How many more Doctors can we have?

As Brand X has noted, David Tennant has finished his run as the Doctor (he was the 10th Doctor). Matt Smith takes over the character as the 11th Doctor, which means that the character has only 2 regenerations left.

Christopher Eccleston did a great job as the 9th Doctor but he disappointed fans by leaving the show after only 1 year. He just wanted to burnish his resume a little, it seems, but in doing so set the character into its twilight years a little sooner than most fans had expected.

Let's be honest -- John Pertwee (Doctor 3) and Tom Baker (Doctor 4) spoiled us by performing admirably in the role for 5 years and 7 years respectively. Most of the actors who played the Doctor in the 1960s through 1980s lasted no more than 3 years, and not all of them were able to manage that.

We can say there are plenty of reasons for the Doctor's uneven run at life but the point is that even with a generous 12 regenerations the writers have drawn a line they will be hard put to NOT cross when Doctor 13 decides he has burnished his resume enough.

Maybe the show just doesn't need to run any further than that. The Doctor is, apparently, the last Time Lord (although I never quite felt that to be entirely true) so maybe he can solve the problem of running out of regenerations by unilaterally acting on behalf of his species and declaring himself rightfully immortal

I do know that the Time Lords once offered new regenerations to the Master (I think it was the Master), so apparently the means existed to extend a Time Lord's lifespan. Does the Doctor know how to do this for himself and will Russell T. Davies (assuming he is still in charge) decide that the Doctor will choose to do it when the time comes?

If Matt Smith lasts no more than 1-2 seasons, Doctor Who fans will have to ask themselves some hard questions. Is 13 Doctors really enough?

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