Inside the TARDIS

The Doctor travels in the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) , a vehicle unique to Doctor Who as it can travel not only in Space but in Time as well. The Doctor’s TARDIS is often described as a Type 40, first by the Time Lords in the Baker era, and echoed by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor in his third episode. On the outside, the TARDIS resembles a Police Box, because the Chameleon circuit (which allowed the TARDIS to blend in with its surroundings) broke. The interior has changed several times, and the TARDIS is notably bigger on the inside. The most recent series has revealed a new design for the TARDIS interior (aside: and exterior, which in my opinion is totally wrong). But what is in a TARDIS?

First and foremost, a TARDIS is living. Although sometimes referred to as a machine or a ship (the First Doctor even claims to have invented it!), the Doctor’s TARDIS is organic and was said to be grown. Several other TARDIS’s have been seen throughout the series, with the Master, the Rani and the Meddling Monk having TARDIS’s of their own.

In the various canonical episodes, the Doctor’s TARDIS has had several interior redesigns, and many rooms have been named or shown. The main room of the TARDIS is the Console room, of which there are three! The main console room is the most commonly seen, styled according to a “desktop theme”, which for Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant’s doctors was set to ‘coral’. A leopard skin theme is also mentioned, though apparently this is too awful to behold. A secondary control room was used for a while by the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. The simpler control panel and wooden panels had a more antique feel, and was preferred by the Doctor for a while. A third console room is alluded to in various novels, and is said to resemble a Gothic Cathedral.

Various Doctors have used the TARDIS wardrobe, which in the newer series has been represented by a room with a helical staircase. The Tenth Doctor used this to pick out his new attire as have various companions during the newer series in particular. Several storage rooms also exist, both beneath the control console and in other locations in the ship. Oddly some of these look rather like brick storerooms found in factories..

The TARDIS is also known to have a library, and a swimming pool. The swimming pool was used by Leela in The Invasion of Time, which the 7th Doctor jettisoned after it sprang a leak, though it seemed to be rediscovered during the Eleventh Doctor’s debut. Even the TARDIS’s alternate power station is eccentric, being disguised as an art gallery!

Other rooms mentioned from time to time include a workshop, a laboratory, 14 bathrooms, sleeping quarters, and possibly a cricket club.