5. The Ninth Doctors TARDIS
Now I have to admit, this imagining of the TARDIS was a shock to the system at first as it was probably the most radical departure from the established design so far. I mean a circular console? No scanner? Where were the roundels? Why is it so damn dark? But eventually it grew on me. This was the warm, welcoming interior of the TARDIS and although everything had changed all the elements were there in some form. I genuinely missed it when it went. I was just the right size and had all the necessary features about it. Over time, it became that comfortable haven that we get to know over the course of several years. The console owes a lot to the Rani's TARDIS in 'The Mark of the Rani' (which deserves an honourable mention), which showed what can be done with the fundamental TARDIS components and making it all round and modern. The only thing that bugged me, like the Series 5 and 6 control room, is that the controls are almost completely absent from the panels themselves and mostly mounted on the dividing sections. A console similar to the movie design would have been a great addition, but over time, I mellowed to the organic look, so much so that I was delighted when it showed up again in The Doctors Wife. If anything I think Matt Smith looked more at home there than in his then current control room. Its a common misconception that we never got to see any other room in the TARDIS during the Russell T Davies era. This isnt true as we of course saw the wardrobe in The Christmas Invasion, which despite being brief was glorious. The wardrobe had been built up to be this huge labyrinth of clothes and costumes, yet when seen previously was nothing more than a very bland room with some coat rails. The Christmas Invasion finally did it justice, with levels of clothes and a huge central staircase. Even pieces of furniture from the past cropped up. It was such an unexpected surprise to see the wardrobe, this moment made it a merry Christmas indeed.