at the moment the energy bursts forth, it's the perfect backing track for such a significant moment.

9s is so underrated. The bild up towards it is excellent and the words he says before are perfectly fitting

Davison's was the best, heroic, touching 'Adric'. Tears. For me Jodies was the worst because there was simply no stakes, if they had the ice cream earlier in the episode and her life ended with Yaz carrying her to the TARDIS as she started regenerating in her arms, now that would have been amazing. But it was just another lame duck Tenth Doctor moment where she got say her goodbyes with no sense of urgency, without looking like she was dying. The only good thing about the 10th regen episode was the change itself and the music, the rest dragged on, made worse by his yelling at Wilf. One of the worse new Who moments ever.

Ranking: 14). Six to Seven (Time & the Rani) 13). War to Nine (The Day of the Doctor) 12). Seven to Eight (The Enemy Within) 11). Eight to War (The Night of the Doctor) 10). Three to Four (Planet of the Spiders) 9). Thirteen to Fourteen? (The Power of the Doctor) 8). Ten to Eleven (The End of Time) 7). Twelve to Thirteen (Twice Upon a Time) 6). One to Two (The Tenth Planet) 5). Four to Five (Logopolis) 4). Two to Three (The War Games) 3). Nine to Ten (The Parting of the Ways) 2). Eleven to Twelve (The Time of the Doctor) 1). Five to Six (The Caves of Androzani)

I like to think that the war doctor had been holding off his regeneration and once his final mission was over he let go and just let it happen

I loved this video.. I really thought 13’s regeneration was so touching and then of course the big surprise at the end had me screaming 💙my favorite classic regeneration was five I was so sad to see him go

The best regeneration was the 12th Doctor's one.

Theres so many better Regeneration Stories than The End of Time

Love your videos. You should do a video where you talk about your top ten pieces from the doctor who soundtrack, that would be pretty cool

Paul Mcgann is an amazing doctor and no one can change my mind

What a great list showing me all over again why I love this series. Sadly the video is over, cause..... "I don't wanna go!"

It's quite sad about thirteen because her regeneration scene was really nice and the effects were beautiful but for some reason everyone ignores it for a shot of David Tennant. Feel sorry for Whittaker

Fantastic list Elle although I was under the impression that the War Doctor’s body was just spent when he regenerated. I’d like to think with the burden of the war finally lifted he was able to let go and move on. Shame about Christopher Eccleston not returning but without him returning we wouldn’t have gotten John Hurt and the timeline would be a little less messy lol.

I still have to say my favourite is the First into the Second. The TARDIS engines grow louder as the regeneration begins, suggesting that the TARDIS itself is assisting this first regeneration. And the switchover is timed just right, Hartnell slowly "glowing" into Troughton.

Since people keep shouting out Vale Decem, I wanna do the same thing for Capaldi's regeneration music. The track is called "The Shepards Boy" and is of course first heard at the end of Heaven Sent, when the Doctor breaks through the wall. It is such an amazing piece of music and fits so well with the speech! It is one of the reasons why Twelves regenaration is still my absolute favourite.

I think you nailed it! My personal favorite, however, was this most recent one into David Tenant! I actually really loved Jodie Whittaker's time as the Doctor. I know the show was controversial during this time, but I think she played the Doctor with grace and style. I hope to see more of her in future whoniverse lore. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Been watching the Doctor since I was a little kid. :)

12 & 11 were my favourites The speeches, the way they led into them and the acting were all superb Not that most of the others didn’t have good stuff to them as well, but 12 & 11 are my favourites I didn’t want them to go ( to borrow from 10, sort of)

The best regeneration is when the showrunner regenerated from Chibchib back to RTD.

Vale Decem still gets to me now even after so many years after 10’s departure. Matt Smiths departure speech was a cracker as was Peter Capaldi’s. I’m thinking forward now to the next regen and will 10(14) be happy to go this time?!

From the minute the 11th gets back onto the tardis and has that speech it was the best regeneration in my opinion from the we all change to the reunion of Amy and the 11th doctor nothing could beat that

I love the fact she said long awaited not like we been waiting since her first season probably the darkest time in who since the 90s

I love how 11's regeneration is described as "sneezing into Peter Capaldi." It's so stupid and goofy, and that is something Doctor Who is at its core.

Putting 12's regeneration so low is a crime. His speech has me tearing up every time. "Never be cruel, never be cowardly. Rmember, hate is always foolish, and love is always wise. Laugh hard, run fast, be kind. Doctor...I let you go" I just can't-

As a first generation Doctor who fan who started watching in Christopher eccleston's time I was privileged enough to watch that regeneration with no idea what was happening it was truly an amazing moment and one of the moments I treasure the most from the show

Matt Smith should have been 1 and for me it will always be mainly because of the perfect speech he delivered. It was very very very emotional and made me cry like a baby

6:11 I have to ask why was ryuki belt summoning sound used here lol

Glad to see Ecc / Doctor 9 got deserved respect here. Absolutely one of the greatest actors to ever play the role.

11th Doctor regeneration was my favorite because his speech is surprisingly quite thought provoking. We are all different people all our lives, but it's alright, as long as we remember all the people we used to be.

War's line about "Wearing a bit thin" is a reference to the First Doctor's old body wearing out.

Glad to see the 5th Doctor’s is regarded as the best classic but disappointed it wasn’t number one since the 9th and 10th are literally RTD attempts to recreate it. Sacrificing that incarnation to save a single person. 5’s the best of them since he barely knows Peri and doesn’t hesitate or whine before saving her. I honest think 10’s is bottom 3.

Happy New Year to all Whovians wherever & whenever you are.

I love everything about the 11th's regen *except* the sudden snap to Capaldi. It always makes me feel like the scene is building up all this emotion and instead of letting it all burst out during the doctor's explosion of energy, Capaldi just steps in suddenly and starts the typical new lines of the new doctor in charge. It feels like an emotional whiplash that fails to let the sadness subside before the excitement begins. Ultimately it's a masterfully done scene, but its pacing is hurt by that one transition.

I hate ranking videos but I'm beginning to love Who/Trek Culture so here I am! And I love regenerations!!! :) Thanks for defending MCGann!!! He is a great bridge between Classic and Nu Who!!! I have no issues with this ranking!!!

Don't forget that 10's regeneration also had Vale Decem in the background

10 & 11’s regeneration were my favorites & I like how Dr who handles recasting they have a legit story reason why it happens and when it happens so no one is upset when it’s announced or does happen

I will always remember twelves line „never be cruel, never be cowardly. Remember that hate is always foolish and love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind“ It is basic stuff, really… but it is such a fantastic baseline to live one’s life by.

Tom Baker to Peter Davison and Peter Davison to Colin Baker are my favourites. Good build up, decent effects for the time and I like seeing the faces of those he has interacted with during those versions of the character. Of the new series, Whittaker back to Tennant is my favourite. I'd heard spoilers, but I was still thinking- 'Are they really going to do this?' And they did. I think the Fourteenth Doctor being the same body (but different personality perhaps??) as the Tenth Doctor is a really interesting experiment. I also really like the whole build up to the Capaldi- Whittaker regeneration with Capaldi warning David Bradley about what will happen.

My favorite regeneration are the 10th and the 12th doctor

best one is 9th to 10th but im biased

Whether it’s the simplicity and quickness of the classic era, or the emotional and epic of the modern, regeneration is a concept that shouldn’t have worked but does. Keeps the show going and willing to try new things.

Agree with most, but I have to say Matt Smith version of the doctor. Please add best number two because when you see Amelia come down and say “raggedy Man“ and that brief pause where she puts her hand in his face, and says “good night” was the most heart wrenching thing I’d ever seen from Doctor Who. Yes, the 10th doctor I’d say was on the same level as that when he says “I don’t want to go” but I still believe Matt Smith’s doctor gave us all the best sendoff speech.

Also cc came in with a whimper but he really went out with a growl.

Ninth doctor gave a great goodbye speech.

The 12th's regeneration is always going to be my favourite (although i am so excited to see the 15ths regeneration) just because of the emotions, the music, the words.

I remember first seeing 9's regeneration and thinking that the spectacle was because of him absorbing the time vortex. I actually think that might be the reason for the spectacle regenerations that followed. (I mean the regeneration it self not the cause of death)

When she said "he quickly sneezes into Peter Capadli, I had to pause because thats very funny but also very true

Alright, Peter Davidson wore different shoes after regeneration because Tom Baker owned the 'pirate' boots he regenerated in and took them with him. Why the BBC costumes department couldn't find something similar, is on them. Now, with that said, why didn't David Tennant regenerate in Jodie's clothes? She regenerated into Peter's clothes, exemplified by the ring falling off of her more slender fingers. "What's up with that?" I would appreciate if my fellow commenters didn't use the 'wizard' joke from the Simpsons.

Everyone loves the line of Ten where he states 'I don't want to go...' and for sure it is emotionally engaging but Eleven's final words were all about the good of his tenure and the importance or change. He was devoid of self-pity till the very end and in this age of self obsession I love that fact about this incarnation. Capaldi later continued with this complete sense of duty towards others, especially Clara and would go through hell and back (which he basically did) to save her from anything. 'Be Kind' - does anyone need more simpler words to echo the best of the Doctor? I think not. If you are inline with popular culture then ten was always going to win this title. However, for those, maybe us older folk, love eleven for he was there for everyone else, would give up his life in an instant and only care for others. So for me eleven wins easily followed by 12 for those values of selflessness and that they were more focused on the good of change. Rather than looking backwards with sadness, they were able to look back with love and affection without the need for a self-indulgent run around. Referring to that, and I am not as strong in my opinion of it as others, but that incredibly long journey for Ten just felt too gratuitous. Very RTD. I also thought the tattslotto ticket win, however lightly brushed over was something the Doctor would not do as it is actually morally wrong. He broke a law and was thinking of monetary wealth as a key to happiness. What about those starving from lack of food. Nup not good.

10 was too sad I would say 12 and 9 I think are my favourites and I actually really liked 13’s especially going back into my favourite nostalgic doctor David Tenant 😁

I started the show with Eccleston. Had no idea what the show was about. Really liked the show. Then he regenerated to Tennant. Thought that was interesting. Really liked the idea of not having 1 actor for a main character of a show. Tennant stayed as the doctor for a very long time. Even when he regenerated, he pointed to his severed hand to stay. Then when he really had to go he said "I don't want to go". That was so emotional as this video said. Was so sad to see him go, it feels like Tennant the actor really didn't want to go. Matt Smith took over. He really grew on me quick. Loved him as the doctor. Him leaving was just as sad. Not as sad as Tennant, but still very sad to see him go. I quit the show lol. It's always sad to see a character leave a show. GOT was a big one where character leaves all the time, but something about the main character leaving makes it worse. Happy to see Tennant back. Thinking about getting back to the show and catching up on the Capaldi and Whittaker seasons.

I got the idea that the War Doctor's regeneration was brought on partly by old age but also because he let go the struggle and was able to be at peace with himself being the Doctor again.

I’m a huge 13 era apologist (largely because the whole team lacked support that previous production teams had by a mile), but dang her regeneration was just perfect. Instead of monologues, sentimental drawn-out cry-fests, she just embodies a feeling of hope. If there’s anything that era wanted to represent, it was hope and warmth. Every part of her departure just represents that beautifully, with the music, the lighting, the scripting, and the shot composition. It’s the only time i’ve watched a scene in 13’s era, and understood why they were trying to go with that aesthetic, and look. Shame it was literally the last scene 😢😭😭😭

“The Night of the Doctor” is NOT a web exclusive. It ran in a loop ALL WEEK on the BBC Red Button from Paul McGann’s birthday up until “The Day of the Doctor” aired on BBC One. Sure not a traditional channel, but nevertheless it WAS broadcast for a week on Freeview and other platforms, not just the internet.

I just had a new thought, what if Tennant came back due to something with Bad Wolf?

from what i read the reason the war doctor regenerated was i guess explained in the ep day of the doctor and it was because of old age

10 and 11 were my favs. I like 10 more than 11 because there was more of an explosion than in 11 regeneration but in 11 we got Amy. And fish fingers and custard. And of course both of their last lines were epic “I don’t want to go” and “I will always remember when the Doctor was me.” Goodbye raggedy man, goodbye bow tie The best Doctor. 😭

Im so excited for doctor who again with David Tennant comin back

"I don´t want to go" Well then buddy, guess why you are back.

Not a bad review, even if Tennant's was one of the most over the top... well... thank you for the review. I do agree on Davison's regeneration being wayyy up there.

Yup, I knew that David Tennant is the most popular doctor Who and yes, I cried too when he was leaving. I'm still binging on the 12th doctor.

Wow, I did NOT expect this order! But I like it! It's not my preferred order, but that hardly matters! Well done!!

My favourites are 11 to 12 & 5 to 6 but 4 to 5 has some of the best music.

From Smith to Capaldi) second place is from Tennant to Smith

David Tennant is my favourite doctor so his regeneration, for me, is obviously number 1. However my top four (not in any order) other than Tennant are Eccleston, it was not dragged out, really well paced and I thought it was just an incredible moment. Davison, I have always loved his regeneration scene, I think it was so well done and brilliantly acted Matt Smith, whilst he was not one of my favourites I think his final moments as the doctor were really good and well written. And Troughton, when I watched his regeneration for the first time I enjoyed every moment of it, again I thought the acting from Troughton was really good, giving lots of emotions all at once.