Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS showed us more of the TARDIS than perhaps weve ever seen before. Sure The Doctors Wife showed us not one but two console rooms and some corridors going up, down and side to side and in the 70s The Invasion of Time showed us that many of the other rooms in the TARDIS looked like a disused hospital, but Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS gave us a much grander view of some parts of the TARDIS that hadnt been so much as mentioned such as the observatory. So with those revelations now laid it, this seems like as good a time as any to review the Doctors taste in decoration over the years.
11. The Fourth Doctors TARDIS
The Fourth Doctor had more control rooms than any other Doctor. This control room, first seen in The Invisible Enemy set the style of control room that would be seen up to the end of the series original run. The only problem is, it was done better with each subsequent attempt. This version is held in low regard because its just so shabby. The roundels get more scuffed and battered as the years go by, as does the console, which is a horrible dull grey. The worst feature by far is the massive join down the middle for the far wall that youd be forgiven for thinking was gaffer tape or a piece of wood. The Horns of Nimon saw the last time this set was used and its clear why - the console is covered in scorch marks and various controls are broken off. There doesnt seem to be much 'design' about this console room either, more like TARDIS décor by numbers. Roundels, check, scanner, check, big chunky doors, check, and they left it at that. There is no flair about it at all, its clinical and bland. It isnt helped that this set came directly after the wooden Secondary Control room, which couldnt be any further from this. To quote the Second Doctor Youve redecorated havent you I dont like it.. Also weirdly for the TARDIS its extremely claustrophobic. Its the smallest TARDIS set there has ever been. That said, this set was used for the aforementioned Invasion of Time where the Sontarans pursue the Doctor into the depths of the time ship. It was planned to be very much like Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS but strike action put and end to that and the planned sets never got made, resulting in a hastily arranged location shoot. We saw the TARDISs power station disguised as an art gallery, which just about works, the medical bay, which looks like an abandoned hospital, the swimming pool, which neatly has roundel-like circular archways, the Doctors garden, with a carnivorous, Sontaran eating plant. But most underwhelming is the Doctors workshop, where youd expect to see a whole sonic tool box, all sorts of gadgets and gizmos, various inventions and creations, but what we got was is a grotty tool shed, with bin bags taped over the windows. This set was used for 3 years, our next contender was used for one story and still fairs better.