While the TARDIS is quite naturally the Doctor’s favourite form of transport, he occasionally finds himself using other methods during his adventures in space and time.
Ranging from exclusive to public transport, with some designed for the purpose and some disguised to conceal their true nature, this is our CultBox guide to some of the other vehicles traversing both the space lanes and the time vortex…
The Concorde from ‘Time-Flight’
After the death of Adric, the Doctor finally managed to get Tegan home to Heathrow. Promptly embroiled in the case of a missing Concorde, the TARDIS was installed in another of the supersonic aircraft as it took a flight 140 million years into the past for a face-off with an old adversary.
Eventually, with the Master’s perplexing scheme foiled, they scavenged the parts from one machine to fix the other, leaving one Concorde buried in pre-history for future generations to puzzle over.
Vortex Manipulator from ‘The Empty Child’
A favourite of both Captain Jack Harkness and River Song, these wriststrap devices were offered a form of time travel favoured by the 51st Century Time Agency.
The Doctor has been a bit sniffy about then, referring to the experience as “cheap and nasty” and branding Jack’s a “space hopper”, but they have proved invaluable on occasion. Also, River Song’s device allows her to visit her parents in 1930s New York, where the TARDIS cannot go due to the amount of time paradoxes.
Modified Spitfires from ‘Victory of the Daleks’
These WWII Spitfires were fitted with gravity bubbles turning them into spacecraft, allowing them to aid in the assault on a threatening Dalek ship.
They came to the Doctor’s aid once again in ‘A Good Man Goes To War’, for the attack on Demon’s Run when he pulled out all the stops to recover Amy from Madame Kovarian and The Silence.
The Hippie Bus from ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’
Although it was a wreck by the time we saw it, the Hippy us had travelled with the Psychic Circus all over the universe. Unfortunately, it was also equipped with a murderous robotic bus conductor, as Ace discovered to her peril. Tickets please!
Time Rings from ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ and ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’
The ultimate in hands free time travel, these Time Lord supplied gadgets became the Fourth Doctor’s method of travel when he was enlisted to avert the creation of the Daleks on Skaro.
Cue twinkly music and CSO; remember to hold on. Oh, and do try not to lose it.
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Which method of transport in Doctor Who is your favourite? Let us know below…