Day 590: Mawdryn Undead Part 3

Regeneration is part of the core of the structure of Doctor Who. It ensures the longevity of the programme, allowing for it to change and adapt as time marches on. In Mawdryn Undead, regeneration plays a key role, although in a slightly different aspect than what one might expect.

What happens is that, due to a series of mix-ups, Nyssa, Tegan, and the Brigadier (1977 edition) mistakenly believe that a horribly burnt person is the Doctor. When they recover from their burns, it is apparent that they are a greatly disfigured being, with a clearly visible brain coming out of their head. This unknown creature still claims that he is the Doctor though, and that he has undergone a process of regeneration after something went wrong with a transmat beam.

This is an interesting way to use regeneration, as it plays on the element of trust that the companions place in the Doctor whenever he regenerates into a new body. If they don't witness the regeneration directly, it's impossible to tell whether it really is the Doctor or not, which is clearly something that could be exploited by malevolent forces, as is done in this case. It's nice to see this key component of the show made slightly more dangerous, by virtue of the fact that it points out something blindingly obvious but that has escaped prior investigation, and shows that even in its 20th anniversary year, Doctor Who can still do exciting things with the key concepts in the show.