Talk:The Doctor's TARDIS/Archive 1

	This page is an archive. Please do not make any edits here. Edit the active conversation only.

"not inconceivable " this seems to contradict itself. should it be changed? TARDY- No Im Not Late 01:07, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

The Time Vortex!!

Some people point out that in the opening credits the tardis travels faster in the red vortex than in the blue one.

Vortex colours;

• Red= tardis traveling into the future
• Blue=travel into the past

The time winds flow into the relative future so more energy is required to travel into the past and the tardis goes slower. --Reecei 09:56, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

Can you cite a source for this? (ie a TV/novel/audio drama/comic/short story etc) (Other than it being a theory?) --Tangerineduel 13:48, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

When Matt Smith is shown the new TARDIS in the Doctor Who Confidential episode "Call Me the Doctor", one of the controls allows the TARDIS to move forwards in time, backwards in time, and at double speed. It can therefore be assumed that the Doctor has accelerated to double speed when he enters the red vortex. -Unhari 16:29, April 6, 2010

Chameleon circuit

Whilst the circuit is broken, could it still be said that the exterior of the TARDIS still functions to a limited degree or still capable of minor alterations? It would explain the various changes in the design over the different years and props (compare the TARDIS in Spearhead from Space to Rose). Taccer 07 21:37, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

a popular fan theory. I think that one of the novels, audios, etc., has addressed this, but I don't know what specific ones, if any. --Stardizzy2 22:58, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

In The End of Time (TV story) the doctor hides the TARDIS from seeing, does that means he used the chameleon circuit?--Gridcube 16:51, December 26, 2009 (UTC)

Actually, no; it was established that the Doctor did that by shifting the TARDIS a second out of sync with the rest of the universe.MarcusSLazarus 21:02, May 17, 2010 (UTC)

When I encountered it today, article ahd a few paragraphs that were already amply covered at chameleon circuit. I archive them here:

The fourth incarnation of the Doctor once tried to permanently fix the problem of the faulty chameleon circuit, not wanting old enemies to have such an easy way to recognize him. He did this by measuring its exterior dimensions in relation to an actual police box and then visiting the Logopolitans to complete the Block Transfer Computations they would have used to fix the faulty circuit. Due to interference by the Master, he never completed this task. (TV: Logopolis)

Nyssa of Traken once attempted to fix the chameleon circuit on her own, but merely succeeded in turning the TARDIS into a super-sentient whale. The Fifth Doctor had to revert her changes before the TARDIS fully changed into a whale and reproduced. (AUDIO: The Deep)

During his sixth incarnation, the Doctor thought he had successfully fixed the chameleon circuit. However it was still malfunctioning, which became obvious when the TARDIS appeared as first a cupboard, then a pipe-organ and later as a set of iron gates, none which fit its surroundings. The TARDIS shortly reverted to the old police box shape and its Chameleon circuit broke down again. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Later the Seventh Doctor felt so adamantly that he preferred his TARDIS' exterior shape that he purposefully smashed the functioning chameleon circuit with a mallet, so it would never work again. (PROSE: No Future). The Doctor made no further known attempts to fix the faulty circuit. His ninth incarnation admitted that he was actually quite fond of its current shape. (TV: Boom Town)

When Donna Noble was briefly granted the Doctor's intelligence she began explaining to the Tenth Doctor how he could fix the chameleon circuit. Her explanation was cut short as her mind started to burn. (TV: Journey's End)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

2010

What was wrong with me edit? The Doctor Forever 07:53, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

The BIG TARDIS

As I just added in a Behind the Scenes, Paul Cornell -- who has considerable Doctor Who bona fides -- wrote in his web comic for the BBC Writers' Comics webpage that the TARDIS can expand large enough to hold the entire Earth inside. This seems unlikely given had the TARDIS had this ability it would have made towing the Earth back from the Medusa Cascade a lot easier (and numerous other situations could have been resolved going all the way back to the 1960s). All that said, there might be a novel or comic or even episode that supports this - if so, then this probably can be moved into the main article. 23skidoo 22:16, December 13, 2009 (UTC)

Well...in PROSE: Blood Heat it's Ace I think who materialises the TARDIS around the Earth, placing everything in state of grace, it doesn't cope too well with this, but it does do it (it should be noted though that this TARDIS was the Third Doctor's TARDIS from an alternate universe where he died, but following this story the Doctor appropiated said TARDIS).

Then there's ]]EDA]]: The Bodysnatchers, which is stated somewhere near the end about the TARDIS doors being able to be any-size they need to be and they're not constrained by the dimensions of the Police box shape.

I'm vaguely sure that TARDISes in general have been described as mini-universes, if that's taken literally then the whole TARDIS within a TARDIS thing in TV: The Time Monster and Logopolis takes on a new perspective. I think the mini-universe statement may have come from PROSE: Alien Bodies (somewhere about the birthing of a TARDIS). --Tangerineduel 06:35, December 14, 2009 (UTC)

The Ancestor Cell also featured the TARDIS growing to a massive size by mapping its exterior dimensions onto its interior, making it the same size both inside and outside; at that size the ship was actually larger than Gallifrey (Plus, the TARDIS exterior doors would have to be able to change shape; how else do you explain the Third Doctor removing the control console like he did during Inferno?)MarcusSLazarus 21:02, May 17, 2010 (UTC)

I snipped 23skidoo's BTS note, because I personally found it so wishy-washy that I couldn't see any true value to keeping it. By my way of thinking, if it's canonical, put it in the main article. If not, don't mention it at all. The stance "on the off chance that it is canonical, let's throw a note into the behind-the-scenes section" isn't very helpful, I don't think. Of course, the issue whether the big TARDIS thing described in Just Another Thursday is canonical is quite different to whether that ComicMaker comic can be seen as a valid resource. So even though MarcusSLazurs has found some things that seem to agree with Cornell, that doesn't mean that the Cornell story is a valid resource. Below, I preserve the excision for further discussion.

• An online comic WC: Just Another Thursday by Paul Cornell, published on the BBC website in 2008, suggests that the TARDIS has the ability to change its size to an almost infinite degree, at one point becoming even large enough to envelop and protect all of Earth. Given that this rather extreme ability has not been mentioned elsewhere, and given the nature of the BBC Writers' Comics series as being fun one-offs as opposed to serious contributions to the canon, it can't at present be said whether the TARDIS actually has this ability.
  czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Main Picture

The old picture of the tardis should be put back on top. This one is too big. Also, the new Tardis interior was previously removed, since series 5 hasn't aired yet, so this should be removed too.Gowron8472 17:55, April 2, 2010 (UTC)

Surely it would be better for the main picture to be labeled 'The Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS'? Dented42 00:37, August 2, 2010 (UTC)

• Nope. It's the same TARDIS. The appearance may change, but so does the time vortex and we don't have different names for it. The Thirteenth Doctor 09:53, August 2, 2010 (UTC)

Library and Swimming Pool

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the implication in the comment about a swimming pool in the library at the start of The Eleventh Hour that the pool had *fallen in* while the TARDIS was sideways, not that it was normally kept there?

Please remember to sign all posts with ~~~~. Rasssilon 224 11:02, April 5, 2010 (UTC)

I agree - this mistake is made twice on the Doctor's TARDIS page, once under "Library", and once under "Others" - Unhari 16:32, April 6, 2010 (UTC)Unhari

The TARDIS Swimming Pool

But then the Doctor said that he'd lost the smimming pool and that it would turn up, dose this mean that it had fallen into another room or that it had been put somewhere else when the TARDIS rebuilt itself ? - Im confused!!

TIMELORD TARDIS 1290

Doctor who can be realy complecated sometimes, but here's a link to a video on youtube wich looks at the funny side of it & not all the confusing bits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMpO5aA7TaU&feature=related

Just wanted to add (and I created an account to do so (yes, I care that much)) that the TARDIS pool that Leela swam in was jetisoned by the Sixth or Seventh Doctor prior to Paradise Towers. Mel states that she doesn't see why the Doctor had to jetison the pool in the first place to which the Seventh replies "Well, it was leaking".

Presumably it was the only one available in the TARDIS (as using a pool was the reason for going to Paradise Towers) at the time and must have been replaced before Eleventh Hour.

GrahamSMBell 14:07, June 24, 2010 (UTC)

Wardrobe

In the wardrobe section Donna Noble's many costume changes over the course of the series are given as examples of how the TARDIS wardrobe includes clothes from all sorts of places and times. Is it at any point stated in the show that the clothes she used came from the wardrobe? It seems to me that most of the clothes she wore could easily have been her own as it is seen quite clearly that she brought an awful lot of packing with her when she joined the Doctor at the end of 'Partners In Crime'. Packing for warm weather, cold weather, no weather! She brought a hatbox.

The TARDIS wardrobe is undoubtedly extensive, but Donna Noble is probably not a solid indicator of that. We saw some of the wardrobe in the 'Christmas Invasion' and perhaps we saw some of the clothes when Romana regenerated inside the TARDIS and tried on several looks before settling.

195.198.42.205 15:01, May 15, 2010 (UTC) Henrik

Also, I presume that all of Amys (as well as Rorys during his time in the TARDIS) clothes for Series 5 have come from the wardrobe, seeing as she joins the TARDIS in her nighty, with no luggage at all. This could also be the case in Series 6 for both her and Rory, as they entered the TARDIS in their wedding clothes and go on an adventure straight away.

Authorised for flying

I think it should be added that The Doctor's TARDIS was authorised for use by the Shadow Proclomation. It says this on the repair box that The Doctor gets the generator from in Amy's Choice. it also says on the repair box that his TARDIS was built at the Blackhole Shipyard

Paradox Machine

Shouldn't we mention about the time The Master canibalising the TARDIS? This seems like an important thing to me. The Captain Tornado 15:42, June 2, 2010 (UTC)

I think it should be noted that not all other TARDIS have made the dematerialisation noise as claimed on this page. The SIDRATs in DW: The War Games made a different noise and they were time lord technology so it is possible that River Song was telling the truth.

Engine Shut Down

Shouldn't the function of the TARDIS engines shutting down when the pilot leaves the TARDIS also be mentioned?

Zig-Zag Plotter

Could we mention that the zig-zag Plotter only works if you stand in a certain place. (Amy's Choice)

116.250.51.26 07:17, July 10, 2010 (UTC)

Well, it was actually The Lodger but I would guess so. ☆The Solar Dragon 07:20, July 10, 2010 (UTC)

Bad link

The link to Logopolis in the first paragraph under the "exterior appearance" section goes to the article about the place, not the episode like it should.

• Taken care of. The Thirteenth Doctor 12:42, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

Interiors

Why do we have two novel Interiors and the TV ones that follow them with stuff like "3rd if you discount the previous two" Joshoedit 04:51, October 5, 2010 (UTC)

Edits have been undone. It's likely the same reason why people make a variety of edits; not reading the MoS, polices etc, having different opinions, being new at editing. --Tangerineduel 14:15, October 5, 2010 (UTC)

Roundels

Surprisingly there isn't an article yet about roundels, but there should be. Snipped some language from this article that should be transferred to roundel page, when written:

Some roundels had a basic circular cut-out with black background, roundels resembling washing-up bowls stuck to the wall, recessed wood paneling with a few decorative ones in what appeared to be stained glass, translucent illuminated discs or hexagonal shapes with nodes in the centre. (TV: The Hand of Fear)

Not terribly grammatical, but the basic sense of things that need to be said and illustrated is there.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Temporal grace

When I encountered it, article had this odd bit of speculation in the temporal grace section:

There are several possible explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Like the HADS (see below), the "temporal grace" could need to be manually activated (although this would raise the question of why it would be deactivated). The other possibility is that the Doctor is lying, and claims "temporal grace" to prevent intruders from attempting violence. A third option is that the temporal grace has since broken and is one of the many things the Doctor has to work on. Also note that, if real, the "temporal grace" field does not prevent weapons from being fired into the TARDIS. (TV: Human Nature)

I've archived it here, but please don't put back in the article. It's totally unnecessary since the Eighth Doctor obviously gives the answer to the problem in Human Resources. He says there, point blank, that the system just hasn't been working for years. No need to speculate.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Problems that aren't problems

The section entitled "Problems" had a few points that weren't "faults" in the TARDIS at all. If the Doctor's doing something contrary to the manual, that's not a fault. :)

I archive them here for . . . some reason :)

• For a time, the Seventh Doctor used a TARDIS which had once belonged to a dead version of his third incarnation, which the main universe's Doctor later found. (PROSE: Blood Heat) He regained his old TARDIS later. (PROSE: Happy Endings)

Clearly not mechanical fault

• The TARDIS pool leaked and was jettisoned, (TV: Paradise Towers) but the TARDIS gained two new ones following its regeneration after the Doctor's second exile on Earth. (PROSE: Escape Velocity)

This one might go back in. Does PT say that the reason the pool were jettisoned was that the were leading. Or does he say something more like, "I jettisoned them, but it doesn't matter because they were leaking anyway?" If the former, then, yeah, they can go back in. But if the latter, it's just something he chose to do and not a fault.

• To be piloted correctly the TARDIS needed six pilots, one on each side of the hexagonal console. (TV: Journey's End) As the Doctor was generally the only one flying it, he had frequent problems with piloting. This may also explain why he occasionally has trouble landing on exact dates. As an example, in TV: Aliens of London when he intended to return Rose Tyler twelve hours after her departure from Earth, (TV: Rose) he instead landed twelve months later.

In no way is this a mechanical fault. This info might belong on TARDIS or at a point higher up in the body of this article. But it's not a fault of the TARDIS that he should be flying with five others. He's not operating to design specs.

• • According to River Song, the sound made by the TARDIS when it dematerialised and rematerialised was actually not supposed to happen, but the sound was generated by the Doctor leaving the brakes active (TV: The Time of Angels) the fact that other TARDISes have been heard to make this sound suggests that it may not be an error on the Doctor's part; possibly River activated a 'stealth materialisation the Doctor never bothers with.

Again, pilot error isn't a technical fault. This might have a place (minus the in-line rebuttal) somewhere higher in the article, but it's not a "problem" per se.

Actually, the whole section is kinda suspect. Really, if a thing is broken, then that means that thing has probably been named in a script. If it's a named system in a script, that means it can go higher up in the article where the various systems are named. In that part of the article, any problems with those systems can be named. For the moment, therefore, I'm parking the rest of the section here (though I do think these are the most solid points in that section, and should definitely reincorporated in the article.

• The spring on the fast return switch jammed. (TV: The Edge of Destruction)
• The TARDIS gravitational tractor beam functioned only sporadically after it was used to pull a neutron star away from Chloris. (TV: The Creature from the Pit) Compassion was unable to use it to rescue the Doctor when he was trapped outside the TARDIS (PROSE: The Taking of Planet 5), but it was functioning again to enable the Doctor to rescue the rocket from Krop Tor (TV: The Satan Pit) and once more to pilot Earth back to its position in space. (TV: Journey's End)
• The Temporal Satnav was said to be "on the blink". (TV: Dreamland)

czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 