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As a bonus pre-post, today Jon is going to recap "Born Again", the special mini-episode of Doctor Who broadcast as part of Children in Need in 2005. How will Rose cope with the loss of the Doctor she's always known? How will we cope with David Tennant? Keep reading to find out…

Episode directed by Euros Lyn and written by Russell T Davies

We start off right on the heels of "The Parting of the Ways"; the Doctor (the Ninth Doctor) has absorbed the power of the time vortex, and his body is breaking down as a result. He explodes into pillars of light, and before our very eyes where once was Christopher Eccleston is now David Tennant. The Tenth Doctor is stoked to take Rose to the planet Barcelona in the year 5006 and begins setting the coordinates in the TARDIS. He takes stock of himself while a very clearly freaked out Rose watches on; his teeth are different, which is weird, and one of his wrists is a bit weak, but he has hair!

He finally takes a break from exploring his new, sensual form to ask Rose what she thinks. She thinks she wants to know who the hell this guy is and where the Doctor is, for starters. The Doc tries in vain to explain that he is the Doctor, but Rose isn't buying at first. She's seen some serious shit, alright? Is this guy a Slitheen? Because, so help her God of all Daleks, she will pour so much vinegar onto him if he is. He denies being a Raxacoricofallapatorian, but Rose still doesn't believe he's the Doc. She demands the imposter bring her Doctor back to her, but he finally convinces her by recounting the first time they met and the first word he said to her: "Run."

The Doctor tries to hop down memory lane, but Rose just wants him to change back to the way he was. A crestfallen Doc tells her he can't change back; this is the way he is now, and if Rose wants to bail he'll totally understand. He decides to cancel the Barcelona trip and sets course for Earth circa Christmas Eve. The Doctor tries to cheer Rose up by making fun of Jackie's cooking, but he begins to convulse and spasm before he can get a proper smile out of her. He tells Rose the change has gone wrong as glowing mist begins to spout from his mouth. Rose wants to go back to the Game Station and find Captain Jack, but a disorientated Doctor says that's a no go; Jack is busy helping to rebuilt Earth after the Daleks destroyed most of it. So I guess the Bad Wolf didn't take care of that while she was busy dismantling the Dalek fleet, huh?

The Doc starts flipping switches in the TARDIS at random, declaring that he has a need… a need for speed. Rose gets thrown around as the TARDIS shimmies through the cosmos and the Doc tells her they're going to break the time limit. Get it? Rose tells him to stop and the Doctor tells her to stop being so boring; in a moment of lucidity a clearly panicked Doctor tells Rose again that his regeneration has gone wrong, but then he's in full manic mode again and demanding more speed from the TARDIS.

An alarm begins to ring; the TARDIS is going to crash! The Doc doesn't have time for that… it's Christmas Eve, remember?

The End

~~~~~

Since this little short isn't really part of our One of Us! schedule I'm not going to rate it on the Five Q Scale and I don't honestly have a lot to say about it, but just for completion's sake I felt the need to include it here. It was fun to see David Tennant in action, even if the Doc's clearly under some strain here, and I'm really, really looking forward to seeing how he portrays the Doctor.

I've got the Christmas spirit already!