The Fourth Doctor was a polar opposite of all the incarnations who came before. He wasn't a grouch like the First, a miscreant like the Second, or an authoritative leading man like the Third. Rather, the Fourth Doctor saw the universe largely through the eyes of a child, a fact which played well among Doctor Who's target demographic.
Played with legendary excellence by Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor would go on to become the resounding favorite among the majority of long-time Whovians. Today we're counting down his 10 most memorable quotes, which spelled the character out perfectly and made him such a household name.
ROBOT
"You may be a doctor. But I am the Doctor. The definite article, you might say!"
In his newly regenerated form, the Fourth Doctor was bursting at the seams with energy like a hyper-active 5-year-old who just got into the candy jar. UNIT doctor Harry Sullivan had some choice words for the Doctor, who'd just been quite a huge ordeal after succumbing to death at the hands of the Great One, but he wouldn't hear of it. Instead, the Fourth Doctor was quick to point out who the true doctor in the room was while distracting Harry long enough to eventually hog-tie him and hang him up in a cupboard.
THE ARK IN SPACE
"Homo sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenseless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine, and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts. And now, here they are, out among the stars, waiting to begin a new life! Ready to out-sit eternity. They're indomitable. Indomitable!"
The Doctor was always fond of Earth and its inhabitants, but no previous incarnation truly showed as much open admiration for them as the Fourth Doctor. While marveling at the technological splendor of the Ark in Space, the Doctor found it easy to express his admiration, respect, and fondness for humanity's will to survive and thrive despite the odds.
GENESIS OF THE DALEKS
"You see, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?"
The Doctor was faced with his most tempting moment when he had the opportunity to eradicate the Daleks before they had a chance to go on becoming the universe's greatest threat. By simply touching two wires together, he could have ended it all before it ever began. Yet, when faced with the opportunity, the Fourth Doctor expressed severe doubt as his moral compass kicked in, forcing him to question his decision. The dilemma is a parallel of the classic "Would you kill baby Hitler" morality debate, which asks whether one could go through murdering a child who might grow up to become a ruthless tyrant, or take the child out of their environment and raise it in a better one.
THE SEEDS OF DOOM
"If we don't find that pod before it germinates, it will be the end of everything! EVERYTHING, you understand? Even your pension!"
The Doctor gave some comically sage advice in this serial about an intergalactic weed known as a Krynoid, which has plans to kill all human life on Earth. This rapidly spreading infectious plant kills quite a few before the Doctor realizes the threat, and he makes sure everyone understands the implications - even those with money to lose!
THE DEADLY ASSASSIN
"Oh! Engin, I can feel my hair curling, and that can mean either that it's going to rain, or that I'm on to something!"
Leave it to the Fourth Doctor to make fun of his own physique, even when his nemesis the Master is scheming to rejuvenate his own life force while destroying Gallifrey in the process. Many characters, including his previous incarnation, would describe the Fourth Doctor as "teeth and curls," making this quote all the more hilarious.
THE FACE OF EVIL
"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common - they don't change their views to fit the facts. They change the facts to fit their views, which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs changing."
The Doctor speaks truth regarding the nature of corrupt people to purposely distort facts to fit their own personal agenda. This has become all-too-apparent in our current culture of fake news and political bias. Those who wield power seem to run a greater risk of skewing facts and shoehorning them into their own narrative, or else ignoring them completely.
DESTINY OF THE DALEKS
"Yes, well, I can see your long rest hasn't done anything to cure your megalomania. Have a jelly baby."
The Fourth Doctor had hoped to see the last of the insane mad scientist Davros at the end of "Genesis of the Daleks," but his creations had other plans. When faced with a logical battle against another race of machines, their war suddenly turned into a century-old stalemate with neither side's battle computers able to calculate a firing solution. The Daleks decided to locate and revive Davros from the buried ruins of the old Kaled city on Skaro. When the Fourth Doctor reached him first, Davros began bragging about his survival skills, to which the Doctor replied with this hilarious quip, causing Davros to smack a bag of jelly babies away.
THE CREATURE FROM THE PIT
"Stupid expression, 'stands to reason.' Why isn't it 'lie down to reason?' Much easier to reason lying down."
The Doctor found himself in the middle of a precarious trade negotiation with an imprisoned Tythonian ambassador in this 1979 serial. It's here that the Doctor showcases his wandering mind as he quips about the nature of a metaphor, and how it could be changed to make more sense. Pointless? Of course, but very Fourth Doctor!
THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN
"Neeman, Neeman come here! You chaps might be interested in this as well. Listen. Do you know that expression, uh, two heads are better than one, hmmm? Well I think that one head is better than three!"
The Fourth Doctor didn't know Venusian Aikido like his predecessor, and he certainly wasn't as willing to get into a fistfight, but that doesn't mean he couldn't engage in a little melee combat now and again. In this 1981 serial, the Doctor makes this little quip before knocking the heads of two guards into a third, rendering them all unconscious. It's a rare bit of comic combat from an otherwise skittish Doctor.
LOGOPOLIS
"It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for..."
Tom Baker's record run as the Doctor would come to an end in the 1981 serial "Logopolis," where the Fourth Doctor squares off against the Master before plummeting to his death. However, the Doctor was haunted by visions of a mysterious figure that had been watching him throughout the episode, and when the moment of his death finally came, that figure was revealed to be the Doctor's fifth incarnation. His regeneration was solemn, but also tranquil and peaceful, making way for Peter Davison's smiling Fifth Doctor to take over.