Episode #244 : Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.

"She's going to die if you don't help me. Don't get into a spaceship with a mad man. Didn't anyone teach you that?"

Episode #244:      Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Clara Oswald.
Air Date:              27th April 2013.

The Doctor's TARDIS is captured by brothers running a salvage company in space. In the process, Clara gets lost inside the time machine. To save her, the Eleventh Doctor promises the brothers they can have the TARDIS if they'll help search for his missing companion. They agree, only to find that what lies at the centre of the TARDIS can kill them all.

This adventure breaks the usual mould by confining the characters to the inside of the TARDIS as opposed to running around an alien planet or a starship. In a way it reminds me of the 1st Doctor short story The Edge of Destruction which did something similar. The difference here is that rather than the companions going slightly mad, time has ruptured and now potential "time zombies" are running lose in the TARDIS corridors seeking to transform their real selves into their zombie selves.

As much as this episode is a cool adventure racing through the dangerous insides of the TARDIS, it is more the references that give me a big geek smile. Mostly though I was pleased that unlike the 4th Doctor story The Invasion of Time, which quite frankly was almost too awful for words, we have a decent showcase of what the interior of the TARDIS is like. In that older story the BBC just used random real rooms rather than making them appear as though the characters were running through the TARDIS. This time they have done a much better job of showing us what the inside of the machine looks like while keeping it in keeping with our expectations.

Although everyone forgets by the end of the episode, the Doctor and Clara have a revelation together that he has met her twice before and each time she has died. Just who is she? We'll find out soon enough.

I rate this one a 4 because while it does little to further the season plot arc, it is a really enjoyable adventure and one different from the usual fare. It has something for the classic era fans as well, which will usually help bump the rating as well.