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

3. The TARDIS Only Needs One Pilot

Doctor Who Peter Capaldi Twelfth Doctor TARDIS
BBC Studios

Nearly 60 years of the Doctor being the sole pilot of the TARDIS may have led casual viewers to believe that this is typical, or even proper.

And yet, the Doctor often has to run around the console flipping switches and pressing levers, before falling back into a seat or having to grab the console for fear of falling, proving that it's far from a one-person job.

In Journey’s End, the TARDIS is shown towing the Earth back to its proper place in the universe. Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith, Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness, and the Metacrisis Doctor each take a specific control, while the Doctor and Donna Noble - infused with Time Lord intelligence to become the DoctorDonna - hit occasional controls and supervise. Oh, and Jackie Tyler is told not to touch anything. Poor Jackie.

Here, the TARDIS flew smoother and straighter than it had flown in quite some time. The fact that the TARDIS has a huge central console with so many buttons and keys is proof that more than a single pair of hands is required to operate it at maximum efficiency.

This isn't to say that a single pilot cannot drive the TARDIS smoothly. River Song seems particularly skilled in this regard, possibly because she and the ship share a special connection, as she was conceived onboard.

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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.