8. The Eleventh Doctors TARDIS (Series 5 And 6)
I secretly loathe this TARDIS, for the simple reason, its too big. Sometimes less is more and this set seems to be trying to make a point more than anything else. There are stairs all over the place going to all different rooms (that we never saw) and despite being massive, the crew only seemed to be able to film it from 3 angles; by the doors, on the console platform or from the upper gantry. It got repetitive very quickly for such a large set and seemed to make promises it could not fulfil. There was no homeliness or warmth about it, despite the fact it was bright orange, it was impossible to find a comfortable spot, like trying to make yourself at home in a warehouse. It was also illogical to me that the console was so far away from the door. Making for a very convoluted hasty retreat. Furthermore the console, its more like what youd expect to find in a kids playground and I never understood what the aversion was to putting actual controls onto the console panels. Credit where its due, the controls were more interesting than the previous console, there were levers, switches and buttons and also dials and tangible equipment. Also the console was properly hexagonal. But the application lets it down massively. Also I was delighted to see this control room had a scanner. Seeing as in recent times the Doctor had taken to looking out the doors, this was something necessary to capture the vastness of the various vistas around the universe. Its a shame to see that go. The thing that probably lets this control room down most though, is the coral thing. Its not something Ive ever been fond of, so to see it redone and heavily didnt sit well with me. There is nothing about this console room that says time machine, something that has been acknowledged in the current design. It comes down to style over substance. Though the return of the roundels was a welcome one. The corridors seen in The Doctors Wife also do not match in any way to the console room, though I know which I prefer, which was extremely jarring, but a step in the right direction. This episode also clearly showed which console room was superior and where Matt Smith seemed more at home. The set was an ambitious one with good intentions, but overall, unnecessary.