Many elements from <em>Doctor Who</em> have become part of pop culture, most notably the TARDIS, which is a lot more than the Doctor’s trusted time-and-space transport. One of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time, as well as one of the longest-running ones, is Doctor Who, created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. Doctor Who debuted in 1963 on BBC One and has since had different showrunners, eras, and lead actors playing the Doctor and his companions.

Doctor Who follows a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who is simply known as “the Doctor.” When the Doctor suffers severe physical damage or is weakened from old age, he regenerates into a new body. The Doctor travels through time and space often with one or more human companions, and together they go on different adventures in different places, planets, and points in time. Of course, the Doctor and company come across a variety of threats throughout their journeys, some of them recurring menaces, such as the Daleks and the Master.

Doctor Who is one of the most successful and beloved sci-fi TV shows of all time, and as mentioned above, many elements have become part of pop culture. The Doctor’s always-useful sonic screwdriver, the Daleks, and more are some images from the show that even those who have never watched it can easily identify, as is the TARDIS, the Doctor’s time machine, which stands for “Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space”, and it’s more than just a unique type of vehicle.

Doctor Who’s TARDIS Is A Time Machine & Spacecraft

The TARDIS made its debut on Doctor Who in 1963 alongside the Doctor, as it’s thanks to it that the Doctor can go on all those adventures. The TARDIS the Doctor travels in is a stolen one from Gallifrey, as the Doctor fled his home planet for a variety of reasons, but mostly to explore the rest of the universe. The TARDIS is more than just the Doctor’s transportation, as it’s also a complex time machine, allowing him to travel through time and space.

The TARDIS does a lot more than just take the Doctor and company to different parts of the universe and moments in time. The TARDIS has a telepathic feature and translation circuit that makes it possible for the Doctor and his companions to communicate with other beings that speak different languages, translating them to English. As an advanced alien spacecraft and time machine, the TARDIS also has a chameleon circuit that allows it to change its exterior appearance to blend with its environment.

In addition to this camouflage feature, the TARDIS can generate a “perception filter” thanks to which people can ignore it and even believe its presence is normal. This is especially important as the Doctor’s TARDIS has one unique particularity: it looks like an old London police box from the 1960s, and this is its exterior form at all times. The TARDIS is considered a living organism, and it often rebels against the Doctor and can be quite unpredictable, though that usually results in some exciting adventures.

Why The TARDIS Is Designed To Look Like A Police Box In Doctor Who

As mentioned above, a TARDIS can take any shape to blend in and keep itself safe in a strange environment, but the one that accompanies the Doctor can’t do that anymore. Due to a malfunction in its chameleon circuit, which, according to the official Doctor Who website, happened when the Doctor landed on Earth, the TARDIS is now stuck looking like an old police box. Although the Doctor has tried to fix it and briefly succeeded once, the TARDIS still navigates time and space in its police box disguise.

However, despite its exterior form, the inside of the TARDIS is the same, although, like the Doctor, it also regenerates. The TARDIS is famously a lot bigger on the inside, a line that has become a classic, and this is due to complex dimensional engineering that perhaps only Time Lords can fully comprehend. Exactly how big the TARDIS is on the inside is unknown, but it has many rooms and corridors as well as a control room designed to be operated by six people though in the Doctor’s case it’s a one-man crew.

Although an old police box can spark some curiosity from humans, the TARDIS’ perception filter is of great use to keep it safe and hidden. Even if it doesn’t work properly, access to the TARDIS requires a key. This is especially important as falling into wrong hands could be catastrophic for its power. As strange as a police box disguise might be, it has worked for both the Doctor and his vehicle while becoming one of its most distinctive elements.

How The TARDIS Became Synonymous With The Doctor Who Franchise

If there’s one constant throughout all eras of Doctor Who, it’s the TARDIS and its exterior form because even sonic screwdrivers have gone through changes. The TARDIS has remained an old police box while various Doctors have regenerated met multiple companions faced various villains over time. Thanks to this consistency with design over decades makes it synonymous with Doctor Who.

Blue police boxes were real objects used starting in Britain during early twentieth century beginning in1920s. Just like their fictional counterpart they could only be accessed with keys served small police stations but had telephones behind hinged doors for public use without entering them. However due to their association with Doctor Who, real-life blue police boxes are now primarily linked with show rather than historical context.

The popularity of TARDIS led BBC applying for trademark protection over merchandise featuring its design back in1996 but only received approval from Patent Office ruling favorably towards them by2002. Since actual police boxes disappeared from British streets today any sighting invokes immediate thoughts about connection towards show.

Doctor Who has undergone numerous transformations regarding characters production styles etc., but ultimately remains unique spacecraft boasting one most recognizable designs television history.

Source: Doctor Who.