A Sunday Doctor Who Poll

[seren_ccd]

I'm doing some plotting and writing today (does it count if the writing is in a notebook and not on a computer?) and I've run into a question.

I'm writing the next bit in the Eleven/Amy series and it's going all wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey on me. And my question is this:

How much influence do you think the TARDIS has over where they end up? My mind is drawing a bit of a blank, but I'm sure she's deposited the Doctor in places where he needed to do something, even if he doesn't know he needed to do something.

So, because I like polls:

[Poll #1674581]

Matt and Karen look adorable and thank you for helping!!!

Comments

[fringedweller.livejournal.com]

Writing counts no matter where or how you do it; I'm using the notebook you gave me for Christmas as a planning book for my Big Bang this year, and I'm already scribbling scenes in it. By the way, this will very probably be the porniest thing I'll ever write - are you ok betaing a fic that involved pegging?

Ahem.

In answer to your question, it's canon that the Doctor has a telepathic link to the TARDIS, so it could be that in dumping them somewhere unusual, it's actually responding to the Doctor's unspoken needs/desires. That could be a surprise to him, or he could be aware of it. During Who's early years the TARDIS often materialied in unexpected places - for example, the Doctor thought he was leaving Sarah Jane in London but he actually left her in Scotland, etc.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude. BRING IT! :D I can't wait to see this thing! Eee!

Hmm. That makes sense. It's probably then rather possible that the Doctor knew about something critical happening in a culture's history, but hadn't made the connection that it was he who made it happen, until he did. I think I can work with that...

[reasdream.livejournal.com]

Awesomest picture.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Aren't they the cutest? :D

[reasdream.livejournal.com]

So totally.
I mean, I would love to go out for coffee or get a drink with them. And we're even of an age!

BTW, regarding the TARDIS thing, my impression of her is highly influenced by creatures like Moya, the living ship from Farscape. I've always thought it would be nice for a biomechanoid with a human appearance to show up and chat with the TARDIS, in a friendly sort of way.

[tasty-kate.livejournal.com]

Points for making a Farscape connection.

[reasdream.livejournal.com]

Well, sentient, living ship which is referred to with a feminine pronoun ... plus I love the idea of something which is both organic and technological, as opposed to cyborg.

[robanybody.livejournal.com]

All Doctors have a close relationship with the TARDIS so I don't see why she couldn't have a big influence as to where they end up. There are quite a few episodes where the Doctor thought they were going to one place, had programmed it in, but they ended up somewhere completely different because the TARDIS thought they should be there.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

That's definitely what I'm thinking. ;D

[esme-green.livejournal.com]

A) You should do whatever you want; and
B) You should preserve the TARDIS's mystery as much as possible. Is she just focusing the Doctor's instincts? Is she able to read the Time Vortex and move him around on a chessboard only she can see? Is she just randomly infuriating and stubborn? No one really knows for sure, and neither should we. /rant

...since you asked... :)

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely love the TARDIS having her own air of mystery. That's what I've always loved about her. I don't even think the Doctor knows half the time.

[avarill.livejournal.com]

It's been observed both in the series and in spin-off media that the Doctor always ends up where he NEEDS to be, as opposed to where he WANTS to be. And that the TARDIS is responsible for redirecting him.

For example, if you look at The Eleventh Hour - if the TARDIS hadn't made him late then all kinds of things may have been thrown off. It seems that TARDIS was preventing him from creating a further paradox and allowing time for Amy to develop her skill at 'remembering'; and thereby rebooting the universe.

Yet during A Christmas Carol, his TARDIS piloting is absolute precision.

This is especially evident in the eras of the First and Second Doctors, where he had no control whatsoever in where they ended up. He basically threw the randomizer button and let the TARDIS decide where to go. His ability to actually steer the thing is something he's developed slowly over the years.

And - did I mention - Amy/Eleven plotting? Yay!

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

the Doctor always ends up where he NEEDS to be, as opposed to where he WANTS to be. And that the TARDIS is responsible for redirecting him.

That's always been my opinion and view of things, too. I think the link between the Doctor and the TARDIS is really rather intriguing and there's so much knowledge between the pair of them.

And: EEEEE! I'm having fun! ;D

[platypus]

I think the TARDIS can influence where/when they land, but it's somewhat subtle/ambiguous whether it's the TARDIS's doing or something else. The TARDIS could not keep the Master out, or prevent herself from being stolen and turned into a paradox machine, but the Doctor felt like she "didn't want" to land in TIP/TSP, and she was able to protect River in TBB. I dislike fic where the TARDIS blatantly does things (think you need a tennis racket? turn around and it's there!) but she does seem to have some level of volition. I agree with esme_green that a degree of mystery is best preserved.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Mystery is key, I think. She certainly can have an agenda of sorts, but whether that's her link with the Doctor or someone/something else is the interesting bit. I agree about the 'poof! there it is!' stuff, too. She's not a magician. Even if she is magical. :D

[charliehey.livejournal.com]

I'm not the most knowledgeable about Doctor Who (robanybody only recently got me into it), but I love the idea that the TARDIS knows what's up and does what is best for the Doctor and/or the universe. :D

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

I think she does have a certain amount of agency and the link with the Doctor is very strong. It makes for a fun relationship. ;D

[dinophwoar.livejournal.com]

I basically agree with what everyone else is saying here, the TARDIS gets him to where he needs to be rather than where he wants within certain boundaries, she can't do everything but she is still pretty awesome. I also agree that it needs to be a bit of mystery about the TARDIS' motives but there is definitely a strong connection between her, the Doctor and some of his companions.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Word. :D I just love the idea that she's so connected to him AND history/time.

[lullabymoon]

One bug giant WORD to what everyone else is saying about the TARDIS.

Writing in a notebook totally counts.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

:D My notebook got filled this weekend.

[tasty-kate.livejournal.com]

*eagerly anticipates new bit*

Matt looks very Fred Astair there, doesn't he?

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

He really does! Oh! They should totally do a dancing episode. I want to see him waltz. :D

[tasty-kate.livejournal.com]

!!!!! YES!! How could I have made that reference and NOT thought of the Doctor wal--*drool*

[maggietimelord.livejournal.com]

My icon says my opinion. *chuckles*

Okay ... my view of the TARDIS is this ...
She is a sentient coral from a planet in the same system as Gallifrey. The corals are converted, mathematically, and become time ships.
Normally, she would not have been allowed to bond as closely with the Doctor. I picture TARDIS' and Time Lords being rotated through duties to prevent the intense attachment.
She cares for the Doctor and, in their own way, they are a couple. Bound to care for one-another, they travel.
I believe she is sensitive to the will of the time vortex and the Doctor's own desires to "fix things." And to this end, she picks out locations to land in. I think the pinpoint accuracy of landings has to do with her will. He can set the locations but if she doesn't want to go then, she deviates from the settings.
I believe she remembers every piece of her time with the Doctor. Even times that were erased, such as "Turn Left." And, moving rooms around is just 'playing' with the Doctor and showing other forms of her affection and love for him.

Whew ... I see I am quite opinionated about the TARDIS. *chuckles*

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Aw...*hugs icon*

I believe she is sensitive to the will of the time vortex and the Doctor's own desires to "fix things.

This! I think this hits the nail on the head. Since she has all of time and space inside of her, she's got rather good direction. Thanks!

[maggietimelord.livejournal.com]

Trust me. My Time Lord muse has very specific tardis views. *chuckles* She tends toward the mystic though.

I believe, after all the centuries they've been together, that they share the same wanderlust. The argument could be that she never moves. I believe she lives vicariously through her link to the Doctor.

[stick-poker.livejournal.com]

I forget where I saw this now but I think it was RTD who once complained about how writers who hadn't written for Who before always seemed to start it with a distress signal or the TARDIS mysteriously landing in somewhere it wasn't supposed to be or what have you, and he always wondered why they couldn't just be going somewhere anyway. That kind of stuck in my head; there's no reason why not to have the TARDIS do that, I don't think, but perhaps it should be used sparingly, especially if it's a get-out-of-jail-free card for the plot. Or if you're going to do it, do it good and hard; she'll have to become more of a character in her own right, or will be seen in that way more as a result.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

I think the TARDIS is very much aware of all that's going on, in time and in the Doctor. She's got an 'agenda' that's very much wrapped up in him, so yes, it must be deliberate.