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21st May '13 12:45:56 PM MattStriker

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20th May '13 9:38:18 AM Sammettik

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17th May '13 10:27:27 AM Telcontar

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Creating special Doctor Who folder, which means that sorting out the Example Indentation is much easier.

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[[folder:''Doctor Who'']]
That's right, the TARDIS is so much bigger on the inside that it needed a folder to itself.
* The TARDIS[[note]]Time And Relative Dimension[s] In Space[[/note]], "[[BuffySpeak up-and-downy]] stuff in a big blue box" from ''Series/DoctorWho'', is the TropeCodifier. It is such a recognisable example of this trope that the word "Tardis" can actually be found in the dictionary, defined as 'something which appears to be much larger on the inside than on the outside'. Oh, and it's not just bigger, it's a whole ''lot'' bigger. The control room you see and that companions marvel at is just a small part. More than once, the Doctor has given incredibly complex directions to reach some offscreen part of the TARDIS.\\
\\
Episode examples and the like are below, in chronological order as much as possible.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E7TheWheelInSpace The Wheel in Space]]", the Doctor removes the component that allows the TARDIS to be dimensionally transcendental, so the inside reverts to a simple police box interior.
** The most thorough demonstration of just how big the TARDIS truly is dates back to the Fourth Doctor serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]", in which the last (half-hour) episode is spent almost entirely navigating the labyrinthine halls and corridors of the TARDIS. It's seen to contain indoor gardens, at least one swimming pool, an art gallery, and dozens of utility rooms and corridors.
** The interior of the TARDIS is a great deal bigger than a mall -- in the NA ''Blood Heat'' she actually materialises around an entire ''planet''! On TV, it has never been indicated how big she is; at times it's implied she is finite in size, but really immense, while other times it's been implied that her interior is infinite in size.
** During "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E8FathersDay Father's Day]]", the first clue the Ninth Doctor gets that something has gone horribly wrong is that the TARDIS is ''not'' bigger on the inside; its interior is that of the prop police call box, as it was for part of "The Wheel in Space". Then the [[ClockRoaches Reapers]] show up...
** The doctor's dressing room, in which we see the tenth Doctor choose his new attire, resembles a very roomy clothes shop, covering a couple of floors of the Tardis.
** Also used to dramatic effect in the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS2E13Doomsday Doomsday]]": The Daleks mention that the [[BlackBox Genesis Ark]] will establish their dominance because of "Time Lord science". The Doctor wonders what that means, and near the climax, [[spoiler:it's revealed that the Daleks meant this aspect of Time Lord science -- the ark, though tiny, contains millions of Daleks]].
** In the Big Finish audioplay "The Condemned", they play around a little with the companion's reaction to the interior of the TARDIS. Charley Pollard, who has traveled for some time with the Eighth Doctor, encounters his sixth incarnation. On entering the TARDIS, she comments how it's much ''smaller'' than she expected (compared to the huge, gothic cathedral look it has by the time of the Eighth Doctor). The Sixth Doctor is quite put out by this.
** The UNIT command trailer in the new series, first seen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS4E4TheSontaranStratagem The Sontaran Stratagem]]", is definitely bigger inside than out, and unlike with the TARDIS there is no in-show {{handwave}}. (Though maybe UNIT just copied the Doctor's tech.) Curiously, the set ''is'' actually bigger but this is only by a few feet; in the DVD extras, it is remarked that it nonetheless ''seems'' vastly larger on camera.
** Used as a DarkReprise in the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS4E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]". The Doctor... has gone a little crazy, and decides instead of following the rules of time will force the rules to obey him. So He saves three people who were supposed to die. After being saved, one of them runs out of the TARDIS and absolutely ''terrified'' exclaims "It's bigger on the inside!" She then turns the Doctor asks "What the hell are you?" before running away.
** Eleven's TARDIS, according to MattSmith, is apparently "bigger on the inside more than bigger on the inside previously". Furthermore, when he jettisons off rooms for fuel, he says goodbye to the swimming pool, the scullery, and ''Squash Court 7.'' The fact that there are seven squash courts -- combined with the fact that it is supposed to be able to comfortably contain the egos of six Time Lord pilots simultaneously -- implies that the TARDIS ranks in size somewhere between university campus and small neighborhood. Later, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E10TheGirlWhoWaited The Girl Who Waited]]", he mentioned that he might have to jettison the karaoke bar. That's right, the Doctor has a karaoke bar!
** The episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]" lets us see more of the TARDIS for the first time in New Who, but that's not why its so notable for this particular trope. [[spoiler:The TARDIS, upon taking a human body, feels that humans -- and the Doctor -- are bigger on the inside, and she's able to overcome the force which has taken control of her Police Box self because he's so much ''smaller'' on the inside.]] It's a wonderful twist which shows this trope might not just be about space.\\
\\
This usage goes back to when Jack Harkness first enters the TARDIS during "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]" and utters the trope phrase. The Doctor replies, "You'd better be."
** According to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E10JourneyToTheCentreOfTheTardis Journey to the Center of the TARDIS]]", the inside of a TARDIS has no limit to its dimensions. Whether or not the Doctor was exaggerating at the time is up for debate.
* {{Lampshad|eHanging}}ings of it (see also the ''Doctor Who'' entry on PhraseCatcher):
** The page quote from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]" is actually a lampshading of [[PhraseCatcher the phrase those who see the TARDIS for the first time usually exclaim]]. "It's ''bigger'' on the ''inside!''" This was being mocked as early as Doctor number 3, although Benton thought it was just too obvious to be worth pointing out.
** Ten, to Martha in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E1SmithAndJones Smith and Jones]]": [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore "Is it? I never noticed!"]]
** Ten pre-empts this with Wilf, but Wilf (having never been in the TARDIS but still being used to weird stuff) just replies, "I was expecting it to be [[ShinyLookingSpaceships cleaner...]]"
** After first properly encountering the TARDIS in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E06TheVampiresOfVenice The Vampires of Venice]]", Rory immediately deduces the inside is in another dimension, disappointing Eleven: "I like the bit when someone says 'It's bigger on the inside!' I always look forward to that."
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]", Clara ducks out and walks all the way around the police box, then comes back in and proclaims: "It's smaller on the outside!" Eleven is floored by this inversion.
* Examples not about the main TARDIS:
** The recurring character Iris Wildthyme is an in-universe parody of the Doctor, and as such, her TARDIS is a rare example of inverting this trope, being "smaller on the inside".
** The Slitheen, introduced in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E4AliensOfLondon Aliens of London]]", are bigger than the humans they disguise themselves as, thanks to some form of compression technology. In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', they've upgraded to even skinnier models.
** In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures novels, the villain, Sabbath, turns up wearing a suit which is bigger on the inside. [[PaperThinDisguise It functions surprisingly well as a disguise]], proving that although he's maybe twice the Doctor's size, he also just might have twice the Doctor's brainpower. Not only is it slimming, it allows him to unexpectedly pull out a gun.
[[/folder]]

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* The TARDIS, "[[BuffySpeak up-and-downy]] stuff in a big blue box", from ''Series/DoctorWho'', is the TropeCodifier.
** It is such a recognisable example of this trope that the word 'Tardis' can actually be found in the dictionary, defined as 'something which appears to be much larger on the inside than on the outside'.
** The most thorough demonstration of just how big the TARDIS truly is dates back to the Fourth Doctor Serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]], in which the last (half-hour) episode is spent almost entirely navigating the labyrinthine halls and corridors of the TARDIS. It's seen to contain indoor gardens, at least one swimming pool, an art gallery, and dozens of utility rooms and corridors.
** Also used to dramatic effect in the episode "Doomsday": The Daleks mention that the [[BlackBox Genesis Ark]] will establish their dominance because of "Time Lord science". The Doctor wonders what that means, and near the climax, [[spoiler:it's revealed that the Daleks meant this aspect of Time Lord science - the ark, though tiny, contains millions of Daleks.]]
** In "Father's Day", the first clue the Doctor gets that something has gone horribly wrong is that the TARDIS is ''not'' bigger on the inside; its interior is that of the prop police call box. Then the [[ClockRoaches Reapers]] show up...
*** In "The Wheel In Space", the Doctor removes the component that allows the TARDIS to be dimensionally transcendental, so the inside reverts to a simple police box interior.
** Also, the UNIT command trailer in the new series (first seen in "The Sontaran Stratagem") is ''definitely'' bigger inside than out. Unlike the TARDIS, there is no in-show {{Handwave}}. Or maybe UNIT just copied the Doctor's tech.
*** Curiously, though the set ''is'' actually bigger, it is only so by a few feet; in the DVD extras, it is remarked that it nonetheless ''seems'' vastly larger on camera.
** The page quote is actually a lampshading of a CatchPhrase of those seeing the TARDIS for the first time. "It's ''bigger'' on the ''inside!''" This was being mocked as early as Doctor number 3, although Benton thought it was just too obvious to be worth pointing out.
*** Ten and Martha: [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore "It is? I never noticed!"]]
*** Ten pre-empts this with Wilf, but Wilf (having never been in the TARDIS but still being used to weird stuff) just replies, "I was expecting it to be [[ShinyLookingSpaceships cleaner...]]"
*** Rory immediately deduces the inside is in another dimension, disappointing Eleven: "I like the bit when someone says 'It's bigger on the inside!' I always look forward to that."
*** In "The Snowmen", Clara ducks out and walks all the way around the police box, then comes back in and proclaims: "It's smaller on the outside!" Eleven is ''floored'' by this inversion.
** Don't forget the Doctor's [[HammerSpace pockets.]]
*** In the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, it turns out [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane he just tears the lining out of his pockets]].
** The Slitheen are bigger than the humans they disguise themselves as, thanks to some form of compression technology. In The Sarah Jane Adventures, they've upgraded to even skinnier models.
** Eleven's TARDIS, according to MattSmith, is apparently "bigger on the inside more than bigger on the inside previously".
** Furthermore, when he jettisons off rooms for fuel, he says goodbye to the swimming pool, the scullery, and ''Squash Court 7.'' The fact that there are seven squash courts - combined with the fact that it is supposed to be able to comfortably contain the egos of six Time Lord pilots simultaneously - implies that the TARDIS ranks in size somewhere between university campus and small neighborhood.
*** Later, in "The Girl Who Waited", he mentioned that he might have to jettison the karaoke bar. That's right, the Doctor has a karaoke bar!
** In the Big Finish audioplay 'The Condemned', they play around a little with the companion's reaction to the interior of the TARDIS. Charley Pollard, who has traveled for some time with the Eighth Doctor, encounters his sixth incarnation. On entering the TARDIS, she comments how it's much ''smaller'' than she expected (compared to the huge, gothic cathedral look it has by the time of the Eighth Doctor). The Sixth Doctor is quite put out by this.
** Oh, and it's not just bigger, it's a whole ''lot'' bigger. The control room you see is just a small part. More than once, the Doctor has given incredibly complex directions to reach some offscreen part of the TARDIS.
** The interior of the TARDIS is a great deal bigger than a mall - in the NA ''Blood Heat'' she actually materialises around an entire ''planet''! On TV, it has never been indicated how big she is; at times it's implied she is finite in size, but really immense, while other times it's been implied that her interior is infinite in size.
*** Talking of malls, the doctor's dressing room, in which we see the tenth Doctor choose his new attire, resembles a very roomy clothes shop, covering a couple of floors of the Tardis.
** The episode "The Doctor's Wife" lets us see more of the TARDIS for the first time in New Who, but that's not why its so notable for this particular trope. [[spoiler: The TARDIS, upon taking a human body, feels that humans- and the Doctor- are bigger on the inside, and she's able to overcome the force which has taken control of her Police Box self because he's so much ''smaller'' on the inside.]] It's a wonderful twist which shows this trope might not just be about space.
*** This usage goes back to when Jack Harkness first enters the TARDIS and utters the trope phrase. The Doctor replies, "You'd better be."
** The recurring character Iris Wildthyme is an in-universe parody of the Doctor, and as such, her TARDIS is a rare example of inverting this trope, being "smaller on the inside".
** Used as a DarkReprise in the episode "The Waters Of Mars". The Doctor... has gone a little crazy, and decides instead of following the rules of time will force the rules to obey him. So He saves three people who were supposed to die. After being saved, one of them runs out of the TARDIS and absolutely ''terrified'' exclaims "It's bigger on the inside!" She then turns the Doctor asks "What the hell are you?" before running away.
** According to [[spoiler: "Journey to the Center of the [=TARDIS=]", the inside of a [=TARDIS=] has no limit to its dimensions. Whether or not the Doctor was exaggerating at the time is up for debate.]]

17th May '13 5:07:41 AM ChronoLegion

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17th May '13 5:07:06 AM ChronoLegion

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17th May '13 5:00:14 AM ChronoLegion

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15th May '13 9:22:33 PM dsneybuf

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