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Doctor Who

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Doctor Who — Incarnations ofThe Doctor :1st -2nd -3rd -4th -5th -6th -7th -8th -War -9th -10th -11th -12th -13th -14th -15th

Companions :Jack Harkness ·Martha Jones ·Donna Noble ·Clara Oswald ·Amy Pond ·Bill Potts ·River Song ·Rose Tyler ·Rory Williams

Adversaries :Cybermen ·Daleks ·The Great Intelligence ·The Master ·Rassilon

Doctor Who is a long-running television program produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as "The Doctor", aTime Lord from the planet of Gallifrey, who explores time and space with various companions in theirTARDIS. It is currently the longest-running science-fiction series broadcast on television, spanning twenty-six years on its original run, and 14 actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. As a complete list of quotations from all eras of the show is too large to be contained on one page, this article has been split into subarticles, with quotations organised by which actor was portraying the Doctor at the time the episode was originally broadcast.

It's the bestidea ever invented in thehistory of theworld! ~Russell T. Davies

Quotations about the programme

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Thegreatest science fiction series ofall time isDoctor Who! And I'll take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up! ~Harlan Ellison

And if there is anyhope for any of us inthis giant explosion in which we inhabit then surely that's it:
Intellect andromance triumph over brute force andcynicism! ~Craig Ferguson

*Doctor Who* is afairytale, with fairytalelogic about this wonderful man in this big blue box who at thebeginning of everystory lands somewhere where there is aproblem. ~Neil Gaiman

The appeal of Doctor Who is that you can do anything, any when, you can have him meet anyone. That's irresistible as awriter. You're given a completely blank slate, but you're given one of the bestcharacters ever devised infiction to have anadventure there. You present someone with those two factors, and they're going to leap at it. ~ Scott Handcock

What would be the point of having thisjob if I didn't get to make up some of the maddest possible scenes I've ever had in my head since I was akid? ~Steven Moffat

Doctor Who is uplifting. Asdark as the show can get, and as high as thebody count can rise (which is very high), there's always a sense ofjoy anddiscovery there. The Doctor can be manipulative and brooding, but he's always been anexplorer first. The show is aboutsaving people andhelping others, not gettingrevenge orhurting someone, and its unabashedlove of seeing new things and the best in people makes itfun. ~ Nicholas Slayton

Theworld would be a poorer place withoutDoctor Who. ~Steven Spielberg

[I]t's got thatcross-generational appeal, which few other things have. It's not aworking-class thing, it's not amiddle-class thing. The competition winner fromDoctor Who magazine was on set today, a 15-year-oldgirl. When I was a kid, 15-year-old girls didn't watch Doctor Who. ~David Tennant

Alphabetized by author

Doctor Who can help uscontemplate a range of differentmoral andreligious scenarios, allowing us toexplore in afictional setting the way we think aboutbeliefs andethical viewpoints which differ from our own.
The breadth and depth of itsmythology help us do this, whatever our view on religion.
This is a show that attacksfalsegods andsuperstition, while at the same time admitting thatimmortal beings beyond ourperception exist.
While it has never pronounced directly upon theexistence ofGod, Doctor Who'snarrative is open enough to be read positively by bothbelievers andatheists as supporting theirworld view.
- Andrew Crome,“Doctor Who: Time travel through faith”,BBC, (22 November 2013).

Because it's the bestidea ever invented in thehistory of theworld!
- Russell T. Davies, responding to the question, "Why do you think people loveDoctor Who so much?" on BBCWales Today (20 July 2004)

I would have loved to have done aStar Trek crossover. The very first year, we talked about it. Then Star Trek finally went off air. Landing the Tardis on board theEnterprise would have been magnificent. Can you imagine what their script department would have wanted, and what I would have wanted? It would have been the biggest battle.
- Russell T Davies "David Tennant",team-tennant.com

Star Wars is adolescentnonsense;Close Encounters is obscurantist drivel;Star Trek can turn yourbrains to puree of bat guano; andthegreatest science fiction series ofall time isDoctor 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 toDoctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977) byTerrance Dicks, p. vii

In1963 the BBC premiered a show about analien
Who traveled throughspace andtime to combat thepowers ofevil. ...
The show has been running in Britain almost fifty years,
with many different actors in the role ofThe Doctor. ...
One thing is consistent though and this is why the show is so beloved by geeks and nerds —
It's all about the triumph ofintellect andromance over bruteforce andcynicism!
Intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism!
And if there is anyhope for any of us inthis giant explosion in which we inhabit then surely that's it:
Intellect and romance triumph over brute force and cynicism!
- Craig Ferguson, in acomedic musical tribute toDoctor Who made in November 2010, which was not aired for legal reasons, but "leaked" to the internet, and finally aired with legal clearance onThe Late Late Show (6 January 2011) · Transcript of lyrics (with some minor errors), online atForbes (1 December 2010)

I don't know what it's like to beGod —obviously ...until that very firstmoment when you get to sit down and type the words in your script: INTERIOR.TARDIS. ... Suddenly I got a very goodidea of what it mustfeel like. I went: "I'm writing it now this scene in the Tardis. I'm writing it!" And that was amazing, it was wonderful.
- Neil Gaiman, on writing the script for the episodeThe Doctor's Wife (originally titledHouse of Nothing), as quoted in"Neil Gaiman reveals power of writingDoctor Who" by Tim Masters atBBC News (24 May 2010)

Doctor Who has neverpretended to be hardscience fiction ... At bestDoctor Who is afairytale, with fairytalelogic about this wonderful man in this big blue box who at thebeginning of everystory lands somewhere where there is aproblem.
- Neil Gaiman, as quoted in "Neil Gaiman reveals power of writingDoctor Who" by Tim Masters atBBC News (24 May 2010)

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 calledThe 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 watchBlink.
- Neil Gaiman "If This is Sunday Than I Must be at Home"journal.neilgaiman.com, (April 7, 2011).

Because of the British sensibility, there's an emphasis [in Doctor Who] onnonviolence, there's an emphasis onphilosophical issues. There wasn't anything like that onTV at the time – there wasn't aStar Trek on at the time.
- Maura Grady in“How Doctor Who Survived 50 Years”, by Nicholas Slayton,The Atlantic, (November 21, 2013)

The appeal of Doctor Who is that you can do anything, any when, you can have him meet anyone. That's irresistible as awriter. You're given a completely blank slate, but you're given one of the bestcharacters ever devised infiction to have anadventure there. You present someone with those two factors, and they're going to leap at it.
- Scott Handcock in“How Doctor Who Survived 50 Years”, by Nicholas Slayton,The Atlantic, (November 21, 2013)

WhenRussell T Davies relaunched the show in 2005, I watched it from the start. I thought it was fantastic.If there's anysecret to its resurgence, it's due to the show's complete lack ofcynicism. Both Davies andSteven Moffat are lifelongDoctor Who fans and the love shines through every episode.
- Peter Jackson, in "Lord of the Whovians" inEntertainment Weekly (29 March 2013), p. 37

Last yearMatt Smith was asked by a Kiwi journalist if they would ever film an episode in New Zealand, and he said, "Yes, and we can get Peter Jackson to direct it." The newspaper contacted me for comment and I said "Great, just name a time and place and I'll be there."I suspectSteven Moffat thinks I'm joking, but I saw him atChristmas and I assured him I'm not. They don't even have to pay me — but I have got my eye on one of those nice new gold-coloredDaleks. They must have a spare one (hint, hint).
- Peter Jackson, in "Lord of the Whovians" inEntertainment Weekly (29 March 2013), p. 37

In their book-length analysis ofDoctor Who,John Tulloch andManuel Alvarado characterize the political outlook of the program as consistent with the BBC's particular brand ofpolitical neutrality:skeptical,aggressive,quizzical, andamused towards all forms of politicalpower. InDoctor Who the attitude gets further flavored by the Doctors "Romantic" hero mystique. This characteristic allows him to adopt a "liberal-populist role in criticizing 'sectionalist' forces of 'Left' and 'Right,' and in rebuking the 'official' and the powerful, whether in big business, the military, government or 'militant' unions." ... The political form that most resembles these critiques is liberal democracy, which places sovereignty in the hands of the people.
- David Layton, referring toDoctor Who : The Unfolding Text (1984) byJohn Tulloch andManuel Alvarado, inThe Humanism of Doctor Who : A Critical Study in Science Fiction and Philosophy (2012), Ch. 10 : Politics

What would be the point of having thisjob if I didn't get to make up some of the maddest possible scenes I've ever had in my head since I was a kid? For him to stand there andtake the mickey out of all those monsters — is just hugely exciting.
- Steven Moffat, on The Doctor confronting his enemies inThe Pandorica Opens, in an interview inDoctor Who Rewind (2011) byBBC America

At a later stage, Dr Who would be metamorphosed into a woman. Don't you agree that this is considerably more worthy of the BBC than Doctor Who's presently largely socially valueless, escapist schlock? This requires some considerable thought – mainly because I want to avoid a flashy Hollywood ‘Wonder Woman’ because this kind of hero(ine) has no flaws – and a character with no flaws is a bore.
- Sydney Newman "Doctor Who Creator Sydney Newman Wanted a Female Doctor", Barry Rice,DoctorWhoWatch.com, (2015).

Infectiousoptimism, a sense ofadventure, andlimitlessstorytellingpossibilities: For a low-budgetkids' show, the BBC's original concept packed a lot ofpromise.
- Nicholas Slayton,“How Doctor Who Survived 50 Years”,The Atlantic, (November 21, 2013)

Doctor Who is uplifting. Asdark as the show can get, and as high as thebody count can rise (which is very high), there's always a sense ofjoy anddiscovery there. The Doctor can be manipulative and brooding, but he's always been anexplorer first. The show is aboutsaving people andhelping others, not gettingrevenge orhurting someone, and its unabashedlove of seeing new things and the best in people makes itfun.
- Nicholas Slayton,“How Doctor Who Survived 50 Years”,The Atlantic, (November 21, 2013)

Theworld would be a poorer place withoutDoctor Who.
- Steven Spielberg, as quoted in"Edinburgh TV Festival 2008: don't rule out Doctor Who feature film, says Steven Moffat" by Ben Dowell inThe Guardian (23 August 2008).

Because it's got that cross-generational appeal, which few other things have. It's not a working-class thing, it's not a middle-class thing. The competition winner fromDoctor Who magazine was on set today, a 15-year-old girl. When I was a kid, 15-year-old girls didn't watch Doctor Who.
- David Tennant,"David Tennant",team-tennant.com.

I don’t think it’s an easy show to do for a long time, because I think it requires a certainenergy andcommitment andenthusiasm. And I didn’t want to get to the stage where I felt I wasn’t giving it all it required.
- David Tennant in"Doctor Who’s David Tennant Tall and Scottish" by Mark Redfern,Under the Mag, (Oct 9, 2009)

I think that’s one of the strengths of the show that it can do things that are really quite bold emotionally, and that fits with running up and down corridors and shooting monsters. It’s all part of a whole, and I think that’s the triumph of whatRussell T. Davies, particularly, has done actually, is to just allow that kind of scope, where afantasy show can also be properly rooted in moments ofreality.
- David Tennant in"Doctor Who’s David Tennant Tall and Scottish" by Mark Redfern,Under the Mag, (Oct 9, 2009)

The series is neitherfantasy norspace travel norscience fiction. The only unusual science fiction “angle” is that four characters of today are projected into real environments based on the best factual information of situations in time, in space and in any material state we can realize in practical terms.
Using unusual exciting backgrounds, or ordinary backgrounds seen unusually, each story will have a strong informational core based on fact. Our central characters because of their “ship” may find themselves on the shores ofBritain whenCaesar and his legionaires landed in 44 B.C.; may find themselves in their own school laboratories but reduced to the size of a pinhead; or onMars; orVenus. etc. etc.
The series, by the use of the characters in action stories, is designed to bridge the gap between our massive audience who watch sport on Saturday afternoon and those teenagers who watchJuke Box Jury.
- Donald Wilson,C. E. Webber, Sydney Newman;“Dr. Who” General Notes on Background and Approach For an Exciting Adventure – Science Fiction Drama Series for Childrens Saturday Viewing,BBC, (16th May, 1963), p.1

Here in two flat sentences are the best things I can say about our field [science fiction] on American television:Dr. Who is sometimes aired. SometimesBattlestar Galactica is not.
- Gene Wolfe, Aussiecon Two (43rdWorld Science Fiction Convention) Guest of Honor speech (August 1985), as published in Gene Wolfe,Castle of Days (1992)

The Doctor

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The Doctor is the main character of the television show Doctor Who. Although bearing remarkably human-like features, they are a GallifreyanTime Lord — one of a mysterious alien race that has mastered time travel. The Doctor occasionally regenerates into a new form, allowing a new actor to step into the role. For clarity's sake, quotes from the show are listed by Doctor on the following subpages.