Brain changes

[shivver]

When I first got into Doctor Who and started watching the classic episodes and researching the history of the show, I came across the term "time travel capsule" for TARDISes, and I absolutely hated it. It always seemed woefully inadequate to call the TARDIS a "time machine", because it's so much more than just that. You might call it a "space-time machine", but that's starting to get unwieldy. But "time travel capsule", or TT capsule, is the correct term for the class of ship, and it just rubbed me exactly the wrong way. "Capsule" seemed so demeaning, for such a vast, wondrous craft, and I hated using it. I was supported in feeling that way by my husband, who also hates the term. I used it once in some story, and one of the only comments he made on the story was that seeing that phrase bugged him enough that it ruined immersion.

Somehow, though, I now really love the term. I know why I use it now - David has a TARDIS and it is most certainly not a police box, so I can't use the usual fandom terms of "police box" and "blue box" to refer to it, and as I said before, it's just not a "time machine" to me - but I don't know why my opinion of the term has reversed. It's just weird.

Comments

[piscespen.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, what does David's TARDIS look like in your head?

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

David's TARDIS has a working chameleon circuit, so it doesn't have a set shape: it does what it's supposed to do and blends in with the scenery. The only time I've described it in a story so far, it enveloped the column of a building and took on that appearance. It's a little strange to not have it be a specific shape at all times, but on the other hand, it allows for some hijinks, such as coming back to it and finding it surrounded by 100 identical objects and not knowing which one it really is.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Right, I could just imagine what a real working chameleon circuit would do! How would they find it, unless they had a real sense of direction and know where they put it.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I would expect that David would be able to find it, since he is psychically linked to it, but Will wouldn't. He'd have to make a mental note of where it was and what it looked like every time he walked out of the doors, sort of like the way you memorize what section of the parking lot you left your car.

As a side note, the show often forgets about the Doctor's link with the TARDIS. It made no sense to me that Clara's threat to destroy the TARDIS keys held any weight with the Doctor, since he can open the TARDIS with a snap (and Clara knows that he can). On the other hand, sometimes they're very subtle with it. In Journey's End, Davros destroys the TARDIS and asks the Doctor how it felt. The Doctor knew it hadn't been destroyed but played along, telling him it felt terrible. He must have known that something was happening, and kept quiet until it actually did, but the writers didn't call it out, which was just brilliant. They just made a tiny reference early on to remind the audience that the Doctor feels the TARDIS, and let you discover it on your own.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Right. Of course the Doctor could find her because of their link. I guess I was concerned if a companion needed to find her (or him in David's case) alone.

Clever of him then to be able to hide her survival in the crucible. It was brilliant of the writers to let the viewers make the connection without ramming it down our throats.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Not weird at all...amazing how immersion can change our view!

*HUGS*

[arcanetrivia]

FWIW, Ten at least does use the term "capsule" a couple of times, not directly to refer to his own TARDIS, but in saying that time travel without one is no fun ("nasty", "a killer"). It's sprinkled about the classic series too, of course. To me it sounds like one of those things Time Lords are all clinically, scientifically detached about, so they have this colorless name for something that's really quite wondrous.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Ha, I hadn't remembered that! I haven't seen that cycle in such a long time - I really need to.

I love the word "capsule" probably because it's so colorless, but it holds such things inside...