Original artwork, not a still
We're all stories in the end.
— Doctor Who · 2005
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The Doctor is saying goodbye to a child who will not remember saying hello, and the line turns his own erasure into advice: since nobody lives forever, the thing to do is be a story worth telling. It sums up Moffat's Doctor Who, where memory and storytelling are what saves people, and fans quote it at funerals, farewells and the last page of anything.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Doctor WhoShow the scene
In "The Big Bang", the series 5 finale of Doctor Who (BBC One, 26 June 2010, written by Steven Moffat), the Doctor has been sealed away and is about to be erased from history by the cracks in time. He goes back to 1996, finds seven-year-old Amelia Pond asleep outside her house on her suitcase, and carries her to bed. Knowing she will wake up with no memory of him, he tells her that he will only be a story in her head, and asks her to make it a good one. The tale he tells her of the "borrowed" blue box is what later lets grown-up Amy remember him and bring him back.
Sources (2)
- Chakoteya: Doctor Who transcript, The Big BangScene in Amelia's bedroom, 1996Reference checked
- Tardis Data Core: The Big Bang (TV story)Infobox, Plot, NotesReference checked
Context reviewed
