Where would The Doctor be without his trusty TARDIS? The magnificent, Type-40 transporter can take our lead character anywhere through time and space. It’s a concept that holds infinite possibilities, allowing any talented story writer to create all the exciting adventures their imagination can conceive. Alongside regeneration, It’s the reason the show has stayed relative for over 50 years.
Of course, every sci-fi vehicle needs its access to control, be it a cockpit, a bridge, or in The TARDIS case, a console room. Over the years, like The Doctor himself, it has gone through many changes. Here are ten of the best!
The Third Doctor (Outside)
The first console room on our list isn't actually located in the TARDIS! After The Doctor was exiled to Earth and forced to regenerate into his third form, the console was moved - either to save on the budget of the show, or to take a break from alien worlds while the show makers worked out how to make them look good since the series had recently transitioned into color. The Doctor took the console OUT of the TARDIS in stored it in various store cupboards and rooms, so he could try to repair it, and continue using it for his work.
The Third Doctor (Inside)
By the show's 9th season, The Third Doctor was allowed to travel again, but did little redecorating. For the show's first run, The TARDIS decor pretty much kept the same theme, with roundels, those close together circles, running all across the walls.
Other than giving people who suffer from trypophobia nightmares, these mainly served a decorative purpose but were sometimes featured in stories as machine casing and storage units. This particular incarnation had big plastic, satellite disk type roundels, which looked a little too artificial. The show would go back to the regular ones soon after.
The 13th Doctor
The TARDIS current design is a little bit of a mess, going for a strange radioactive beehive look. Giant gear decors that seem to serve no practical purpose, plastic see-through hexagonal roundels scattered here and there, plus giant rock lamp pillars make this TARDIS kind of look like one fit for a stage production, or a college hippies drama studio. This TARDIS also went back to being on one level, like the original series.
The 5th/6th/7th Doctor
We picked this one because this is pretty much the final incarnation of The TARDIS interior for the original run, an amalgamation of everything that came before. A very clean and tidy TARDIS, the main console had monitors and buttons looked more sleek and almost symmetrical, rather than a usual bashed together feel. Glowing roundels and a lot of white, including small touches like the coat hanger, almost gave this room a hospital feel, which we suppose is kind of fitting for a doctor. Just make sure you don’t wear dirty shoes.
The 4th Doctor (Alternate)
In the story “The Mask Of Mandragora” it is revealed for the first time that The TARDIS actually has multiple console rooms. This one had a slightly more gothic feel, with a varnished wood design and a more basic console that had covers, a bit like a drinks cabinet.
This was the first time viewers saw that The TARDIS could actually become more than we had known, even though it wasn’t around for long and would go back to a more classic design until the end of the first run.
The 9th/10th Doctor
For many Doctor Who fans who joined the show after the 2005 comeback, this was their first TARDIS. It had a more organic feel, emphasizing the fact that The TARDIS is actually a living machine, both built and grown. It kept some of the main features, such as the central column and time rotator, but replaced the roundels with hexagonal wall panels and also incorporated multiple levels which would remain a commonality for the next few incarnations. It also had a new bronze color scheme that felt more real world.
To quote the 5th Doctor when he met the 10th in the short “Time Crash” “What have you done to my TARDIS? You’ve changed the desktop theme, haven’t you? What's this one? Coral? It's worse than the leopard skin!”
The 11th Doctor
After the 10th Doctor's epic regeneration more or less destroyed the “coral” interior, The TARDIS regenerated itself both inside and out. The 11th Doctor's TARDIS felt more like a time machine. It was the biggest-feeling console room to date, jam-packed with lots of little details, the return of the roundels on the walls (although more varied in size and shape), and wonderful steampunk touches on the control panels like dials and big robust levers. Truly a “geek chic” design.
The 7th/8th Doctor
There was so much more that we wanted to see from Paul McGann’s portrayal of The 8th Doctor, but sadly all we have visually is one feature-length episode and a short for the 50th anniversary. Still, The 8th Doctor's TARDIS was a magnificent sight to behold. Closer to “new” Who than “classic,” it was the first to feature pillars (complete with roundels, gotta have them roundels) and to have a more lived-in feel, with books cases, carpets and a little record player. This TARDIS truly felt like The Doctor’s home.
The 11th/12th Doctor
After The Doctor was forced to say goodbye to the Ponds and decided to travel by himself without putting companions in danger, he became more serious and his new TARDIS design was a reflection of that. This interior felt more “TARDISY,” less messy and more symmetrical than the previous room, with a cold metal feel. Gallifreyan symbols adorned the top of the time rotor and a combination of roundels and hexagons highlighted by harsh blue lighting.
After regenerating into his 12th form, the console room pretty much stayed the same but with a darker, warmer and more cozy feel. Plus, it had the addition of bookshelves, chalkboards, laboratory benches and other items you would expect a mind as vastly brilliant as The Doctor's to have.
The Original
Of course, number one has to be The 1st Doctor's TARDIS, as its basic design has been echoed by every other TARDIS since. The central panel (that was originally green, although hard to tell in black and white), the time rotator on top of the console (the crystal pump device) the general round feel of the room and, of course, ROUNDELS. It has remained the blueprint for everything since and to not include these features would be considered sacrilege by most fans.