Regeneration Impossible

"Perhaps I don't have to be alone anymore."

Writer: Alfie Shaw

Format: Audio

Released: May 2020

Series: Short Trips 10.05

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor is in his TARDIS atop a cloud above Victorian London. He's retired, no longer interfering in the affairs of others. There's nothing that could make him help anyone else. Except, perhaps, the lure of another Time Lord...

The Doctor is locked in a mortuary in Victorian London, dying. He can't escape and doesn't know how to keep himself alive. Just when he thinks it can't get any worse, he finds himself locked in with the one person he hates most in the entire universe.

Himself.

Verdict

Regeneration Impossible was a fantastic little Short Trips audio! This has been one that I have been excited about for a long time and it definitely didn't let me down. I am not surprised in the slightest to find that this is Big Finish's best-selling Short Trips adventure as the prospect of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors meeting is just magnificent. Whilst neither of Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi appear, Jacob Dudman does an incredible job with the narration and the fact that it is performed as a drama rather than from the third person is just testament to the talents of the man. He did a stellar job. Placing the story prior to the events of The Snowmen for the Eleventh Doctor and when he was 'retired' worked well and it's fun to get more insight into what went on his life at that point. He rejects a call to help from Vastra and the Paternoster Gang, but is soon lured in by the presence of both artron and regeneration energy in Victorian London. He thinks there's another Time Lord for him to be around and be rid of his loneliness. Of course, that didn't turn out to be the case and he was introduced to a future self he didn't know was possible. That initial meeting was terrific and I thought the characterisation of both incarnations of the Doctor was excellent. The Twelfth Doctor recalling sentiments of Donna in The Fires of Pompeii and how you just had to save someone was really nice and similar sentiments to what we saw with his debut in Deep Breath. The Eleventh Doctor not believing he had any future regenerations was fun to play with and I also loved the reference to The Movie with him mentioning that you only regenerate once in a mortuary! The Twelfth Doctor making contact with his predecessor was really good and it was great for him to show his previous self that Gallifrey was saved, whilst also showing a moment of his regeneration. It still seems he remembers when the Doctor was him. Of course, this story was a great deal more than just a meeting between two incarnations of the Doctor. There was a scheme at work from a Vampire which involved a Time Lord assassination box and the desire to drain regeneration energy. That was quite unexpected to be honest but it worked well. The idea of the Twelfth Doctor continuously regenerating and a corpse taking the energy and turning into faces of his students was really interesting. The threatening voice on the phone also having the voice of the Twelfth Doctor just added to the intrigue. It was most definitely the Twelfth Doctor's death trap. Except that the presence of the Eleventh Doctor provided a paradox. Gregory Chapman, the first one killed of heart failure, was the form taken by the Vampire and he was able to take advantage of the Twelfth Doctor's staying at St Luke's University. He was a Time Lord with remaining regenerations and a working TARDIS that stayed in one point and place in time. He was a sitting Time Lord target. I liked that a lot and I also enjoyed how the Eleventh Doctor shone in the face of the Vampire. Despite the threat of him wanting the Time Lord to know that no matter how he gained the extra regenerations, he wanted him to know that everything led to this point and death. Except, the Doctor does his thinking while his enemy was talking and he led him straight into the solution with ease. The Doctor had seen himself die before which was a brilliant reference to The Impossible Astronaut, and he lured Gregory in to plug himself in to the regeneration charging machine and give those regeneration back to his future self. It all worked out quite nicely in the end and the effects on the Eleventh Doctor were good to provide a reason as to how the Twelfth had no memories of these events. I loved that he got to go into the TARDIS during an earlier version and confirm that she wouldn't be stagnant and still for too much longer. It would all be over by Christmas. Overall, a brilliant audio!

Rating: 9/10