A fast return switch, or fast return lever, was a component of a TARDIS that returned the vessel either back through time or to a previous location in space and time.
After leaving Skaro, the First Doctor used his TARDIS' fast return switch in an attempt to return Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright to 1963. However, the spring in the switch became stuck. This would have caused the ship to go back in time to the creation of a solar system. As this would have resulted in its destruction, the TARDIS crashed itself and attempted to warn its crew of the danger, eventually succeeding. (TV: "The Brink of Disaster")
Later, Susan used the fast return switch to return to Salem Village in 1692 and prevent the witch trials from occurring. Afterwards, the Doctor disconnected the switch. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)
After the Master tricked the Doctor into giving him the TARDIS key and deceived Ian and Barbara into leading him to the ship, Ian and Barbara were able to overpower the Master as he attempted to steer the modified TARDIS, then used the fast return switch to take the TARDIS back to Destination and reunite with the Doctor and Susan, albeit a couple of years after their departure due to the Master's temporal manipulation experiments. (AUDIO: The Destination Wars)
The Doctor once used the fast return switch to return a young boy named Robert to 1965, exploiting the fact that the TARDIS' last few trips had occurred while the ship was linked to the boy's own time machine. (PROSE: The Little Drummer Boy)
The Second Doctor used the fast return switch to bring King Gavin XXIII and King Conrad together from doppelganger worlds. (PROSE: Twin Piques)
The Fifth Doctor used the fast return switch to return to Iota 7. (AUDIO: Empire of the Racnoss)
In 1483, Peri Brown and Erimem, who were stranded in that year, received a letter from the Fifth Doctor advising them to use the fast return switch to get back to 1485. When they did so, the TARDIS disappeared. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
In January 101 BC, the Sixth Doctor used the fast return switch to return to October 101 BC when he believed he had unintentionally prevented the birth of Julius Caesar. (AUDIO: 100 BC)
Charley used the fast return switch to return to 305 and rescue the Eighth Doctor after he was lost in the past intercepting the Nimon pod on its way to Earth; this return trip also resulted in the Doctor's foe Sebastian Grayle being killed by his own past self, who was disgusted and horrified at what he had become in that future. (AUDIO: Seasons of Fear)
Later, Charley used the fast return switch to fly the TARDIS back into the path of time torpedoes. (AUDIO: Neverland)
River Song taught Helen Sinclair to used the fast return switch to summon the TARDIS and aid in the Eighth Doctor's escape. (AUDIO: The Sonomancer)
The Eleventh Doctor used the fast return lever in an attempt to get back to London, 17 October 1814 and retrieve Amy Pond. It brought him and Rory instead to Los Angeles, California, circa 33,000 BC, where they encountered a tar pit, a mammoth and a saber-tooth tiger. (COMIC: The Doctor and the Nurse)
When the Eleventh Doctor fought the Shroud, Clara Oswald used the fast return switch to draw the Shroud to Venofax, the last planet the TARDIS had visited, where the planet's avocado-tainted sea significantly weakened the Shroud. (PROSE: Shroud of Sorrow)
The Krulius ship also had a fast return switch. When Rani was teleported to the ship, she managed to escape back to Earth by using the switch. (COMIC: Return of the Krulius)
