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"Vworp!"
First Regular Appearance | Last Regular Appearance |
An Unearthly Child | Present |
The TARDIS is the Doctor's ship, their home and their friend. It has been the one constant through all their lives; an impossible blue box, bigger on the inside than the outside, taking them not necessarily to where they wants to go, but very often where they need to be. It can reach any time or place, and with it the Doctor has shown the universe to a rich variety of companions. On occasion he's used it to save the day, from a suicidal game of chicken with the Master's own TARDIS, to taking on a space-travelling planet as it tried to absorb the Earth, and many, many other adventures.
‘TARDIS’ stands for ‘Time and Relative Dimension in Space’ – an acronym coined by Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter. A Type 40 capsule crafted by the Time Lords, the TARDIS is the Doctor’s incredible ship for travelling in time and space. They stole it from Gallifrey in their youth, using it to run away and embark on adventures across the universe. Or, perhaps, the Type 40 capsule stole him?
The TARDIS has a chameleon circuit which should allow it to disguise itself, but it seems to have become stuck looking like a tall blue police box from 1960s Earth. Dimensionally transcendental, it appears much bigger on the inside than the outside. As well as a central control room from which it can be flown, the TARDIS has infinite other spaces – a pool, a library, an art gallery, a junk room, a walk-in wardrobe, an aquarium, a zoo and a garage. Just to name a few!
More of a friend to the Doctor than a machine, the TARDIS has a strong will of its own... As the Moment tells the Doctor, the “wheezing, groaning” sound that the TARDIS makes when materialising and dematerialising “brings hope wherever it goes. To anyone who hears it, Doctor.”