# Getting in the TARDIS will ruin your life... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108 "2012-10-18T10:24:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![evildmguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6de8d8/32.png) [@evildmguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evildmguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/21 "2012-10-18T17:51:43Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Organic nanobots?:rolleyes::smack: so regeneration is caused by Mitichlorians?!? :smack: Wow, NO! At least, that’s not how I’m taking it. The point was more SciFi in that Gallifreyans had genetically engineered themselves, which included increasing their immune system via these organic nanobots. It went so far that they could also “regenerate” their bodies so many times before it didn’t work anymore. The point was more that they aren’t cyborgs but altered themselves with organic type materials. Again, that’s how I took it. edg ---
**Author:** ![evildmguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6de8d8/32.png) [@evildmguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evildmguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/22 "2012-10-18T17:54:48Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I don’t think it’s a problem, because it seems to be a ‘Time Lord Rule’, rather than a ‘law of nature’. In the 4th Doctor episode _The Keeper of Traken_, The Master was in his 13th and final incarnation when took over the body of Consul Tremas in order to extend his life (and allow the producers to replace actor Roger Delgado, who had died, with Anthony Ainley). Later, in _The Five Doctors_, the Council of Time Lords awarded The Master was awarded a pardon and a ‘new set of regenerations’ as recompense for assisting The Doctor, so there is precedent for ignoring the ‘12 regenerations rule’. > > Since there are currently no other Time Lords around to enforce the restriction, there’s no reason The Doctor can’t keep coming back indefinitely. And I will give you that. Good point. I’m not sure the Doctor would be willing to sacrifice someone to get another body. But maybe a companion is willing to make that choice for him? And there aren’t any Time Lords to give him more. But, again, good points. > [@Nonsuch](#): > > There is a throwaway line in The Sarah Jane Adventures in which The Doctor tells someone he can regenerate more or less infinitely. And, my brain immediately explained this as the time vortex energy restoring the Doctor’s regenerative ability. But that’s me. Thanks! edg ---
**Author:** ![evildmguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6de8d8/32.png) [@evildmguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evildmguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/23 "2012-10-18T17:59:22Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I don’t think either of the Winchester brothers has had a long-term girlfriend… In fact, if you have watched through season six, it’s worse than that. Knowing what they know, it’s shown as very tough to have a normal life. There is still a level of paranoia and suspicion in Dean, even though it would appear nothing happened. I have had this type of argument before. Would I go with the Doctor? YES! Hopefully I can run long enough, and fast enough, to get out of danger, as I’m not in the best shape! But there is something to be said for the lives that most people live. I might not have been in the Olympics but I also don’t have a fifty year old’s body, physically speaking, due to how much damage and strain training for eight hours a day puts on it. I might not have invented or discovered something to further our knowledge but I also haven’t had to go to court to fight others from stealing it or claiming it. I am fine with my life as it is! edg ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/24 "2012-10-18T18:11:27Z")
My biggest complaint with Moffat is making the companion the dramatic focus of the show. From the beginning Amy was this mysterious character with the crack in her bedroom. The entire series has focused on her. The current season was the first time that she was a normal companion just traveling with the Doctor. I hope the next companion doesn’t suffer Amy’s fate. I don’t want all the drama focused on her. Heck even RTD didn’t do that. Yes there’s danger traveling with the Doctor, but the companion shouldn’t be the focus of the drama. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/25 "2012-10-18T22:45:25Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Yes, but they had a ton of pleasure as well. I’ve always assumed that the Doctor and companion(s) have lots of wonderful, non-dangerous journeys that we’re never shown because they’re not dramatic. > > Amy and Rory talked about trying to give up the life, but they couldn’t because it was so much fun. Way back in _Siilence In The Library_, River tells Ten that the last time she saw him, he took her out for a picnic. And he takes her to1832 London for her birthday. Remember too _Midnight_ - the Doctor and Donna go to a resort on a diamond planet. The Doctor goes sightseeing, and Donna spends the entire episode sunbathing by the pool. So yeah, there have been enough references to show that life in the TARDIS isn’t always dodging Daleks aand Weeping Angels. > [@Nonsuch](#): > > The old series made occasional hints that life in the Tardis was not all fun and games. When it came time for Tegan to leave, she practically ran out the doors, saying “It isn’t fun anymore.” That’s the balance _Doctor Who_ always has to maintain: enough sense of danger to make it suspenseful, but not so full of peril that it ceases to become a family-appropriate program. That might be a little meta; Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton are both on record as having been frustrated at how their characters became, essentially, decorative. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/26 "2012-10-18T23:32:53Z")
So far in the post-revival series, I think Martha is the only companion who’s left on her own terms, rather than because of something horrible happening to her. I really hope the series tends away from “The Doctor is death and everyone he loves dies horribly” unless they’re planning to turn him into the Valeyard sometime soon, because it just keeps getting more and more over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/27 "2012-10-19T02:53:47Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Amy and Rory talked about trying to give up the life, but they couldn’t because it was so much fun. I’ve thought about this conundrum much as I’ve thought about my flying: it’s wonderful, amazing, fantastic, and it can maim or kill you. I don’t regret flying, it’s once of the best and most fulfilling things I’ve done, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t times I was scared spitless or in real danger of death. I’ve watched friends crash, seen friends maimed, and buried friends who didn’t survive. Sometimes, a wonderful thing also carries real risk. If you don’t run the risk, you don’t get the amazing experience. It’s not for everyone, but for some of us it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/28 "2012-10-19T02:58:00Z")
> [@evildmguy](#): > > And there aren’t any Time Lords to give him more. > > But, again, good points. In “Let’s Kill Hitler” River Song gave him her remaining regenerations - so there’s an out right there. We don’t know how many she had left, but at the rate the actors turn over it’s still easily 8 or 9 more doctors which would be… oh… 24-36 more years before they have to come up with another out. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/29 "2012-10-19T03:12:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So far in the post-revival series, I think Martha is the only companion who’s left on her own terms, rather than because of something horrible happening to her. I really hope the series tends away from “The Doctor is death and everyone he loves dies horribly” unless they’re planning to turn him into the Valeyard sometime soon, because it just keeps getting more and more over the top. To be fair, none of his companions (in the new series) have ‘died horribly’…at least, not for good 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/30 "2012-10-19T03:41:13Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > That brings up an interesting question (at least interesting to me, and my sense of amateur geneticist, ok, Sims 2/3 player…) > > It seems that the ability of a Galifreyan to regenerate is based on whether they have traveled in time or not, if regeneration is an effect/side effect of temporal travel or exposure to the Time Vortex, would a Galifreyan who never travelled in time be able to regenerate, or would they simply be a humanoid life form with two hearts? > > Lets say that there was a community of Space-Amish on Galifrey, a community that does not use temporal technology, and has never been exposed to the Temporal Vortex, would they have the ability to regenerate? > > What if genetics from a Galifreyan who HAD been exposed to the vortex, and had the ability to regenerate was introduce into The Space-Amish community, would regeneration be a trait that was passed down genetically, would it be a hereditary trait, and if so, would it be dominant or recessive? I think regeneration is a genetic trait because wasn’t the Doctor’s Daughter able to regenerate, despite her herself never time traveling. (I do wish they’d bring her back). ---
**Author:** ![evildmguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6de8d8/32.png) [@evildmguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evildmguy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/31 "2012-10-19T11:35:35Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > That might be a little meta; Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton are both on record as having been frustrated at how their characters became, essentially, decorative. Yes. And they also hated having to find new ways to say, “What is it, Doctor?” I agree that the actors weren’t happy by that point. But that’s still how we saw Tegan leave. > [@Broomstick](#): > > In “Let’s Kill Hitler” River Song gave him her remaining regenerations - so there’s an out right there. We don’t know how many she had left, but at the rate the actors turn over it’s still easily 8 or 9 more doctors which would be… oh… 24-36 more years before they have to come up with another out. Okay! I’m fine with another quarter century of Doctor Who! 🙂 > [@RandMcnally](#): > > I think regeneration is a genetic trait because wasn’t the Doctor’s Daughter able to regenerate, despite her herself never time traveling. > > (I do wish they’d bring her back). I would love this as well! edg ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/32 "2012-10-19T15:24:48Z")
I don’t know - Bringing back the Doctor’s Daughter might sound OK on the surface, but - When a main character’s cute kid becomes the focus of the show, that’s generally a bad bad thing. Maybe she should have a spinoff show, since Sarah Jane Adventures can’t be made any more… ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/33 "2012-10-19T15:52:44Z")
> [@misling](#): > > I don’t know - Bringing back the Doctor’s Daughter might sound OK on the surface, but - When a main character’s cute kid becomes the focus of the show, that’s generally a bad bad thing. > Maybe she should have a spinoff show, since Sarah Jane Adventures can’t be made any more… Personally, I think it would feel weird to bring her back now that Tennant is no longer the Doctor. I know it shouldn’t matter, but it somehow would. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/34 "2012-10-19T16:17:31Z")
> [@misling](#): > > I don’t know - Bringing back the Doctor’s Daughter might sound OK on the surface, but - When a main character’s cute kid becomes the focus of the show, that’s generally a bad bad thing. > Maybe she should have a spinoff show, since Sarah Jane Adventures can’t be made any more… I wouldn’t call Jenny a “cute kid” - she’s in her twenties at least. Furthermore, she was created to be a warrior, so I don’t think she’d fit in in a kid’s show. I thought it was interesting that when she regenerated, it wasn’t to a new body - the actress didn’t change. I do agree she should come back, though. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/35 "2012-10-19T23:43:44Z")
> [@misling](#): > > I don’t know - Bringing back the Doctor’s Daughter might sound OK on the surface, but - When a main character’s cute kid becomes the focus of the show, that’s generally a bad bad thing. > Maybe she should have a spinoff show, since Sarah Jane Adventures can’t be made any more… I wouldnt want her to be the focus of the show, but I am interested in how she’s done and how would this doctor react. Plus, she’s gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/36 "2012-10-19T23:55:25Z")
[Another on point webcomic.](http://hijinksensue.com/2012/10/10/the-perils-of-companionship/) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108/37 "2012-10-20T06:56:04Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > [Another on point webcomic.](http://hijinksensue.com/2012/10/10/the-perils-of-companionship/) Heh I laughed. At this point I either want more casual companions that come and go(I liked Dinosaurs On A Spaceship for that) or a male companion like the Brigadier or how about a non-modern or non-earth companion? A short run with River might be interesting. Hell I thought a Dalek companion might actually be a good idea. The show is just getting stale. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-in-the-tardis-will-ruin-your-life/638108.md?page=1)