Doctor Who? 10 Powerful Quotes That Sum Up The Gallifreyan Hero

Doctor Who is so much more than the title of a British science-fiction show. It is a loaded question that has spanned the history of the series. Decades after the time traveling alien known as The Doctor and his TARDIS made their debut, the answer to the oldest question in the Whoniverse is still up for debate. What is The Doctor’s name? And what’s more—who is he? Is he a cape-less superhero who makes split-second, tough decisions to save millions? Is he a toxic antihero who forges a path of ruin across time and space? Perhaps he is nothing more than an evergreen and enigmatic lunatic wandering about in a stolen spaceship.
The Doctor’s real name may always be a mystery to the Doctor Who fandom, but his persona is much easier to decode. Over the past 10 years of the modern series, several Doctor Who characters have given perfect descriptions of Gallifrey’s rebellious child. Here are 10 quotes that tell us everything we need to know about The Doctor.
1. “The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he’s there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion. Death.”—Clive Finch in “Rose”
After Rose’s chance encounter with the mysterious Doctor, she did what any normal human would do after meeting a weirdo: a good old-fashioned Internet search. The “Doctor Who?” question led her to the home of a “Doctor scholar” named Clive Finch. Clive was no stranger to The Doctor’s travels and he gave Rose (and the new Whovians) a CliffsNotes summary about The Doctor. In short, this is the man to call when evil threatens the past, present, or future. But in the midst of him waging war against injustice, his battles often include many casualties and martyrs. Poor Clive met Death before he met Nine, but his quote continues to live on as a haunting reminder of what happens when The Doctor makes a house call.
2. “You need to be careful, because you know the Doctor’s wonderful and brilliant, but he’s like fire. Stand too close and people get burned.”—Martha Jones in “The Sontaran Stratagem”
Traveling with The Doctor seems like a sweet gig. But, as Martha knows, being a member of a TARDIS team can be an emotional rollercoaster. Martha offered this bit of advice to Donna Noble (AKA her successor) as a fair warning about the dark side of being a companion. For all companions (and wannabe sidekicks), The Doctor’s pure energy and intelligence is addictive, but becoming too wrapped up in The Doctor never ends well.
3. “He’s like fire and ice and rage; he’s like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. He’s ancient and forever, he burns at the center of time, and can see the turn of the universe. And…he’s wonderful.”—Timothy Latimer in “The Family of Blood”
This schoolboy gets an A++ for his plea to the human version of The Doctor, John Smith. When it was time for John Smith to return to being The Doctor so he could save the world, Timothy’s compelling description of the Time Lord hit the bullseye. The quote paints a portrait of a classic troubled man—a perfect storm of rage, wisdom, passion and pain—yet it is a reminder that he is NOT an ordinary man. The Doctor is immortal and damn near omnipotent with experiences and knowledge beyond human comprehension. He holds the power of time and the hearts of millions in the palms of his hands.
4. “The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life…You don’t just give up. You don’t just let things happen. You make a stand. You say ‘no.’ You have the guts to do what’s right, when everyone else just runs away.”—Rose in “The Parting of Ways”
By the end of season one, Rose Tyler went from an unfulfilling life as a clothing shop worker stuck in the daily grind, to a young woman blazing across time with The Doctor. Rose was living a dream filled with adventure and danger. But, she discovered something even better than the experience of seeing foreign planets and days from the distant past. As she sat in a London restaurant with her mom and boyfriend Mickey (while The Doctor fought for his life millions of years in the future), she knew she had to take action. Rose defended her decision to help The Doctor by explaining how he helped her tap into her own power as a person. Her time with The Doctor introduced her to the concept of living fearlessly as an agent of change. Fully aware of her mortality, Rose knew she couldn’t do everything, but it was her responsibility to try and make a difference.