The New Year’s Special of Doctor Who aired on BBC and BBC America on January 1st and comes with great dialogue, snarky comments, and memorable quotes. Here is a list of the best quotes from Doctor Who: “Revolution of the Daleks”.
A little treat for the wizarding fans
When we first see the Doctor again, she is still in space prison, ekes out a bleak existence, in the repetitive rut, surrounded by other (actual) criminals and yet lonely. Being her only companion, she talks to herself in her prison cell when it’s bedtime. This is where my little Harry Potter fan heart jumped a little.
The Doctor: Bedtime story Doctor? – Yes, please Doctor. – One of the Classics? – Uh, yes please. – Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal.
Did she just quote the first sentence of the first Harry Potter Book? Yes, she did. We know the Doctor is a fan of Harry Potter or has at least read it, as the 10th Doctor (portrayed by David Tennant) said to Martha, that he cried when he read book 7. Of course, Whovians assume he did that because Hermione and Ron named their daughter Rose.
The fam without the Doctor
While The Doctor is in prison, the fam and especially Yaz is trying to get her back. However, as soon as they find out about the Daleks and that their old “friend” Jack Robertson has something to do with it, they are investigating on their own.
Graham: And that’s what the Doc would do if she were here.
And although they try their best, it’s not going quite right.
Graham: Well, that didn’t go exactly to plan did it?
Ryan: I like that “whatever you do, we’re gonna stop you”- vibe. Very Doctor-y.
Breaking out
The Doctor is in the middle of the prison-cell-field where she and other familiar creatures like a Weeping Angel named Angela, a Silence, or the Pting are held captive next to each other when to her surprise Jack Harkness is in one next to her. He’s also wearing the red prison-inmate-jumpsuit.
Jack: I knew you would look better in that colors than me.
The Doctor: What are you doing here?
Jack: What do you think I’m doing here? Breaking you out. Tempo-Freezing-Gateway-Disinhibitor-Bubble. Catchy right? If it were me I would call it a “Break Out Ball”. Freezes times temporarily, breaks through walls, only problem is: it doesn’t last long.
He then uses the Break Out Ball to free himself and the Doctor and although they don’t have much time to flee from the facility, there’s always time for chatting.
The Doctor: Have you had work done?
Jack: You can talk. Now shut up and run.
Jack: I heard you were in here, so I committed a few crimes. Maybe a lot of crimes. Maybe more than I should have.
The Doctor: What sort of crimes?
Jack: Your gonna take the moral high ground when I’m breaking you out of prison? Be grateful!
The Doctor has a moment where she reflects on who she is.
The Doctor: I was in prison for being me. Right at the point where I wasn’t sure what that meant. It’s been a tough few decades.
Jack: You’re okay now, yeah?
The Doctor: I guess we’ll find out.
When they finally reach the Tardis and The Doctor has thanked Jack for rescuing her, she states that she needs to go back to the fam.
The Doctor: I have a lot to think about back in there, and three very special people I’ve missed.
Jack: One of them was me, right?
The Doctor: You never change.
Jack: Wish that I could say the same.
Well, doesn’t someone like the concept of regeneration, Captain Harkness?
Being with the Doctor you don’t get to choose when it stops.
The BBC promoted the New Year’s Special with this quote of Jack, which surely was a heads up to the fact, that the actors that portray Ryan and Graham are leaving the show after the special.
But the conversation Jack says this in is with Yaz and the dialogue as a whole is worthy to write it down:
Jack: I have my own experience with the Doctor.
Yaz: I just missed her. I never stopped to thin…
Jack: Hey, when I was with the Doctor I, I saw more than I could have ever dreamed. And then we lost each other. I don’t know what happened to him. If he was alive or if I was ever gonna see him again. Hard way to live. Being with the Doctor you don’t get to choose when it stops. Whether you leave her or she leaves you.
Yaz: It felt cruel. To be shown something I couldn’t have anymore. I felt like … I’d rather not have known. I’d rather not have met her. Cause having met her, and then being without her, that’s worse. How’d you deal with that?
Jack: How many people in the universe get to meet the Doctor? Let alone travel with her. We’re the lucky ones, Yaz. Enjoy the journey while you’re on it. Cause the joy is worth the pain.
The last sentence is what I decided to introduce people to Doctor Who from now on with 😀
About changes and struggles
Although the Doctor tries to avoid it, Ryan and her talk about what has changed for each of them in the last months. It can be seen from Ryan’s reaction and explanations that he wasn’t looking forward to returning to the Tardis as much as the Doctor assumed. And the doctor, in turn, struggles with the newly gained knowledge about her life and origin.
The Doctor: I am not who I thought I was, Ryan. What I always knew to be the story of my life isn’t true. I wasn’t born on Gallifrey. Where I’m from, all the lives I’ve lived…some of that have been hidden from me and I don’t even know how much.
Ryan tries to comfort and support her. And his words slightly remind me of the lines the 11th Doctor said to Clara when he was about to regenerate.
Ryan: Things change all the time, and they should, ‘cause they have to. Same with people. Sometimes we get a bit scared ‘cause … new can be a bit scary right?
Saying goodbye
After the Daleks are defeated once again and the Doctor wants to take her fam on a new adventure, Ryan announces that he’d rather not go. In the past months without the Doctor, he has learned what he wants to do with his life and that people are needing him. And the planet earth more than any other alien planet. The Doctor is cheering for Yaz when she assures her to stay with her.
Ryan: Hey, you gettin’ over me leaving quick enough.
The Doctor: Two hearts. One happy. One sad.
After Graham also decides not to travel with the Doctor anymore and they leave the Tardis together, the Doctor tries to think about ways to still spent more time with them. Yaz slows her down. She realizes, that the boys were not only lucky enough to travel with the Doctor but were also able to choose the point where they don’t want to anymore, unlike Jack said. With her hand on the Doctor’s shoulder she comforts her:
Yaz: It’s okay to be sad.
New episodes of Doctor Who will be available later this year on BBC America. You can now stream previous seasons of Doctor Who on HBO Max.
For more Doctor Who coverage check out:
Events of “Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks” Explained
Doctor Who Holiday Special “Revolution of the Daleks” Recap
“Doctor Who” welcomes a new member to the TARDIS Team: John Bishop
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