Relive some fan-favourite moments from the 60th Anniversary Specials and beyond…
As we prepare for the first full season of the Fifteenth Doctor’s adventures, it feels as though the Fourteenth Doctor’s era ended almost as quickly as it began. But with three 60th anniversary specials and two mind-blowing regenerations, there are still plenty of memorable moments from David Tennant’s second stint in the TARDIS – and some iconic lines to go with them!
Read on for some words of wisdom, love, and power from the Fourteenth Doctor.
1. “I know these teeth…”
The Power of the Doctor
When the Tenth Doctor burst onto our screens, one of his first comments on his new body was, “New teeth, that’s weird.” Weird enough, apparently, that when his old face returned after the Thirteenth Doctor’s regeneration, it was the first thing he noticed. What a throwback!
2. “She was my best friend in the whole wide universe. I absolutely love her. Oh. Hmm. Do I say things like that now?”
The Star Beast
While giving a bit of his backstory to Shirley Anne Bingham, the Doctor catches himself using a word for Donna Noble that he’s previously been very careful with – love. His own surprise is a sign that the Doctor has gone through a lot of emotional growth since he last had this face.
3. “Do what you want. This ship isn't going anywhere. You were beaten... by the DoctorDonna.”
The Star Beast
Victory at a cost – sums the Doctor up! Surrounded by possessed UNIT soldiers and believing he’d finally lost Donna to the Metacrisis, the Doctor defiantly claimed victory with a tribute to his best friend – using the nickname bestowed upon them both by theOod, many years before.
4. “Cryptic. I hate that.”
The Star Beast
At the end of The Star Beast, the Meep is teleported away in defeat, but not before namedropping “The Boss” as a future threat for the Doctor. Who this mysterious Boss is remains to be seen; but the Doctor clearly isn’t going to let it concern him until then!
5. “I really do remember, though. Every second with you. I'm so glad you're back, cos it killed me, Donna. It killed me, it killed me, it killed me.”
The Star Beast
Another rare moment of emotional vulnerability for the Doctor, as he opens up about how much he has missed Donna in the time they were apart. Also note the four “it killed me”s – it has been four regenerations since they last saw each other!
6. “...The gravity* of the situation.”
Wild Blue Yonder
Throughout their adventures together, Donna has always tried to speak the local lingo and crack a cheesy joke – usually earning a “No, no, don’t do that” from an embarrassed Doctor. But for once, while talking to Isaac Newton from a tree, Donna managed to persuade the Doctor to commit to the bit – although they may have accidentally rewritten history in the process!
*Did they mispronounce 'mavity'?...
7.“It's funny, cos I wonder where the TARDIS goes at random. Maybe it lands on some outcrop by the sea. And there's a tribe, and they worship it for 100 years. Then they grow up and try to burn it. Then they get wise. They preserve it. Then they build a city all around it, ‘til the TARDIS is just a tiny little dot, surrounded by skyscrapers and monorails. Time passes and the city falls. It all gets swept away. And there's the TARDIS – still on its outcrop by the sea. She's the only thing I've got left.”
Wild Blue Yonder
Where does the TARDIS go whenever it runs off, and how long is it gone for? A machine that can go anywhere in time and space could be gone for millennia and yet return five minutes after it left. What sort of adventures do you think the TARDIS gets up to on its own?
8. “We stand here now on the edge of creation, a creation which I devastated. So, yes, I keep running. Of course I do. How am I supposed to look back on that?”
Wild Blue Yonder
The consequences of the Flux, an antimatter hurricane that ripped through half the universe, weigh heavily on the Doctor’s conscience. But in this moment, we see that despite all their growth and change, even the Doctor isn’t immune from falling back on their base instincts sometimes – running into the next adventure to avoid looking back on the last.
9.“Donna thinks she's stupid and, sometimes, she thinks she's brilliant. She thinks both. Because that's the astonishing thing about people from her planet – they can believe two completely different things at exactly the same time.”
Wild Blue Yonder
The Doctor once more sums up the human condition beautifully! In an attempt to outwit the No-things using both superstition and logic, the Doctor managed to identify the real Donna through the tried-and-tested human practice of conflicting beliefs. No wonder the Doctor likes us so much – we’re a complicated bunch!
10. “I invoked a superstition at the edge of the universe, where the walls are thin and all things are possible. I've just got this feeling…”
Wild Blue Yonder
What else lies beyond the edges of the known universe? The Doctor was right to be concerned, as his gamble with a line of salt opened a door for the Toymaker to walk into our world and wreak havoc...
11. “What do I say?! Because I'm always so certain! I'm all sonic and TARDIS and Time Lord. Take that away – take away the toys – what am I? What am I now?”
The Giggle
Trapped in the Toymaker’s realm, the Doctor can’t help but feel a little hopeless; universal rules he usually depends on have very little bearing here. It’s rare to see the Doctor truly out of his element, but luckily he has Donna by his side with her unique brand of moral support!
12.“I don't understand why you're so small! You can turn bullets into flowers! Think of the good you could do. So tell me why you don't!”
The Giggle
Nothing frustrates the Doctor more than a powerful being who refuses to use that power responsibly. After the Toymaker turns humanity against itself with the Giggle, the Doctor desperately tries to win with words, even inviting his nemesis to travel in the TARDIS with him – and gets blasted with a giant laser by way of thanks!
13. “It's time. Here we go again. Allons-y!”
The Giggle
As far as ‘last words’ go, the Fourteenth Doctor seems to choose his a little more carefully, not only paying tribute to the iconic catchphrase of his tenth incarnation, but also alluding to the fact that the Doctor was regenerating at UNIT HQ (again). “Here we go again” was first said by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as the Third Doctor regenerated in front of him many decades ago.
14. “I fought all those battles for all those years, and now I know what for. This. I've never been so happy in my life.”
The Giggle
Freshly bi-generated, the Doctor takes the arrival of his fifteenth incarnation as a sign that retirement is calling. As he settles down with the Nobles, the Doctor is ecstatic to begin his “healing era” – the one adventure that, up until now, he has never had.
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