A promise was a pledge an individual made, to someone else or to themselves, to carry out a certain action or never stray from a given path.
Clara Oswald told the Twelfth Doctor that her request that he not try to take revenge for her murder by the Quantum Shade was not a promise she was asking him to make, but rather an order she was giving him. (TV: Face the Raven [+]Loading...["Face the Raven (TV story)"])
According to the Eleventh Doctor, the name one chose was "like a promise you make." (TV: The Name of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Name of the Doctor (TV story)"]) Specifically, in his case, the name of "the Doctor" represented a vow he made to himself: "Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in." (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
The War Doctor, by engaging in the Last Great Time War and committing terrible acts "in the name of peace and sanity", was considered to have broken this promise, (TV: The Name of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Name of the Doctor (TV story)"]) and so believed he did not deserve to be called the Doctor. He allowed himself to reclaim his title, just at the end, when the Doctor found another way to end the war, saving Gallifrey. (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
The Second Doctor warned Theodore Maxtible that Daleks did not keep their promises. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)"]) According to a Dalek on Mazam, promises were for humans and were of no use to Daleks. (COMIC: Abslom Daak... Dalek Killer [+]Loading...["Abslom Daak... Dalek Killer (comic story)"]) The Dalek Executioner likewise noted to the Wraxians that promises made to aliens were not valid. (AUDIO: The Enemy of My Enemy [+]Loading...["The Enemy of My Enemy (audio story)"])
The CyberTelosian Controller did not believe promises to be of any value. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["The Tomb of the Cybermen (TV story)"]) According to a Cyber-Leader in the Death Zone, promises made to aliens had no validity. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
When presented with Mr Cleaver's findings concerning the planned Blaidd Drwg nuclear power station, "Margaret Blaine" conceded promised that she would stop the project that day, only to reveal herself as Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen and decapitate him shortly after. (TV: Boom Town [+]Loading...["Boom Town (TV story)"])
Bill Potts made Heather promise she would wait for her. This promise endured even after Heather was absorbed by the sentient oil, the resulting entity pursuing Bill across time and space so they could leave together. (TV: The Pilot [+]Loading...["The Pilot (TV story)"])