10 Doctor Who "Plot Holes" That Really Aren't
6. Why Does The Fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS Look Like A Police Box?
Since her debut in 2020’s Fugitive of the Judoon, fans have been arguing about where in the Doctor’s timeline the Fugitive Doctor fits.
In light of developments regarding the Division in Flux (and the Timeless Child story arc as a whole), it’s safe to say that the intention was for her to be a pre-Hartnell Doctor. Even so, many insist that it makes more sense to place her within the main lineup of Doctors (for instance, between Doctors Two and Three), because of one particular plot point.
The very first episode of Doctor Who established that the chameleon circuit on the Doctor’s TARDIS is (at least somewhat) broken – hence why it’s stuck in the shape of a police box. It also established that this was the first time this had happened: that the TARDIS had, prior to this, successfully taken on various other forms.
So if the Fugitive Doctor really is pre-Hartnell, how can her TARDIS possibly look like a police box? At first, it seems too big a discrepancy to reconcile with existing continuity. But with a little imagination, it’s actually very easy to explain.
There’s no reason why the Fugitive Doctor couldn’t have travelled to '60s London herself – or why the chameleon circuit fault couldn’t have been developed earlier, temporarily fixed, then become broken again.
Alternatively, perhaps the TARDIS appeared as a police box for the Thirteenth Doctor’s benefit (and ours).