Original artwork, not a still
Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically, run.
— Doctor Who • 2005
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the Doctor's whole philosophy in a threat made with a smile: no army, no weapon, just the reputation of the man in the bow tie, and the quiet suggestion that the last people who tried this did not do well. It announced a new Doctor in the first episode, and Matt Smith's mix of menace and cheek made it one of the show's best-known lines, quoted wherever a bluff needs backing by a past.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Doctor WhoShow the scene
At the climax of "The Eleventh Hour" (series 5, episode 1, 2010), the alien Atraxi have given Earth twenty minutes to hand over the escaped Prisoner Zero or be incinerated. Having just regenerated, the Doctor takes over their broadcast and puts his questions to them: is the planet a threat, has it committed any crime, is it protected? He reminds them they are not the first to come, and asks what became of the others. The Atraxi display Earth's earlier invaders and then the Doctor's previous faces, and the new Doctor, in his bow tie and tweed jacket, steps out of the hologram of his predecessor and says the line. The Atraxi flee.
Sources (2)
- Tardis Wiki: The Eleventh Hour (TV story)Plot, final confrontation with the AtraxiReference checked
- Springfield! Springfield!: Doctor Who s05e01 transcriptAtraxi confrontationReference checked
Context reviewed
