Summary

  • The TARDIS is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, though its true origin remains unknown.
  • The TARDIS was involved in a patent war with the Metropolitan Police, but the BBC won the legal battle.
  • The TARDIS contains various rooms and features, including a swimming pool, art galleries, gardens, and bedrooms for the Doctor and companions.

The TARDIS has a special meaning to fans of Doctor Who, and the loveable ship is one of the most recognizable images in sci-fi history. The Doctor is the nameless guardian of Earth, the savior of worlds, and a member of an alien race, the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey. They have become the masters of time and space through the utilization of something truly spectacular: the TARDIS, a ship that is The Doctor’s key to the universe. It has been the chariot of The Doctor for eons, weaving throughout time and space to bring the Time Lord where he needs to be at almost exactly the right time.

This iconic piece of equipment is arguably a greater companion to the Doctor than even his longest-running companions. Moreover, The TARDIS is a more consistent character than the Doctor himself, who has the ability to alter and regenerate his body 12 (now 13) times instead of dying. Since the '60s, the TARDIS has retained its image to be that of a blue police box, occasionally getting somewhat noticeable face-lifts along the way.

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20 TARDIS Acronym Meaning

Carole Ann Ford as Susan in Doctor Who

The name of the TARDIS is actually an acronym that stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. On some occasions, it is referred to as a TT Capsule, but is known as a TARDIS an overwhelming majority of the time. It’s generally believed that the acronym was first created by the Doctor’s original companion, Susan Foreman. Susan claimed she thought of it the first time she traveled on such a ship. Despite this, there is no decisive explanation for the origin of the term, TARDIS.

In the early years of the show, there were some Time Lord colleagues of the Doctor who referred to the time machine as the TARDIS, while having no prior notion of the term from Susan. Even members of the Sisterhood of the Karn, a more radical group within Time Lord society, were familiar with the term without any prompting from Susan. It would seem that despite Susan ‘creating’ the term TARDIS, the true origins of the word appear to be lost in time. Perhaps it is the result of a ‘Bootstrap Paradox’, a paradox that delves into the concept of how time travel influences original thought.

19 There Was A Patent War For The TARDIS

Exploding TARDIS art

The TARDIS is a blue police box that travels the whole of space and time. It was also designed after the blue police boxes that once lined the streets in London. However, as technology progressed, the police box became obsolete and fell into the abyss of uselessness. This initiated a phase where the blue police box became more synonymous with Doctor Who than the Metropolitan Police, who first introduced the concept of the box back in 1928.

In 1996, BBC applied for a trademark on the blue police box to take advantage of a merchandising void that had existed for quite some time. Naturally, the Metro Police objected to this trademark. Given the sheer volume and wide array of TARDIS merchandise that has flooded both the UK and US markets, it is obvious who won the legal battle. In 2002, the Patent Office ruled in favor of the BBC (via The Guardian), giving it exclusive rights to the blue police box design, and giving the people the freedom to every type of TARDIS product imaginable.

18 The TARDIS Is Bigger On The Inside

Inside the TARDIS from Doctor Who

This is the phrase spoken by all mere mortals who first step foot in the TARDIS, and a phrase the Doctor very much looks forward to hearing. The TARDIS, disguised as a little, blue police box on the outside, is quite literally another world on the inside. Dimensionally transcendental are the words used to describe how and why the TARDIS’ interior is larger than its exterior, and this is made possible through transdimensional engineering.

In The Robots of Death, the fourth Doctor explained to his companion, Leela, the principle behind dimensional transcendentalism by using the analogy of how a larger cube will appear to fit within a smaller cube if placed at a distance. The ability to capture both 'cubes' in the same space was a monumental discovery for the Time Lords. Rory puts it more simply by describing the inside of the TARDIS as ‘another dimension’, and that’s exactly what it is. Existing in its own little world, the TARDIS is essentially infinite, and can delete and create rooms in an instant.

17 The TARDIS Has A Swimming Pool (And Many Other Rooms)

A woman swims in a pool in Doctor Who

While a bulk of the Doctor Who stories and episodes only show the control room of the TARDIS, the Doctor's ship actually contains much more. The TARDIS has many rooms throughout its theoretically limitless interior, and it is really only limited by the Doctor's imaginations and desires. First seen in The Invasion of Time, the TARDIS contains at least one swimming pool at all times depending on the occupants' desires. Besides that, the TARDIS has also been show to have art galleries, gardens, and a slew of bedrooms to accommodate the Doctor and his companions.

16 The TARDIS' Sound Is A Great Accident

The TARDIS from Doctor Who traveling through space and time

The wheezing and whirring, groaning and moaning sound that is heard when the Doctor is ‘flying’ the TARDIS has become synonymous with that of a trumpet heralding the arrival of the Time Lord wherever he may go. His enemies fear the sound and flee, and his allies rejoice when they hear it. Those who do not know the sound and mean to do harm to others will learn to dread it. That sound did not always exist, however.

During the First Doctor's season 1 serials, the TARDIS was completely silent. As with many aspects of the show, the TARDIS' signature sound was updated to make things more compelling. Sound designer Brian Hodgson ‘struck a chord’ when he took an old house key and ran it along a cluster of broken piano strings (via Wales Online). It wasn’t until the second season that the TARDIS made the earliest version of the famous wheeze. There were many consequent evolutions, and in the 10th Anniversary Special, The Three Doctors, fans heard the finalized version of the sound.

15 There Are Many Types of TARDIS

TARDIS variations on Doctor Who

The first TARDISes ever made were dangerous vehicles, as they were prone to malfunctions due to poor design. Some of the early generations of the TARDISes became aware of themselves and their capacity and had a tendency to ‘run away’ to explore the universe. The Doctor's TARDIS is technically a Type-40 TARDIS, and it was already very outdated from the time he borrowed ‘her’. A Type-70 could break through the temporal distortion grid, the boundary between dimensions, and the Doctor once claimed that his Type-40, could not handle such an arduous journey. The fact that the Doctor's TARDIS is something of a relic makes her all the more lovable.

14 The TARDIS Isn’t The Doctor’s Only Vehicle

The Doctor drives Bessie in Doctor Who

Because of the actions of his previous forms, the Third Doctor was exiled on Earth by his fellow Time Lords, and the TARDIS was largely useless to him. As such, he needed additional transportation and found an appropriately zany old car that he affectionately named Bessie. With her open-topped design and bright yellow paint job, Bessie matched the quirky personality of the Third Doctor, and he drove her all around the English countryside. She was specifically tuned to the Doctor's needs, and Bessie even drove herself on a handful of occasions.

13 The TARDIS Is A Fortress

The corridor of the TARDIS from Doctor Who

Having the ability to dematerialize and rematerialize at any point in time and space throughout the universe makes the TARDIS one of the most valuable items in the universe. Even the TARDIS’ core power systems are powerful enough to destroy the universe, should something happen to it. Given this, the TARDIS is jam-packed with all the most advanced and sophisticated security systems Time Lords could conjure.

To start, it is neigh impregnable when undamaged. The TARDIS is equipped with a force field, rendering most weapons in the universe obsolete against its exterior. The TARDIS is also very sensitive to danger and will transport itself to safety if it feels that it is at risk. One of its most interesting defense mechanisms is its ability to actively mold and shape itself into a living labyrinth, trapping any individuals of ill-intent who came aboard in an infinite maze of despair.

12 The TARDIS Exists In Our Solar System

The TARDIS from Doctor Who in space

On May 3, 1984, Brian Skiff discovered this asteroid within the asteroid belt of the solar system, and named it after the most famous time machine in space, the TARDIS (via Universe Guide). Naming 3325 TARDIS on behalf of the ship was actually rather fitting, given the Doctor Who mythos surrounding asteroids. For starters, in Image of the Fendahl, it is said that our very own asteroid belt was once orbiting Planet 5, and the Time Lords moved it to Earth's solar system 12 million years ago. Once it was moved to the solar system, it served as a jumping-off point for space pioneers and trailblazers.

11 The TARDIS Doesn’t Have to Look Like A Police Box

The Doctor on Skaro in Doctor Who

As TARDISes were designed for Time Lords to explore the universe in order to further their understanding of it, it makes sense that they would wish to remain neutral and hidden throughout their journeys. So the Time Lords developed chameleon circuits that were built into the TARDIS’ systems, allowing it to instantly blend into its surroundings the moment the ship materialized in a time and place. For instance, if a TARDIS were to land in ancient Rome, it would take the form of a statue or column. This feature is comprehensive and effective, but it does not work for the Doctor’s TARDIS.

The chameleon circuit on the TARDIS has been broken since the Doctor visited 1963 London, and the TARDIS took the form of a blue police box. It has remained in that same cherished blue box form ever since though there have been changes to the TARDIS' exterior since the show began. There was a moment when the Doctor was able to temporarily fix the chameleon circuit in his TARDIS, but, upon materialization, the TARDIS would take on inappropriate disguises, causing it to stand out like an even greater sore thumb.

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10 The Police Box Design Of The TARDIS Was For Budgetary Reasons

David Tennant as The Doctor Looking Out of the Tardis in Doctor Who Cropped

While the in-universe explanation for the TARDIS' design was appropriately science fiction, the real reason why the ship was a police box was purely practical. As explained by Slash Film, the police box design was dreamed up for budgetary reasons which would require very little tax on the already stretched finances of the early days of the show. A police box was a rugged and sturdy design, and the dimensions of the box could allow for actors to easily enter the ship without things looking too hokey and fake.

9 The TARDIS Doesn’t (Or Shouldn’t) Fly

The Doctor Hangs from the TARDIS in Doctor Who

The opening credit sequence of Doctor Who pictures the TARDIS flying through the Time Vortex, getting struck by lightning, and spinning at an unbelievable rate. That depiction of the TARDIS flying is technically not an entirely accurate one. Even in the 2006 Christmas Special, the Doctor notes that, for a spaceship, the TARDIS does oddly very little flying.

The TARDIS is designed to dematerialize at one point in space and time, travel through the Time Vortex, and re-materialize at another point instantaneously. Very little, if any, time is spent traveling when the TARDIS is being used properly. Extended travel of the ‘spaceship variety’ puts a significant amount of strain on the TARDIS’ systems, leaving it in a vulnerable position. However, the Doctor frequently ignores the rules and regulations of owning and operating a TARDIS.

8 The TARDIS Is Designed To Be Operated By 6 Time Lords

Inside the Doctor Who TARDIS

The Doctor began his journeys by sneaking into the repair room and ‘borrowing’ the TARDIS. Ever since, he’s been gallivanting about the universe, saving planets and preventing calamities. The Doctor has done all this without the aid of any other Time Lord, which is rather impressive given that the TARDIS, and all TARDISes, for that matter, were designed to be flown and operated by six Time Lords at once. Throughout the tenure of the show, the TARDIS has only been operated by six individuals on one occasion.

In the final episode of the fourth series, "Journey’s End", the Earth has been stolen from its position in time and space by the smart Doctor Who villain Davros, creator of the Daleks. The Earth was placed in a location adjacent with other planets lost in time to harness their energy to power a ‘reality bomb’. Davros was eventually defeated by two Doctors, Donna, who had become a hybrid Time Lord/Human, and his old companions Sarah, Rose, Martha, Mickey, and Jack Harkness.

7 The TARDIS Can Travel To Other Realities

The Doctor in an alternate dimension in Doctor Who

While the TARDIS' time traveling capabilities are well known, the ship is also capable to transcending reality and going to alternate universes as well. Seen for the first time in the Third Doctor story Inferno, the TARDIS is capable of 'moving sideways' which allows it to enter parallel universes, though it is not really designed to do so. The Doctor often has a hard enough time keeping track of one reality, and the introduction of alternate ones has caused great strife for the Time Lord on a handful of occasions.

6 The TARDIS Is Biologically Linked to The Doctor

Rassilons in Doctor Who

Gallifreyan technology is very thorough and comprehensive to prevent the wrong people from getting their hands on the keys to the universe. For a TARDIS to become a fully functioning space-time machine, it must first be primed with the biological imprint of the Time Lord that will captain it. This imprint is typically a result of the first time a TARDIS is piloted, and it comes from the Rassilon Imprimatur.

In The Two Doctors, the sixth Doctor stated that TARDISes and other Time Machines must be primed with a Rassilon Imprimatur for Time Lords to travel safely with them. The Rassilon Imprimatur is a link to the symbiotic nuclei of a Time Lord’s cell structure, and this allows them to withstand the molecular stresses of time travel. This link also connected the Time Lord’s mind to their TARDIS, allowing for a psychic connection. The most significant outcome of the Rassilon Imprimatur, and the subsequent symbiotic nuclei, is that it enables the Time Lord’s ability to regenerate.

5 There Have Been Many Attempts To Rip Off The TARDIS

Dalek and TARDIS from Doctor Who

Throughout the show's illustrious history, there have been many attempts at creating other versions and renditions of the famous TARDIS. In The War Games, a renegade Time Lord operating under the name War Chief delivered his own bastardized version of the TARDIS to the War Lords, who, as the name may suggest, wished to advance their conquests. The Time Lords promptly halt the War Chief and the War Lords.

In the classic Dalek story The Chase, the Daleks first created the ability to travel through time and space with their aptly named ‘Dalek Time Ship’. It was created for the sole purpose of hunting down and ‘exterminating’ the Doctor and his companions. According to the first Doctor, the DARDIS was generally comparable to the abilities and limitations of the TARDIS. Regardless of who is developing these time machines, they are consistent in that they lack the elegance of the TARDISes and come off as rather cheap imitations.

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4 TARDIS Is A Word In The Oxford Dictionary

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor in Doctor Who inside the TARDIS
Picture shows: Peter Capaldi as The Doctor

Oxford has been adopting words created from sci-fi and fantasy for decades, and only words that have left a significant impact throughout are added to the growing lexicon, namely words like 'Jedi' and 'Klingon'. In 2002, Oxford deemed the word TARDIS worthy of introduction to the dictionary. The inclusion of TARDIS to the esteemed Oxford Dictionary is a testament to the fans of Doctor Who, who managed to keep the term relevant for the many years it was off the air. It is also further evidence of the importance of the fantastical, and how significant of an impact it leaves in the real world.

3 The TARDIS is Sentient

Sensient TARDIS and Matt Smith as the Doctor

Throughout the series, the Doctor will often be caught talking to, yelling at, and pleading with the TARDIS. On some rare occasions, the ship seemingly responded somehow, whether through movement or by throwing sparks in the Doctor’s face. There is a history of TARDISes even mourning the death of their Time Lords, and ending their existences by flying into a star or launching itself into the Time vortex. Even when the first doctor took to the skies in his TARDIS, he was unsure of the level of consciousness the organically grown key to the universe was capable of.

In "The Doctor’s Wife", it is shown without a shadow of a doubt that the TARDIS is a sentient machine. The soul of the TARDIS was stolen and placed within a humanoid named Idris. The Doctor spends time helping the TARDIS (Idris) get back to his actual TARDIS, and discovers that she maintains an element of free will. She is aware of where she needs to take the Doctor, and she explains that the navigational issues the TARDIS was experiencing was actually her taking the Doctor to where he "needed to go", not where he wanted to go.

2 The TARDIS Was Grown

Multiple Doctors leave the TARDIS in Doctor Who

The TARDIS, and all other TARDISes, were grown, not manufactured. The Time Lords are the most advanced and powerful race in the Universe, and as such, they developed the technology to grow space-time vessels, naturally. Since computers were incapable of enduring the stresses of dimensional change and reality space-time warping, TARDISes required protoplasm and unstable organic matter in order to withstand the rigors of such travel.

In "The Impossible Planet", the Doctor implies that the TARDIS could not function if Gallifrey did not exist anymore, suggesting that the source of the TARDIS' power is intrinsically linked to his home planet. The source of this forgotten power is shown in The Deadly Assassin. In this story, the Doctor discovers that the key power source of the TARDIS is the Eye of Harmony, the nucleus of a black hole captured by the legendary Time Lord, Rassilon. This Eye of Harmony had fallen into myth and believed to not exist until the Doctor and his arch nemesis the Master rediscovered the ‘soul’ of Gallifrey.

1 The TARDIS Appears Throughout History

The TARDIS appears in a stained glass window in Doctor Who

Because of all his gallivanting throughout time and space over the course of Doctor Who's time on the air, the Doctor has left a considerable impression at many different points in the timeline. Besides the frequently changing Doctor, the recognizable image of the TARDIS has also been frequently memorialized by the people saved by the Time Lord. As shown in "The End of Time", Wilford Mott spots a depiction of the TARDIS in a church's stained-glass window, and hears all about the ancient story of a mysterious man who saved a convert from a demon. That man was obviously the Doctor, and the TARDIS his symbol.