Note that all of those lines were written by Steven Moffat.
IMHO, these lines don't have intrinsic goodness: they are only good because of the context they are in. In that context, they are awesomely creepy, but out of it, they mean nothing. For me, that means that they aren't "good lines"; a "good line" is one that is quotable; that it can be quoted out of context and still retain a good proportion of its awesomeness.
Such as: "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning and the sea's asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on Ace, we've got work to do..."
or
"D'you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it -- the turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, the entire planet is hurtling around the Sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go...
That's who I am. Now forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home."
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-01-10 06:04 am (UTC)IMHO, these lines don't have intrinsic goodness: they are only good because of the context they are in. In that context, they are awesomely creepy, but out of it, they mean nothing. For me, that means that they aren't "good lines"; a "good line" is one that is quotable; that it can be quoted out of context and still retain a good proportion of its awesomeness.
Such as:
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning and the sea's asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on Ace, we've got work to do..."
or
"D'you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it -- the turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, the entire planet is hurtling around the Sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go...
That's who I am. Now forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home."
Okay, they're more than one line, but still...