10 Most Profound Doctor Who Quotes
7. Twisting The Facts - The Face Of Evil
A jump to a Classic Who now, for a quote from the wonderful Fourth Doctor during 1977 serial The Face of Evil, in which the Doctor lands on a planet to find that, after his previous visit (which he can’t remember), he is recognised as an evil god by the local tribespeople (what a cracking premise). This episode saw the introduction of companion Leela, a Sevateem tribeswoman - say what you want about Classic Who, but they certainly had more original companions, then again, its not hard to be more original than "Surprise! its another young woman in her 20's from present day!"...
The episode spends a lot of time dwelling on the idea of false truths and fake history, exploring how a narrative can be twisted by those in power. During a tense stand-off with his soon-to-be companion, The Fourth Doctor says:
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
Some might say this was ahead of its time given the prevalence of ‘fake news’ in today’s world, but whilst the words resonate very much with a modern audience, this is a timeless problem and this quote would still hold water no matter what period of history you're referring to. Propaganda has always existed in one form or another, and it always will.