Former “Doctor Who” producer Russell T. Davies says that he knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote an episode of “The Sarah Jane Adventures” that seemed make everyone’s favorite Time Lord immortal.
Davies wrote the two-part “The Death of the Doctor” that seemingly has done away with the concept that the Doctor can only regenerate 12 times (for 13 total lives).
“I was hooting [when I wrote that],” he admitted. “I could not resist. It’ll never stick, though. That 13 lives [rule] is stuck in people’s heads.”
Davies went on to say that he doesn’t think his change will necessarily “stick” and then went on to say that during the original run the series wasn’t exactly huge on continuity to begin with.
He expressed confusion as to how the regeneration limit had become “deeply ingrained in the public consciousness”.
“There’s a fascinating academic study to be made out of how some facts stick and some don’t,” he claimed. “Jon Pertwee’s Doctor could say he was thousands of years old, and no-one listens to that, and yet someone once says he’s only got thirteen lives, and it becomes lore.”
So that means there is some hope for the original limit of 13 lives to not become part of the official canon. After all, it was only mentioned on a spin-off and not the actual series itself.
The episode "The Five Doctors" states the regeneration limit.
“Jon Pertwee’s Doctor could say he was thousands of years old, and no-one listens to that, and yet someone once says he’s only got thirteen lives, and it becomes lore.”
It was said more than one. I recall The Five Doctors and another Davison episode where they needed to kill the doctor 6 times which would put him past his 13. There were others that do not come to mind as well.
Also, the other difference is that the 12 regenerations were major plot points of the episodes that mentioned it unlike when Jon said he was a thousand years old.
Yeah, I think because it was stated as fact in several stories by several Doctors, that there was a limit to the regeneration, puts it higher on the list of "canon-fodder."
It obviously was picked up by show-runners to as a constant unlike the age. (Besides, maybe the 3rd Dr. was talking Gallifreyan years. LOL)
Davies has already laid the groundwork in "Sound of Drums" and "End of Time" for a complete dismissal of the regeneration limit. Clearly the Time Lords can fudge it, because they brought back the Master. There was a war on, and in a war, you take every advantage you can get. Rassilon was in charge and a LOT off his rocker. It's entirely feasible that as a wartime measure, he lifted the regeneration limit (that he, assuming it's the original Rassilon, put down in the first place) so that Time Lord soldiers would be able to just keep on regenerating, and therefore keep on fighting.
I've always HATED the 12 limit. The second doctor stated that time lords could live forever barring accidents, and I liked that. It kept the drama up (he could still have that fatal accident) and i by-passed all this current, silly, drama.
I for one wouldn't want to see an end to my favorite show just because actor number 13 decides he's had enough
I think the 13 lives rule is pretty much established. It's just part of Doctor Who lore. There are millions of ways to get around it when the time comes. I would much rather see some creative means into more regenerations than just saying it wasn't true to begin with.
That rule couldn't been a rule made and enforced by the other Time Lords. Now that they're gone, there's noone to enforce it.
The limit is stated numerous times, not just in the Five Doctors. It's also cited in Mawdryn Undead when the Doctor is going to be forced to give up his remaining lives to cure Mawydryn and his crew and save Tegan and Nyssa. At one point, the Doctor says that should he help cure Mawdryn and company he will no longer be a Time Lord since he's run out of regenerations.
Again, the Master has found ways around it--but at least it was done creatively within the series. Unlike this way which is just Davies saying "I don't like the rule so I'll pretend it doesn't exist."
It's pretty much the way Davies ran the show...if you liked what he did, you were fine. If you didn't, well, then forget about you.
If memory serves, the regeneration limit was also spelled out in "The Deadly Assassin."
RTD clearly doesn't know his Dr. Who lore as much as he would like to say he does.