10 Doctor Who quotes that will help you think differently

Doctor Who is far more than just a TV series and a science fiction drama – it’s a show that has since its inception been about not just entertainment, but also encouraging its viewers to think differently about the everyday.

And although a Time Lord with two hearts travelling in a blue police box around the universe outwitting aliens may not seem like the most relatable subject from which to glean life lessons, in fact, Doctor Who has always been filled with both wit and wisdom.

And so as we approach the 60th year of the BBC science fiction series and we await three fantastic 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant, and then we move on once again to a new Doctor in Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth with Millie Gibson as his companion Ruby Sunday by his side, this is a good time to look back at some of the best quotes that have taught us to think differently from the series.

Because quotes are something Doctor Who has always given us, and quotes are things that we can easily remember as we go about our lives.

Which are your favourites? And are there any that you thought differently after hearing for the first time…

“Answers are easy… It’s asking the right questions which is hard”

Fourth Doctor in The Face of Evil 

“As we learn about each other – so we learn about ourselves”

First Doctor in The Edge of Destruction

“I love humans… Always seeing patterns in things that aren’t there”

Eighth Doctor in The Doctor Who Movie

“Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It’s not the time that matters. It’s the person”

Tenth Doctor in The Lazarus Experiment

“Do you know what thinking is? It is just a fancy word for changing your mind”

Twelfth Doctor in The Zygon Inversion

“A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points – but it is by no means the most interesting”

Third Doctor in The Time Warrior

“There’s always something to look at if you open your eyes”

Fifth Doctor in Kinda

“Of course we should interfere. Always do what you’re best at – that’s what I say”

Fourth Doctor in Nightmare of Eden

“You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies”

Seventh Doctor in Remembrance of the Daleks

“Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind.”

Twelfth Doctor in Twice Upon a Time