Ask
anyone what happens when the TARDIS materialises and they will tell you it makes
a sort of wheezing, groaning noise. Or they might say it sounds like the trumpeting
of elephants. Some might even tell you it is the sound of a front door key being
scraped down a piano wire. It all depends on how many Terrence Dicks books they
have read, or how many DVD extras they've seen.
And
whilst these answers are accepted fact now, the complete story is less simple
and quite interesting. No honestly, it is quite interesting. Stay with me.
For
those with short attention spans (or social lives), I'll forgive you if
you scan for quick facts in purple.
The
First Take Off
The
unbroadcast pilot episode of Doctor Who made in 1963 reached its dramatic
climax with the Doctor throwing the controls of his spaceship and the
machine was set in motion. In this pilot episode
the dematerialisation of the TARDIS was signified by a series of discordant
beeps. Eventually, and only intermittently, the roaring of that
front door key comes in, but not in the pattern we are now familiar with.
The take off and subsequent landing was one complete event and as the
hissing noise died away, the TARDIS had already come to rest on a prehistoric
landscape, with no accompanying materialisation
sound heard.
It
wasn't until this episode was re-shot as part of the An Unearthly Child
serial that the complete TARDIS sound effect was formed as we know it.
However as with the pilot there was no additional sound to indicate the
machine's arrival in the world of the cavemen. In the final episode of
this serial, television history was made as the audience viewed the time
machine's departure from the outside, simply dissolving into nothing.
It was accompanied by the complete TARDIS sound which began with a thud,
followed by a series of the famous "vworps", and then a whooshing
noise. For the next few stories, as was the norm in the early 60s, the
viewer was always inside the TARDIS when it landed.
During the
first ever Dalek story, the TARDIS makes an attempt to leave the Dalek
homeworld but the Doctor has deliberately sabotaged his own ship. In doing
so, it causes the engines to stall, and grind. We hear a slowed-down and
echoed dematerialisation sound effect which is inter-cut between
the normal take-off sound.
The First Landing
The
fifth Doctor Who story boasts several "firsts". The Keys of Marinus
shows for the first time the TARDIS landing as viewed from the outside. Its arrival
on the glass beach was also the first time a model shot had been used to represent
the time machine and it shows us that the materialisation
of the TARDIS is completely silent. However, at the end, contrary to what
had been established, the the TARDIS takes off at the end completely silently
too! It would not be the last time the TARDIS's behaviour was inconsistent.
The
rest of season one followed the same pattern. Take-offs were noisy
and landings were never seen. That is, until the first episode of
The Reign of Terror when, amongst gentle birdsong in a French
forest, that the TARDIS slips into existence totally unobtrusively,
merely arriving with its gentle hum and flashing light. You can experience
this wondrous event via the embedded video link to the right.
The
original silent arrival of the TARDIS may come as a surprise to many younger fans,
and to those who have only tasted the "classic" series at random, but
in the
context
of the show it does make perfect sense. The intention of this time machine was
to go unnoticed because it was created by a race who wished to observe other species
without causing a disturbance. What would be the value of a working chameleon
circuit if a new tree appeared in a wood with the screeching of a machine from
beyond the stars?
So
when did the TARDIS start behaving as we would expect it to today? Well, when
season two commenced, the miniature Police Box in The Planet of the Giants was
silent in both landing and take off, and the ship comes down on the banks of the
river Thames without so much as a whisper in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
The
First Noisy Landing
It
was following the opening credits of season two, serial three, episode
one, entitled The Powerful Enemy (otherwise known as the start of The
Rescue to you and me), the TARDIS fades into existence on the planet
Dido, accompanied for the first time during a landing by that wheezing,
groaning noise we all know and love.
It was this, the eleventh Doctor Who story, which finally created the
notion that a sound should be played for the machine arriving.
So
what did this landing sound like? Every fan can tell the difference between a
dematerialisation and a materialisation, can't they? One starts with a thud and
goes up, and the other comes down and ends with a thud. Actually no. There was
originally no difference. The TARDIS lands in The Rescue
with the same “upward” sound of take-off, albeit without the
thud. At the end of this story we see another curiosity as the Doctor and Vikki
talk in the glow of the flashing light of the Police Box. It was not a hard and
fast rule at this stage that the light was a signal for the TARDIS coming and
going.
The
next two stories retained the newly-started tradition of having a landing noise.
So at this point you might be forgiven for thinking that the pattern was now firmly
established. Think again!
The Crusade's opening episode entitled The Lion
sees the ship turn up in that staple of Doctor Who landing
sites - a forest. And what sound do you think announces this thirteenth
materialisation in the programme's history? It's a kind of warbling
sound! It was actually the sound of the TARDIS computer first heard
in The Daleks, and has never been used before or since for
a TARDIS landing! Have a very careful listen in the video clip here
for this quiet oddity.
The
First Special Landing Sound
Season
Two's penultimate adventure was The Chase and it boasted a variety of interesting
features. It showed a time machine other than the TARDIS, one belonging to the
Daleks (but we're not interested in that thing's noises) and we see the TARDIS
travelling through the vortex for the first time, although it is disappointingly
realised via a Police Box model very obviously resting on a studio floor mixed
in with some footage of inside a child's kaleidoscope.
Episodes
one and two of The Chase feature
the
old landing sound effect, however episode three brings the next development as
the time machine is finally given a distinct materialisation noise.
This new effect was the take-off sound played backwards, slightly slower than
usual, and faded so that none of the electronic “blobs” are heard at
the start.
The video
clip here shows the very short version of the new effect from the middle
of episode three shows. It is then used for the TARDIS landing on the Mary
Celeste and then in episode four, a longer rendition is heard, which is
the second part of the video clip above right. Back to the First
Effect It
may be no surprise to learn that this new landing noise did not stick, and in
the very next story, which featured that naughty Time Meddler, the TARDIS appears
in 1066 accompanied by the old take-off version again. Worthy of mention from
this story is the fact that we finally see a member of the Doctor's race other
than his granddaughter and that this person has his own TARDIS. This was a curious
turn of events after the Doctor had proclaimed in the previous story that he had
built his TARDIS himself. Perhaps the Doctor was the original architect of all
TARDISes!
So
season two expanded the world of time machines. We got to see two more, other
than the Doctor's, a materialisation sound was used for the first time, and a
distinct landing noise created.
However,
despite that innovation in The Chase, it was business as usual for the third series
as for most of the following year the same sound doubled for take off and landing.
One thing to mention about the third season is that in episode ten of The Daleks
Master Planet we get the Monk's TARDIS taking off but this is ordinary.
When
the Doctor arrives to find that The War Machines are poised
to take over London it is interesting that another new edit of the
TARDIS noise is used to create a different landing sound. This takes
the form of the whooshing part of the normal take off, played backwards
to create a descending sound, then mixed with the normal first “vworps”
of a take off. Click the video link to enjoy this extravaganza.
With
season four under way there was still no consistency to the audio. In The Tenth
Planet the TARDIS arrives in the midst of a
snowstorm
silently, just like the good old days. Perhaps the blizzard is just supposed to
be drowning out the materialisation.
Hartnell
departs the show and a Troughton comes in, but not much changes in the time travelling
sound-scape. There's little of note in Troughton's first season as the original
take-off noise continued to be used for all landings and was particularly noticeable
in The Moonbase as on this occasion the landing even began with the “thud”.
A
Sick TARDIS
Season five
brought a new landing noise – perhaps inadvertently - when the Time
Lord faced his doppelgänger. When the TARDIS arrives on a beach,
we hear an unexplained slowed down and echoed landing, but still using
the take-off effect! This is probably related to the fact that at
the climax of The Enemy of the World the TARDIS doors are opened whilst
in the vortex, resulting in us hearing the sick-sounding TARDIS noise,
which is the same slowed down clip. It seems the malfunction noise it
was also inadvertently used for opening of the story.
It
is Fury from the Deep that we finally get close to the legendary
“proper” TARDIS landing noise.
The moment is unique because as we heard this proper "downward"
sound effect for the first time since The Chase, is the only time in show
when we see the TARDIS float down from the sky and land vertically –
and on the ocean too! This new sound effect is the usual take off sound
played backwards, looping the last few “vworps” three times
over before "thudding" onto the water.
Season Six
starts with The Dominators and the TARDIS is once again back
to landing with its old take-off noise. At the end of this story the ship
is engulfed in lava and the "sick" engine dematerialisation
is used again, and also in the following The Invasion as it sluggishly
moves from the path of the Cybermen's missile. As the ship comes in to
land on Earth, another new malfunction sound crops up, starting with the
crackle of electrical energy, joined by a warbling buzz, and a quiet speeded-up
version of the “proper” TARDIS landing noise underneath.
The TARDIS's
next landing was on a planet ruled by Krotons and it has once again reverted
back to the take-off sound for the landing, however it was given a long,
echoing lead in. But later in episode three, the normal correct landing
sound was used, and it was used again in The Seeds of Death but
only heard inside the console room. Then in The Space Pirates
it seems to be gaining a foothold as it is used once more. This is still
the same looped-over effect that started off in Fury from the Deep, but
this time heavily modulated so that it “throbs” in and out.
The War Games switched back again to a phased take off sound.
The
TARDIS in Exile
It
may come as a surprise that even by the time that Jon Pertwee made his début
the TARDIS materialisation was not standard because Spearhead from Space reverts
back to using a very brief section of the same old take-off sound.
The new Doctor also discovers the reality of his exile when he tries to leave
and a juddering, unhappy TARDIS emits smoke whilst its usual noise is speeded
up and slowed down, all with a stammering effect for good measure.
Due
to the Earth-bound nature of much of the Pertwee era, little was seen (or heard)
of the TARDIS, although both Ambassadors of Death and Inferno featured mishaps
with the console, the former using a brief series of speeded up single "vworps"
punctuated with pops, and the latter has a high pitched bit of the take off sound
followed by a series of piercing electronic screams and prolonged zaps, and ending
with a huge crash.
We
near the end of our exploration of TARDIS noises in season eight. In the opening
story, Terror of the Autons, two new Time Lords arrive on the scene, one to warn
the Doctor about the other. A bowler-hatted man arrives with the looped TARDIS
materialization noise, as per Fury from the Deep but ends with a curious pop sound
as he suddenly appears. We also get to hear the Master's TARDIS landing, just
like the Doctor's.
Claw
of Axos featured Jon Pertwee's first flight in the TARDIS along with a rather
nasty edited take-off sound which chops out the middle and, for some reason, a
snippet of the “thud” from the landing has crept in too! Interestingly
we also see the TARDIS door frame does not share the same threshold on both the
inside and outside and through the exterior doors we only see through to a bizarre
antechamber, with walls covered in roundels, pictured right.
A
Period of Change
Claws of Axos also brings the
first full use of the complete, “proper” TARDIS landing. Instead
of the looped version which had kicked around since Fury from the Deep, we finally
get the perfected “reversed landing”, although it is heard inside the
TARDIS, not outside. Despite this there is still another hastily cut together
materialisation sound effect used afterwards.
The Doctor's TARDIS was allowed
another outing two stories later in Colony in Space and unsurprisingly some new
oddity cropped up. Whilst a fairly ordinary take off and landing sound was used,
the Police Box shell disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the sound cut off
abruptly. It appeared equally suddenly.
Two
stories later and into season nine, Curse of Peladon gets that looped landing
out of its system once and for all with a marathon series of loops, contrasting
with the next mission of the Doctor's when he went to help The Mutants and used
the “proper” landing sound.
The
Time Monster had the Doctor and Master's TARDIS interior both share a brand new
set of walls built to replace the ailing old set which had still used the photographic
blowup of the roundels. The difference between the two console rooms was merely
the central column.
The
Three Doctors is the end of our journey through the world of sound (aside from
a few footnotes) and in this anniversary treat we get a full take-off and full
landing in succession, with now (finally) the landing sound effect you would expect.
It
wasn't until this, the tenth anniversary programme that the full materialisation
was heard for the first time which would become the standard. A
Few Extras
Despite
an established two sounds for take off and landing, there were a couple of exceptions
to this rule. For some bizarre reason, apparently only to show off to the Sisterhood
of Karn, the TARDIS takes off at the end of The Brain of Morbius with a speeded
up sound and vanishes instantly in a puff of smoke.
It
may also be worth chucking in a mention for the Master's TARDIS which is given
its own distinctive sound for Anthony Ainley's Doctor with lots of jangling sounds
thrown in.
Fast
forward nearly a decade and a new TARDIS effect is heard to represent the time
machine falling into the Rani's trap in Time and the Rani where we hear a speeded
up effect and another decade on and the Eighth Doctor gets a brand new “faulty
TARDIS” effect for the TV Movie when it also starts the tradition that a
TARDIS landing makes a great deal of wind. Bizarrely, this sound effect harks
back to that one-off warble in The Crusade, but also reverts to using disjointed
snatches of the take-off sound. The TARDIS lands perfectly with the “proper”
effect at the end. Also worth mentioning is the use of a continuous looped “vworp”
heard inside as the ship is in flight.
Our final jump right up to date
into the new series which uses the “proper” effects for Rose but continued
the use of wind in take off and landing, plus the Police Box became slightly translucent.
Another oddity was at the end of the 2006 story The Runaway
Bride
in which the TARDIS took off vertically like a rocket, harking back to the landing
in Fury from the Deep. This was in the same story where the TARDIS legendarily
speeds down a motorway after Donna's taxi.
The sound of the TARDIS is a
cultural icon. With the revival of the new series you'd be surprised if there
were many people in the country that didn't recognise the sound. And yet our little
journey through the archives has shown that the TARDIS didn't even have a landing
sound for more than a year after the show started, and the “proper”
effect we now take for granted wasn't really in use until the show's tenth anniversary.
Thanks to: Joe Stewart and Michael Seely for corrections.
Okay
fellow geeks, this
was the geekiest thing I've ever done. The Death Count thing was pretty
geeky, but at least I had the sense to give up. This time I persevered
because I didn't want one more incomplete thing to my name. So, I hope
you enjoyed the world of TARDIS noises and well done if you reached the
end.
Spotted
an error? Please let me know: communicate@themindrobber.co.uk
Keep
this website out of direct sunlight. This website may contain nuts. Your nuts
are at risk if you do not keep up repayments.
Ask
anyone what happens when the TARDIS materialises and they will tell you it makes
a sort of wheezing, groaning noise. Or they might say it sounds like the trumpeting
of elephants. Some might even tell you it is the sound of a front door key being
scraped down a piano wire. It all depends on how many Terrence Dicks books they
have read, or how many DVD extras they've seen.
The
unbroadcast pilot episode of Doctor Who made in 1963 reached its dramatic
climax with the Doctor throwing the controls of his spaceship and the
machine was set in motion. In this pilot episode
the dematerialisation of the TARDIS was signified by a series of discordant
beeps. Eventually, and only intermittently, the roaring of that
front door key comes in, but not in the pattern we are now familiar with.
The take off and subsequent landing was one complete event and as the
hissing noise died away, the TARDIS had already come to rest on a prehistoric
landscape, with no accompanying materialisation
sound heard.
It
is Fury from the Deep that we finally get close to the legendary
“proper” TARDIS landing noise.
The moment is unique because as we heard this proper "downward"
sound effect for the first time since The Chase, is the only time in show
when we see the TARDIS float down from the sky and land vertically –
and on the ocean too! This new sound effect is the usual take off sound
played backwards, looping the last few “vworps” three times
over before "thudding" onto the water.
