Tuesday 16 June 2015

TARDIS Travels No.27


And so the travels of the TARDIS reach the new series. There is a suggestion that Rose comes just after the Doctor has regenerated - he seems to be noticing his appearance for the first time when he looks into a mirror chez Tyler. According to writer Russell T Davies, it is left open for you to think this might be the case or not. Series One sees the introduction of a new bigger Police Box shell, the coral-themed console room, controls that seem to be made up from household bric-a-brac, and a frequently unsteady mode of flight. The ship now creates a disturbance in the air as it materialises and dematerialises - sometimes.

Journey 395: Date and location unknown, to London, March, 2005.
The Doctor is already investigating the Nestene infiltration of Henrik's store as Rose opens. The exact location of the shop is not known - but appears to be either Oxford Street or Regent Street. The TARDIS is parked in an alley opposite the store. The Missing posters for Rose seen in a couple of episodes' time will give the date of her disappearance as 6th March 2005. Assuming Jackie reported her missing the day after the Auton attack - when she failed to return home - this must be 4th March.


Journey 396: London - West End to Powell Estate, South London, 5th March, 2005.
Following the signal from the mannequin arm, the TARDIS materialises on Rose's estate close to her block of flats. It is the day after Henrik's blew up.


Journey 397: London - Powell Estate to unknown location, 5th March, 2005.
Later the same day - now following the signal generated by the Auton Mickey, the TARDIS materialises in the yard behind a restaurant - presumably somewhere between Clive's home and the Powell Estate.


Journey 398: London - location unknown to Victoria Embankment, 5th March 2005.
The TARDIS materialises on the north side of the Thames close to the RAF Memorial - opposite Jubilee Gardens and the London Eye. The Autons capture the ship and bring it into the Nestene lair under the foreshore at the base of the Eye.


Journeys 399 & 400: London - Nestene lair to Powell Estate, 5th March, 2005.
The TARDIS materialises at a street market, close to Rose's home. The Doctor initially dematerialises the ship without Rose when she declines his offer to travel with him. Seconds later it rematerialises on the same spot and this time Rose agrees to go with him. It is unlikely that Jackie's late night shopping would have been after midnight, so presumably this is still the 5th of March.


Journeys 401, 402 & 403: London, 2005, to Platform One, Earth orbit, the year 5.5/apple/26.
Now the Doctor does tempt Rose with two stops en route to the year 5 Billion (approx), but the TARDIS isn't actually seen to materialise in those times. The first stop is 100 years into her future, and then 10,000 years - the age of the New Roman Empire. They finally opt to go to the viewing deck of Platform One on the day that the Earth is destroyed by the Sun. The little Crespallion attendants move the TARDIS out of the viewing deck.


Journey 404: Platform One, 5.5/apple/26 to Cardiff, Wales, 24th December 1869.
Aiming for Naples in 1860, this is the first time that the ship has proved erratic in the new series. The clothing store is quite some distance from the console room - first left, second right, third on the left, under the stairs, past the bins and fifth on the left.


Journey 405: Cardiff, 1869, to London - Powell Estate, Spring 2006.
The TARDIS goes wrong yet again - landing 12 months later than intended. It is graffiti'd with the words "Bad Wolf" by one of the little neds on the estate.


Journey 406: London - Powell Estate to Albion Hospital, Limehouse Green, 2006.
The Doctor goes to the hospital in East London where the alien from the crashed ship has been taken. We know where the hospital is as it will reappear later in the series.


Journey 407: London - Albion Hospital to Powell Estate, 2006.
The TARDIS returns to the promenade on the estate. We learn that the scanner gets all the local TV news channels, and sports.


Journey 408: Powell Estate, London, 2006, to Utah, USA, 2012.
The TARDIS materialises in Van Statten's museum built beneath the plains of Utah. No-one knows what a Dalek is - something which will become significant much, much later on. Actually, there is no real reason at all to have set this story in the near future - the date is irrelevant.


Journey 409: Utah, USA, 2012, to Satellite Five, Earth orbit, 200,000.
The TARDIS materialises on Level 139 of this news gathering space station. The Doctor realises that human development is being interfered with.


Journey 410: Satellite Five, 200,000, to England, 2012.
Talking of messing with human development, the Doctor returns Adam to his home - the town or city unspecified. Accents suggest Northern England, but then Amy Pond lived just outside Gloucester. And South London girl Rose Tyler sometimes sounds like she comes from closer to Swindon...


Journey 411: England, 2012, to South London, London, 1987.
Rose wants to see her dead old dad, who was killed in an accident on 7th November, 1987. The TARDIS takes her and the Doctor to see her parents getting married - presumably at the beginning of the year.

Journey 412: South London, early 1987 to 7th November 1987.
Rose next decides she wants to be with her dad at the moment of his death as he was alone when killed by a hit and run driver. Attempt one fails, when she chickens out.


Journey 413: As 412 only a few minutes before.
Attempt two to be with her dad, and this time Rose intervenes and saves him. Not a clever thing to do. When the Doctor returns alone to the TARDIS he finds that it is only a Police Box shell. If the Reapers are working their way back through time - older things being more resilient - why take the ancient TARDIS, or did a real Police Box once stand on this location?
The TARDIS attempts to re-establish itself via the Doctor's key in the church where everyone is taking refuge, but appears to be destroyed when a Reaper collides with it.
With Time put back on track - with only the minor difference that Rose was now with Pete, and he was half a mile away from the original scene of the collision - the TARDIS is reconstituted, though at a different location to where it started - now by some shops and restaurants.


Journey 414: London, 1987, to London, 1941.
Whilst in transit through the Vortex, the TARDIS detects an object heading for Earth. It materialises some weeks after the object has arrived - in an alleyway outside a night club at the height of the London Blitz. Best guess is Spring 1941. We know Captain Jack assumed his name after the real one died in January 1941. It is a long night, and breath freezes, yet the garden of the house where Nancy's troupe gathers has flowers and veg in it. The TARDIS has run out of milk - the food machine? The phone in the door rings for the very first time. If you think that John Barrowman became ubiquitous after this story was broadcast, there are four Captain Jacks split between London and Cardiff in 1941, as we will subsequently learn.


Journey 415: London, 1941, to local space, 1941.
The TARDIS materialises on Jack's ship just before it is blown up by the German bomb it is transporting.


Journey 416: Space, 1941, to Cardiff, 2006.
The TARDIS lands in Roald Dahl Plas, outside the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay in order to refuel from the Rift discovered when it last landed in the city. Presumably Torchwood are off somewhere else at the time, otherwise they would have popped up to have a look and Jack could have met himself. As it is, there is another Jack in cold storage right under his feet. It is late in the year, as Margaret Slitheen has had time to establish herself as mayor, and Mickey needs his parka. First appearance of the Extrapolator (that's the Tribophysical Waveform Macro-kinetic Extrapolator to be precise). The Doctor will use it on a couple of later occasions. The need for the TARDIS to refuel has never been mentioned before - we always assumed it had an infinite power supply.
At some point in the list above, unseen journeys now have to be factored in. We don't know when these took place as Jack isn't mentioned as being present. One journey was to Woman Wept.
The central console opens up of its own accord - presumably to prevent damage from the Rift - and the energy released causes Margaret Slitheen to revert to her egg state. This surprises even the Doctor. He says that the power of the ship lies underneath the console and the entire Vortex can be released.

Journey 416a (unseen): Cardiff, 2006, to Raxacoricofallapatorius, date unknown.
Presumably still 2006, as there is no evidence the Slitheen have time travel.

Journey 416b (unseen): Raxacoricofallapatorius, 2006, to Kyoto, Japan, 1336.
Mentioned by Rose when her memories start to come back on the Game Station.


Journey 417: Kyoto, Japan, 1336, to the Game Station, Earth orbit, 200,100.
After removing its occupants with a powerful transmat and depositing them in the various lethal game shows, the Daleks have the TARDIS land in Archive Six of the Game Station - as Satellite Five is known a century after the Doctor's last visit.


Journey 418: The Game Station to Dalek Command Saucer, 200,100.
The Doctor pilots the ship through normal space to the Dalek saucer in order to rescue Rose. It dematerialises momentarily to avoid a missile and lands in the saucer close to where the Emperor is based. The Extrapolator is used to provide a force-field extended around the ship. The TARDIS has materialised around objects before (e.g. Logopolis) but this is the first time we see it materialise around someone (Rose and a Dalek) as viewed from within the console room.

Journey 419: Dalek Saucer back to Game Station.


Journey 420: Game Station, 200,100, to Powell Estate, London, 2006.
The Doctor tricks Rose into leaving before the Daleks attack - operating the TARDIS remotely using his sonic screwdriver and implementing an emergency hologram system. Rose is taken back home. Recalling what happened with Margaret Slitheen, she has Mickey and her mum help her to reopen the console. The horsepower of a pick-up truck seems to be able to do this - though it is more likely the ship did it deliberately.


Journey 421: Powell Estate, London, 2006, to Game Station, 200,100.
Flooded with the energy of the Time Vortex, Rose is able to take the ship back to the Game Station. Destroys Daleks. Brings dead Captain Jack back to life. The Doctor takes on the energy himself to save her - resulting in his regeneration...

2 comments:

  1. I don't mean to be nitpicky, but I thought the TARDIS was housed in Archive Six? 'Archive Six is out of bounds'.

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    Replies
    1. Quite right. I usually try to write pieces from memory (in this case I only checked the dates when these stories are set - plus the directions to the clothes store. My memory's good - but not that good).

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