Sunday 21 December 2014

TARDIS Travels No.2


Season One ended with the TARDIS dematerialising from the forest at the conclusion of The Reign of Terror - the Doctor telling his companions that their future lay in the stars...

Journey 009: France, July 1794, to England, 1964.
The location is somewhere on the south coast - as civil servant Arnold Farrow mentions his boat being moored nearby, and he is going to explore the waterways of France. For contemporary stories where the specific date isn't given a mention, let's assume the present day as the story was broadcast. Something goes wrong and the ship materialises only a couple of inches in height. It has landed in between garden paving stones. Have there been any unseen adventures between the seasons? Nothing on screen to suggest this, and the Doctor is wearing the cloak he had worn in the previous story in place of his usual coat.
The reason for the shrinkage is given as "space pressure". Susan says that the landing is one of the most dangerous times. The scanner blows out.


Journey 010: South coast of England, 1964, to London, c. 2174.
The ship materialises (silently again) under Hammersmith Bridge. (Actually filmed under Kew Railway Bridge, though to get any view of Battersea Power Station from the angle seen on screen they really ought to be in the vicinity of Grosvenor Bridge - the railway bridge that serves Victoria Station). The windows are open on landing - so the exterior shell doesn't necessarily impact on the interior - the control room does not have little windows in it after all. A calendar is found for the year 2164, but the plague bombs started to fall 10 years ago, and it is unlikely anyone was still producing calendars as the world's population died in their millions - so the year must be around 2174. (The production team obviously wanted it to be a nice round number of years in the future. Terry Nation actually favoured 2142 - making it an anniversary of the London Blitz).
The scanner wasn't working at the end of the previous story, and the Doctor says he still can't see where they are, suggesting no intervening stories.


Journey 011: Hammersmith, London, c. 2174, to Dido, 2493.
The TARDIS materialises in a cave in the mountains overlooking the settlement and the crashed spaceship from Earth. Vicki provides the date. It is unlikely such a small craft would travel very lengthy voyages. Despite what Susan said about the dangers in making a landing, the Doctor sleeps through this one. The ship can land on its own - only needing the Doctor to turn off the power. The Doctor doesn't just know about Dido, he recognises it and so must have been here before (see pre- Totters Lane adventures in the previous post).


Journey 012: Dido, 2493, to Latium, July 64 AD.
The ship materialises on a narrow ledge, then falls into a gully. The travellers base themselves nearby in a villa whose owner is away. Quite what the army of slaves who manage the estate think of this is conveniently glossed over. The villa is a good two day's walk from the city of Rome. We know the date from the inclusion of the Great Fire of Rome. (Of course, Nero was not actually in Rome when the fire started. He was criticised at the time for not rushing back to the city).


Journey 013: Latium, 64 AD, to the vicinity of Vortis, date unknown.
The ship dematerialises from its 45 degree angle. It seems to materialise in space above the planet then be drawn down by the influence of the Animus.
Journey 014: Vortis orbit to planet surface, date unknown.
Yes, two distinct materialisations occur at the start of The Web Planet. The Doctor clearly states that they have materialised for a split second before coming under the Animus' influence, but the ship is also then seen to materialise as normal on the planet's surface.
The TARDIS is later manhandled by the Zarbi into the Carzenome. It gets moved outside again at the conclusion of the story. (The Carzenome hasn't withered around it - the terrain is all wrong).
As well as being able to intercept the TARDIS in flight, the Animus is also able to drain power from the ship. This only affects certain systems, however, as lights and life support seem normal. Vicki restores the affected systems accidentally. The ship is impervious to the Animus' weapons, and the Zarbi are unable to enter it. The Doctor says the interior of his ship is "inviolable". (In later eras it will be like Liberty Hall). His signet ring can bypass the lack of power to the doors.


Journey 015: Vortis, date unknown, to Palestine, 1191.
A forest outside the city of Jaffa during the Third Crusade. The proposed peace treaty involving marrying Princess Joanna to Saladin's brother took place around October, 1191. The eventual treaty (1192) left Jerusalem in Islamic hands, but with concessions not to impede visits by Christian pilgrims.


Journey 016: Palestine, October 1191, to Xeros, date unknown.
The TARDIS initially lands ahead of itself - jumping a "time track" - so that it makes the same landing twice. The first time, the Doctor and his companions are insubstantial - not being seen by anyone or able to physically interact with anything. They become substantial when the ship makes the landing it ought to have made, an hour or so later. The Moroks move the ship closer to the entrance to their museum. In an alternate timeline, which is deleted, the ship ends up inside the museum as an exhibit.


Journey 017: Xeros, date unknown, to the Sagaro Desert on Aridius, date unknown.
The TARDIS becomes buried by a fierce sandstorm. The Daleks are able to locate it and force some Aridians to dig it out. Good news for the Doctor and co., but bad news for the Aridians who are promptly exterminated. The Doctor has a TARDIS Magnet which can locate the ship. (Later he will build this into a wristwatch, but it becomes a separate piece of equipment again during the Fifth Doctor's time).


Journey 018: Sagaro Desert on Aridius, date unknown, to Empire State Building, New York, 1966.
The TARDIS materialises briefly on the viewing platform at the top of the building. Tourist Morton Dill conveniently provides the date. Ian and Barbara could jump ship here - but naturally they are not going to desert their friends.


Journey 019: Empire Sate Building, New York, 1966, to the "Mary Celeste", Atlantic Ocean, 1872.
It is late November or very early in December, as the ship was discovered abandoned on 5th December. The location is around 600 miles west of Portugal.


Journey 020: "Mary Celeste", Atlantic Ocean, 1872, to Ghana, 1996.
A funfair "Frankenstein's House of Horrors" to be exact - part of the Festival of Ghana which has been cancelled due to international tensions. For a time, the Doctor believes they have actually materialised in some kind of Jungian "Collective Unconscious".


Journey 021: Ghana, 1996, to Mechanus, date unknown.
The Mechanoids arrived on Mechanus some 50 years previous to this story. The planned colonisation never happened because of a war that Earth became embroiled in. Steven Taylor has been captive here for two years, when the conflict was still going. Using hindsight we could postulate a series of conflicts - the Dalek or Cyber wars perhaps.


Journey 022: Mechanus, date unknown, to Northumbria, 1066.
The ship materialises on a rocky beach. The Doctor deduces the date to be late summer from the weather - "A balmy night...". The Battle of Stamford Bridge which preceded the Norman Invasion took place on 25th September, 1066. The TARDIS is unaffected by being submerged in the sea when the tide comes in. We discover that the TARDIS is not unique. By removing the dimension control, the interior of a TARDIS can be rendered the same size as the exterior shell.

Season Two ends with the TARDIS embarking on Journey 023...

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