Matt Smith is considered to be Doctor Who’s 11th Time Lord. Still, after the introduction of John Hurt’s War Doctor and David Tennant’s Meta Crisis regeneration in the 2008 episode The Stolen Earth, Smith is, in fact, the show’s 13th and final incarnation of the Doctor, according to showrunner Steven Moffat.
“We’ll find out in the Christmas special that Matt Smith is the 13th Doctor,” showrunner Moffat confirmed to Radio Times. “Although everyone knows that the Doctor can only regenerate 12 times.
“That 12 times limit is a central part of Doctor Who mythology – and science fiction is all about rules, right? So if the Doctor can never change again, what’s Peter Capaldi doing in the Christmas Special?”
Last month, Moffat addressed the Doctor’s regeneration limit, a concept first introduced in 1976’s ‘The Deadly Assassin’.
“[The eighth Doctor] Paul McGann turns into John Hurt, so they’re not the same incarnation,” he said. “He used up another regeneration, and I expect he’ll be in trouble shortly.”
Doctor Who’s 2013 Christmas special ‘The Time of the Doctor’ will air on Wednesday, December 25 at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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