Regeneration

Let's talk about Doctor Who some more.  The whole bit where the doctor regenerates instead of dying is clearly brilliant for the show.  I mean, otherwise it would have been a four season show back in the sixties and that would have been the end of it.  So that's fine.

Sometimes, though, I have a little trouble with this.  The problem is that he is a different person after the regeneration.  Yes, I know that's the point.  It's just a little hard for me to wrap my head around it.  Having a different body is okay, it's the personality changes that make it a little difficult to believe.  I know that all characters, or all good characters, have changes in personality over time, which is what we call character development, and is generally a good thing.

It’s just weird that it happens all at once.  I was reading a thread in a forum the other day where people were discussing the regeneration of nine into ten and the ways they interacted with Rose.  Someone had remarked that it was as though the closer he got to her (and Jackie and Mickey), the more he wanted not to hurt them, and so when he regenerated he became “less straightforward,” and I guess this sort of made sense. 

I don't know.  It just weirds me out a bit.  I spent the first few episodes of season two going “can I imagine Christopher Eccleston saying that line?” every time the Doctor opened his mouth.  This helped me get over it somewhat, although it did distract a bit from the episode.