TARDIS

The TARDIS is the name of a time machine in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The name is an acronym of Time And Relative Dimension (or Dimensions) In Space.1 A product of Time Lord technology, a properly piloted and working TARDIS is capable of transporting its occupants to any point in space and time. Its interior exists in multidimensional space, leading to it being significantly larger on the inside than it appears from outside.

Footnotes

• 1. There is some disagreement over whether the "D" in the name stands for "dimension" or "dimensions"; both have been used in various episodes. The very first story, 100,000 BC, used the singular "Dimension" and other episodes followed suit for the next couple of years. The 1964 novelisation Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks used the plural "Dimensions" for the first time and the 1965 serial The Time Meddler introduced it to the television series. Since then both versions have been used on different occasions. In Rose, the first episode of the 2005 series, the Doctor uses the singular form.
• 2. The Sixth Doctor stated this in The Two Doctors. However, the veracity of this information may be suspect, as the Doctor later revealed that he had made some facts up to confuse the Sontarans and their allies, who were trying to duplicate the Imprimatur to prime their own time vessel.
• 3. The term TARDIS, however, appears to be used by others to apply to all Time Lord time machines. This apparent inconsistency, like others over the course of the programme's history, has generated some lively debate among fans. In the Virgin New Adventures novel Lungbarrow by Marc Platt, Susan tells the First Doctor that she gave him the idea when he was, implicitly, the Other. As with the other spin-off media, the canonicity of the novel is unclear.