Best Of Who Awards: Top 5 Greatest Regenerations

"That's it- I've been renewed!" Our countdown of the Doctor's five most epic and poignant renewals so far...
Death is a part of life- so we've heard in Forrest Gump, and this is a statement which rings true for Doctor Who's protagonist. In fact, one might argue that for the Doctor, death is perhaps the most crucial element of his life, for in this case, his demise is simply the beginning of a new adventure.

To this day, we fans have been priviliged enough to experience the eleven lives of the Doctor so far, and a Twelfth incarnation of the Time Lord played by Peter Capaldi will be unveiled in the 2013 Christmas Special. Before then, though, we'll of course have the events leading up to the Eleventh Doctor's demise, bringing with them at the end that fateful scene where Clara Oswald witnesses her greatest friend transform into a new man before her very eyes. As we count down to that particular game-changing moment, let's first recap the regenerations which have shocked and moved this writer the most so far:

5. THIRD-FOURTH DOCTOR (1974)- Having faced his fears by returning to Metebilis III, Jon Pertwee's Doctor returns hastily to a UNIT base on Earth as Planet of the Spiders nears its climax. Sure enough, his most challenging battle has left his current body weary, and as he attempts to say farewell to Sarah-Jane Smith, the third incarnation seemingly dies in the act. Mercifully, the enigmatic Time Lord Cho-Je is on hand to trigger the Doctor's latest regeneration, bringing Tom Baker to centre stage. Heartbreaking and uplifting simultaneously, this second transformation remains one of the defining moments of classic Who.

4. FIRST-SECOND DOCTOR (1966)- In terms of scenes which defined Who in its early years, though, they don't get more significant than what Troughton's Second Doctor initially dubs as a 'renewal' in 1966. As if it weren't enough for viewers to have encountered the Cybermen for the first time in The Tenth Planet, they then watched in horror as a weakened elderly Time Lord staggered back into the TARDIS, almost leaving his companions trapped out in the cold reaches of the Arctic for a moment. Regaining his senses, the Doctor opens the TARDIS doors, but before new fans of the series could seek comfort in his supposed revival, they're privy to a transformation like no other, as William Hartnell's face fades and the outstretched body on the floor of the console room becomes that of a younger man, shaking the show's continuity to its very core!

3. TENTH-ELEVENTH DOCTOR (2010)- It's easy to argue that The End of Time Part Two becomes rather indulgent in its final ten minutes, whilst the Tenth Doctor is glimpsed revisiting and saving Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, Donna Noble and of course Rose Tyler in his dying moments after his sacrifice for the life of Wilfred Mott. Nevertheless, as Murray Gold's haunting Vale Decem fills the speakers on our television sets and the last of the Time Lords is beckoned on by Ood Sigma to his bigger-on-the-inside homestead, we're left in no doubt as to the effectiveness of this latest parting of the ways. David Tennant's final words as the character, "I don't want to go", were echoed by the world over, and in a brilliant explosion of light and energy, we're speedily introduced to Matt's electric portrayal of the character by a cunning opening scene from Steven Moffat...

2. FOURTH-FIFTH DOCTOR (1981)- What's most effective about the climax to Logopolis, in this writer's humble opinion, is that it plays out unlike any regeneration sequence that's come before it. Viewers had glimpsed the mysterious Watcher in previous episodes, yet only now at the end does it become apparent in an intelligent shock twist from writer Christopher H. Bidmead that in fact the shady onlooker is none other than the Doctor's future incarnation, somehow echoed through time in order to enable the next regeneration. Perhaps the logistics of the matter at hand are rather bizarre, but that doesn't rob this stunning transformation sequence of its intense dramatic impact; no wonder Peter Davison's gleaming with pride as his visage appears!

1. NINTH-TENTH DOCTOR (2005)- We've reached the culmination of our countdown, then- but trust us, the moment has been prepared for. In a masterfully understated rendition of one of the most iconic scenes in television history, Russell T Davies has Chris Eccleston's Ninth Doctor launch the TARDIS back into the Time Vortex, now bestowed with its energy once more. Chris' departure from Who was announced as early as The End of the World's broadcast, leaving viewers eager to discover the nature of his regeneration, and what more valiant a way to go than by saving the life of Rose Tyler with a kiss? Undoubtedly, there's a pressing desire to verbally echo Chris' final sentiments in the role even eight years later, for in this calm, captivating send-off, above all Eccleston proves that he truly was a fantastic Doctor, an incarnation of the Time Lord whose influence will never be forgotten.

NEXT WEEK: TOP 5 GREATEST STAR DISCOVERIES