Roundel

A roundel was a key feature of the Doctor's TARDIS. Roundels were mainly used as a decorative feature, although occasionally they did actually fulfill a function.

The First Doctor's TARDIS had basic white roundels on the wall, circular in shape. They were indented into the wallpaper. (TV: An Unearthly Child) The Third Doctor added plastic furnishings to the edges of the roundels. One of them then became the replacement for the scanner. Later, his TARDIS had reverted to its original design. (TV: The Three Doctors)

The Eighth Doctor's TARDIS had circular cut-outs in the support beams. (TV: Doctor Who)

In the Ninth Doctor's first control room, the walls of the TARDIS featured backlit hexagons. (TV: Rose). By the time of the Tenth Doctor, overhead lights added to the TARDIS's illumination, so the roundels fulfilled a mainly decorative function.

The First of the Eleventh Doctor's TARDISes had not so many roundels in the walls, however the theme did continue slightly, and there was a larger circular screen set into the wall near the door

One of the Eleventh Doctor's console rooms had blue and red neon circles.

The variation of the design shows how both times and the personality of the Doctor have changed. The original design was created to show the sixties ideas of space, taking a lot of influence from spaceship and rocket design as portrayed in the media. The circle was also a predominant part of sixties furniture, including use in soundproofing material in offices.

The Eighth Doctor's TARDIS did not make use of the roundels quite so obviously. This was due to the fact that the writers believed the old design was outdated and unfashionable, so the design was revamped along with the theme music, credits and look of the Doctor. That said, the Roundels still make a token appearance in the support beams of the time rotor.

In the new series, the roundels returned, this time fulfilling functions. In the Ninth Doctor's and Tenth Doctor's control room, the roundels were hexagonal in shape and provided a warm back glow to the overall light of the control room. This helped create a much warmer atmosphere in the control room. However, in Utopia, when the Master turned the TARDIS into a paradox machine, the roundels dimmed, meaning the control room was bathed in the machine's red light.

In the first of the Eleventh Doctor's control rooms, the roundels were once again not so prominent. This time a much larger single roundel performed the function of a TV screen. Other than that the roundels didn't really feature.

In the Eleventh Doctor's second control room the Roundels provided a stark, bright contrast to the dark, gloomy feel. There were however only a single row around the middle of the wall. --Zummerzet2000 ☎  18:50, May 6, 2013 (UTC)