Of all the Doctor Who quotes, some of the best known are the Time Lord’s last words before he or she regenerated. So tell us: have you ever, ever eaten pears, stayed warm, or healed thyself like a physician?
“Stay warm…”
The first of our Doctor Who quotes comes from the First Doctor himself, who underwent one of the most mysterious regenerations of all time. When he collapsed on the floor of the TARDIS at the end of ‘The Tenth Planet,’ no one really knew what was happening. Even the producers weren’t entirely sure, other than they needed a way to swap William Hartnell for the incoming Patrick Troughton.
But the Doctor was already unconscious by the time his companions Ben and Polly reached him, and so this particular Doctor Who quote – the First Doctor’s last words – could be seen as rather anti-climactic. He was just leaving the Cybermen‘s spaceship, where he and Polly had been held prisoner, and was preparing to head out into the snow. Before stepping out, he simply uttered the words, “stay warm,” and walked away. It was quite sombre, really, but good advice given that they were at the South Pole!
“No!”
If you want drama, the next of our Doctor Who quotes is the one for you. When the Second Doctor Patrick Troughton shouted the word “no!” he was tumbling into a mysterious vortex, having been sentenced to death (or rather, regeneration) by his own people the Time Lords.
And as he fell, he kept shouting “no, no!” as he spiralled into the darkness, and ultimately disappeared. Indeed, in this particular episode – ‘The War Games‘ part 10 – we didn’t actually see the regeneration take place. Jon Pertwee wouldn’t make his debut as the Third Doctor until the start of the next season.
“Where there’s life there’s…”
Sadly, the next of our Doctor Who quotes went unfinished – which is understandable, really, given that the Doctor had collapsed on the floor of the UNIT laboratory, his body having been ravaged by the radiation of Metebelis 3.
But he had his companion Sarah Jane Smith by his side who, as you can imagine, was worried for her friend. The Doctor tried to reassure her, telling her that “where there’s life there’s…” But of course, he never got to finish this Doctor Who quote.
Presumably, he was going to say something like “where there’s life, there’s hope,” making the omission of the word “hope” quite ironic given that, from Sarah’s point of view, her best friend had just died.
Obviously, the Time Lord did not stay dead for long. His cells just needed a little nudge before the regenerative process could begin, something that was triggered by the mysterious character Cho-je, who appeared shortly after…
“It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for…”
This is perhaps one of the most famous and frequently spoken of the Doctor Who quotes on this list. These were the last words uttered by the Fourth Doctor as he lay at the foot of the Pharos Project’s radio telescope, having plunged a hundred metres (or so) to the ground below. He’d been fighting with his old enemy the Master, and even though he’d managed to sever the villain’s power cable, the Master set the telescope in motion and caused the Time Lord to plummet.
But what, exactly, does this Doctor Who quote mean? Well, on this occasion the Doctor had foreknowledge of his approaching death. Throughout Tom Baker’s last story, ‘Logopolis,’ the Time Lord had been stalked by a mysterious being known as the Watcher, with whom he had been secretly conversing.
And the Watcher, as it transpired, was actually a future incarnation of the Doctor – a being that existed between his Fourth and Fifth bodies. So the Time Lord knew that a change was on the horizon, and this was “the moment” that had been “prepared for.” Simply put, the Fourth Doctor accepted the inevitability of his demise, and began the regenerative process…
“It feels different this time…”
The next of our Doctor Who quotes is possibly the most chilling on the list. Because, at the moment of the Fifth Doctor’s death, he wasn’t actually sure that he would change; he knew there was a possibility that he might die. The process felt “different this time,” and he had no idea what was going to happen. After all, this was the first time that his body had been ravaged by spectrox toxaemia.
So the Fifth Doctor’s last words were quite ominous, although of course – from the viewers’ perspective – everyone knew that he was going to morph into Colin Baker at the end of ‘The Caves of Androzani.’ And there’s a chance the Fifth Doctor knew this too, as he was given a short premonition of his regeneration in the previous episode.
“Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice…”
While the next of our Doctor Who quotes might not be t-shirt worthy, it has become famous. And sadly, the actor Colin Baker didn’t know that these would be his last words when he took off in the TARDIS at the end of ‘The Trial of a Time Lord.’ He had been led to believe that he would be returning the next season but, alas, the BBC fired him before he could film the regeneration. And so when we do finally see him change into the Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, he’s already dead; the Sixth Doctor doesn’t speak in the opening scenes of ‘Time and the Rani,’ mainly because he’s played by Sylvester McCoy, in a wig.
But this Doctor Who quote might not canonically represent the Sixth Doctor’s last words, because the audio production company Big Finish did ultimately produce the Sixth Doctor’s last story, starring Colin Baker himself, which explained how the Time Lord met his end. In this version, the Sixth Doctor’s last words are somewhat more poetic: “Oh, so that’s it. I’ve had a good innings. All those lives I’ve lived. I hope the footprint I leave will be light but apposite.” This was followed by the words “I will regenerate,” which might not count since they happened in his head, but they were spoken by Colin Baker. So you will have to make up your own mind.
“I’ve got to stop him!”
The next of our Doctor Who quotes comes halfway through a story. These words were spoken in the 1996 TV movie (sometimes called ‘The Enemy Within’) as the Seventh Doctor lay on an operating table in a San Fran hospital, having been gunned down by a street gang.
But who is the “him” in this particular Doctor Who quote? Well, predictably, it’s the Master; his dying remnant has escaped from the TARDIS and is on the loose, and the Doctor is pleading desperately with the surgeons not to operate on him. He’s not human; he’s not like them. He’s afraid he will die and the regenerative process will be destroyed. And worse, he won’t be able to defeat his deadliest enemy.
But as we know, everything turned out fine in the end, after a long delay and something of an identity crisis…
“Physician heal thyself…”
Fans would have to wait until 2013 to hear the next of our Doctor Who quotes. As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, Paul McGann returned for a short minisode in which his Doctor was killed off in a spaceship crash. His body was dragged from the ashes by the Sisterhood of Khan, whose elixir brought him back for a limited time. Furthermore, they were able to trigger his next regeneration, and they even allowed him to pick his next body.
And the Doctor, seeing the unfolding chaos of the Time War, asked to be made into a warrior, uttering the words “physician heal thyself” as he sipped the Sisterhood’s potion…
“I hope the ears are a bit less conspicuous this time…”
As with the Eighth Doctor’s regeneration, fans also had to wait until 2013 for the next of our Doctor Who quotes. In fact, prior to the 50th anniversary, fans had no idea that the War Doctor (technically the Ninth Doctor) even existed. Played by John Hurt, he transpired to be the version of the Doctor who fought in the Time War, and he regenerated in the TARDIS at the end of ‘The Day of the Doctor,’ presumably from old age.
And whilst we can’t be certain which Doctor he was morphing into as he uttered this Doctor Who quote, it’s widely accepted that he was regenerating into Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor, hence the reference to the ears. Indeed, whilst the producers had originally considered using a CGI version of Eccleston to complete the transition, they ultimately decided against it. Eccleston had declined the opportunity to return for the 50th, and they didn’t want to make it look as if he’d made an appearance.
“You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!”
Just to confuse everyone, the next of our Doctor Who quotes comes from 2005. The Ninth Doctor regenerated at the end of ‘The Parting of the Ways,’ having absorbed all of the energy of the time vortex to save Rose‘s life, which is something no one should ever do (absorb the time vortex, that is.)
And to this day, no Doctor Who fan can utter the words “fantastic!” without thinking back to Eccleston’s Doctor, and it’s appropriate to see that his catchphrase was woven into his final line, spoken to Rose before he morphed into David Tennant.
“I don’t want to go!”
If there was ever a Doctor Who quote to make you cry, it’s this one. David Tennant’s last words as the Tenth Doctor were heart-breaking as the he raged frantically against the inevitable, desperate to retain his old face.
Several versions of this famous Doctor Who quote were filmed, ranging from the defiant to the devastated. (Somewhere, a take exists with David Tennant bawling his eyes out.) In the end, the team took the best of both worlds, with a teary-eyed Tennant staring wistfully across the console room as his face started to glow.
This was also the most dramatic of the regenerations. The Tenth Doctor’s transition into the Eleventh was so violent that it almost destroyed the TARDIS, with the Eleventh Doctor waking up to find the ship burning around him…
“Hey…”
Finally, a Doctor Who quote that you can slip into everyday conversation and no one will bat an eyelid! Matt Smith had many great lines in the build-up to his regeneration. “If you want my life, come and get it!” was one. “Love from Gallifrey, boys!” was another. “I will always remember when the Doctor was me,” was a third.
But in the end, the team went for a softly-spoken “hey” as his companion reached over, begging him not to change. And whilst it might not be something that you’d have printed on a t-shirt, it was appropriate to the situation.
That being said, in a dramatic twist, this wasn’t the Eleventh Doctor’s final appearance in the series. He made a surprise phone call to Clara in the next episode ‘Deep Breath’ although, chronologically, this conversation happened before the regeneration. He wanted to reassure her about the upcoming change, and he asked Clara to do everything she could to help the next Doctor.
So if you wanted some more Doctor Who quotes, there are some good ones from this interaction, such as this: “However scared you are, Clara, the man you are with right now, the man I hope you are with, believe me, he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now, and he needs you.”
Admittedly, you might need a very big t-shirt if you want to get that one printed…
“Doctor, I let you go…”
Does the next of our Doctor Who quotes break the fourth wall? Are the words “Doctor, I let you go” really an echo of Peter Capaldi’s personal feelings as he relinquished the role? We may never go. Certainly, if the latter were true, it would imply that Capaldi left the role with a degree of reluctance; there’s a big difference between letting something go and walking away from it proudly.
Or this could be interpreted as a character moment for the Doctor. In contrast to the Tenth incarnation, who fought to keep his face with all his might, this line could represent some growth; the Doctor has now reached a place of acceptance, and he embraces the fact that change is inevitable.
Do tell us your thoughts…
“Right then, Doctor Whoever-I’m-About-To-Be. Tag! You’re it!”
The next of our Doctor Who quotes is perfectly suited to Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor. It’s optimistic, fun, playful… Whittaker truly departed with a smile on her face, and her last scene from ‘The Power of the Doctor‘ was certainly a stunning one, taking place atop the famous Durdle Door landmark in Dorset.
Interestingly, when this regeneration was filmed, the Fourteenth Doctor had yet to be cast. And so, sadly, Whittaker had to film this scene without David Tennant, who returned some months later to complete the transition.
Moreover, there are rumours that, at one point, the BBC were considering ending the episode on a cliffhanger, not revealing the identity of the Fourteenth Doctor until a later time…
“Alons-y!”
Pinning down the last of our Doctor Who quotes is a bit trickier, as the Fourteenth Doctor is still alive and didn’t regenerate in a conventional way. Thus, his final words are open to debate. From the Fourteenth Doctor’s point of view, his last words would have been “alons-y!” But of course, the change didn’t take place, and we got a bi-generation instead.
And so, in this sense, we’re still waiting for the Fourteenth Doctor’s final words. Who knows, perhaps this incarnation will return in the future; he’s still out there, after all, with his TARDIS. Maybe he will even regenerate…
In the meantime, tell us. Which is your favourite of these Doctor Who quotes? And which is your favourite regeneration? Let us know in the comments below.
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