1. Follow Your Heart
The Doctor tells us the engine room is the heart of the TARDIS. When he and Clara finally reach it, however, the engine has been suspended in a state of explosion. The Doctor despairs, not knowing what to do, until Clara grabs his hand. When he looks at her palm he finds a message he left himself a way to fix the situation. In a way the companion is the heart of the Doctor. Hes so busy running and hiding and figuring things out that he often overlooks the emotional core of a situation. He needs someone to bring him back to that, to be his lantern, to show him the way. In a similar vein, I have to wonder if River Song is the TARDIS heart made manifest in physical form. The Doctor calls River the child of the TARDIS but could she be even more than that? Is she like the subset of the Eye of Harmony the Doctor used in Hide engineered to exist in the universe in a way that the TARDIS cannot? Is she a kind of conduit that the TARDIS can work through to experience the universe in a more physical way? As a time traveler, Rivers life actually mimics the TARDIS in that she exists across all of space and time. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS worked as an action and adventure story but was even more intriguing for its insights into major character relationships. Showrunner Steven Moffat is keen to reinforce the idea of the TARDIS as a sentient being in her own right and writer Stephen Thompson certainly achieved that goal.
Mary Ogle
Contributor
Mary Ogle is the author and illustrator of “Orangeroof Zoo” a whimsical tale of magical realism told through the pages of a coloring book for adults. Working as a professional artist in the digital medium, Mary’s commissions have included everything from fine art to fan art, book cover design, illustration and book layout. Find more of Mary’s work at www.maryogle.com. Mary currently finds inspiration in the Ojai Valley, residing in a snug little cottage with a recalcitrant cat.
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