The TARDIS is a fictional time machine featured in the Doctor Who television franchise. The name is actually an acronym, which stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It is the principal means of transportation for the Time Lord known only as the Doctor, who often brings various companions, many of whom are Earthlings along with him on his journeys across time and space. The ship used by the Doctor is a Type 40/Mark I TARDIS. The TARDIS was first seen in the pilot episode of the series "An Unearthly Child", directed by Waris Hussein and written by Anthony Coburn.
Description & History
A TARDIS may assume different shapes and physical designs. The one used by the Doctor is camoflaged as a police call box from the year 1963. The Eleventh Doctor once explained the process that governs its design as, "It's camouflaged. It’s disguised as a police telephone box from 1963. Every time the TARDIS materializes in a new location, within the first nanosecond of landing, it analyses its surroundings, calculates a twelve-dimensional data map of everything within a thousand-mile radius, and then determines which outer shell would best blend in with the environment. And then it disguises itself as a police telephone box from 1963." [1]
The heart of the TARDIS is a living matrix of bio-physical energy, though applying such a simple description towards it is an injustice to not only it's design, but to the TARDIS itself as well. The heartbeat or soul of the TARDIS is truly a mysterious thing, and not even the Doctor fully understands it. The core of the TARDIS is semi-sentient and can even communicate telpathically. The Raxacoricofallapatorian known as Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen once gazed into the brilliance of the TARDIS' heart. The TARDIS elected to spare her life for her criminal misdeeds by literally giving her a second chance at life, regressing her in age back into the form of an egg. [2]
The Ninth Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler, interfaced with the TARDIS and acquirred great power. With it, she was able to send herself a message 200,000 years into the past, instructing her to come to the aid of the Doctor using the phrase "Bad Wolf". She also used the power of the TARDIS to destroy the Dalek emperor. [3]
For reasons unknown, the TARDIS suffered a complete breakdown that shunted it out of the Time Vortex. The Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith found that the TARDIS landed on a parallel world that was dominated by the corporate empire known as Cybus Industries. The Doctor gave away ten years of his life in order to recharge a broken power cell in order to repair the TARDIS. According to him, the sacrifice was completely worth it. [4]
Voyages of the TARDIS
- After forcing humans Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton to accompany him, the First Doctor and Susan Foreman took the TARDIS from 1963 London to the Paleolithic era. [5]
Notes & Trivia
- Also referred to as a TT capsule. Sometimes just simply referred to as "the ship" as well.
- Susan Foreman has taken credit for coining the name TARDIS as an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space while describing its properties to Barbara Wright. [6]
- Although it usually takes the form of a police call box, it has also appeared as an ionic column and a sedan chair. [7]
- The Fourth Doctor once tried explaining to his companion Leela the physics of the TARDIS after she expressed confusion as to how it appeared larger on the outside than on the inside. He held a small box close to her face with another larger box situated farther away, comparing perception to distance and how the smaller box now appears to be larger than the other.
See also
External Links
Appearances
References