The TARDIS is truly a living spaceship of beauty. It is bigger on the inside and, like the Doctor, frequently changes its appearance, although to a lesser degree. Throughout the show’s history, the box’s broken chameleon circuit means it always looks like a blue ‘60s era police box. But, even then, the outside often goes through some subtle tweaks. The biggest TARDIS changes really come from its interior, often reflecting the personality of the Doctor’s current incarnation. Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor has quite the marvelous TARDIS with some new features and we are keeping an eye on it all season long.
The Fifteenth Doctor’s TARDIS Unique Origin Story
We first saw the Fifteenth Doctor’s TARDIS in the final 2023 anniversary special “The Giggle.” Fifteen brilliantly realizes that he and Fourteen’s game against the Toymaker left them with a prize—an additional TARDIS. Their TARDISes look almost identical. Both are stark white with those lovely round things on the wall that the Doctor loves. And while previous versions of the TARDIS had balcony areas, this one is delightfully full of ramps. The Fourteenth Doctor gets to keep his and go on occasional small adventures while Fifteen sets out in the universe.
Is the New TARDIS the Real TARDIS?
Yes, according to showrunner Russell T Davies. If anyone has the duplicate, it is the Fourteenth Doctor. It is likely we will get confirmation about this sometime during season one. Ncuti’s Doctor is THE Doctor and this TARDIS is THE TARDIS. Period. Moving on…
The TARDIS’ Console Room, Special Features, and Other Interior Places
One thing that sets Fifteen’s TARDIS apart from his predecessor’s machine (and anyone else’s) is the inclusion of a jukebox. It seems music will play a large role in this Doctor’s arc, considering his bouts with singing goblins, the Toymaker and his melodic laugh track, and Maestro’s musical mayhem. We haven’t heard him play a tune on it yet but surely it will come into play.
Quite a few tunnels lead to other areas, which the Doctor can seal off if he desires. In “Space Babies,” Ruby accidentally steps on a butterfly and changes her personal history, which the Doctor is able to fix. The TARDIS apparently has a “butterfly compensation switch” that he can activate to prevent things like this from happening.
So far, we haven’t seen anything outside of the console room. In “The Devil’s Chord,” we see Fifteen and Ruby go into one hallway on the lower deck and exit in the upper one, but that’s it. We do love the main room, though. Those round lights can actually change colors with some rainbow hues, which the Doctor can control with the snap of his fingers. We love mood lighting. And the console itself is a mix of past tech with a futuristic look. Overall, it truly looks and feels like something otherworldly and hopefully we can explore it more in the future.
