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Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2023: Week 10
The TARDIS, an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space, is The Doctor's mode of transportation in Doctor Who, capable of travelling through both time and space. TARDISes are time travel vehicles used by Time Lords, beings from the planet Gallifrey. Canonically, the Doctor stole his TARDIS and ran away to embark on adventures across time and space.
Due to a problem with the chameleon circuit, the ship's camouflage system, the TARDIS appears as a blue police call box from the 1960s throughout most of the series. Because of its transdimensional nature, the TARDIS is "bigger on the inside," a running joke throughout the series which has become a widely understood pop culture reference outside of Doctor Who fandom.
The Doctor's TARDIS is commonly referred to by both the show and the fandom as simply 'The TARDIS', though the name also refers to the ships as a whole. Other TARDISes are usually referred to by their owners, such as 'The Master's TARDIS', or by different names altogether, such as the character Compassion.
The TARDIS and The Doctor seem emotionally attached to each other, in both canon and fanon. The TARDIS also shows signs of sentience, and the Doctor frequently holds conversations with her, using "she" to refer to the ship. She has also been embodied (i.e. taken forms other than a TARDIS) in canon - refer to Canon for more on this.