The season finale of what Disney+ is insistently calling the second season of Doctor Who has shown the regeneration of the 15th Doctor into his new form, revealed to be played by Billie Piper. The long remaining fan of the series who still watched was treated to the surprise when in a brilliant flash of gold light, the 9th Doctor’s companion, Rose Tyler, was standing in his place.
Then, as the credits role, Ncuti Gatwa is credited as “The Doctor”, Jodie Whitaker is credited as “The Doctor”, Billie Piper though is only credited as “And Introducing.”
The credits for Doctor Who which do not introduce Billie Piper as The Doctor – Disney+
The fan of Disney Who has already updated the Doctor Who wiki at fandom.com to include a 16th doctor, but… that may be a little premature.
Pop culture critics who were also watching the season finally have spotted that in the BBC’s write-up of the regeneration they never actually say that the 16th Doctor is Rose Tyler, or even that the 16th Doctor looks like Rose Tyler.
Show runner Russell T. Davies said “Billie once changed the whole of television, back in 2005, and now she’s done it again!” While he didn’t expand on how she changed the whole of television, he did continue. “It’s an honour and a hoot to welcome her back to the TARDIS, but quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told. After 62 years, the Doctor’s adventures are only just beginning!”
Russell T. Davies at San Diego Comic-Con via Doctor Who YouTube
Billie Piper hasn’t even made the claim that she’s the 16th Doctor, instead saying, “to be given the opportunity to step back on that TARDIS one more time was just something I couldn’t refuse, but who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Fans of Doctor Who might have noticed that regenerations have become sanitized and sensationalized since Disney has been involved with things. Since season 4 (series 4 if you are a Brit) of the original show, regenerations were triggered the end of The Doctor’s current incarnation.
Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor in Doctor Who (2024), BBC
The cause of those endings were as follows:
- 1st Doctor – Exhaustion from old age
- 2nd Doctor – Forced to regenerate as a punishment by the Time Lords.
- 3rd Doctor – Radiation poisoning, plus he was bleeding a lot
- 4th Doctor – Sudden stop after a long fall
- 5th Doctor – Illness
- 6th Doctor – In universe narratives are unclear, but it was violent
- 7th Doctor – Died in surgery after being shot by an American street gang.
- 8th Doctor – Died saving a woman in space then is brought back by space witches to choose his next form.
- War Doctor – Old Age
- 9th Doctor – Degeneration at the cellular level
- 10th Doctor – Radiation poisoning
- 11th Doctor – Old Age
- 12th Doctor – Shot during an explosion while being electrocuted
- 13th Doctor – Shot by a laser.
The Controversial Doctor Who Bi-Generation between David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa – YouTube, Doctor Who
This is when The Doctor regenerated back into the 10th Doctor, who then sort of giggled and split apart and formed the 15th Doctor, but also continued to live as the 14th Doctor, who was also the 10th doctor who may or may not now be a human, but is probably also now a mortal, and all the other incarnations of The Doctor may have also retroactively survived their own regenerations and gone on to live out the rest of their lives separate from The Doctor who split off from them.
Wow…
The 15th Doctor also didn’t die strictly speaking, instead sending out a wave of regeneration energy from the TARDIS to do some timey-wimey nonsense as he stood at the door of the TARDIS and talked to the Star of Bethlehem.
Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor with the sonic screwdriver via Doctor Who on X
The remaining Star Wars fan may have some sympathy for the remaining Doctor Who fan since, with limited exceptions, violent ends no longer happen under Disney’s tenure. Instead, they both get to enjoy stunt casting and head fakes.
Do you think Billie Piper is the new Doctor Who? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Piper is just more pathetic stunt casting, like Tennant–showing that Disney’s “Doctor Who” desperately needs to be put out of its misery…
I don’t care
Me neither.
To echo a comment made on a “last of us” article, a day or two ‘a go: what a brilliant lead photo. Hilarious.
Blimey, how much cosmetic work has Billie had done?!