I, TARDIS (novel)

I, TARDIS was a Doctor Who novel published by BBC Books on 11 July 2024. It was written by Steve Cole and was told from the perspective of the Doctor's TARDIS.^[1]

Publisher's summary[[edit]]

Packed with stories from across time and space, this is the first ever memoir by the TARDIS.

‘Did you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago? I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away...’

The Doctor has a unique bond with their TARDIS. They’ve always loved the ‘old girl’ for the way she’s gone looking for trouble anywhere in the universe. The Doctor says they stole the TARDIS from Gallifrey. The TARDIS disagrees… she stole them. She hasn’t always taken them where they want to go, but she’s made sure to take them where they needed to be.

For the TARDIS is far more than just a time machine crossed with a spaceship. Her life reflects the Doctor’s life – a shared wanderlust and longing to explore. Now you can revisit the Doctor’s adventures as seen through the eyes – or the flashing rooftop light, at least – of the TARDIS. From the time the Doctor stole her from Gallifrey to her latest adventures with the Fifteenth Doctor, the TARDIS reflects wittily on her epic, incredible history – past, present and future!

Plot[[edit]]

While being split by the Fifteenth Doctor using a fairground hammer, the Doctor's TARDIS remembers its past.

Characters[[edit]]

The TARDIS

to be added

Referenced only[[edit]]

to be added

Worldbuilding[[edit]]

to be added

Notes[[edit]]

The title of the book is a reference to I, Claudius.
An audiobook published by BBC Audio was released alongside the printed version. It is 3 hours and 50 minutes in length.^[2]
The book features key moments in the TARDIS's travels, friends of the Doctor she picked up along the way, and a journey log.^[3]
The journey log was inspired by the TARDIS Log features in 1983 issues of Doctor Who Magazine.^[3]

Continuity[[edit]]

This novel is set during TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"].
Previous stories told from the perspective of the Doctor's TARDIS include PROSE: Time, Love and TARDIS ^[+]Loading...["Time, Love and TARDIS (short story)"] and What the TARDIS thought of "Time Lord Victorious" ^[+]Loading...["What the TARDIS thought of \"Time Lord Victorious\" (short story)"].
The TARDIS references mavity, as debuted in TV: Wild Blue Yonder ^[+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"]. Here, the TARDIS specifically refers to being "stuck in a mavity bubble" when recollecting the events of Logopolis.
Sutekh's possession of the TARDIS seen in TV: Empire of Death ^[+]Loading...["Empire of Death (TV story)"] is referenced several times in the novel, although, assuming the TARDIS is not unreliable narrator, it is implied that she is herself unaware of Sutekh's presence, in contrast to Harriet Arbinger's suggestion in TV: The Legend of Ruby Sunday ^[+]Loading...["The Legend of Ruby Sunday (TV story)"] that she had been consciously "whispered to" and "seduced".
- While listing the horrors of the Last Great Time War, the TARDIS says: "I hear the ghost of a groan inside myself; it feels as if I’m flying through endless dark with a devil on my back, and inside…?"
- When describing the beginning of TV: Wild Blue Yonder ^[+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"], the TARDIS says that as she was losing control, she could feel herself coming under control.