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The TARDIS - The Most Famous Time Machine





The Doctor travels through both time and space anywhere through normal space and exo-space and the alternate dimensions in the TARDIS. (TARDIS - Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.)

It seems that the Doctor “stole” his old Type 40 from his home planet - Gallifrey. The “old girl” is probably past her best and the Doctor spends his life repairing and tinkering with her works. It has broken down frequently and rarely goes where the Doctor wants. The Time Lords track the TARDIS’s movements and have taken control of the machine on more than one occasion. They could recover the TARDIS if they really wanted it back from the Doctor. The Doctor has said that there is a Recall Circuit but this has only been used on three occasions in the Timelords’ history. It has also been known for the Timelords to remove the Main Time Element to disable the machine.

The TARDIS also has a life and a mind of its own. It is not unknown for the controls to operate themselves. It also plays a part in his regenerations and the Doctor has said that he could not survive without it. The Doctor and the TARDIS communicate telepathically and different TARDIS can “talk” to one another. The TARDIS can even project the Doctors thoughts to his companions. If he is in the TARDIS, the Doctor places his hands on two circular discs on the console to activate the telepathic circuits.

There were 305 TARDIS and the other 304 have been de-commissioned. The register shows an entry against the Doctors machine that reads “Reference Malfeasance Tribunal Order dated 309906”. Two Timelords, Rassilon and Omega were jointly responsible for the feat of temporal engineering that makes time travel possible.

The TARDIS travels through time by dematerialising and entering the Temporal Vortex. This allows it to travel through the Space-Time Continuum and then rematerialise at its destination. The Doctor tells us that his TARDIS uses a Mark 1 dematerialisation circuit.

The TARDIS exterior is supposed to metamorphoses into an object that is not out of place in its new surroundings. However, the Chameleon Circuit broke down whilst visiting 1960s London and is now stuck in the shape of an out-of-date police box. The plasmatic outer shell should be capable of assuming any shape and varying size. It may be noted that other Time Lord time capsules seen during the various adventures do, indeed, conceal themselves. The TARDIS is surrounded by a force field that makes it virtually indestructible. This is a double curtain trimonic barrier.

All travellers in the TARDIS remark on the fact that the interior of the machine is much larger than the outside. This is because the TARDIS is “dimensionally transcendental” and the exterior and interior exist in separate dimensions which means they do not have to relate in size. The Time Vector Generator is a gold tipped rod about 18 inches long fitted inside a compartment close to the main doors. If it is removed, the TARDIS interior reverts to normal size relative to its exterior. The Doctor has used the TVG’s energy as a projectable beam weapon or for boosting communcations in emergancies.

The Relative Dimensional Stabiliser is part of the TARDIS control system that allows the ship to cross dimensional boundaries. The Doctor has used it to reduce himself and companions to microscopic size.

The TARDIS is controlled by the Doctor from a hexagonal central column in the control room with its famous roundelled walls. The Emergency Unit is a box that plugs into the central column and when turned on takes the TARDIS out of Space-Time and beyond reality. The TARDIS also has the Hostile Action Displacement System which, if set, will detect serious hazards and automatically move to another location. The TARDIS carries a canvas bag Medical Kit which contains a deep-healing beam.

Early in the TV series, the Doctor speaks of the Time Rotor in the console that slows down when the TARDIS is “landing”. He explained that it takes 12 minutes for the TARDIS computers to reorientate and gather power before it can leave again.

There is also a Secondary Control Room which is wood-panelled with a smaller central console that has hinged panels covering the controls. It also contains a library, garden, swimming pool and a cricket pavilion.