Doctor Who/Quotes

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


about the show itself
No, look, there’s a blue box. It’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It can go anywhere in time and space and sometimes even where it’s meant to go. And when it turns up, there’s a bloke in it called The Doctor and there will be stuff wrong and he will do his best to sort it out and he will probably succeed cos he’s awesome. Now sit down, shut up, and watch 'Blink'.
—Neil Gaiman summarizes 48 years of backstory

He is impulsive, idealistic, ready to risk his life for a worthy cause. He hates tyranny and oppression and anything that is anti-life. He never gives in and he never gives up, however overwhelming the odds against him.
The Doctor believes in good and fights evil. Though often caught up in violent situations, he is a man of peace. He is never cruel or cowardly.

In fact, to put it simply, the Doctor is a hero.
—Terrance Dicks

Craig Ferguson: Tonight's show is about a man... who's not really a man. He's a Doctor, but he's not really a doctor, like Dr. Phil, but AWESOME! Most people in the United States of America have not heard of him. He's just like me in that regard!
(later, while singing along with the theme music)
One thing is consistent though
and this is why the show is so
beloved by geeks and nerds...
It's all about the triumph of intellect and romance
over brute force and cynicism!
(speaking again) And if there is any hope for any of us in that giant explosion in which we inhabit, surely that's it, intellect and romance triumphs over brute force and cynicism... right Doctor?

Matt Smith: (stepping in from stage right) Absolutely, Craig!
—The Late Late Show's Cold Open, 16 November 2010

"It's completely terrifying!
But it's so, so exciting!
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world,
So many places I've been, there's so much more more to see!
We got galaxies and planets and moons,

And an awful lot of running to do-ooooooooh-ooooooh-oooooh-ooooooh,"
—An Awful Lot of Running - Chameleon Circuit

"Travelling man,
Such secrets to be told,
Alien man, running from the days of old.
Out of his world, with nothing left to lose.

Travelling man, coming down to rescue you!"
—Travelling Man - Chameleon Circuit

Star Trek has a reputation for attracting a certain class of obsessive, socially stunted fan. But when the latest Trek fan film isn't geeky enough to fully satisfy the escapist yen of your Linux-loving, Zaurus-toting, polyester-wearing ass, there is only one fully pedigreed alternative suitable for your viewing needs -- the one and only Doctor Who.

(Unless you're British, in which case loving Doctor Who comes as naturally as loving Seinfeld does to Americans.)
—The Rotten Library, Doctor Who
Watching Doctor Who Is Like Having A Relationship With God.
—Cracked.com, "How Doctor Who Became My Religion"
For every inexplicable time pretzel or hmm-hummer it presents, though, it’s one of the most distinct shows I watch: it’s mercurial protagonist, who can flip between Implacable Intimidator and Goofy Ultrapacifist in a harrowing instant is one of the more intriguing things about it. It’s a romp, for lack of a better term. It’s a joke that you’re in on, and if you don’t watch it enough to pass through the membrane and get to that inside portion, you’ll probably feel like the show is teasing you most of the time. You’ll see those “special effects” and probably be insulted by them, when for the regular audience they are, in their amalgamation, a kind of “wink.” You can see the strings and stagey bits, and if you agree to believe it, you’re off to the races. It’s a show you must meet half-way, which I do, and I’ve been repaid for it many times over.
—Tycho, Penny Arcade

Listen girl to what I say
About the man from Gallifrey
He can show you the planets
He can show you the stars
He can love you more because
He's got two hearts

Doctor Who, Doctor Who,
Doctor Who, whatcha gonna do
Doctor Who, Doctor Who,
Doctor Who, whatcha gonna do

From the nearest world to The farthest,
he'll take you there in his TARDIS
Who will you find? Are you a risk-taker?
Will it be David Tennant or Colin Baker?

(Chorus)

As you travel through the void
Your adventures will be great
But as you experience the freedom of time,
there's no escaping your ultimate fate

For though you fly through the
Galaxies at supersonic speeds
You only lie in wait to hear the word
To hear the word
To hear the word

EXTERMINATE!
—"Doctor Who" by Parry Gripp
"Star Wars is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist drivel; Star Trek can turn your brains to puree of bat guano; and the greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up!"
—Harlan Ellison, recalling an address to science-fiction fans, in his Introduction to a series of Doctor Who novelizations published in the US in the late 70s.


The First Doctor
If you could touch the alien sand and hear the cries of strange birds, and watch them wheel in another sky, would that satisfy you?
—First Doctor, An Unearthly Child
Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension? Have you? To be exiles? Susan and I are cut off from our own planet - without friends or protection. But one day we shall get back. Yes, one day...
—First Doctor, An Unearthly Child
Fear makes companions of us all, Miss Wright.
—First Doctor, An Unearthly Child
I made some cocoa and got engaged.
—First Doctor, summing up his part in The Aztecs.
It all started out as a mild curiosity in the junkyard and now it's turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure.
—First Doctor, The Sensorites
One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.
—First Doctor, The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Our lives are important - at least to us - and as we see, so we learn... Our destiny is in the stars, so let's go and search for it.
—First Doctor, The Reign of Terror


The Second Doctor
There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.
—Second Doctor, The Moonbase
Our lives are different from anybody else's. That's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing!
—Second Doctor, Tomb of the Cybermen

Jamie: Have you thought up some clever plan, Doctor?
Second Doctor: Yes, Jamie, I believe I have.
Jamie: What are you going to do?

Second Doctor: Bung a rock at it.
—The Abominable Snowmen
This is, er... |Koschei, one of my oldest and dearest friends. We were at... school together, you see. Koschei, this is James Robert McCrimmon. He and Victoria Waterfield travel with me these days.
—Second Doctor, from the Missing Adventures novel The Dark Path
Your leader will be angry if you kill me! I... I'm a genius.
—Second Doctor, talking his way out of being shot down by the Ice Warriors; The Seeds of Death

UNIT Soldier: Halt! You're not allowed in there.

Second Doctor: Me? But I'm allowed everywhere!
—The Five Doctors


The Third Doctor
Now listen to me...
—Third Doctor, every other story
I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow.
— Third Doctor, The Sea Devils
I always find violent exercise makes me hungry, don't you agree?
—Third Doctor, holding The Master at swordpoint while stealing his lunch, The Sea Devils

"Makes it seem so pointless, really, doesn't it?"
"I felt like that once when I was young. It was the blackest day of my life."
"Why?"
"Ah, well, that's another story. I'll tell you about it one day. The point is that day was not only my blackest, it was also my best."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I was a little boy, we used to live in a house that was perched halfway up the top of a mountain. And behind our house, there sat under a tree an old man, a hermit, a monk. He'd lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and he learned the secret of life. So when my black day came I went and asked him to help me."
"He told you the secret? And what was it?"
"Oh, I'm coming to that, Jo. In my own time. Ah, I'll never forget what it was like up there. All bleak and cold, some few bare rocks with some weeds sprouting from them, and some pathetic little patches of sludgy snow. It was just grey. Grey, grey, grey. Well, the tree the old man sat under was ancient and twisted, and the old man himself was as brittle and dry as a leaf in the autumn."
"But what did he say?"
"Nothing. Not a word. He just sat there silently, expressionless. He listened whilst I poured out my troubles to him. I was too unhappy even for tears, I remember. And when I finished, he lifted a skeletal hand, and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?"
"No."
"A flower. One of those little weeds. Just like a daisy, it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment, and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly cut jewel. And the colours-- the colours were deeper and richer than anything you could possibly imagine. It was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen."
"And that was the secret of life? A daisy? Honestly, Doctor..."
"Yes, I laughed too when I first heard it. So later I got up, and I ran down that mountain, and I found that the rocks weren't grey at all. They were red, brown and purple gold. And those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow, they were shining white. Shining white with sunlight... Are you still frightened, Jo?"
"No. Not as much as I was."
"That's good... I'm sorry I brought you to Atlantis."
"I'm not."

"Thank you."
—Jo and the Third Doctor, The Time Monster
Courage isn't just a matter of not being afraid. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway.
—Third Doctor, Planet of the Daleks
You know, for a man who abhors violence, I took great satisfaction in doing that.
—Third Doctor on taking out a Dalek, Planet of the Daleks
So... the fledgling flies the coop.
—Third Doctor, foreseeing the imminent loss of his long time companion; The Green Death
A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting.
—Third Doctor, The Time Warrior
Good grief, it's a triceratops! Look Brigadier, try and keep it occupied while I'm finishing this off, will you?
—Third Doctor, Invasion of the Dinosaurs


The Fourth Doctor
You may be a doctor, but I'm the Doctor. The definite article, you might say.
—Fourth Doctor, Robot
It may be irrational of me, but human beings are quite my favorite species.
—Fourth Doctor, The Ark in Space
Homo Sapiens! What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenseless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts and now here they are, out amongst the stars, waiting to begin a new life. Ready to out-sit eternity. They're indomitable....indomitable.
—Fourth Doctor, musing on humanity, The Ark in Space

Fourth Doctor: Davros, if you had created a virus in your laboratory, something contagious and infectious that killed on contact, a virus that would destroy all other forms of life; would you allow its use?
Davros: It is an interesting conjecture.
Fourth Doctor: Would you do it?
Davros: The only living thing... The microscopic organism... reigning supreme... A fascinating idea.
Fourth Doctor: But would you do it?

Davros: Yes; yes. To hold in my hand, a capsule that contained such power. To know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything. Yes! I would do it! That power would set me up above the gods! And through the Daleks I shall have that power!
—Genesis of the Daleks
You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle.
—Fourth Doctor, Terror of the Zygons
I'm not a human being; I walk in eternity...
—Fourth Doctor, Pyramids of Mars
Deactivating a generator loop without the correct key is like repairing a watch with a hammer and chisel. One false move and you'll never know the time again.
—Fourth Doctor, Pyramids of Mars

Sarah Jane: So, providing we don't burn up on re-entry and aren't suffocated on the way down, we'll probably be smashed to a pulp when we land.
Fourth Doctor: Exactly! Sarah, you've put your finger on the one tiny flaw in our plan.

Sarah Jane: Our plan? It's your plan!
—The Android Invasion

Fourth Doctor: You humans have got such limited, little minds. I don't know why I like you so much.
Sarah Jane: Because you have such good taste.

Fourth Doctor: That's true! That's very true.
—The Masque of Mandragora
The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.
—Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil
That's the empty rhetoric of a defeated dictator, and I don't like your face either.
—Fourth Doctor, Horror of Fang Rock

Romana I: But he had such an honest face!

Fourth Doctor: Well, you could hardly be a successful criminal with a dishonest face.
—The Ribos Operation

Kimus: Do you drive these things for a living?

Fourth Doctor: No. I save planets, mostly.
—The Pirate Planet

Romana II: Where are we going?
Fourth Doctor: Are you talking philosophically or geographically?
Romana II: Philosophically.

Fourth Doctor: Then we're going to lunch.
—City of Death


The Fifth Doctor
[Asks a group of women the quickest way out of town. They all point in different directions] That's democracy for you.
—Fifth Doctor, Castrovalva
An apple a day keeps the... Ah.
—Fifth Doctor, Kinda
For some people, small, beautiful events is what life is all about!
—Fifth Doctor, Earthshock
Sorry, must dash!
—Fifth Doctor, The Five Doctors
There should have been another way.
—The Fifth Doctor on the absurdly high body count in his stories, Warriors of the Deep
Oh, marvelous. You're going to kill me. What a finely-tuned response to the situation.
—Fifth Doctor, Frontios
I tried keeping a diary once. Not chronological, of course. But the trouble with time travel is, one never seems to find the time.
—Fifth Doctor, The Caves of Androzani

Peri: Doctor, why do you wear a stick of celery in your lapel?
Fifth Doctor: Does it offend you?
Peri: No, just curious.
Fifth Doctor: Safety precaution. I'm allergic to certain gases in the praxis range of the spectrum.
Peri: Well how does the celery help?
Fifth Doctor: If the gas is present, the celery turns purple.
Peri: And then what do you do?

Fifth Doctor: I eat the celery. If nothing else I'm sure it's good for my teeth.
—Fifth Doctor, The Caves of Androzani

Fifth Doctor: (feverish) Not a very persuasive argument actually Stolz because I'm going to die soon anyway. Unless of course-
Stolz: I'll give you until the count of three!

Fifth Doctor: (now also resolute) Unless of course I can find the antidote! I owe it to my friend to try because I got her into this! So you see, I'm not gonna let you stop me now!
—Fifth Doctor, The Caves of Androzani


The Sixth Doctor
Well, look at me. I'm old, lacking in vigour, my mind's in turmoil. I no longer know if I'm coming, have gone, or even been. I'm falling to pieces. I no longer even have any clothes sense... Self-pity is all I have left.
—Sixth Doctor, The Twin Dilemma
Rest is for the weary, sleep is for the dead. I feel like a hungry man eager for the feast!
—Sixth Doctor, Attack of the Cybermen

Davros: This part of the galaxy is developing quickly. Famine *was* one of its major problems.
Sixth Doctor: You turned them into food?
Davros: A scheme that has earned me great acclaim.
Doctor: But did you bother to tell anyone they might be eating their own relatives?

Davros: Certainly not! That would have created what I believe is termed... "consumer resistance".
—Revelation of the Daleks
Planets come and go. Stars perish. Matter disperses, coalesces, forms into other patterns, other worlds. Nothing can be eternal.
—Sixth Doctor, The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet
This is a situation that requires tact and finesse. Fortunately, I am blessed with both.
—Sixth Doctor, The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids
In all my travelling throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power mad conspirators. I should have stayed here. The oldest civilisation: decadent, degenerate, and rotten to the core. Power mad conspirators, Daleks, Sontarans... Cybermen, they're still in the nursery compared to us. Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt!
—Sixth Doctor, The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe


The Seventh Doctor
Think about me when you're living your life one day after another, all in a neat pattern. Think about the homeless traveller in his old police box, his days like crazy paving.
—Seventh Doctor, Dragonfire

Davros: We shall become all-

Seventh Doctor: "Powerful! Crush the lesser races! Conquer the galaxy! Unimaginable power! Unlimited rice pudding! Etcetera, etcetera!"
—Remembrance of the Daleks
Oi! Dalek! Over here. It's me, the Doctor. What's the matter with you? Don't you recognise your mortal enemy?
—Seventh Doctor, Remembrance of the Daleks

Group Captain Gilmore: "What am I dealing with? Little green men?"

Seventh Doctor: "No, little green blobs in bonded polycarbide armour!"
—Remembrance of the Daleks
I can hear the sound of empires toppling.
—Seventh Doctor, The Happiness Patrol
[cheerily] Hello! I'm the Doctor! I believe you want to kill me?
—Seventh Doctor, Silver Nemesis
Let me guess: my heresies appall you, my theories outrage you, I never answer letters, and you don't like my tie.
—Seventh Doctor, Ghost Light

Ace: Don't you have things you hate?

The Doctor: I can't stand burnt toast. I loathe bus stations - terrible places, full of lost luggage and lost souls. And then there's unrequited love, and tyranny, and cruelty.
—Seventh Doctor, Ghost Light
There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do.
—Seventh Doctor, Survival (the last piece of dialogue in the Classic Series)

The Eighth Doctor

Eighth Doctor: A meteor storm. The sky above us was dancing with lights. Purple, green, brilliant yellow. YES!
Dr. Grace Holloway: What?

Eighth Doctor: These shoes! [stomps the ground happily] They fit perfectly!
—Doctor Who: The Movie

Eighth Doctor: Puccini! We've met before.
Grace: Ugh. I don't think so.

Eighth Doctor: Yes yes yes I think so! I know you! You're...You're tired of life, but afraid of dying.
—Doctor Who: The Movie
Eighth Doctor: (towards the Master) You want dominion over the living, yet all you do is kill.
—Doctor Who: The Movie
I am the man that gives monsters nightmares. The Daleks call me the Bringer of Darkness. I am the Eighth Man Bound. I am the Champion of Life and Time. I'm the guy with two hearts. I make History better. I am the Doctor.
—Eighth Doctor, from the Virgin New Adventures novel The Dying Days


The Ninth Doctor
Do you wanna come with me? 'Cause if you do, then I should warn you, you're gonna see all sorts of things. Ghosts from the past. Aliens from the future. The day the Earth died in a ball of flame. It won't be quiet, it won't be safe and it won't be calm. But I'll tell you what it will be: the trip of a lifetime.
—Ninth Doctor, 2005 trailers
Run.
—The Ninth Doctor's first words to Rose Tyler, "Rose"

Rose Tyler: Is it always this dangerous?

Ninth Doctor: *eyes light up* Yeah!
—"Rose"
I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at 1,000 miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the Sun at 67,000 miles an hour and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... That's who I am.
—Ninth Doctor, "Rose"
The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through those doors. And believe me, they've tried.
—Ninth Doctor on the sturdiness of the TARDIS, "Rose"

Ninth Doctor (on the Gelth): Did it say anything? Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, by the way.
Charles Dickens: Doctor? You look more like a navvy.

Ninth Doctor: What's wrong with this jumper? [1]
—"The Unquiet Dead"

Dalek: I am waiting for orders.
Ninth Doctor: What does that mean?
Dalek:: I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders.
Ninth Doctor: Well, you're never gonna get any. Not ever.
Dalek: I demand orders!
Ninth Doctor: They're never gonna come! Your race is dead! You all burned, all of you! Ten million ships on fire: the entire Dalek race wiped out in one second!
Dalek: You lie!
Ninth Doctor: I watched it happen! I made it happen!
Dalek: You destroyed us?
Ninth Doctor: ....I had no choice.
Dalek: And what of the Time Lords?

Ninth Doctor: Dead. They burned with you. The end of the Last Great Time War...everybody lost.
—"Dalek"

Ninth Doctor: Dom't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for.
Dalek: ...Then what should I do?
Ninth Doctor: Alright then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself.
Dalek: The Daleks must survive!
Ninth Doctor: The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job, and make the Daleks extinct? Rid the universe of your filth! Why don't you just DIE!

Dalek: ...You would make a good Dalek.
—"Dalek"
The thing is, Adam, time travel is like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guidebook, you've gotta throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers - or is that just me?
—Ninth Doctor, "The Long Game"
Who said you're not important? I've travelled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine. But you two? Street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that.
—The Ninth Doctor to a married couple, "Father's Day"

Ninth Doctor: Sonic blaster, 51st Century... weapon factories at Villengard?
Captain Jack Harkness: Yeah. You've been to the factories?
Ninth Doctor: Once.
Captain Jack: They're gone now, destroyed. Main reactor went critical, vaporised the lot.

Ninth Doctor: Like I said, once. There's a banana grove there now. I like bananas. Bananas are good.
—"The Doctor Dances"

Ninth Doctor: Dr. Constantine, never left his patients. Back on your feet, constant doctor. The world doesn't want to get by without you just yet, and I don't blame it one bit. These are your patients, all better now.
Dr. Constantine: Yes, yes, so it seems. They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?

Ninth Doctor: Yeah well, y'know...cutbacks.
—"The Doctor Dances"

Ninth Doctor: History says there was an explosion, who am I to argue with history?

Rose: Usually the first in line.
—"The Doctor Dances"
Ninth Doctor: Everybody Lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!
—"The Doctor Dances"

Dalek: Alert! Alert! We are detected!
Dalek: It is the Doctor. He has located us. Open communications channel!
Dalek: The female will stand! Stand!
(the communications channel opens)
Dalek: I will talk to the Doctor.
Ninth Doctor: Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!
Dalek: The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene.
Ninth Doctor: Oh, really? Why's that then?
Dalek: We have your associate! You will obey or she will be exterminated!
Ninth Doctor: ... No.
(everyone present, Daleks included, turn and stare at the Doctor)
Dalek: Explain yourself!
Ninth Doctor: I said no.
Dalek: What is the meaning of this negative!?
Ninth Doctor: It means "No".
Dalek: But. She. Will. Be. Destroyed!
Ninth Doctor: No! 'Cause this is what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna rescue her! I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet! Then I'm gonna save the Earth! Then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!
Dalek: But you have no weapons! No defences! No plan!
Ninth Doctor: Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death? ...Rose?
Rose: Yes, Doctor?

Ninth Doctor: I'm coming to get you.
—"Bad Wolf"
You know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might have removed all your emotions, but I reckon right down deep in your DNA there's one little spark left. And that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me?
—Ninth Doctor, "The Parting of The Ways"

Ninth Doctor: Rose Tyler, I was going to take you to so many places. Barcelona! Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it, fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses! (laughs) Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke and it's still funny!
Rose: Then, why can't we go?
Ninth Doctor: Maybe you will. Maybe I will. But not like this.
Rose: You're not making sense.
Ninth Doctor: I might never make sense again! I might have two heads, or no head. Imagine me with no head, ha! And don't say that's an improvement... But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with.
Rose: Doctor!
Ninth Doctor: Stay away!
Rose: Doctor, tell me what's going on--
Ninth Doctor: I absorbed all the energy of the time vortex, and no one's meant to do that... Every cell in my body's dying.
Rose: Isn't there something you can do?
Ninth Doctor: Yeah. Doing it now. See, Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except, it means I'm going to change. And you're not going to see me again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go—
Rose: Don't say that!
Ninth Doctor: Rose... before I go, I just want to tell you: you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!
(the Ninth Doctor regenerates)

Tenth Doctor: Hello! Okay. ...New teeth. That's weird. So where was I? Oh, that's right--Barcelona!
—The regeneration of the Ninth Doctor begins, "The Parting of the Ways"


The Tenth Doctor
Allons-y!
—Tenth Doctor; numerous times
By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential, when you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this...it is defended!
—Tenth Doctor to the defeated Sycorax leader, "The Christmas Invasion"
No second chances. I'm that sort of a man.
—Tenth Doctor, after sending the Sycorax leader to his doom using a satsuma, "The Christmas Invasion"
I'm sorry, I am so, so, sorry.
—Tenth Doctor, every other Series 2 [2] episode

Tenth Doctor: If I don't like your plan, it will end.
Mr. Finch / Brother Lassar: Fascinating. Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence. You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us, Doctor?

Tenth Doctor: I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy. You get one warning. That was it.
—"School Reunion"

Sarah Jane Smith: Goodbye, Doctor.
Tenth Doctor: Oh, it's not goodbye...
Sarah Jane Smith: No, say it. This time, say it.
[[[Beat]]]

Tenth Doctor: Goodbye... my Sarah Jane!! *picks her up off the ground and hugs the living daylights out of her*
—Sarah Jane rights a wrong three decades old, "School Reunion"

Tenth Doctor: Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink.
Mickey Smith: What's that?

Tenth Doctor: No idea, I just made it up. Didn't want to say "magic door".
—Tenth Doctor channeling the Cat from Red Dwarf, "The Girl in the Fireplace"

Tenth Doctor: Even monsters under the bed have nightmares.
Young Reinette: What do monsters have nightmares about?

Tenth Doctor: ME!
—"The Girl in the Fireplace"

Tenth Doctor: Madame de Pompadour! You look younger every day.
King Louis: What the hell is going on?
Madame de Pompadour: Oh. This is my lover, the King of France.

Tenth Doctor: Yeah? Well I'm the Lord of Time.
—"The Girl in the Fireplace"

Eddie Connolly: I. Am. TALKING!

Tenth Doctor: And I'm not LISTENING! Now, you, Mr. Connolly, you are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you don't let me help. So I'm ordering you, sir, tell me what's going on!
—"The Idiot's Lantern"

Tenth Doctor: Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia!
Rose: Monsters, that boy said... Maybe we should go and ask the neighbours.
Tenth Doctor: That's what I like about you: the domestic approach.

Rose: Thank you...hold on, was that an insult?
—"The Idiot's Lantern"
But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods, bad gods, demigods, would-be gods, and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her!
—The Tenth Doctor, on Rose Tyler, "The Satan Pit"

Ida Scott: Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said... you two, who are you?

Tenth Doctor: Oh... (glancing at Rose) the stuff of legend.
—"The Satan Pit"

Rose: Doctor, they've got guns.

Tenth Doctor: And I haven't. Which makes me the better person. They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine.
—"Army of Ghosts"

Martha: You're completely mad!

Tenth Doctor: You're right, I look daft in one shoe...
—"Smith and Jones"
Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden...except for cheap tricks.
—Tenth Doctor, "Smith and Jones"

Martha: Blimey, do you have to take a test to fly this thing?

Tenth Doctor: Yes, and I failed.
—Martha Jones on the TARDIS, "The Shakespeare Code"

Tenth Doctor: Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural, if unfortunate demise. Call a constable, have him taken away.
Dolly: Yes, sir.
Lilith: I'll do it ma'am.
Martha: And why are you telling them that?
Tenth Doctor: They've still got one foot in the dark ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft.
Martha: OK, what was it then?

Tenth Doctor: Witchcraft.
—"The Shakespeare Code"

Tenth Doctor: Ohh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know, Back to the Future. It's like Back to The Future.
Martha: The film?

Tenth Doctor: No, the novelisation. Yes, the film!
—"The Shakespeare Code"

Queen Elizabeth I: Doctor!
Tenth Doctor (questioningly): What?
Queen Elizabeth I: My sworn enemy!
Tenth Doctor (confused): What?!
Queen Elizabeth I: Off with his head!
Tenth Doctor (incredulous): WHAT?!!
Martha: Never mind what, just run! (they start running)
Queen Elizabeth I: Stop him!
Martha: See you, Will. And thanks!
Queen Elizabeth I: Stop that pernicious Doctor!
Guard: Stop, in the name of the queen.
Martha: What have you done to upset her?

Tenth Doctor: How should I know, I haven't met her yet! That's time travel for you. Still, can't wait to find out, that's something to look forward to...
—"The Shakespeare Code"
And that's it, I'm afraid. There's no more from you on the transcript, that's the last I've got. I don't know what stopped you talking but I can guess. They're coming. The Angels are coming for you, but listen: your life could depend on this. Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck.
—Tenth Doctor, "Blink"

Master: Doctor.
Tenth Doctor: Master.
Master: I like it when you use my name.
Tenth Doctor: You chose it. Psychiatrist's field day.

Master: As you chose yours. The man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?
—"The Sound of Drums"
Look at you! The hat, the coat, the crickety-cricket stuff, the.... (unenthusiastically) stick of celery, yeah.... brave choice, celery, but fair play to you, not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable.
—Tenth Doctor to the Fifth Doctor, "Time Crash"
"Hey, I'm the Doctor! I can save the universe with a kettle and some string! And look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable."
—Tenth Doctor mimicking the Fifth Doctor, "Time Crash"
I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
—Tenth Doctor, "Voyage of the Damned"
Astrid Peth, citizen of Sto, the woman who looked at the stars and dreamt of travelling... there is an old tradition... Now you can travel forever... You’re not falling, Astrid; you’re flying.
—The Tenth Doctor scattering Astrid's atoms across the universe; "Voyage of the Damned"
Health and safety...film department.
—The Tenth Doctor, spying through a projection room, "Partners in Crime"

Tenth Doctor: Hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before...dying. Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?
Miss Foster: No.

Tenth Doctor: Nor me. Let's find out!
—"Partners in Crime"
You need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide and you´ll see a little picture of me there and the caption´ll read 'OVER MY DEAD BODY'!
—The Tenth Doctor, doing his job, "The Doctor´s Daughter"
I never would. Have you got that? I never would. When you start this new world; this world of Human and Hath, remember that. Make the foundation of this society a man who never would.
—Tenth Doctor on taking revenge for the death of his daughter, "The Doctor's Daughter"

Donna Noble: Use your thingy!
Tenth Doctor: I can't. It's wood.

Donna: What, it doesn't do wood?!
—Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble arguing over the sonic screwdriver, "Silence in the Library"

Tenth Doctor: You're not archaeologists, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists.
River Song: Do you have a problem with archaeologists?
Tenth Doctor: I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists.

River Song: Ahh. (shaking the Doctor's hand) Professor River Song, archaeologist.
—"Silence in the Library"

Vashta Nerada: These are our forests. They are our meat.
(the shadows grow)
Tenth Doctor: Don't play games with me. You just killed someone I liked, that is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor and you're in the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up.
[[[Beat]]]

(the shadows recoil)
—"Forest of the Dead"

Donna Noble: You alright?
Tenth Doctor: I'm always alright.
Donna Noble: Is 'alright' special Time Lord code for 'really not alright at all'?
Tenth Doctor: Why?

Donna Noble: 'Cause I'm alright too.
—"Forest of the Dead"

General Brudge: You don't have the courage to bear arms, Doctor.

Tenth Doctor: Oh, there are lots of other things I'll bear and bravely too. I'll bear witness; I'll bear the blame! Bear ridicule, bear fruit, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I can bear a burden, bear inspection; I can bear pain; I can grin and bear it. I may be a bearer of little brain, General, but what you should bear in mind that I don't care to -- and don't need to -- Bear. Arms.
—Pest Control ("New Series Adventures" audiobook)

Rani: I hope you're as good as Ms. Smith says you are.

Tenth Doctor: Well, you know, reporters, they tend to exaggerate, but, yeah, I'm pretty amazing on a good day.
—The Sarah Jane Adventures: "The Wedding of Sarah Jane"

Adelaide Brooke: State your name, rank and intention.

Tenth Doctor: The Doctor, doctor, fun.
—"The Waters on Mars"
I don't want to go.
—The Tenth Doctor, on the verge of regeneration, The End of Time


The Eleventh Doctor
Still not ginger!
—One of the first things the Eleventh Doctor says after regenerating, The End of Time
GERONIMO!!!!!
—Eleventh Doctor, The End of Time
Trust me. I'm the Doctor.
—Eleventh Doctor, "The Eleventh Hour"

Amy Pond: I thought, like, well I started to think that maybe you were just a mad man with a box.

Eleventh Doctor: Amy Pond, there's something you'd better understand about me because it's important and one day your life may depend on it. I am definitely a mad man with a box!
—"The Eleventh Hour"

Amy Pond: I grew up.

Eleventh Doctor: Don't worry. I'll soon fix that.
—"The Eleventh Hour"

Amy Pond: You're worse than my aunt!

Eleventh Doctor: I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt! *beat* And that is not how I'm introducing myself.
—"The Eleventh Hour"

Eleventh Doctor: Leaving is good. Never coming back is better. C'MOOOOONNN, then! The Doctor will see you now!
Atraxi: You are not of this world.
Eleventh Doctor: No, but I've put a lot of work into it. (compares a few ties) I dunno. What do you think?
Atraxi: Is this world important?
Eleventh Doctor: Important? What's that mean, important? Six billion people live here. Is that important? Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi? Well c'mon, you're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?
(the Atraxi scan the history of the Earth)
Atraxi: No.
Eleventh Doctor: Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crimes, by the laws of the Atraxi?
Atraxi: No.
Eleventh Doctor: Okay! One more, just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first to have come here, oh, there have been so many. And what you've got to ask is, what happened to them?
(the Atraxi's scanning shows images of all of the Doctor's nemeses, followed by images of all ten previous incarnations of the Doctor, before the Eleventh Doctor steps through the hologram)

Eleventh Doctor: Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically... run.
—"The Eleventh Hour"
All of time and space, everything that ever happened, or ever will. Where do you want to start?
—Eleventh Doctor, "The Eleventh Hour"
Bow Ties Are Cool.
—Eleventh Doctor, often

Amy: You look human.
Eleventh Doctor: No, you look Time Lord. We came first.
Amy: So there are other Time Lords, yeah?

Eleventh Doctor: [his face adopts a pained expression] ...No, there were but there aren't...just me now. Long story. It was a bad day, lots of bad stuff happened, and you know what? I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever. 'Cause this is what I do; every time, every day, every second. This! Hold tight. [big grin] We're bringing down the government.
—"The Beast Below"

Eleventh Doctor: The writing, the graffiti [on the home box]: Old High Gallifreyan, lost language of the Time Lords. There were days, there were many days, that these words could burn stars, and raise up empires, and topple gods.
Amy: What does this say?

Eleventh Doctor: ..."Hello, sweetie".
—"The Time of Angels"

Father Octavian: There are six billion human colonists [on this planet].

Eleventh Doctor: You lot, you're everywhere, you're like rabbits! (grins like a kid on Christmas morning) I'll never get done saving you.
—"The Time of Angels"

Eleventh Doctor: There's one thing you never put in a trap if you're smart. If you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow there's one thing you never ever put in a trap.
Angel Bob: And what would that be, sir?

Eleventh Doctor: Me.
—Eleventh Doctor to an entire army of Weeping Angels, once again demonstrating his ability to Badass Boast, "The Time of Angels"

Eleventh Doctor: Amy, you've got to start trusting me. It's never been more important.
Amy: But you don't always tell me the truth.

Eleventh Doctor: If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me.
—"Flesh and Stone" and "The Big Bang"

Amy: Then why am I here?
Eleventh Doctor: Because…Because I can't see it anymore…
Amy: See what?
Eleventh Doctor: I'm 907. After a while you just can't see it anymore.
Amy: See what?

Eleventh Doctor: Everything. I look at a star and it's just a big ball of burning gas, and I know how it began, I know how it ends…and I was probably there both times. You know, after a while, everything is just stuff. That's the problem. You make all of space and time your backyard what do you have? A backyard. But you can see it. And when you see it, I see it.
—"Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2"

Eleventh Doctor: They're just friends. Chums, pals, mates, buddies. ...not mates, forget mates.
Amy: And out of all those...friends, how many would you say, just out of curiosity, were girls?
Eleventh Doctor: Oh...some of them, I suppose. Must've been.
Amy: Some?
Eleventh Doctor: It's hard to tell; it's a grey area.
Amy: Under half? Over half?
Eleventh Doctor: Probably...slightly...little bit over?
Amy: Young?
Eleventh Doctor: Everyone's young compared to me.
Amy: Hot?
Eleventh Doctor: No, no, no, no, no. None of them, not really. Not at all...probably not. Maybe one or two. I didn't really notice?
Amy: Well, this big old machine must have some kind of visual records?
Eleventh Doctor: Oh God - I mean no, and anyway, they're voice locked.
Amy: Voice locked...so I would just have to say 'show me all visual records of previous TARDIS inhabitants'?
Eleventh Doctor: No, no, no, no, I mean voice locked. I would have to say 'show me all visual records of previous TARDIS inhabitants'.
Amy: Awww...thank you.
Eleventh Doctor: No! No! No! No! No!
Amy: (sees images of various companions) Haha! Ooh, Gandalf!

Eleventh Doctor: (to the TARDIS) Thanks. Thanks, dear. Miss out the metal dog, why don't you?
—"Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2"

Rory: Yours is bigger than mine.

Eleventh Doctor: Let´s not go there.
—"The Vampires of Venice", discussing some pre-matrimonial issues.
This ends today. I will tear down the House of Calvierri stone by stone. [...] And you know why? You didn't know Isabella's name. You didn't know Isabella's name.
—Eleventh Doctor, "The Vampires of Venice"
There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick.
—Eleventh Doctor, "Amy's Choice"
Less of a young professional - more of an ancient amateur...
—Eleventh Doctor, "The Lodger"
People fall out of the world sometimes, but they always leave traces. Little things we can't quite account for. Faces in photographs, luggage, half-eaten meals, rings. Nothing is ever forgotten, not completely. And if something can be remembered, it can come back.
—The Eleventh Doctor tries to get Amy to remember Rory, "The Pandorica Opens"

Rory: So why am I here?

Eleventh Doctor: Because you are. The Universe is big; it's vast and complicated and ridiculous and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles. 900 years, never seen one yet, but this'll do me.
—"The Pandorica Opens"
Now the question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica? Answer -- I do. Next question, who's coming to take it from me? (beat) Come on! Look at me: no plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else I haven't got: Any, thing, to, lose! So if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you. And then, and then, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first.
—Eleventh Doctor to an entire army of Doctor Who villains, "The Pandorica Opens"
It's a fez, I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool.
—Eleventh Doctor on his new hat, "The Big Bang"
When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad, and you won't even remember me. Well you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. That's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? 'Cause it was, you know. It was the best. A daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well, I borrowed it; I was always gonna take it back. Oh, that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient, and the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? Woulda had. Never had. In your dreams, they'll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond, and the days that never came.
—Eleventh Doctor to Amelia, just before he's about to be erased from time, "The Big Bang".
Christmas Eve on a rooftop, saw a chimney, my whole brain went "What the hell!"
—Eleventh Doctor, after dropping down through a chimney, "A Christmas Carol"

Eleventh Doctor: Who's she?
Kazran: Nobody important.

Eleventh Doctor: Nobody important. Blimey, that's amazing. D'you know, in 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before.
—"A Christmas Carol"
I'm being extremely clever up here and there is no one to stand around looking impressed! What is the point of having you all?
—Eleven, a mite cross with his companions' secret meeting, "The Impossible Astronaut"
I'm going to need a SWAT team ready to mobilise, street maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, twelve Jammy Dodgers and a fez!
—Eleventh Doctor, having just barged into the Oval Office with guns pointed at him and a solution to President Nixon's mystery caller, "The Impossible Astronaut"

Eleventh Doctor: ... Dr Song, you've got that face on again.
River Song: What face?
Eleventh Doctor: The "he's hot when he's clever" face.
River Song: It's my normal face.

Eleventh Doctor: Yes it is.
—"The Impossible Astronaut"
You just raised an army against yourself! And now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day. How fast can you run? Because today's the day the human race threw you off their planet. And they won't even know they're doing it. I think the word you're looking for right now is "Oops".
—"Day of the Moon", part of the Eleventh Doctor's requisite Kirk Summation.

Richard Nixon: I'm a president at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask? Will I be remembered?

Eleventh Doctor: Oh Dicky. Tricky Dicky. They're never going to forget you.
—"Day of the Moon"

House: Fear me, Doctor, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords.

Eleventh Doctor: Fear me, I've killed all of them.
—"The Doctor's Wife"
Reverse the Jelly Baby of the neutron flow.
—The Eleventh Doctor's ganger duplicate getting adjusted to his regenerations in "The Almost People"

Amy: Doctor, I'm frightened. I'm properly, properly scared.
Eleventh Doctor: Don't be; hold on. We're coming for you, I swear. Whatever happens -- however hard, however far -- we will find you.
Amy: I'm right here...

Eleventh Doctor: No you're not; and you haven't been for a very, very long time...
—"The Almost People"
Hello everyone! Guess who? Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax; you're only human.
—The Eleventh Doctor, having infiltrated an amassed army formed for the sole purpose of killing him; "A Good Man Goes to War"

Eleventh Doctor: No. Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men "run away."
Colonel Manton: What?
Eleventh Doctor: Those words. "Run away." I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Runaway. I want children laughing outside your door, 'cause they've found the house of Colonel Runaway. And when people come to you and ask if trying to get to me through the people I love! ...is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name. [[[Beat]]] Look, I'm angry, that's new. I'm not really sure what's going to happen now.
Madame Kovarian: The anger of a good man is not a problem. They have too many rules.

Eleventh Doctor: Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many of them.
—"A Good Man Goes To War
Imagine you were afraid, a long way from home, in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse... you looked up, and saw the face of the devil himself. [[[Beat]]] Hello, Dalek.
—The Eleventh Doctor, The Wedding of River Song


Companions, Foes, and Others
What are you doing here?
—Recurring phrase said by nearly everyone

First Dalek: Exterminate all Humans!
Second Dalek: Exterminate all Humans!
First Dalek: [[AC:Exterminate! Annihilate! Destroy! Daleks conquer and destroy!

All Daleks: Daleks conquer and destroy! Daleks conquer and destroy! Daleks conquer and destroy!]] (repeats until the out-of-step chanting blends together)
—The Power of the Daleks
Oh, don't underestimate them, Jimmy. They may look like amateurs, but that man has an incredible knack of being one jump ahead of everyone.
—Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, The Invasion
I am The Master, and you will obey me.
—The Master, Terror of the Autons
There is no point in further discussion. Discussion is for the wise and the helpless, and I am neither.
—Leela, The Invasion of Time

Romana: They taught me at school how to stop my hearts.
Tyssan: Hearts? How many have you got?

Romana: One for casual, one for best.
—Destiny of the Daleks

Countess Scarlioni: I don't think he's as stupid as he seems.

Count Scarlioni: My dear, no one could be as stupid as he seems.
—Discussing the Fourth Doctor, City of Death

Duggan: You know what I don't understand...?

Romana: I expect so.
—City of Death

Fifth Doctor: All this carnage isn't necessary.
Terileptil: It's survival, Doctor. Just as these primates kill lesser species to protect themselves, so I kill them. [turns to leave]
Fifth Doctor: That's hardly an argument!

Terileptil: [angrily] It's not supposed to be argument! It's a statement!
—The Visitation
Splendid fellows, all of you.
—Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, to the First through Fifth Doctors, The Five Doctors

The Master: I am the Master!

Peri: So what? "I'm Perpugilliam Brown, and I can shout just as loud as you can!"
—Planet of Fire
You have the mouth of a prattling jackanapes. But your eyes: They tell a different story.
—Sharaz Jek speaking to the Fifth Doctor, The Caves of Androzani
Your sense of humour will be the death of you, Doctor. Probably quite soon.
—Sharaz Jek (once more), The Caves of Androzani
The truth? Hex wants the truth. Where to start? The most important truth you never learned, Hexxie boy, is that when the chips are down, the Doctor only ever thinks about himself. You see, it's just a chess game for him. He is the King -- All clever and very impressive but very hands-off with the nitty-gritty. He sits at the back and sends everyone else rushing about, doing his dirty work, all those plans and strategies and tinkering, sending wave after wave of pawns to die while he keeps his conscience clean.
—On the Seventh Doctor, A Death In The Family

Clive: The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes he's there. He brings a storm in his wake and he has only one constant companion.
Rose: Who's that?

Clive: Death.
—"Rose"
Are you my mummy?
—The Child, "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances"

Captain Jack: Captain Jack Harkness.
Lynda: Lynda Moss.
Captain Jack: Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss.
Ninth Doctor: You mind flirting outside?
Captain Jack: I was just saying hello.
Ninth Doctor: For you that's flirting.

Lynda: I'm not complaining.
—"Bad Wolf"

Sarah Jane: The Doctor likes traveling with an entourage. Sometimes they're human, sometimes they're aliens and sometimes they're tin dogs. ...What about you? Where do you fit in the picture?

Mickey: Me? I'm their man in Havana. I'm their technical support. I'm--oh my god. I'm the tin dog!
—"School Reunion"

Ricky: You see? No earpods. While the rest of the world downloads from Cybus Industries, we, we, have got freedom. You're talking to London's Most Wanted, but Target No. 1 is Lumic and we are going to bring him down.
Mickey: From your kitchen?
Ricky: Have you got a problem with that?

Mickey: No, it's a good kitchen.
—"Rise of the Cybermen"
Y'know, when you're a kid, they tell you it's all grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid and that's it. But the truth is the world's so much stranger than that, and so much darker, and so much madder, and so much better.
—Elton Pope, "Love & Monsters"

Dalek: You will identify!
Rose: All right, then. That's the Doctor.
(All four Daleks jerk away)

Rose: Five million Cybermen, no problem. One Doctor... now you're scared.
—"Army of Ghosts"

Cyber Leader: Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen.
Dalek Sec: This is not war. This is pest control!
Cyber Leader: We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?
Dalek Sec: Four.
Cyber Leader: You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?
Dalek Sec: We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek! You are superior in only one respect.
Cyber Leader: What is that?

Dalek Sec: You are better at dying!
—"Doomsday"

But of all the strange, strange creatures
In the air, at sea, on land,
Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,

I love you, you understand.
—Neil Hannon singing "Love Don't Roam", "The Runaway Bride"
You are not alone.
—The Face of Boe to the Tenth Doctor, "Gridlock"

Dalek: Daleks have no concept of "worry".
Diagoras: Yeah? Well, lucky you.
Dalek: This day is ending. Humankind is weak. You shelter from the dark. And yet, you have built all this.
Diagoras: That's progress. You gotta move with the times or you get left behind.
Dalek: My planet is gone. Destroyed in a great war. Yet versions of this city stand throughout history. The human race always continues.
Diagoras: We've had wars. I've been a soldier myself. And I swore then I'd survive, no matter what.
Dalek: You have rare ambition.
Diagoras: Oh, I want to run this city, no matter what it takes. By any means necessary.
Dalek: You think like a Dalek.

Diagoras: ...I'll take that as a compliment.
—"Daleks in Manhattan"

Hutchinson: Latimer, you filthy coward!

Tim Latimer: Oh, yes sir, every time, sir!
—"The Family of Blood"

Tim Latimer: He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun.
John Smith: Stop it.
Tim Latimer: He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe.
John Smith: Stop it, I said stop it.

Tim Latimer: And... he's wonderful.
—Tim Latimer describing the Tenth Doctor, "The Family of Blood"

Master (on the gasmask he's wearing): Because of the gas.
Cabinet Member: What gas?

Master: This gas.
—"The Sound of Drums"

The Master: Anything I can do? I could make the tea - or isn't that American enough? I dunno, I could make grits. What are "grits", anyway?
President Winters: If you could just sit?

The Master (to Lucy): Misery guts.
—"The Sound of Drums"

Donna: I'm not drifting...I'm waiting.
Wilf: What for?
Donna: The right man.
Wilf: (chuckles) Same old story, a man!
Donna: No, I don't mean like that, but he's real. I've seen him. I've met him, just once, and then, I let him fly away.
Wilf: Well, there you are, go and find him.
Donna: I've tried. He's...nowhere.
Wilf: Eh? Not like you to give up. D'you know? I remember when you were six years old, your mother said "No holiday, this year". So off you toddled all on your own and you got on a bus to Strathclyde! We had the police out and everything! "Where's she gone, then? Where's that girl, eh?"

Donna: ...You're right. 'Cause he's out there, somewhere. And I'll find him, gramps. Even if I have to wait a hundred years, I'll find him.
—Donna Noble speaking of the Doctor, "Partners in Crime"

Donna: (answering the phone, whispering) Not now.
Sylvia: I need the car. Where are you?
Donna: I can't, I'm busy.
Sylvia: Why are you whispering?
Donna: I'm in church.
Sylvia: What are you doing in church?
Donna: ...Praying.

Sylvia: Bit late for that, madam.
—"Partners in Crime"
'Cause the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's gotta be a hoax.
—Donna Noble, "Partners in Crime"

Pompeiian Stallholder: 'Afternoon sweet'art. What can I get you, miluv?
Donna: (clears her throat) Veni, vidi, vici.[3]
Stallholder: Huh? Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No. Can. Do. Missy.
Donna: Yeah! (to the Tenth Doctor) How's he mean, Celtic?

Tenth Doctor: Welsh. You sound Welsh. There we are, learnt something.
—Donna Noble tests out the TARDIS' recursive translation circuits, "The Fires of Pompeii"
He saves worlds, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures, and runs a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved.
—Donna Noble describing the Tenth Doctor, "The Doctor's Daughter"
When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever, for one moment, accepts it. Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives.
—River Song, "Forest of the Dead"

Father Octavian: You promised me an army.

River Song: No, I promised you the equivalent of one. This is the Doctor.
—"The Time of Angels"
You know what's dangerous about you, Doctor? It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around.
—Rory Williams, "The Vampires of Venice"

(on the legend of "the Pandorica" and what's trapped inside it)
Eleventh Doctor: There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.
Amy Pond: How did it end up in there?
Eleventh Doctor: You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it.

River Song: I hate good wizards in fairy tales; they always turn out to be him.
—"The Pandorica Opens" (the intended occupant of the Pandorica is later revealed to be the Doctor himself)

(River Song faces off against a very weak Dalek after said Dalek has killed the Doctor)
Dalek: You will be EXTERMINATED!
River: Not yet. Your systems are still restoring, which means your shield density is compromised. One Alpha-Meson burst through your eyestalk would kill you stone dead.
Dalek: Records indicate you will show mercy, you are an associate of the Doctor.
River: I'm River Song. (points her weapon at the Dalek's eyestalk) Check your records again.
(beat)
Dalek: ...Mercy?
River: Say it again.
Dalek: Mercy!
River: One. More. Time.
Dalek: MERCY!!!
(cut to River Song walking alone through the halls)
Amy: What happened to the Dalek?

River (nonchalant): It died.
—"The Big Bang"
Raggedy Man, I remember you, and you are LATE FOR MY WEDDING!
—Amy Pond, "The Big Bang"

"The only water in the forest is the river..."
"Silence will fall (when the Question is asked)"

"Tick-tock goes the clock..."
—Arc Words; Series 6

Amy: What's the matter with you?
Rory: You... called me stupid.
Amy: I always call you stupid.
Rory: No... but... my face.
Amy: (Sees the transmitter, and realizes that Rory heard her saying that she loves his "stupid face," which he thought was referring to the Doctor.)
Rory: I wasn't sure who you were talking about... You know, me or...
Amy: Him?
Rory: Well you did say "dropped out of the sky".

Amy: It's a figure of speech, moron! (kisses him)
—Amy and Rory, "Day of the Moon"

The Doctor: You know, since we're talking, with mouths -- not really an opportunity that comes along very often -- I just wanna say you have never been very reliable.
The TARDIS: And you have?
The Doctor: You didn't always take me where I wanted to go.
The TARDIS: No, but I always took you where you needed to go.
...
The TARDIS: Do you ever wonder why I chose you, all those years ago?
The Doctor: I chose you. You were unlocked.
The TARDIS: Of course I was. I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and ran away. And you were the only one mad enough.
...
The TARDIS: There's something I didn't get to say to you.
The Doctor: ...goodbye.

The TARDIS: No. I just wanted to say... Hello. Hello, Doctor. It's so very, very nice to meet you.
—"The Doctor's Wife"

"I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved. That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Melody, is very very brave. But not as brave as they all have to be, because there's somebody coming. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing, but trust me; he's on his way. There's a man who's never going to let us down, and not even an army can get in the way. He's the last of his kind; he looks young, but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because this man is your father. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better... as The Last Centurion."
Amy Pond, Badass Boast-ing in Rory's name., "A Good Man Goes to War"

River: The Doctor lies.
—Rule #1, "A Good Man Goes To War"

"Where. Is. My. Wife."
Rory Williams, asking the Cybermen a question.
"A Good Man Goes To War"

How can you be so clever and so completely stupid at the same time?
—Amy Pond to the Doctor, Prequel to "Let's Kill Hitler"

Rory: Shut up, Hitler!
Eleventh Doctor: Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there, now, do it.

Rory: Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard.
—"Let's Kill Hitler"

River: I've been sending out a message. A distress call. Outside the bubble of our time. The universe is still turning and I've sent a message everywhere. To the future and the past, the beginning and the end of everything. "The Doctor is dying. Please, please help."
The Doctor: River! River! This is ridiculous! That would mean nothing to anyone. It's insane. Worse, it's stupid! You'll embarrass me!
River: Those reports of the sun spots and the solar flares? They're wrong. There aren't any. It's not the sun. It's you. The sky is full of a million million voices, saying, "Yes of course. We'll help." You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. Did you think when your time came you'd really have to do more than just ask? You've decided that the universe is better off without you. But the universe doesn't agree.
The Doctor: River, no one can help me. A fixed point has been altered. Time is disintegrating.
River: I can't let you die—
The Doctor: But I have to die!

River: Shut up! I can't let you without knowing you are loved. By so many and so much. And by no one more than me.
—"The Wedding of River Song"

Dorium: On the Fields of Trenzalor at the Fall of the Eleventh, where no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a Question will be asked. A Question that must never, ever be answered.
The Doctor: "Silence will fall when the Question is asked."
Dorium: "Silence must fall" would be a better translation. The Silence are determined that the Question will never be answered, that the Doctor will never reach Trenzalor.
The Doctor: I don't understand. What's it got to do with me?

Dorium: The first Question. The oldest Question in the universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?
—"The Wedding of River Song"
"Doctor who?"
—The Question That Must Never Be Answered

Droxil (after he and his subordinates have put their weapons on the ground and stepped back from the crying Madge, who then pulls a pistol of her own): "...there's nothing you could say that would convince me you would ever use that gun."
Madge: "Oh, really? Well, I'm looking for my children."

(cue collective Oh Crap moment for the Harvesters)
—"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"

Back to Doctor Who

  1. ↑ jumper means sweatshirt in British English
  2. ↑ Season 28
  3. ↑ (pronounced venay-veedee-veechy)
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