No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes!
-The Incredibles
How many times has he saved the world? Rita accused him of having a "god complex," but that's only what humans call it, they can't know what it really feels like, in the end. They haven't had to face the destruction of two of the greatest races in civilization, one his own people, one their ancient foe. Both threatening to destroy the universe, but the greater threat was his own people. He was the only Time Lord left now, and he wanted the title to be a comfort, not a threat.
Amy saw it as a positive attribute. Very old and very kind and the very, very last, she said. He couldn't bear to stand there and watch children cry. He hadn't told her the real reason, but little Alfie knew: "Save the tears for later, boy-o. Oh, that was crabby. That was old. But I am old, Stormy. I am so old. So near the end."
Children are supposed to believe that someone would come along and make everything better in the end. That's what he was supposed to do, the Doctor, make everyone better. But it didn't stop. The universe never stayed saved, not from aliens nor internal threats. There was nothing he could do.
He saved the world by dying on that beach.
If only he could really have stayed dead. The bad things had gone away, yes, but so had so many good things. If only he could hold onto the good times, never let them go. But he had never been good at that. Never ever. He was still breathing, but so many of his friends were not. He had to hide it, had to make them think he was fine. He saved the world today; everybody's happy now, the bad things gone away.
He's one of the bad things that has to go away. He's lost track of how many times he saved the world. In one of his more fantastic dreams, he stated that he saved every planet in the galaxy twenty-seven times. And then he turned into a woman. And the latter was the less surprising part of the dream. Twenty-seven times was far too low, even if one only took the Earth into account.
Even if he discarded all pre-Time War invasions, he'd have to start with the Autons and end with this River's time collapse, with , and several Dalek invasion in between, not to mention that mess with the Time Lock breaking open. Saving the world was his occupation, but he wouldn't mind if it would just stay saved for once. But that was never going to happen, was it? It just kept getting mucked up. He couldn't die as long as the world needed saving. And the world always needs saving.
Hey hey, I saved the world today, and everybody's happy now, the bad thing's gone away
-"I Saved the World Today" by Eurythmics