Fictional Characters

"I know because we are all the same. We want certainty, security. To believe that people are evil or heroic. But that's not how people are. You want to know the secrets of existence? Start with the mysteries of the heart. I can show you everything if you stop being afraid of what you don't understand. If you trust me."

"That creature is a lie, and he debased you and your faith. Don't you see? You were the creators! Look what you can do! You build! But he made you destroyers. That's no god. I'm sorry."

"His thoughts, his words inspire and influence thousands for centuries. If he dies now, who knows that will have on future history? Words matter! One death, one ripple, and history will change in a blink. The future will not be the world you know. The world you came from, the world you were created in won't exist, so neither will you. It's not just his life at stake, it's yours. You wanna sacrifice yourself for this? You want me to sacrifice you? You want to call it? Do it now. All of you... Yeah. Cause sometimes this team structure isn't flat, it's mountainous, with me at the summit, in the stratosphere, alone. Left to choose. Save the poet, save the universe. Watch people burn now or tomorrow. Sometimes even I can't win."

"I know there aren't many certainties in any of our lives, but Umbreen, Prem, what I see in you is the certainty of having each other. Something I believe in my faith, love, in all its forms, is the most powerful weapon we have. Because love is a form of hope, and like hope, love abides. In the face of everything, you both found love with each other. You believed in it, you fought for it, and you waited for it. And, now, you're committing to it. Which makes you, right now, the two strongest people on this planet. Maybe in this universe... I'm not sure how we formalize this."

"Dalek: Humanity will surrender. Doctor: They really won't, trust me. I've seen them in action. They've fought off so many things, including the worst of their own people. They're really stubborn. Have you not worked that out yet?"

"I carry them with me. What they would've thought, said, and done. Make them a part of who I am. So even though they're gone from the world, they're never gone from me."

"You had no right to do that."

"A bit of adrenaline, a dash of outrage and a hint of panic knitted my brain back together again. I know exactly who I am. I’m the Doctor. Sorting out fair play throughout the universe."

"Hey! I'm going to be dead in a few hours, so before I go, let's have this out. You and me, once and for all. Winning? Is that what you think it’s about? I’m not trying to win. I'm not doing this because I want to beat someone — or because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It’s not because it’s fun. God knows it’s not because it's easy. It’s not even because it works, because it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it's right! Because it's decent! And above all, it's kind! It's just that. Just kind. If I run away today, good people will die. If I stand and fight, some of them might live — maybe not many, maybe not for long. Hey, maybe there’s no point in any of this at all, but it's the best I can do. So I'm going to do it, and I will stand here doing it until it kills me. You're going to die, too, someday. When will that be? Have you thought about it? What would you die for? Who I am is where I stand. Where I stand is where I fall. Stand with me. These people are terrified. Maybe we can help a little. Why not, just at the end, just be kind?"

"Oh, there it is, silly old universe. The more I save it the more it needs saving. It's a treadmill... Yes, yes I know they'll get it all wrong without me. Well, I suppose one more lifetime won't kill anyone... well, except me. You wait a moment, Doctor! Let's get it right. I've got a few things to say to you. Basic stuff first: never be cruel, never be cowardly, and never-ever eat pears! Remember, hate is always foolish, and love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind. Oh, and you mustn't tell anyone your name. No one would understand it anyway... except... except children. Children can hear it, sometimes, if their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too, children can hear your name. But nobody else. Nobody else, ever. Laugh hard, run fast, be kind. Doctor, I let you go."

"Shhh. Does anybody hear that? Do you know what that sound was? ...That was the sound of my patience shattering into a billion little pieces."

"Ryan: Can we open it? Doctor: Is the right question!"

"You had history! History was saying to you "Look! I've got some examples of fascism here for you to look! No? Fundamentalism? No? Oh, okay, you carry on.""

"Jericho: How did you get in here? Doctor: Your door was open. Jericho: It most certainly was not! Doctor: Well it was once I opened it, but let's not get bogged down in the order of things."

"Bill: Regency England. Bit more black than they show in the movies. Doctor: So was Jesus. History's a whitewash."

"Doctor: Humanity is doomed to never learn from its mistakes. Bill: Well, I guess that's part of our charm. Doctor: No. It's really quite annoying."

"Fear is temporary. Love is slavery."

"Now we know what our task is. Keep history in order. No changing it. Just guarding it against someone who wants to disrupt it."

"Grant: Who're you thanking? Doctor: The universe. There's somebody worse at this than me."

"What do the rich old men always do when the fighting starts? They'll find the safest place to hide themselves away and send away all their young people to die."

"Go to the city. Find somebody important. Tell them I'm back. Tell them I know what they did, and I'm on my way. And if they ask you who I am, tell them "I came the long way around." You can probably still hear me. So just between ourselves, you got the prophecy wrong. The hybrid is not half-Dalek- nothing is half-Dalek, the Daleks would never allow that. The hybrid destined to conquer Gallifrey and stand in its ruins... is me."

"I'm not scared of hell. It's just heaven for bad people."

"How long can I keep doing this, Clara? Burning the old me to make a new one?"

"It's funny, the day you lose someone isn't the worst. At least you've got something to do. It's all the days they stay dead."

"You don't steer the TARDIS, you negotiate with it."

"So there's this man; he has a time machine. Up and down history he goes, zip, zip, zip, zip, zip, getting into scrapes. Another thing he has is a passion for the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, and one day he thinks, "what's the point of having a time machine if you don't get to meet your heroes." So, off he goes to 18th century Germany, but he can't find Beethoven anywhere. No one's heard of him, not even his family have any idea who the time traveller is talking about. Beethoven literally doesn't exist. This didn't happen by the way. I've met Beethoven, nice chap, very intense, loved an arm wrestle. No, this is called "the Bootstrap Paradox." Google it. The time traveller panics. He can't bear the thought of a world without the music of Beethoven. Luckily, he brought all of his Beethoven sheet music for Ludwig to sign. So he copies out all the concertos and the symphonies, and he gets them published. He becomes Beethoven, and history continues with barely a feather ruffled. Now my question is this: who put those notes and phrases together? Who really composed Beethoven's 5th?"

"Winning is all about looking happier than the other guy."

"There's no such this as 'the Doctor.' I'm just a bloke in a box, telling stories. And I didn't come here because I'm ashamed- bit of shame never hurt anyone. I came because you're sick and you asked. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard, I'm not some old Time Lord who ran away. I'm the Doctor."

"I am not a good man. And I'm not a bad man. I am not a hero, and I'm definitely not a president. And no, I'm not an officer. Do you know what I am? I am an idiot! With a box and a screwdriver, just passing through, helping out, learning. I don't need an army, I never have. Because I've got them. Always them! Because love is not an emotion. Love is a promise."

"Doctor: And we're off! Fingers on buzzers, are you feeling lucky, are you ready to play the game? Who's going to be quickest, who's going to be luckiest? Kate: This is not a game! Doctor: No, it's not a game, sweetheart, and I mean that most sincerely. Bonnie: Why are you doing this? Kate: Yes I'd quite like to know that too. You set this up. Why? Doctor: Because it's not a game, Kate! This is a scale model of war! Every war ever fought, right there in front of you! Because it's always the same! When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn, how many hearts will be broken, how many lives shattered, how much blood will spill until everybody does what they're always going to have to do from the very beginning, SIT! DOWN! AND! TALK! Listen to me, listen, I just- I just want you to think. Do you know what thinking is? It's just a fancy word for changing your mind. Bonnie: I will not change my mind. Doctor: Then you will die stupid. Alternatively, you could step away from that box, you could walk right out of that door, and you could stand your revolution down. Bonnie: No. I'm not stopping this, Doctor. I started it, I will not stop it. You think they'll let me go after what I've done? Doctor: You're all the same, you screaming kids, you know that? "Look at me, I'm unforgivable," well here's the unforeseeable: I forgive you! After all you've done, I forgive you. Bonnie: You don't understand. You will never understand! Doctor: I don't understand? Are you kidding? Me? Of course I understand. I mean, you call this a war? This funny little thing? This is not a war. I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know! I did worse things than you could ever imagine! WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES... I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count! And you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight, 'till it burns your hand, and you say this: No one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will have to feel this pain! Not on my watch."

"Never trust a hug. It's just a way to hide your face."

"Bill: You know what I mean? Every choice I make here in this moment, here and now, would change the whole future! Doctor: Exactly like every other day of your life. The only thing to do is stop worrying about it."

"I tried to talk. I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out. I tried to understand you, but I think you understand us perfectly. And I think that you just don't care! And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate, or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters! That is the role you seem determined to play, so it seems that I must play mine: The man that stops the monsters!"

"Even my incredibly long life is too short for Les Miserables."

"Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. But you still have to choose."

"Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?"

"Oh, shut up. -Not strictly a rule, but worth mentioning. Repeated mostly throughout series 5, 6, and 7. Almost always said jokingly and affectionately."

"I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I've made many mistakes, and it's about time I did something about that."

"Stop laughing. Are you all simple or something?"

"Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain, we can't feel the hurt we inflict."

"Let me tell you about scared. Your heart is beating so hard, I can feel it through your hands. There's so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain, it's like rocket fuel! Right now, you could run faster and you can fight harder and you can jump higher than you could ever in your life, and you're so alert, it's like you could slow down time. What's wrong with scared? Scared is a super power! It's your super power!"

"The deep and lovely dark. We'd never see the stars without it."

"Doctor: What makes you so sure your life is worth more than those people out there on the ice? Is it the money? The accident of birth, that puts you inside the big, fancy house. Sutcliffe: I help move this country forward. I move this Empire forward. Doctor: Human progress isn’t measured by industry. It’s measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy’s value is your value. That’s what defines an age, that’s… what defines a species."

"Yaz, I can't fix myself to anything, anywhere... or anyone. I've never been able to. It's what my life is... Not because I don't want to. Because I might. But if I do fix myself to somebody, I know sooner or later it'll hurt."

"The Doctor: So tell me, what do you think of the view? Half-Faced Man: It is beautiful. The Doctor: No it isn't. It's just far away. Everything looks too small. I prefer it down there. Everything is huge. Everything is so important. Every detail, every moment, every life clung to."

"Those people down there. They are never small to me. Don't make assumptions about how far I will go to protect them, because I've already come a very long way."

"I can't save you from this. There’s nothing I can do to stop this. I stole your childhood and now I've lead you by the hand to your death. But the worst thing is I knew. I knew this would happen. This is what always happens. Forget your faith in me. I took you with me because I was vain. Because I wanted to be adored. Look at you. Glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me. I'm not a hero. I really am just a mad man in a box. And it’s time we saw each other as we really are. Amy Williams, it’s time to stop waiting."

"The Doctor [explaining his appearances are not what has caused aliens to appear]: It's a coincidence! It happens! It's what the universe does for… [sees Amy and Rory shopping in the store, and Amy being asked by a young girl for her autograph]… fun. [surprised to see the child who asked for an autograph pointing towards him — turns around and sees poster featuring Amy modeling for "Petrichor" perfume: "For the girl who's tired of waiting."]"

"The Doctor: I'm not just a "professional." I'm the Doctor. Alex: What's that supposed to mean? The Doctor: It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex, a very long way. George sent a message — a distress call, if you like — Whatever is inside that cupboard is so terrible so powerful, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space. Alex: Hey? The Doctor: Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire; empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought — and a whole terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes — and one thing I can tell you, Alex: monsters are real. Alex: You're not from Social Services, are you?"

"Rory: Doctor, River was brainwashed to kill you. The Doctor: Well, she did. And then she used her remaining lives to bring me back. As first dates go, I’d say that was mixed signals."