‘Doctor Who': All 12 Regenerations Ranked, From William Hartnell to Matt Smith (Videos)
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor in “The End of Time”: Matt Smith‘s tenure as the Doctor got off to a rocky start thanks to David Tennant ending his run as one of the most popular Doctors ever by infamously wailing “I don’t want to go!” Tennant’s last “Who” tale consisted of the Doctor treating regeneration like permanent death, only to giddily hop around once he transformed into the Eleventh Doctor.
Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor in “Time and the Rani”: Unlike the other Doctors, Colin Baker unceremoniously left “Who” in between seasons, forcing an impromptu regeneration in 1987 that required Sylvester McCoy to wear a wig imitating Baker’s curly locks for the regeneration scene.
The maligned attempt by Fox to resurrect “Doctor Who” in the 90s featured McCoy dying a gruesome death in an emergency room before undergoing a regeneration into Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor that featured grisly sound effects.
Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor in “The War Games”: In return for helping save some enslaved human soldiers, the Doctor turns himself in to his fellow Time Lords to be tried for stealing the TARDIS he uses to travel around time and space.
Though the effects showing the Doctor’s transformation into his boyish fifth incarnation look weird by today’s standards, this episode did give Baker some beautiful last words: “It is the end…but the moment has been prepared for.”
John Hurt as the War Doctor in “The Day of the Doctor”: The late, great John Hurt left a short but unforgettable mark on “Doctor Who” history in the series’ 50th anniversary special, where he played a Doctor who did such unspeakable things that later incarnations considered him unworthy of his name.
With Murray Gold’s beautiful score in the background, The Eleventh Doctor connects regeneration to the human experience while saying goodbye to both Clara and the fans, all before Amy Pond returns to give her Raggedy Man one last goodbye.