History Main / TheNthDoctor

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%% This trope is represented in the Pantheon/TropePantheons by the Doctor of ''Series/DoctorWho'', in the House of Pantheon/TimeAndTemporality.
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* John Ostrander's run on ''ComicBook/TheSpectre'' applies this to Uncle Sam of the [[ComicBook/FreedomFightersDC Freedom Fighters]]. Over the centuries, the Spirit of America has taken physical form as the current masculine AnthropomorphicPersonification of the United States: the Minuteman, Brother Jonathan, [[LiteralSplitPersonality Billy Yank and Johnny Reb]], and Uncle Sam. It was Patriot for a brief period in the late 90s, but soon reverted to Uncle Sam again.

This is a catch-all for the recasting of a character using an in-continuity explanation. It [[TropeNamers takes its name]] from ''Series/DoctorWho'', whose eponymous Doctor is an alien capable of "[[ResurrectiveImmortality regenerating]]" into a new form when on the verge of death. This trope, both in the original show and others which employ it, has two benefits; not only can it increase the series' run by offering a method to depict a functionally immortal main character on a long-running show, it is also a wonderful way to derive drama, with the added bonus of implying that AnyoneCanDie, without having to lose major characters. Depending on the importance of the character, changing them in such a way can serve as a "soft reboot" of an ongoing production.

*** The ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'' jokes that Data's cat, Spot changes appearance and gender between episodes because it's an alien shapeshifter or was caught in a TeleporterAccident.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' began with the character Jadzia Dax, played by Terry Farrell, who was a joined Trill: she was a [[MergerOfSouls merged consciousness]] of the humanoid host Jadzia and the long-lived sluglike symbiont Dax, forming a single new personality that retained Jadzia's memories pre-joining as well as those of Dax's previous seven hosts. Upon Jadzia's death, the Dax symbiont was implanted in a new host: the show thus introduced Ezri Dax, played by Nicole de Boer. Slightly different from the usual approach to this trope since a joined Trill retains something close to their host's original identity, so they're not exactly (or legally) the same person as the previous hosts. Ezri is therefore treated as a different character, albeit with Jadzia's and the previous hosts' memories and some aspects of their personalities, and she has to grapple with integrating them with her own.

** Less noticeable was the recasting of the android Kryten (with Robert Llewellyn replacing David Ross, who originally was to return but was unavailable). This was mainly achieved when the look of the series was entirely redesigned, with a greatly improved budget allowing for better costumes and prosthetics, plus the fact that Kryten was only in one episode previously. Llewellyn played the part very differently, with this being explained in an OpeningScroll as Lister rebuilding him but being unable to restore his personality, this was further explored in Series VIII Episode 2 "Back in the Red: Part 2" when Kryten's behaviour is 'reset' and his actions and mannerisms noticeably revert to the 'Ross' Kryten (before being restored to his old new self).

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** Yasuhiko Kawazu voiced Goku and his son Gohan's Great Ape forms in Japanese as opposed to Creator/MasakoNozawa. For the English dub of the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', Creator/JustinCook provided Great Ape Goku's roars while Shane Ray would voice Gohan's ape form in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.
** For the first ''Dragon Ball'' anime, Piccolo was given this treatment in the Japanese original with Creator/TakeshiAono voicing the original Demon King Piccolo (and later his good counterpart Kami-sama) whereas Junior (the Piccolo that most people are familiar with) was voiced by Creator/ToshioFurukawa, who made the character his own going forward.
** In the Creator/{{Funimation}} dub of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', Goku is played by Creator/StephanieNadolny in his kid form, Creator/SeanSchemmel in his Super Saiyan 4 transformation, and Shane Ray in his Golden Ape transformation.
*** [[FinalBoss The One-Star Dragon,]] known as Li Shen Long in Japan, was given this treatment in America. By himself, with only the one-star ball, he was christened Syn Shenron and played by Bob Carter. Upon absorbing the other six balls into himself, he is then known as Omega Shenron and is voiced by Creator/ChristopherSabat. ADR director Christopher Bevins' logic in this choice was that since he became an amalgamation of all seven dragon balls, Omega would have the original Shenron's voice which was played in Funimation's English dub by Sabat.

* In the English dub of ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', when the [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculus]] Greed was [[spoiler:reabsorbed into Father then brought back into a new body]], he changed voice actors from Creator/ChrisPatton to Creator/TroyBaker. Said plot element was in the manga long before the story was adapted into animation and dubbed into English, and it's actually a good old-fashioned case of TheOtherDarrin, as Patton at that time had quit the business for a few years (both had the same voice in the Japanese version, and later on a character recognizes Greed by his voice) but the timing serendipitously makes it look like this trope.

* ''Film/WhiteWolves'': Brian from the first movie (although he gets a SuddenNameChange) and Ben from the second are each played by different, older actors in the sequel.

* ''Series/GoodWitch'' has Tara's first few appearances she is played by Creator/AshleyLeggat, who was reprising the same role from the made-for-TV movies. She is then replaced by Rebecca Dalton for all subsequent appearances.

This is a catch-all for the recasting of a character using an in-continuity explanation. It takes its name from ''Series/DoctorWho'', whose eponymous Doctor is an alien capable of "[[ResurrectiveImmortality regenerating]]" into a new form when on the verge of death. This trope, both in the original show and others which employ it, has two benefits; not only can it increase the series' run by offering a method to depict a functionally immortal main character on a long-running show, it is also a wonderful way to derive drama, with the added bonus of implying that AnyoneCanDie, without having to lose major characters. Depending on the importance of the character, changing them in such a way can serve as a "soft reboot" of an ongoing production.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'', Leonardo spends the time between the season two finale and season three premiere in a coma. Once he wakes up, his voice actor is different (Creator/SethGreen instead of Dominic Catrambone, who himself was a temporary replacement for Jason Briggs). Casey comments on his voice being different and Donatello says it's a result of his injuries.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' explains the difference in Space Marine voice actors between instalments as a product of a mutation in one of the many extra BioAugmentation organs that differentiates [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]] from normal humans. Specifically, the organ in their throat which usually allows a Space Marine to spit acid doesn't work properly, and instead causes their voice to change every few years.

* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'': After Greg Serrano (as played by Creator/SantinoFontana) left early in Season 2, he later came back in the fourth (and final) season, but this time played by Creator/SkylerAstin. Co-creators Aline Brosh [=McKenna=] and Rachel Bloom explained the swap as it being a result of Greg's original completed character arc, and a reflection of how your perception of people (in this case, protagonist Rebecca's) can change over time.

* After Greg Serrano (as played by Santino Fontana) left ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' early in Season 2, he later came back in the fourth (and final) season, but this time played by Skyler Astin. Co-creators Aline Brosh [=McKenna=] and Rachel Bloom explained the swap as it being a result of Greg's original completed character arc, and a reflection of how your perception of people (in this case, protagonist Rebecca's) can change over time.

This is a catch-all for the recasting of a character using an in-continuity explanation. It takes its name from ''Series/DoctorWho'', whose eponymous Doctor is an alien capable of "[[ResurrectiveImmortality regenerating]]" into a new form when mortally wounded. This trope, both in the original show and others which employ it, has two benefits; not only can it increase the series' run by offering a method to depict a functionally immortal main character on a long-running show, it is also a wonderful way to derive drama, with the added bonus of implying that AnyoneCanDie, without having to lose major characters. Depending on the importance of the character, changing them in such a way can serve as a "soft reboot" of an ongoing production.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' replaced Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax with Nicole de Boer as Ezri Dax. {{Justified|Trope}} since it had always been part of the character's premise that Jadzia, as a Trill host, was joined to a long-lived symbiont and that symbionts were joined to a new host upon the previous host's death (Jadzia herself was established to be the eighth host of her symbiont, and there had been many storylines discussing her experiences as such). Slightly different from the usual approach since, while the host gets the previous hosts' memories through the symbiont, they also retain their own identity, so they're not exactly (or legally) the same person as the previous hosts. As a result Ezri is treated as a different character, albeit with Jadzia's and the previous hosts' memories and some aspects of their personalities, and she has to grapple with integrating them with her own.

* {{Parodied|Trope}} in the ''Website/ClickHole'' article "[[https://clickhole.com/all-the-seinfelds-ranked-1825122591/ All The Seinfelds, Ranked]]", which straight-facedly pays tribute to the various actors who supposedly played the character of Creator/JerrySeinfeld in various seasons, including John Cusack, George Lazenby, Kadeem Hardison ("the first black Seinfeld") and Louis C.K., among others. Also, in one season, the supporting cast is mentioned as "Elaine (Khandi Alexander), George ([=LeVar=] Burton), and Kramer (Eddie Murphy)", without further explanation. What makes this all the more amazing is that the ''actual'' Jerry Seinfeld is on the list... '''as "Peter Harrick"'''.

This is a catch-all for the recasting of a character using an in-continuity explanation. It takes its name from ''Series/DoctorWho'', whose eponymous Doctor is an alien capable of "[[ResurrectiveImmortality regenerating]]" into a new form when mortally wounded. This trope, both in the original show and others which employ it, has two benefits; not only can it increase the series' run by offering a method to depict a functionally immortal main character on a long-running show, it is also a wonderful way to derive drama, with the added bonus of implying that AnyoneCanDie, without having to lose major characters. Depending on the importance of the character, changing him or her in such a way can serve as a "soft reboot" of an ongoing production.

*** The episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E23TheHost The Host]]" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' plays this trope completely straight with regard to the Trill symbionts, which were portrayed at completely taking over the new host and replacing the existing personality. This dynamic, not to mention the species' appearance, was [[{{Retcon}} completely changed]] from the beginning of ''Deep Space Nine''.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' replaced Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax with Nicole de Boer as Ezri Dax. {{Justified|Trope}} since it had always been part of the character's premise that Jadzia, as a Trill host, was joined to a long-lived symbiont and that symbionts were joined to a new host upon the previous host's death (Jadzia herself was established to be the eighth host of her symbiont, and there had been many storylines discussing her experiences as such). Slightly different from the usual approach since, while the host gets the previous hosts' memories through the symbiont, they also retain their own identity, so they're not exactly (or legally) the same person as the previous hosts. As a result Ezri is treated as a different character, albeit with Jadzia's and the previous hosts' memories and some aspects of their personalities, and she has to grapple with integrating them with her own.
** Interestingly, the episode "The Host" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' plays this trope completely straight with regard to the Trill symbionts, which were portrayed at completely taking over the new host and replacing the existing personality. This dynamic, not to mention the species' appearance, was [[{{Retcon}} completely changed]] from the beginning of ''Deep Space Nine''.
** The Borg Queen's hard to tell. She appears to be destroyed in almost every appearance -- even by way of ''retcon'', revealing herself to have been on the cube in "The Best of Both Worlds". Yes, her ''debut'' is an UnexplainedRecovery. She's indicated and proven repeatedly that physical death is a minor inconvenience to her, and it's easy to imagine that her data just goes elsewhere when one body's in mortal danger, though that's not said outright. Coincidentally or not, she's sometimes Alice Krige and sometimes Susanna Thompson, and with so much make-up it's hard to tell who is who.

* ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'':

* ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' goes through several art changes that, because [[NoFourthWall the characters are aware they're in a comic strip]], inherently affects how the universe looks. Pointed out several times, such as when Elan remarks that Roy and Elan each got new accessories from a dragon's den [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0198.html before Haley points out that it's just an art upgrade]], and they're supposed to pretend they've always looked like that. So while the appearance of the characters (to us) doesn't change drastically, to the characters, it does.

[[caption-width-right:350:What you can do when your flesh is purely cosmetic.]]

** In the Creator/{{Funimation}} dub of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', Goku is played by Creator/StephanieNaldony in his kid form, Creator/SeanSchemmel in his Super Saiyan 4 transformation, and Shane Ray in his Golden Ape transformation.

* In the English dub of ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', when the [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculus]] Greed was [[spoiler:reabsorbed into Father then brought back into a new body]], he changed voice actors from Creator/ChrisPatton to Creator/TroyBaker. Said plot element was in the manga long before the story was adapted into animation and dubbed into English, and it's actually a good old fashioned case of TheOtherDarrin, as Patton at that time had quit the business for a few years (both had the same voice in the Japanese version, and later on a character recognizes Greed by his voice) but the timing serendipitously makes it look like this trope.
* In the original Japanese version of ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', [[BigBad Naraku]] was originally voiced by Hiroshi Yanaka in his early appearances. At the end of the anime's first season he takes over the body of a prince named Kagewaki, and upon doing so he is voiced by Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa for the rest of the series' run.

* On ''Series/AlloAllo'', Herr Flick was played by Richard Gibson until series 9, when he was replaced by David Janson. To explain the change in actors (who looked NOTHING alike) Herr Flick had plastic surgery to radically alter his appearance so he would not be captured by Allied forces.

** Yasuhiko Kawazu voiced Goku and his son Gohan's Great Ape forms in Japanese as opposed to Creator/MasakoNozawa. For the English dub of the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', Creator/JustinCook provided Great Ape Goku's roars while Shane Ray would voice Gohan's ape form in ''Anime/DragonBall Z''.

* In ''Series/{{Gotham}},'' Poison Ivy was onto actor number three as of mid-season four. First, she was a teenager played by the 12-to-13-at-the-time Clare Foley, until a villain who drains people's LifeEnergy and causes RapidAging got a hand on her, not long enough to leave her as the usual ancient-looking corpse but long enough to turn her into the 28-year-old Maggie Geha. [[note]]The writers admit it's because the sex appeal that Poison Ivy is known for in the comics would be {{Squick}}y if they did it with someone so young. The {{Squick}} was not avoided for viewers, who pretty universally say that her merely ''looking'' older makes no difference![[/note]] After a season and a half as Geha, Ivy gets tired of not being taken seriously (she's pretty badass but nowhere near the league of those who control the city's underworld) and concocts a potion to amp up her powers. It causes her to go into a giant pod, and she emerges with a power set more akin to her comics self... and yet a third face, that of Creator/PeytonList. (No, she didn't get back the years the earlier villain stole; she's not Creator/DisneyChannel's Peyton List, but an [[NamesTheSame unrelated]] 31-year-old actress who's a familiar face at Creator/TheCW. Fans of comic adaptations will recognize her as ''Series/TheFlash2014''[='s=] Lisa Snart/Golden Glider and ''Series/{{Smallville}}''[='s=] Lucy Lane.)