Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the closest the Doctor has to a code: before 2013 it was a line in a companion book, and the special made it an on-screen vow, the promise inside the name. Fans quote it as the standard the character holds himself to, and it is why the War Doctor's Time War choice was seen as breaking it. Later Doctors keep going back to it: the Twelfth adds a clause about making amends.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Doctor WhoShow the scene
The words are the Doctor's promise in "The Day of the Doctor", the 50th anniversary special (BBC One, 23 November 2013, written by Steven Moffat). In the Time War, the War Doctor stands on Gallifrey with the Moment, a doomsday weapon, and Clara, the Eleventh Doctor's companion, steps in and asks him what promise he made when he chose to call himself the Doctor. The Tenth Doctor and the War Doctor answer together, and the Moment ends the vision. A few lines later the three Doctors decide they have changed their minds about using the weapon. The creed itself is older than the show's revival: it comes from the character description in The Making of Doctor Who, the book by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks, and was reused in novels such as Timewyrm: Revelation.
Sources (3)
- TARDIS Wiki: The Day of the Doctor (TV story)Infobox, Plot (the Time War barn scene), NotesReference checked
- TARDIS Wiki: The Doctor (title)Meaning, The promiseReference checked
- TARDIS Wiki: The Making of Doctor WhoBoth editions sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
