Doctor Who is getting a major refresh this holiday season. The Christmas special of the BBC's flagship sci-fi show, entitled The Snowmen will introduce a new companion Clara, as played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, but not just that... we'll also get a redesigned opening sequence, reworked theme, and as we revealed earlier this week, a new TARDIS interior just in time for the show's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013.
As we all know, the TARDIS (or Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is The Doctor's time-travelling space craft which he stole from his planet Gallifrey, the home of the Time Lords. The Doctor uses it to transport himself and his companions to any point in time and space, but its Chameleon drive, a system that allows the TARDIS to adjust its exterior appearance to fit in with its surroundings, has been faulty ever since his first televised adventure, An Unearthly Child in 1963.
Whilst its exterior as a 1960s police call box has been (relatively) stable since that first outing, its interior, which is famously a lot bigger on the inside than its outer appearance would suggest, has been redesigned many times, often to reflect each incarnation of The Doctor's tastes.
Join us as we take on a tour through time and space, via the ever-shifting design of the TARDIS interior.
The first design for the TARDIS interior would set the benchmark and visual cues for every future iteration of the console room. Note the hexagonal/circular roundels set on a white wall with hexagonal centre console.
Ian Chesterton, The Doctor, Barbara Wright and Susan Foreman with the original console
The First Doctor also furnished the TARDIS' control centre with coat-stands, plant pots and other bits and pieces from an interdimensional IKEA (probably). Interestingly, the first iteration of the TARDIS console room included a full wall of electronic instrumentation and displays, presumably for sciencey stuff. He is a Doctor after all.
Billy bookcase just out of shot.
In Doctor Who and The Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150, The Doctor is actually the human inventor (surname Who, seriously) of the TARDIS. This is reflected in the science lab appearance of the TARDIS interior. Although not strictly canon, it's worth flagging up here, to illustrate how utterly rubbish Doctor Who could have been in the hands of Hollywood execs.
It must be science because there are round bottom flasks.
The first regeneration of The Doctor brought about a slight TARDIS redesign which reflected Patrick Troughton's brooding portrayal - darker and less stuffy.
Like this but in black and white.
Yeah, like that.
The third incarnation of the famous Time Lord was largely exiled to earth, so the TARDIS took a back seat for many of his earth-bound adventures, but nevertheless, a funkier Doctor with a penchant for suede jackets and frilly shirts required a TARDIS interior to match, so in came plasticky roundels, microphone controls and flashy lights on the undulating centre column (or Time Rotor if you want to be technical). For a large portion of Pertwee's tenure, the console was removed from the TARDIS completely and placed into his Earth-bound lab for repairs.
The Doctor contemplating the placement of his disco ball.
"Why, yes Jo. I am wearing knee-high leather boots."
Tom Baker, the longest serving Who, had a few design tweaks in the TARDIS during his tenure. Below you can see a bit more colour creeping into the design, with the roundels becoming more plate-like than ever before. The biggest design alteration though was the addition of neo-classical columns, a feature that would stick around for quite some time.
Note the red stripes on the console just behind the half-naked cavewoman.
"No, K9, don't pee on the console..."
For a brief period, the Fourth Doctor used a 'secondary control room' with wooden panelling and stained glass window roundels. This was the 70s, remember.
Peter Davison's era brought the TARDIS into the 1980s with a full refurb for the console after a stray Cyberman shot nearly destroyed it in Earthshock. More metallic than white, the new high tech console with decorated kickboards become one of the most iconic iterations of the design to date.
"I wonder if this will pick up 5 Live for the cricket scores?"
Poor old Colin Baker's run was short-lived, so his TARDIS remained largely unchanged from Davison's design. Still, here's a picture anyway.
"No, your outfit is more ridiculous..."
As the final incarnation of classic Who, Sylvester McCoy's TARDIS remained pretty similar to Baker's and Davison's before him. The coat-stand was back for the dedicated hat-wearer and umbrellaphile, the console had a more matte appearance, and the red detailing more stylised, but it would be the next appearance of the TARDIS that would herald a brave new direction for everyone's favourite time-travelling space craft.
The real McCoy
Source : ign[dot]com
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