Zero Room

The Doctor recovers from a difficult regeneration. (TV: Castrovalva)

The Zero Room was an important room in the Doctor's TARDIS (and presumably in other TARDISes).

Zero Rooms were used by the Time Lords in times of difficult regeneration or to rapidly heal. There was, for instance, a renowned polygonal Zero Room under the Junior Senate Block on Gallifrey. (TV: Castrovalva) They were cut off from the random electrical and radiological influences of the rest of the universe. They were ideal for neurological healing. (AUDIO: The Invasion of E-Space) They had a calming, restful atmosphere. As the Fifth Doctor demonstrated to his companions, some physical laws did not hold as strongly in a Zero Room as in the rest of the universe. For instance, he could levitate in the TARDIS' Zero Room at will. The Zero Room also enhanced his telepathic abilities so he could speak to his companions while resting. (TV: Castrovalva)

When the First Doctor wanted to rest and contemplate, he used the Zero Room. (PROSE: The Rag and Bone Man's Story)

Romana II put the Fourth Doctor in the Zero Room after his synapses were damaged. (AUDIO: The Invasion of E-Space)

The Zero Room was used by the Fifth Doctor following the regeneration of his fourth incarnation. In order to generate enough power to break free of Event One, part of the structure of the TARDIS needed to be ejected. Unfortunately, the Zero Room was one of the areas destroyed. Using the remaining walls of the room, Nyssa was able to construct the Zero Cabinet. It had the same properties as the room, which allowed the Doctor to continue recuperating while he was within it. Nyssa and Tegan found the cabinet light enough to carry, in part because the Doctor used levitation to negate his own weight. However, if the Doctor did not concentrate on keeping himself levitated, the cabinet became heavy and would plummet to the ground. (TV: Castrovalva)

Later the Zero Room was reconstructed in the TARDIS. (AUDIO: Renaissance of the Daleks) The Sixth Doctor used it to stabilise Charley Pollard when she was sick. (AUDIO: Patient Zero) The Doctor still had this reconstructed Zero Room in his seventh incarnation. (PROSE: Deceit)

Soon after the TARDIS became infected by an organic material from Tír na n-Óg, (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark) the Doctor began adapting the Zero Room into another console room, disconnected from the Universe, so he could escape the effects. This control room/Zero Room was lost when the Doctor ejected it from the TARDIS in an attempt to destroy the sentient computer, Pool. (PROSE: Deceit)

Behind the scenes

• A scene with Rory Williams trapped in the Zero Room was cut from The Doctor's Wife. [1]