Can a Time Lord change his race?

Question

Can a Time Lord/Lady regenerate into a different race? If a Time Lord/Lady can gender swap, I was wondering this.

P.S., I don't mean change into an Ood, or another alien. I mean regenerate from white to black. — user35971, Sep 21 '15 at 12:26
"I don't look human. It's you humans who all look time-lord" - the 11th doctor — Philipp, Sep 21 '15 at 12:43
I don't see why not...I think there's less anatomical difference between two males of different races, than between a man and woman of the same race. — Liesmith, Sep 21 '15 at 13:43

Rogue Jedi · Answer 1 · 2022-05-18T05:34:17.517

6

No. Time Lords can change race.

We see River Song regenerate from White to Black to White again in series 6.

Additionally, in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor, the Doctor states that his race was not limited to white; he "can be anything." However, he also says that he can regenerate 507 times, so he could be joking.

Finally, Black actor Ncuti Gatwa was announced as the next Doctor in 2022.

edited May 18 '22 at 05:34

answered Sep 21 '15 at 14:03

Rogue Jedi

66,921
37
322
509

River Song isn't timelord. She is human with some regenerative properties because she was conceived on the TARDIS. – Zoredache Sep 21 '15 at 19:22

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 21 '15 at 13:55

3

Yes.

In the episode "Let's Kill Hitler", we see;

Rory and Amy's friend Mels (played by Nina Toussaint-White) regenerate into River Song/Melody Pond (played by Alex Kingston).

This regeneration definitively shows a Time Lady changing their race when they regenerate.

edited Sep 21 '15 at 13:55

Valorum

689,072
162
4,636
4,873

answered Sep 21 '15 at 13:48

Dr R Dizzle

25,768
16
131
155

4

Romana goes through a number of changes before picking princess Astra. Including an alien looking thing. – Sep 21 '15 at 13:57
@CarlSixsmith I have no idea what this is in reference to. – Dr R Dizzle Sep 21 '15 at 13:59
1

there is an episode of classic who where Romana regenerates. But she is seen in several forms before settling on the one she uses. – Sep 21 '15 at 14:00
@CarlSixsmith Ah OK, thanks. I've only seen from Eccleston onwards. – Dr R Dizzle Sep 21 '15 at 14:02

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 21 '15 at 14:31

As a matter of fact, the answer to your question is "yes" for both definitions of race.

As of the Season 8 Finale, we have seen on-screen proof that a Time Lord regeneration can take almost any humanoid-looking form you can imagine. It's also strongly implied that Time Lords have some measure of control over their new form, though this varies from person to person.

For example, Melody Pond/River Song was able to regenerate, having at least some portion of Time Lord DNA, and she changed her skin tone twice, and implied during her second regeneration that we was actively trying to shape herself ("I'm concentrating on a dress size!"):

But even more extreme is the classic Doctor Who Time Lady Romana, who seemed to have very precise control over her form, and at one point became something clearly non-human-looking:

It's also interesting to note that Romana changed forms multiple times from a single regeneration, and The Fourth Doctor didn't fine anything odd about it. In fact, he kept sending her back to "try again" until she got something he found acceptable.

This implies that regeneration can be a rather smooth and controlled process; it's likely that The Doctor's regenerations are so haphazard and traumatic because of the circumstances behind them. (Note, for example, that in his last regeneration, when he had time to prepare, he seems to have subconsciously "picked" a face he liked.)

Can a Time Lord change his race?

3 Answers3