Face of Boe The Face of Boe appeared to be a male Boekind who was little more than a gigantic humanoid head . Although he would rarely do more than grunt vocally , he was able to communicate by means of telepathy , and he communicated verbally on at least one occasion . Biography . The Face of Boe had the distinction of being one of the oldest creatures in the known universe . ( TV : " Bad Wolf " ) In 200 , 000 , he was featured on Bad WolfTV , in a news story claiming that he had fallen pregnant with Boemina . ( TV : " The Long Game " ) Platform One . In the year 5 billion ( 5 . 5 / Apple / 26 ) , the Face of Boe was the sponsor of an event to safely witness the destruction of the Earth by the expansion of the Sun . The hot water in his room on the platform observing the " Earth death " was not working . The event was sabotaged by Lady Cassandra , but the Face was among the remaining survivors . ( TV : " The End of the World " ) On New Earth . By 5 , 000 , 000 , 023 , the Face was hospitalised in Ward 26 of the hospital run by the Sisters of Plenitude on New Earth . By this time , he was the last of Boekind . Apparently dying of old age , the Face summoned the Tenth Doctor to his ward . When a novice told the Doctor the legend of the Face ' s last words — a secret which the Face would impart only to one like himself — the Doctor realised that he fit the description of the " wanderer [ . . . ] the man without a home , the lonely god " . The Face of Boe eventually recovered , saying that although he had grown tired of the universe , the Doctor had shown him a new way of looking at things . The Doctor asked about the message , but the Face told him that it could wait for their third and final meeting , and teleported away . ( TV : " New Earth " ) At some point shortly after , he took Novice Hame ( his former nurse ) into his service to help her atone for her and her order ' s crimes . When the city of New New York was struck by a highly infectious and universally fatal virus , the Face of Boe was able to protect her by " shrouding her in his smoke " . With the rest of the surface inhabitants of New Earth dead , only they and those in the undercity , which had been sealed off , were left . However the city did not have enough power to release those trapped in the undercity and would have lost power completely in time . To prevent this , the Face of Boe wired himself into the power grid , using his own life energy to keep the basic functions of the undercity running with Hame caring for him to ensure he could continue . Death . The Doctor was ultimately reunited with the Face of Boe one last time during his travels with Martha Jones , in the year 5 , 000 , 000 , 053 . This was the only time the Face of Boe communicated vocally with the Doctor . Boe revealed his last secret with his dying breath after sacrificing himself to save the city of New New York : " You [ the Doctor ] are not alone " . The Doctor dismissed this , as he still firmly believed himself the last Time Lord . ( TV : " Gridlock " ) Legacy . When the Doctor later met Professor Yana , who eventually was discovered to be a hidden incarnation of the Master , the Doctor realised the significance of the name " Yana " ; it was an acronym , standing for " You Are Not Alone " . ( TV : " Utopia " ) When Davros asked the Doctor , " How many have died in your name ? " the Face of Boe was among those he remembered . ( TV : " Journey ' s End " ) Personality . The Face of Boe was a mysterious being , but because of his near - immortal lifespan he was well known throughout the universe . He rarely spoke with his voice , preferring to communicate through telepathy , and when he did use his voice he usually grunted instead of speaking . However he was capable of using actual words as when he told the Doctor that he was not the last Time Lord . ( TV : " Gridlock " ) The Face of Boe was a compassionate and selfless being who was willing to give his life for the greater good . He used up all of his remaining life force to save people who were trapped on the Motorway . ( TV : " Gridlock " ) Having lived for billions of years , the Face had grown tired of his unbelievably long life , but after meeting the Doctor for the second time , he stated that the Doctor had taught him to look at the universe differently . ( TV : " New Earth " ) However , when the end of his life finally came , he welcomed death . ( TV : " Gridlock " ) Minor references . In 200 , 100 , he was the focus of a question on " The Weakest Link " , in which he was described as the oldest living creature in the Isop Galaxy . ( TV : " Bad Wolf " ) Jack Harkness commented on the fact that when he was younger on the Boeshane Peninsula , the first person there to join the Time Agency , he was nicknamed the Face of Boe . This led the Doctor and Martha to speculate that Jack , who was immortal , may in fact have been destined to become the Face of Boe himself . ( TV : " Last of the Time Lords " )