At the beginning of the next episode of Doctor Who, “Thin Ice,” the Doctor will get a firm reminder that he doesn’t really have any control over the TARDIS. As he says, “You don’t steer the TARDIS — you reason with it.”
The Doctor has been wandering throughout all of time and space for a long time — with an emphasis on the wandering part — mainly because his “ship” quite literally has a mind of its own, complete with moods, temperaments, and a sixth sense for knowing when and where the Doctor needs to be. It probably has something to do with the Time Vortex powering in her core, helping her develop both a consciousness and even a sense of humor. In fact, many of the Doctor’s earliest adventures — even going back to the 1st Doctor — occurred when the TARDIS whisked the Doctor and company to seemingly random destinations. The 1st Doctor actually installed an Intuition Circuit at one point, which allowed the TARDIS to steer itself towards disturbances in time — but its potency has ebbed and waned over the years.
In Season 10’s upcoming third episode, “Thin Ice,” it looks like the TARDIS drags Bill and the Doctor to 1814 London for the last of the Frost Fairs on the frozen River Thames. Something is going on that they need to look into, and the following new clip shows the Doctor explaining this aspect of the TARDIS to his new companion, Bill.
Check it out here:
Doctor Who’s third episode of Season 10, “Thin Ice,” airs Saturday at 9 p.m. Eastern on BBC and BBC America.
