One of many comparatively simple elements of Physician Who lore is the linear development of how the present’s essential character adjustments over time. Nevertheless, even that has turn out to be extra difficult in recent times. After former showrunner Chris Chibnall launched a string of Medical doctors from earlier than William Hartnell’s unique model from 1963, Russell T Davies then made this much more advanced by inventing the idea of bi-generation in 2023’s “The Giggle.” Whereas recording a commentary for the ultimate episode of Physician Who‘s sixtieth anniversary trilogy, Davies defined what he noticed as a hidden quirk of the Physician splitting in two, and his weird concept deepens the thriller even additional of what was as soon as a comparatively straightforward timeline to comply with.
The idea of regeneration was added to Physician Who canon when Hartnell stepped apart because the Physician, and the BBC needed to maintain the present going. From there, many different actors have come and gone from the sought-after function, that means there have been many sequences that present the Physician’s transition between faces. That stated, there have been a number of events the place the present reveals there’s extra to the Physician’s string of regenerations than meets the attention, and that secret variations of the character might be slotted in at totally different factors.
One of the best instance of a time when this labored nicely was when Steven Moffat revealed a brand new model of the Physician who had secretly existed between Paul McGann’s Eighth and Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth. John Harm’s Struggle Physician was an enormous a part of Physician Who‘s fiftieth anniversary particular in 2013, “The Day of the Physician,” and the plot holes that might have resulted from such a radical twist have been expertly patched. A decade earlier than “The Day of the Physician,” one other iteration of the Time Lord popped up, and lots of Whovians should still be unaware he even exists. Whereas this 2003 addition to the Physician’s timeline stopped making sense when Davies rebooted the present in 2025, the showrunner’s feedback about bi-generation in “The Giggle” might have now resolved a wild paradox.
Richard E. Grant Was the Authentic Ninth Physician When ‘Scream of the Shalka’ Premiered
Physician Who managed to discover a cool option to have a good time the present’s fortieth anniversary, regardless of not being on the air on the time. An animated miniseries was launched on the BBC’s web site in 2003, that includes a narrative initially supposed to be a part of the principle canon. Richard E. Grant voiced the character who was initially supposed to be the Ninth Physician in a six-episode journey. Nevertheless, the mission was usually deemed retconned when Christopher Eccleston debuted because the Ninth Physician in 2005, upon the present’s return. This relegated the Shalka Physician to the realm of non-canon Physician Who tales, and Grant’s model of the Time Lord grew to become little greater than a enjoyable warm-up for the present’s true comeback.
Then, Davies shocked everybody throughout Ncuti Gatwa’s first season because the Fifteenth Physician. In “Rogue,” Grant’s face reveals up among the many holographic faces of different actors who’ve stepped into the sneakers of Physician Who‘s essential character. It isn’t a second that is highlighted in any possible way, but it surely’s unmistakably Richard E. Grant, implying that the Shalka Physician remains to be an official a part of the character’s bigger timeline. If that’s the case, and there isn’t any purpose to imagine this is not the case, then which means there are two Ninth Medical doctors: Richard E. Grant and Christopher Eccleston.
As soon as believed to have been the quick predecessor of Paul McGann’s Eighth Physician, Eccleston’s place within the timeline has now been shifted twice. The Struggle Physician technically made Eccleston’s Time Lord the Tenth iteration, and Grant strikes Eccleston alongside even additional into the Eleventh slot. Nonetheless, the numbering system has been arbitrary for some time now, and up to date traits make it greater than doable that different Medical doctors have existed between the extra famend ones. So, it might solely be complicated to strip Eccleston’s Physician of his title as 9, however it could actually’t be ignored that the designation most likely belongs simply as a lot to the iteration from Scream of the Shalka.
RTD’s Bi-Technology Principle Supplies the Finest Clarification for Why There Are 2 Ninth Medical doctors
On the commentary monitor for “The Giggle,” the episode that noticed David Tennant’s Fourteenth Physician bi-generate to spawn Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth, Davies defined that, in his opinion, each model of the Physician bi-generated directly when it occurred within the 2023 particular. In different phrases, whereas it may not have occurred initially, every Physician’s regeneration sequence is now retroactively a bi-generation sequence, permitting each injured model of the Physician to heal whereas creating a brand new and separate model on the identical time. The brand new iteration would then go off to have their very own adventures, simply as Fifteen did when he and Fourteen parted methods on the finish of “The Giggle.”
Assuming that Davies’ concept is appropriate, and focusing particularly on the place within the timeline the Shalka Physician would present up, it might make sense if both the Eighth Physician’s bi-generation sequence, or presumably the Struggle Physician’s, would open the door for the place Grant’s model of the Time Lord would enter the fray. If the Shalka Physician emerged from both Eight or Struggle, he would have a reputable declare to being the Ninth Physician, and so his unique designation would make sense. Then, when the Struggle Physician went on to regenerate historically, that is the place Eccleston’s Ninth Physician would come into existence. It is a advanced chain of prospects to think about, however an attention-grabbing one.
RTD’s Bi-Technology Principle Raises Extra Questions Than Solutions
As a one-off quirk, bi-generation is an intriguing Physician Who twist. The truth that even the Physician appears confused by the occasion proves how unlikely it was to ever occur. If it had been contained to an remoted incidence, it might have been an excellent higher second, however after the Rani bi-generated in Gatwa’s second season, issues stopped being fairly so self-contained and distinctive. Now, it virtually appears as if any Time Lord may bi-generate any time close to the top of their life, which removes a number of the peril that is implied by the suggestion {that a} model of the Physician is about to “die.”
Though Davies’ view on how bi-generation impacts a Time Lord’s complete chain of faces is definitely a compelling one, formally integrating that concept into the principle canon would open up far too many plot holes, with doubtlessly infinite Medical doctors unaccounted for. It looks as if an incredible addition on paper, however in apply, it might shortly spiral uncontrolled. As an alternative, it is higher to depart the thriller of the Shalka Physician untouched, avoiding the potential harm to the timeline of Physician Who‘s alien protagonist.
- Launch Date
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Might 11, 2024
- Community
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BBC One
- Administrators
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Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams
- Writers
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Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson
- Franchise(s)
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Physician Who / Whoniverse
