For every Doctor comes the end, but every time the moment has been prepared for. Yes, with every tearful Doctor Who exit comes its equal and opposite reaction – the debut of an exciting new incarnation of the Time Lord, ready to put his or her stamp on the role.

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Does the Doctor spend time sleeping off the regeneration or napping in the Zero Room? Saving the world with no TARDIS and no sonic like Matt Smith, or spend that first adventure trying to find his or her new self? There are plenty of ways to go, with pros and cons to each approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxiJot0_a3I

But what makes a perfect Doctor debut? In this week’s RadioTimes.com Doctor Who podcast we take a look at the introductory stories for various Doctors, and note the intense tightrope walk these stories have to walk. How do you introduce a whole new character without hitting the obvious beats? And how good a story can you create when the meeting the new Time Lord is all anyone’s interested in?

Clearly, it’s a tricky balance to nail in both the classic and modern series, with plenty of episodes – like 2005’s Christmas Invasion – dividing our presenters, while others (specifically Matt Smith’s launch The Eleventh Hour) truly stand the test of time.

But what could we see in the future? Listen on to hear our pitch for how Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor should make her grand exit at some point in the future, and the unusual new way we’d like to meet a potential Fourteenth Doctor.

Want more Doctor Who fun? Check out this new trailer for Time Lord Victorious now, or refresh your memory with last week's Doctor Who podcast regeneration special.

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Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks comes to BBC One in late 2020/early 2021. Want something to watch now? Check out our TV Guide.

Authors

Huw FullertonSci-Fi and Fantasy Editor, RadioTimes.com

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