The TARDIS is synonymous with Doctor Who's heroic Time Lord, but many other characters have piloted a Gallifreyan time machine over the decades. When discussing the most famous time-hopping vehicles in the annals of sci-fi history, Back To The Future's DeLorean and Bill & Ted's phone booth inevitably receive a mention. However, it's difficult to look beyond the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Conceived initially as how The Doctor would move from one adventure to the next, the TARDIS is supposed to assimilate into its surroundings, but has been stuck in the form of a 1960s police box for the best part of 60 years (somewhat longer in-universe).

Very quickly, the TARDIS evolved beyond a mere plot device. The iconic exterior became instantly recognizable as a symbol of the Doctor Who brand, while the inside (which is actually bigger, if you hadn't heard) turned into a comforting, familiar setting that fans couldn't wait to revisit each Saturday evening. As seasons passed and Doctors changed, the TARDIS proved a rare constant in Doctor Who and, despite regular redesigns, came to feel like a character in its own right, possessing all the quirks, mannerisms and personality of a human character.

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While The Doctor's adventures have earned the TARDIS legendary status across time and space, the vessel certainly isn't exclusive - even if it was The Doctor's granddaughter who coined the name. Many other TARDIS ships piloted by other Gallifreyans have cropped up in Doctor Who.

The Meddling Monk's TARDIS

Meddling Monk TARDIS in Doctor Who

The first Time Lord other than The Doctor to appear in Doctor Who (even though the "Time Lord" name hadn't yet been uttered) was The Monk in 1965's "The Time Meddler." The Doctor and his companions travel to 1066, only to find an enigmatic monk perverting the course of English history for his own ends. Exploring the character's holy headquarters, Steven and Vicki happen upon a sarcophagus far bigger on the inside than it should be, and this is later revealed to be the Monk's very own TARDIS. Though noticeably similar in design, this TARDIS was 50 years more advanced than The Doctor's and featured a slightly different console, though the round indents are a dead giveaway as to the ship's Gallifreyan origin. In a later episode, The Doctor sabotaged the Monk's TARDIS to appear as a police box, thus tricking pursuing Daleks into chasing the wrong Time Lord.

Jamie & Zoe's Return Home

Jamie and Zoe TARDIS in Doctor Who

When The Doctor finally got caught during his second incarnation, the Time Lords ordered his companions, Jamie and Zoe, to be sent back to their respective timelines, before they went away in the TARDIS. Although the name of the ship they're taken away on isn't stated, "The War Games" heavily implies it's a TARDIS. The outward design is a black cabinet with a sliding door, and the sound is very similar to the TARDIS' own famous vworping.

The Master's TARDIS

Aside from The Doctor's, the TARDIS fans will be most familiar with belongs to The Master. Debuting in Third Doctor episode "Terror of the Autons," The Master's TARDIS would appear regularly throughout Roger Delgado's time on Doctor Who, always cleverly camouflaged into its surroundings. These disguises included a horsebox, a nondescript peach capsule, and an Earth rocket ship. The ship's inside was originally very different compared to The Doctor's and Meddling Monk's, sporting fewer roundels, a metallic golden console, gas-based booby traps, and containment cells for unwanted snoopers. The Master's next TARDIS design (seen in "The Time Monster") reverted to the usual all-white - a slightly altered central column the only differentiating feature.

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The Master's TARDIS returned throughout Tom Baker's era and took numerous forms (the joys of a functional chameleon circuit!), but undoubtedly the most important came in "The Keeper of Traken," when the vessel was transformed into "Melkur" and used as an idol to subjugate an entire population as part of a grand plan for immortality. During this era, the most common TARDIS disguise The Master used was an ordinary-looking column.

After Anthony Ainley took over the role following Delgado's death, The Master's interior design tastes became darker, with his TARDIS always shadowy and foreboding, or glowing pale green. More recently, Sacha Dhawan's Master lured The Doctor and her companions into his TARDIS (disguised as a shack) while under the guise of O in "Spyfall."

Professor Chronotis' TARDIS

Tom Baker in Doctor Who Shada

Appearing only in the lost Tom Baker episode "Shada," The Doctor gets an unexpected taste of home when he discovers a TARDIS in the middle of Cambridge University. Salyavin (masquerading as Professor Chronotis for the sake of his Earthly students) fled Gallifrey after breaking out of the Time Lords' Shada prison, and his TARDIS morphed into a plush university office, which students would stroll into without suspicion. Salyavin's TARDIS blended in less effectively after entering a time vortex.

Omega's TARDIS

Omega TARDIS in Doctor Who

Formidable Time Lord villain Omega made his Doctor Who debut (sans TARDIS) in "The Three Doctors" and it wasn't until he partially escaped the Anti-Matter Universe during the Fifth Doctor's era that Omega scored a TARDIS of his own. Setting up shop in an Amsterdam crypt of all places, unsuspecting civilians like Tegan were pulled into the secreted ship, which featured a vastly different interior design to anything seen before in Doctor Who. Though a few roundels can still be spotted (how would we know it's a TARDIS otherwise?), there's no central console.

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The Rani's TARDIS

Kate O'Mara as Rani and Anthony Ainley as Master in Doctor Who

Kate O'Mara's Rani didn't get the stories her character deserved but, fortunately, she did at least get to drive her own TARDIS. The ship debuted in Sixth Doctor episode "The Mark of the Rani" and was considerably more ornate than The Doctor's, with stone-like decor and a rounder, sleeker console with some form of modern art plopped on top. The roundels were far more subtle too, appearing only as thin discs, rather than indents. Though the episode was set in the 19th century, the Rani's TARDIS outwardly appeared as a strange cabinet and, similar to The Master, was rigged with a deadly security system.

The Rani's TARDIS would return in "Time and the Rani," this time as an even less subtle gray, white and red pyramid. The ship's inside, meanwhile, felt more akin to an evil lair than a traditional console room. As with the Meddling Monk, The Doctor was able to best The Rani (and The Master too) by fiddling with her TARDIS' circuitry.

The Scrap TARDIS

Suranne Jones as Idris and Matt Smith as Eleventh in Doctor Who

Moving into Doctor Who's modern era, the Eleventh Doctor successfully threw together a makeshift TARDIS thanks to a little help from his own ship, who had possessed a human host. Season 6's "The Doctor's Wife" begins with The Doctor landing in a pocket universe alongside Amy and Rory, and encountering a sentient asteroid called House, whose favorite meal is the TARDIS of a captured Time Lord. When House possesses The Doctor's TARDIS and sends it elsewhere, The Doctor is left stranded with only his ship's matrix (its soul, effectively) for company. Surrounded by chunks of discarded TARDIS from House's previous snacks, however, the pair are able to build a rudimentary time machine, pursue the runaway villain, and rescue the Ponds successfully.

The TARDIS That Could've Been

First Doctor and Susan TARDIS in Doctor Who

An alternate TARDIS is glimpsed briefly in Doctor Who season 7's "The Name of The Doctor." The episode's opening montage shows various incarnations of Clara Oswald aiding The Doctor throughout his regenerations, and the earliest example comes just as William Hartnell's First Doctor is preparing to leave Gallifrey with Susan. The pair enter one TARDIS, only for Clara to appear and direct them to another ship altogether, claiming "the navigation system's knackered, but you'll have much more fun."

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Ashildr's TARDIS

When Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor accidentally made the viking girl Ashildr immortal, he perhaps didn't expect she'd follow his lead by rampaging through time and space using a stolen TARDIS. In Doctor Who season 9's "Hell Bent," The Doctor is desperately trying to avoid Clara's death, going so far as to swipe another TARDIS from Gallifrey and escape to the end of the universe, where they reunite with Ashildr. Once Clara realizes the pair can't run forever, a standoff results in The Doctor losing all memories of his beloved companion. Piloting the stolen TARDIS, Clara and Ashildr drop The Doctor back on Earth, where the ship takes the form of an American diner. After a brief reunion with her Twelfth Doctor, Clara accompanies Ashildr to explore time and space together in their new TARDIS.

In terms of design, this TARDIS deliberately echoes the classic interiors of the First and Second Doctor eras, with the white walls, roundels, and more modest console.

Thirteen's Escape TARDIS

Doctor Who Season 12 Finale New TARDIS House

"Hell Bent" wouldn't be the last time fate forced The Doctor to steal a TARDIS other than her own, though this one wasn't technically for her. In Doctor Who season 12's "The Timeless Children," The Master used the destroyed ruins of Gallifrey as a stage to dramatically unveil the true origin of the Time Lord race. Vying to get her companions (and a group of rescued future Earthlings) away from danger, The Doctor commandeered one of the remaining TARDIS ships on her home planet and programmed it to take Graham, Yaz and Ryan back home. Upon landing, the time machine transformed into a regular suburban house (which would fetch a pretty penny in today's market) and was subsequently used as a base of operations for the companions as their search for The Doctor continued. The ship's interior is relatively unique, melding the old-school console and roundels with a blue lighting effect and and silver wall dividers.

This TARDIS was used by The Doctor as a means of destroying a new race of Daleks in 2021's New Year's special episode. Not for the first time in Doctor Who, she used the ship's working chameleon circuit to disguise the spare TARDIS as her own police box, then triggered it to self-collapse after the Dalek force rushed inside.

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