I have been sick this week. Nothing major, (started as a cough, but now in my third day of missing work I of course am beginning to wonder if I’ve contracted Captain Tripps) but it’s laid me low. I cant help but think of the times the Doctor felt a little down and out. Most of those came as the result of a wonky regeneration, (I wonder if the Time Lords allow for sick days? “Sorry Lord Chancellor, I simply cant come in today, I’ve just regenerated and gone insane and tried to kill my companion.” Surely that falls under FMLA or something?)
Regenerations can be simple (Hartnell to Troughton) or nightmarish (Davidson to Colin Baker). As established in Peter Davidson’s debut Castrovalva, the TARDIS was equipped with a Zero Room, which is supposed to aid in keeping the Time Lord sane during the process, (but of course, plot demands caused the ejection of the Zero Room in that story). If only he’d had it for his next regeneration in “The Twin Delima” he might not have throttled Peri. The TARDIS is also equipped with a sick bay, (“The Invasion Of Time”) though we’ve never seen the Doctor use it. The ninth regeneration into David Tennant kept him in a coma for the better part of a day (cured by a cup of tea). Where as most recently, the regeneration seemed to do little to Matt Smith other than cause some interesting food cravings.
Cravings, memory loss, schizophrenia, mood swings. These almost sound more like the earthly symptoms of PMS than cellular regeneration.
At any rate, as I lie here in bed sipping my tea and hoping this damned cough will leave me, I cant help but hope for a regeneration. Maybe I’ll come back as a Ginger…
