Doctor Who: 10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About The TARDIS

5. TARDIS Or Tardis?

Doctor Who Peter Capaldi Twelfth Doctor TARDIS
BBC Studios

Though the word "Tardis" was originally intended to be the name of the Doctor's ship, and not an acronym (in the same way you would name a sailboat), that uppercase spelling of the word has become the standard way of identifying it.

However, some of the earliest Doctor Who publications - such as annuals and news articles - would frequently use the lowercase spelling, which wasn't technically incorrect back then.

But surprisingly, this is something that people still get wrong today - hell, there are BBC news articles as recent as 2022 that use "Tardis" in the headline and the main text. Y'know, the BBC? The broadcaster that owns the show?

Sure, in-universe, it's not like the word TARDIS is spelled out onscreen all the time. We do get a glimpse when we see the TARDIS' plaque in Amy's Choice, but every word is uppercase here, so who knows how the Doctor would write it themselves?

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John Wilson has been a comic book and pop culture fan his entire life. He has written for a number of websites on the subject over the years and is especially pleased to be at WhatCulture. John has written two comic books for Last Ember Press Studio and has recently self-published a children's book called "Blue." When not spending far too much time on the internet, John spends time with his lovely wife, Kim, their goofy dog, Tesla, and two very spoiled cats.