CAN THE DOCTOR INFLUENCE HIS NEXT INCARNATION APPEARANCE

Is it possible that The Doctor’s faces are based on individuals he has met during his travels — perhaps people he once saved from certain destruction or death?

We already know that a Time Lord can influence their appearance after regeneration. During Destiny of the Daleks, Romana I regenerates into Princess Astra’s appearance because she “liked” her face and thought it would look rather good on herself.

The Doctor has also had at least two faces identical to people he encountered. SN: This is, of course, a real-world coincidence, as Colin Baker, who appeared in Arc of Infinity,and Peter Capaldi, who appeared in The Fires of Pompeii, were later cast as the Sixth and Twelfth Doctors. But putting that aside, could The Doctor’s face sometimes be influenced by memories of his past?

The Twelfth Doctor remembers why he chose his current face. He has seen it before!

During his early tenure, the Twelfth Doctor repeatedly wonders why he chose his particular face. This suggests that a Time Lord may have some degree of control over their appearance during regeneration. The answer comes in The Girl Who Died. The Doctor remembers Donna begging his Tenth self to save people during the destruction of Pompeii, including Caecilius, whose face the Twelfth Doctor now possesses. He realises that he chose Caecilius’s face as a reminder of his purpose: The Doctor is someone who saves people. Perhaps the Doctor’s subconscious selected the face because he needed that reminder. Almost like an alarm clock: Remember who you are. Remember what you do.

But what about the Sixth Doctor?

He bears a striking resemblance to Commander Maxil, whom the Fifth Doctor encounters in Arc of Infinity. In AUDIO: Prime Winner, the Sixth Doctor is aware that he has taken on Maxil’s appearance.

Did the Tenth Doctor give his Fifth self the idea of using Maxil's appearance as his next incarnation, before he even met him?

Could this have been another deliberate choice?

Maxil is zealous, humourless and military-minded — qualities the Sixth Doctor could certainly display. Perhaps the Doctor subconsciously chose a face that represented characteristics he wanted to carry into his next incarnation.

Or perhaps the explanation is even stranger. The Tenth Doctor mentions Maxil during Time Crash, asking the Fifth Doctor if he has met him yet. He also refers to Maxil and the other Time Lords as having “silly hats”. If Time Crash takes place before Arc of Infinity from the Fifth Doctor’s perspective, could the Tenth Doctor have inadvertently given his past self the idea? When the Fifth Doctor eventually encounters Maxil and sees his distinctive hat, perhaps he realises that Maxil is the Time Lord the Tenth Doctor was referring to. Could that encounter have planted the idea of using Maxil’s appearance when the Fifth Doctor eventually regenerated?

These Time Lords presented The Doctor with possibly faces for his next incarnation. What other powers could they have had.

There is no evidence that this actually happened, but it raises an interesting possibility. The War Games also demonstrates that regeneration is not necessarily completely random. When the Time Lords forcibly regenerate the Second Doctor, they give him several appearances from which he can choose. We are never told where these faces came from. Could they have belonged to real individuals, or were they simply possible forms created by the Time Lords?

So perhaps regeneration is not entirely a lottery. Maybe chance determines much of the process, but memories, experiences and emotions can sometimes influence the result.

The Doctor does not necessarily have to consciously choose a face. His subconscious could reach back through the thousands of people he has encountered and select an appearance that carries some personal significance.

Perhaps Caecilius is not an isolated case. Perhaps other people The Doctor has met have left similar impressions, with their faces buried somewhere within his subconscious until the moment of regeneration.

This does not mean every incarnation has to correspond to somebody The Doctor has met. The process could still involve chance, biology and outside influence. The theory simply suggests that memory may sometimes play a part.

Perhaps certain people remain with The Doctor long after he has left them behind.

Perhaps, when he regenerates, their faces become reminders of why he continues to travel:

To help people.

To save innocent lives.

To remember who he is.

Maybe his new face is not simply a face.

Maybe, sometimes, it is a memory.