Quotessence
Home / Authors / Steven Moffat Books
Steven Moffat

Steven Moffat Books

Television writer

Related Quotes

“This was supposed to be yesterday. I was sitting on the Cardiff/London train, supposedly about to write this very column, and realising something quite terrible. My head was entirely empty. A vast echoing void. Bigger on the inside, but with nothing in it. You could drop a pebble in my brain and wait for an hour to hear it land. No actually, you couldn't - that would be aggressive and unhelpful, so keep your damn pebbles to yourself.”

WritingHumorHumourTrainDoctor WhoPebblesMagazine
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“The Doctor: Amazing. Nancy: What is? The Doctor: 1941. Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it, nothing. Until one tiny, damp little island says "No. No, not here." A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing, the lot of you. I don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me.”

HumanityDoctorHitlerWw2Who
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“Hello, old friend. And here we are. You and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you always. Sometimes I do worry about you though. I think once we're gone you won't be coming back here for awhile. And you might be alone. Which you should never be. Don't be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me. There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to see and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived. And save a whale in outer space. Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond. And this is how it ends.”

GoodbyeDoctor WhoAmy Pond
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it'll never end. But however hard you try you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever for one moment, accepts it. Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. (In the library, the Doctor walks back to the TARDIS. He stops, looking at the doors. Then he raises his hand, and stands there poised like that for a long moment. Finally he snaps his fingers. The doors open. He smiles slowly and walks in, joining Donna. Then he snaps his fingers again, and the doors close. River's voice continues over this.) Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call... everybody lives.”

LifeMiraclesDoctor Who
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“River Song: Use the stabilisers! The Doctor: It doesn't have stabilisers! River Song: The blue switches! The Doctor: The blue ones don't do anything, they're just... blue! River Song: Yes they're blue: they're the blue stabilisers! [presses the button and the TARDIS indeed stabilises] See? The Doctor: Yeah? Well, it's boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers! They're blue... boring-ers! Amy: Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS? The Doctor: You call that flying the TARDIS? [scoffs] Ha! River Song: Okay, I've mapped the probability vectors, done a foldback on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination and... [presses a button, the cloister bell clangs] parked us right alongside. The Doctor: Parked us? But we haven't landed! River Song: Of course we've landed; I just landed her. The Doctor: But it didn't make the noise. River Song: What noise? The Doctor: You know, the... [does an impression of the TARDIS materialisation sound] River Song: It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on. The Doctor: Yes, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise.”

Doctor WhoAmy PondTardisRiver Song
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“The Doctor: Amy, what are you doing? Amy: That gravestone, Rory's, there's room for one more name isn't there? The Doctor: What are you talking about? Back away from the Angel. Come back to the TARDIS, we'll figure something out. Amy: The Angel, would it send me back to the same time, to him? The Doctor: I don't know. Nobody knows. Amy: But it's my best shot, yeah? The Doctor: No! River: Doctor, shut up! Yes, yes, it is! The Doctor: Amy— Amy: Well then. I just have to blink, right? The Doctor: No! Amy: It'll be fine. I know it will. I'll be with him like I should be. Me and Rory together. {calling River over} Melody. The Doctor: Stop it! Just, just, stop it! Amy: You look after him. And you be a good girl and you look after him. The Doctor: You are creating fixed time. I will never be able to see you again. Amy: I'll be fine. I'll be with him. The Doctor: Amy. Please. Just come back into the TARDIS, Come along, Pond. Please. Amy: Raggedy Man, goodbye. -Doctor Who”

Doctor WhoAmy PondRory Williams
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“Rory: Amy. I'm gonna need a little help here. Amy: Just stop it! Rory: Just think it through, this will work. This will kill the Angels. Amy: it will kill you too. Rory: Will it? River said that this place would be erased from time, never existed. If this place never existed what did I fall off? Amy: You think you'll just come back to life. Rory: When don't I? Amy: Rory— Rory: Anyway, what else is there? Dying of old age downstairs, never seeing you again? Amy, please. If you love me, then trust me and push. Amy: I can't. Rory: You have to! Amy: Could you? Could you if it was me? Could you do it? Rory: To save you, I could do anything. Amy: Prove it. Rory: But I can't take you too. Amy: You said we'd come back to life. Money-where-your-mouth-is time. Rory: Amy, but— Amy: Shut. Up. Together. Or not at all -Doctor Who”

Doctor WhoAmy PondRory Williams
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“It is hard to talk about the importance of an imaginary hero. But heroes are important. Heroes tell us something about ourselves. History books tell us who we used to be, documentaries tell us who we are now... but heroes, tell us who we want to be. A lot of our heroes depress me. But when they made this particular hero, they didn't give him a gun, they gave him a screwdriver to fix things. They didn't give him a tank or a warship or a X-Wing Fighter, they gave him a phone box from which you can call for help. And they didn't give him a superpower, or pointy ears, or Heat Ray, they gave him an extra heart. They gave him two hearts and that is an extraordinary thing. There will never come a time when we don't need a hero like the Doctor. - The Day of the Doctor Q&A”

Doctor WhoThe DoctorSteven MoffatSteven Moffat Quote
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“Angel Bob: Doctor? Excuse me, hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir. The Doctor: Ah, there you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject. Angel Bob: The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve. The Doctor: Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging, it's nice in here: consoles; comfy chairs; a forest... how's things with you? Angel Bob: The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond. The Doctor: Yeah, but we've got comfy chairs. Did I mention? Angel Bob: We have no need for comfy chairs. The Doctor: [amused] I made him say 'comfy chairs'.”

Doctor WhoDoctorThe Doctor
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“Sarah Jane Smith was everybody's hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories. But many years later, when I met the real Sarah Jane - Lis Sladen herself - she was exactly as any child ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever; and a ferociously talented actress, of course, but in that perfectly English unassuming way.”

PeopleWayYearsKindChildrenRealStoriesWantedCoursesHeroMetsBraveActressesBrilliantCleverGentleBe KindJaneUnassuming
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“The story of Sherlock Holmes, on the surface, is about detection, but in reality, it's about the best of two men who save each other - a lost, washed-up war hero and a man who could end up committing murders instead of solving them. They come together. They become this perfect unit. They become the best friendship ever, and they become heroes. That's what we fall in love with, not Sherlock on his own. No one can love that man on his own, but Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - the best friends ever.”

MenTwoWarEndsStoriesRealityTogetherFallLostPerfectHeroMurderFalling In LoveSurfaceDrsUnitsHolmesWatsonBest FriendshipDetectionWar HeroDr Watson
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image

“I wouldn't mind removing all the mistakes I have made. That would be exhausting and take forever. Honestly, it's one of the spells of my life that has been the most perfect. Not because I did the job perfectly, because of course I did it very imperfectly, but because I enjoyed it so much. What would I change? I complain a lot. I whinge, I more or less communicate in levels of complaint so I wish sometimes I didn't just spend all my time saying, 'I'm working so hard, what do I get in return for this?'.”

MindSometimesWishPerfectMistakeForeverCommunicateComplainingHonestly
Author:Steven Moffat
Create image