10 Most Profound Doctor Who Quotes

Doctor Who is a family show at heart, and whilst it has a huge following of all ages, it was designed as, and remains, a show which not only educates younger viewers on history and science, but teaches valuable life lessons as well. Positive messages run through the very core of the show, and always have. Sometimes these messages are subtly woven into the story, and other times they’re like being bludgeoned with a naughty stick (*cough* Orphan 55 *cough*), but they are ever present.

Whilst these positive messages don’t always stick the landing, on occasion, some moments of wisdom from the show have really struck a chord with the audience, and stuck with them for many years. Many quotes from the show have been adopted by fans and live on in countless tattoos, artworks, prints and t-shirts. In this list, we’re going to take a look at some of these gems.

Our first profound moment is found in a rather unexpected episode: The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe (AKA the Christmas special that time forgot), and is, as it happens, just about the only thing this special has going for it. Seriously, the rest of this episode is the slowest hour of Doctor Who you can find.

In the episode, one-off companion Madge believes her husband, Reg, has been killed after his plane goes down during a storm over the English Channel. She has been keeping this information from her children because she does not want to burden them, especially at Christmas, but the cracks are beginning to show and she is struggling to shoulder this terrible responsibility alone.

The Doctor introduces himself as the kids' new nanny, 'upgrading' their room with state-of-the-art gadgets and, most importantly, hammocks. Madge is unimpressed and loses her patience, asking the children to leave the room before telling The Doctor about Reg. She feels guilty for sending the children away, and is unsure why she keeps losing her temper with them. In response, The Doctor drops this rather insightful line:

"Because every time you see them happy you remember how sad they're going to be. And it breaks your heart. Because what's the point in them being happy now if they're going to be sad later? The answer is, of course, because they are going to be sad later."

And, of course, he is right. This quote is a call to seize moments of happiness where you can, and embrace life, because when it gets rough, these are the happy memories you will fall back on for comfort. It’s a very strong sentiment, however, in typical Moffat fashion, it’s balanced out later in the episode with the notoriously awful ‘humany wumany’ line. The Moff giveth, and the Moff taketh away.