River Song
From Wikiquote
River Song is a fictional character played by Alex Kingston in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. Within the series' narrative, River Song is an experienced companion of the Doctor. Because she and the Doctor are both time travelers, their adventures together are largely experienced out of sequence in the chronology of each other's lives, resulting in surprising consequences for them and their unusual romantic life together, including the fact that the first time he meets her, is the last time she meets him, as she sacrifices her life to save his. In the 2011 episode A Good Man Goes to War it is revealed that she was born Melody Pond, the daughter of Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and in the following episode, Let's Kill Hitler, it is revealed she spent years of her life as Mels, the childhood friend of her mother — and thus was in fact named after herself.
[edit] Quotes
- Hello, Sweetie.
- Recurring greeting to the Doctor, and the earliest graffiti in the universe.
- Spoilers!
- Recurring admonition that she and the Doctor should not reveal what they know of each other's future, and her last words to the Doctor before dying.
- I hate you.
- Recurring phrase said to the Doctor when she pretends to be angry with him
[edit] Dialogue with others
[edit] Silence in the Library [4.8]
- (31 May 2008) This is the episode in which the Doctor first meets River, from his perspective — and the last time she meets him, from her perspective
- The Doctor: Oh, you're not, are you...? Tell me you're not archaeologists.
- River Song: Got a problem with archaeologists?
- The Doctor: I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists.
- River Song: Ah! [extending her hand for the Doctor to shake] ...Professor River Song. Archaeologist.
[edit] Forest of the Dead [4.9]
- (7 June 2008)
- River Song [speaking to the handcuffed Doctor, as she realizes she must sacrifice her own life to keep the Doctor from sacrificing his]: Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you — the future you, I mean — you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang, and you cried. You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver; that should've been a clue. [The Doctor tries unsuccesfully to reach their sonic screwdrivers] There's nothing you can do.
- The Doctor: You can let me do this!
- River: If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you!
- The Doctor: Time can be rewritten!
- River: Not those times. Not one line! Don't you dare! It's OK. It's OK, it's not over for you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come. You and me, time and space. You watch us run! [River starts to weep]
- The Doctor: River, you know my name. You whispered my name in my ear! There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could...
- River [River smiles sweetly at the Doctor as the countdown reaches zero]: Hush, now — spoilers!
- River's narration: [as the Doctor walks away from the Library] 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.
- [The Doctor runs back and picks up River's sonic screwdriver]
- The Doctor: Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? The thing is, future me had years to think about it. All those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver! Why would I do that!? [peels back a panel to reveal a set of green lights like on the suits, realizing why his future self has given River the screwdriver] Oh, oh, oh! Look at that! I'm very good!
- Donna: What have you done?
- The Doctor: Saved her!
- [The Doctor runs with River's consciousness in the screwdriver]
- The Doctor: Stay with me! You can do it! Stay with me! Come on!! You and me, one last time! [pointing his screwdriver at an elevator] Sorry River, short cut!
- [He jumps into the entrance and travels to the computer system while the data ghost indicator lights begin to go out. He continues to run]
- River's narration: Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. [The Doctor uploads her into CAL with her own happy universe] Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. 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.
[edit] Time of Angels [5.4]
- (24 April 2010)
- River: They've gone into warp drive. We're losing them. Stay close.
- The Doctor: I'm trying!
- River: Use the stabilizers.
- The Doctor: It doesn't have stabilizers!
- River: The blue switches.
- The Doctor: The blue switches don't do anything! They're just blue.
- River: Yes, they're blue. They're the blue stabilizers! [she flips them and the TARDIS stabilizes] See?
- The Doctor: Yeah. Well, just boring now, isn't it? They're boringers. They're blue boringers.
- Amy: Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS?
- The Doctor: You call that flying the TARDIS? Ha!
- River: Okay, I've mapped the probability vectors, done a full background temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination and...parked us right alongside.
- The Doctor: "Parked us." We haven't landed.
- River: Of course we've landed. I just landed her.
- The Doctor: But...it didn't make the noise.
- River: What noise?
- The Doctor: You know the [attempts to imitate the noise the TARDIS usually makes when it lands]
- River: It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on.
- The Doctor: Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise.
- Amy: How come you can fly the TARDIS?
- River: Oh, I had lessons from the very best.
- The Doctor: [flattered] Well...yeah.
- River: It's a shame you were busy that day.
- Amy: You're so his wife.
- River: Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy. This is the Doctor we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything that simple?
[edit] Flesh and Stone [5.5]
- (1 May 2010)
- Father Octavian [about the Doctor]: Dr. Song, I've lost good clerics today. You trust this man?
- River: I absolutely trust him.
- Father Octavian: He's not some kind of madman, then?
- River: [pause] I absolutely trust him.
- River: Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me, it's not easy. Now if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And Doctor, you're standing right behind me aren't you?
- The Doctor: Yeah.
- River: [lovingly] I hate you.
- The Doctor: You don't.
- The Doctor: River Song, I could bloody kiss you!
- River: Oh well. Maybe when you're older.
- River Song: You. Me. Handcuffs. Must it always end this way?
- The Doctor: What now?
- River Song: The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see.
- The Doctor: Octavian said you killed a man.
- River Song: Yes, I did.
- The Doctor: A good man.
- River Song: A very good man. The best man I've ever known.
- The Doctor: Who?
- River Song: It's a long story, Doctor. Can't be told, has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one: You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens.
- The Doctor: The Pandorica. [laughs] [Leans in to River Song and whispers in her ear] That's a fairy tale.
- River Song: [laughs] Oh, Doctor. Aren't we all? [smiles] I'll see you there.
- The Doctor: I look forward to it.
- River Song: I remember it well.
- Amy Pond: [Amy walks up] Bye, River.
- River Song: See you, Amy.
- The Doctor: Can I trust you, River Song?
- River Song: If you like. But where's the fun in that? [laughs] [River is beamed up to the prison ship]
- Amy Pond: What are you thinking?
- The Doctor: [looks thoughtfully out at the ocean] Time can be rewritten.
[edit] The Big Bang [5.13]
- (26 June 2010)
- Dalek: You will be exterminated!
- River Song: Not yet... Your systems are still restoring, which means your shield density is compromised. One alpha-meson burst through your eyestalk would kill you stone dead.
- Dalek: Records indicate you will show mercy. You are an associate of the Doctor.
- River Song: I'm River Song. Check your records again. [aims for the eye-stalk]
- Dalek: [uneasily] ... Mercy?
- River Song: Say it again?
- Dalek: Mercy!
- River Song: One more time.
- Dalek: Mercy!!!
- [Cut to River rejoining Amy and Rory]
- Amy: What happened to the Dalek?
- River: [coldly] It died.
- The Doctor: Are you married, River?
- River Song: Are you asking?
- The Doctor: Yes.
- River Song: ...Yes.
- The Doctor: No, hang on, did you think I was asking you to marry me, or, or, or asking if you were married?
- River Song: Yes.
- The Doctor: No, but was that yes, or...yes.
- River Song: ...Yes.
[edit] The Impossible Astronaut [6.1]
- (23 April 2011)
- The Doctor: I'm your new undercover agent on loan from Scotland Yard. Codename: The Doctor. These are my top operatives, [indicates Amy, Rory, and River in turn] The Legs, The Nose, and Mrs. Robinson.
- River: I hate you.
- The Doctor: No, you don't.
- The Doctor [smugly, just after explaining how he determined where the mysterious phone calls to President Nixon were originating from]: ...And Doctor Song, you've got that face on again.
- River Song [bemused]: What face?
- The Doctor: The 'He's-hot-when-he's-clever' face.
- River Song: This is my normal face!
- The Doctor [even more smugly]: Yes it is.
- The Doctor: Shout if you get into trouble.
- River Song: Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer. Now there's a spoiler for you.
[edit] Day of the Moon [6.2]
- (30 April 2011)
- The Doctor: Oh, this is my friend River. Nice hair, clever, and has her own gun. And unlike me, she really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that. Kinda do, a bit.
- River Song: Thank you, sweetie.
- The Doctor: I know you're team players and everything, but she'll definitely kill the first three of you.
- River: Oh, the first seven, easy.
- The Doctor: Seven, really?
- River: Oh, eight for you, honey.
- The Doctor: Oh, stop it.
- River: [flirtatiously] Make me.
- The Doctor: Yeah, well maybe I will!
- Amy: [tied to a chair] Is this really important, flirting? 'Cause I feel like I should be higher on the list right now!
- River: [Having slaughtered a group of Silence] My old fella didn't see that, did he? He gets ever so cross.
- Rory: So...what kind of doctor are you?
- River: Archaeology. [Casually shoots another Silent] Love a tomb, me.
[edit] A Good Man Goes To War [6.7]
- (4 June 2011) In this episode The Doctor, Amy and Rory first learn that River was born Melody, the daughter of Amy and Rory
- Demons run when a good man goes to war.
Night will fall and drown the sun
when a good man goes to war.Friendship dies and true love lies —
Night will fall and the dark will rise
when a good man goes to war.Demons run, but count the cost.
The battle's won, but the child is lost.- Describing the battle of Demon's Run
- The Doctor [on the destruction and losses of Demons Run]: You think I wanted this? I didn’t do this! This ... this wasn’t me!
- River Song: This was exactly you. All this, all of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you’d become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name? Doctor – the word for healer, and wise man, throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word "doctor" means "mighty warrior". How far you’ve come. And now they’ve taken a child. The child of your best friends. And they’re going to turn her into a weapon, just to bring you down. And all this, my love … in fear of you.
- River Song [Giving Amy the prayer leaf in the cradle]: It's your daughter's name, in the language of the forest.
- Amy Pond: I know my daughter's name.
- River Song: Except they don’t have a word for "pond," because the only water in the forest is the river. The Doctor will find your daughter, and he will care for her, whatever it takes, and I know that. [slowly, the writing on the prayer leaf is translated into English, revealing the child's name: River Song] It’s me. I’m Melody. I’m your daughter.
[edit] Let's Kill Hitler [6.8]
- (27 August 2011) In this episode Mels, the childhood friend of Amy Pond is revealed to have been an previous incarnation of River
- Mels: [pointing a gun at the Doctor]: I need out of here. NOW!
- The Doctor: Anywhere in particular?
- Mels: Let's see — you've got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the hell - let's kill Hitler.
- Mels: Penny in the air. [she begins regenerating with Time Lord energies] The penny drops.
- Rory: What the hell is going on?
- The Doctor: Back! Back! Get back!
- Mels: The last time I did this I ended up a toddler — in the middle of New York.
- Amy: Okay, Doctor, explain what is happening — please.
- The Doctor [having realized the threads of destinies]: "Mels"… short for…
- Mels [nods in affirmation]: Melody.
- Amy: Yeah. I named my daughter after her.
- The Doctor: You named your daughter — after your daughter.
- The Doctor: If you were in a hurry you could have killed me in the cornfield!
- Melody: We'd only just met! I'm a psychopath — I'm not rude. [Attempts to shoot the Doctor, but he has stolen the clip from her gun]
- Amy: You're not a psychopath! [to the Doctor] Why would she be a psychopath?
- Melody: Oh, Mummy, Mummy — pay attention. I was trained and conditioned for one purpose: I was born to kill the Doctor.
- Nazi officer: What are you doing here?
- Melody: Well, I was on my way to this gay gypsy Bar Mitzvah for the disabled, when I suddenly thought, "Gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish — I think I'll kill the Führer". Who's with me?
- Nazi officer: Shoot her.
- Melody [after being shot at to no effect by a patrol of Nazis]: Tip for you all — never shoot a girl while she's regenerating.
- Amy: You're safe now. Apparently you used all your remaining regenerations in one go. You shouldn't have done that.
- River : Mother, I had to try.
- Amy: I know.
- River : He said no one could save him — but he must have known I could.
- The Doctor: Rule one: The Doctor lies.
- Nurse: She just needs to rest. She'll be absolutely fine.
- The Doctor: No, she won't. She will be amazing.
- Luna University professor: So then tell me — why do you want to study archeology?
- River: Well, to be perfectly honest professor, I'm looking for a good man.
[edit] Closing Time [6.12]
- Madame Kovarian: So they made you a doctor today, did they? Doctor River Song. How clever you are. {looking at the date} You understand what this is, don't you?
- River: According to some accounts, it's the day the Doctor dies.
- Madame Kovarian: By Silencio Lake. On the Plain of Sighs. An impossible astronaut will rise from the deep, and strike the Time Lord dead.
- River: It's a story.
- Madame Kovarian: And this is where it begins.
- Madame Kovarian: You never really escaped us, Melody Pond. We were always coming for you.
- River: How do you know who I am?
- Madame Kovarian: I made you what you are. The woman who kills the Doctor.
[edit] The Wedding of River Song [6.13]
- [River wearing an astronaut suit, about to kill the Doctor at Lake Silencio]
- The Doctor: Well then. Here we are at last.
- River: I can't stop it. The suit's in control.
- The Doctor: You're not supposed to. This has to happen.
- River: Run.
- The Doctor: Did run. Running brought me here.
- River: I tried to fight it, but I can't. It's too strong.
- The Doctor: I know. It's okay. This is where I die. This is a fixed point. This must happen — this always happens. Don't worry. You won't even remember this. Look over there.
- River: It's me. How can I be there?
- The Doctor: That's you from the future. Serving time for a murder you probably can't remember. My murder.
- River: Why would you do that? Make me watch?
- The Doctor: So that you know this is inevitable. And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven.
- River: Please, my love. Please, please. Just run.
- The Doctor: Can't.
- River: Time can be rewritten.
- The Doctor: Don't you dare. Goodbye, River. [closes his eyes, and flinching as he hears energy discharges, cautiously opens them as he realizes he is still alive]
- River: [smiling] Hello Sweetie.
- The Doctor: What have you done?!
- River: Well...I think I just drained my weapons systems.
- The Doctor: But this is fixed! This is a fixed point in time!
- River: Fixed points can be rewritten.
- The Doctor: [furious] No, they can't, of course they can't!! Who told you—
[time collapses]
- River: Am I the woman who marries you? Or the woman who murders you?
- The Doctor: I don't want to marry you.
- River: I don't want to murder you.
- River: Such a basic mistake, Madame Kovarian. Take a child, raise her into the perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor...who else was I going to fall in love with?
- River: I can't let you die!
- The Doctor: I have to die!
- River: Shut up! I can't let you die — without knowing you are loved — by so many and so much — and no one more than me.
- The Doctor: River, you and I know what this means. We are Ground Zero of an explosion that will engulf all reality. Billions on billions will suffer and die.
- River: I'll suffer, if I have to kill you.
- The Doctor: More than every living thing in the universe?
- River: Yes.
[edit] Quotes about River Song
[edit] Time of Angels [5.4]
- (24 April 2010)
- Amy: Explain. Who is that and how did she do that museum thing?
- The Doctor: It's a long story and I don't know most of it. Off we go.
- Amy: What are you doing?
- The Doctor: Leaving. She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go.
- Amy: Are you basically running away?
- The Doctor: Yep.
- Amy: Why?
- The Doctor: 'Cause she's the future. My future.
- Amy: And you run away from that?
- The Doctor: I can run away from anything I like. Time is not the boss of me.
- Amy: Is River Song your wife? 'Cause she's someone from your future. And the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kind of like, you know, "Heel, boy." She's Mrs. Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she going to be your wife one day?
[edit] Flesh and Stone [5.5]
- (1 May 2010)
- Father Octavian: Listen to me! It's important. You can't trust her.
- The Doctor: Trust who?
- Father Octavian: River Song. You think you know her, but you don't. You don't understand who or what she is.
- The Doctor: Then tell me.
- Father Octavian: I've told you more than I should. Now please. You have to go. It's your duty to your friends.
- The Doctor: Just tell me why she was in Stormcage.
- Father Octavian: She killed a man. A good man. A hero to many.
- The Doctor: Who?
- Father Octavian: You don't want to know, sir, you really don't.
[edit] Day of the Moon [6.2]
- (30 April 2011)
- Canton: What about Doctor Song? She dove off a rooftop!
- The Doctor: Don't worry! She does that.
[edit] The Wedding of River Song [6.13]
- (1 October 2011)
- Emperor Churchill: "Tick tock goes the clock," as the old song says. But they don't, do they? The clocks never tick. "Something has happened to time." That's what you say. What you never stop saying. "All of history is happening at once." But what does that mean? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand. What happened to time?
- The Doctor: A woman.
- Emperor Churchill: You mentioned a woman.
- The Doctor: Yes. I'm getting to her.
- Emperor Churchill: What's she like? Attractive, I assume.
- The Doctor: Hell. In high heels.
- Emperor Churchill: Tell me more.
