Doctor reveals forged TARDIS key
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The Doctor reveals to Ian that he anticipated Marco Polo's restrictions and secretly created a duplicate TARDIS key at the oasis, planning to sneak into the TARDIS to continue repairs. This demonstrates the Doctor's cleverness and determination to regain control of his ship.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Initially skeptical, then impressed and amused by the Doctor’s cunning. His admiration masks a growing awareness of the risks they are taking.
Ian initially questions the Doctor’s plan to sneak into the TARDIS without a key, revealing his skepticism about the Doctor’s ability to bypass Polo’s confiscation. His confusion turns to admiration when the Doctor reveals the forged duplicate key, calling him a 'crafty old fox.' This moment solidifies Ian’s complicity in the Doctor’s schemes, as he now shares in the secret and the risk.
- • Understand the Doctor’s plan to ensure their group’s safety and mobility.
- • Support the Doctor’s defiance of Polo’s authority to maintain their autonomy.
- • The Doctor’s intelligence and resourcefulness will outmaneuver Polo’s control.
- • Their survival depends on maintaining access to the TARDIS, even if it means defying Polo.
Focused and slightly concerned about the Hashashin’s potential threat. Her shift in conversation reflects her ability to prioritize immediate dangers over the Doctor’s cleverness.
Susan confirms the Doctor’s claim that she knows about the forged TARDIS key and abruptly shifts the conversation to inquire about the Hashashin. Her focus on the Hashashin suggests she is already thinking ahead to other threats or mysteries, demonstrating her pragmatic and forward-thinking nature. She acts as a bridge between the Doctor’s schemes and the broader narrative threats they face.
- • Ensure the group is aware of all potential threats, including the Hashashin.
- • Support the Doctor’s efforts to maintain control over the TARDIS while also addressing broader dangers.
- • The Hashashin represent a real and immediate danger that the group must prepare for.
- • The Doctor’s ingenuity is valuable, but it must be balanced with awareness of external threats.
Confident and slightly amused by his own cunning. His nonchalance masks a deeper awareness of the dangers they face, including Polo’s authority and the Hashashin.
The Doctor casually reveals to Ian that he forged a duplicate TARDIS key during their stop at the oasis, dismissing Polo’s confiscation of the original as ineffective. His nonchalant demeanor contrasts with the high stakes of their situation, reinforcing his belief in his own intellect and ingenuity. He shifts the conversation to Susan’s inquiry about the Hashashin, demonstrating his ability to multitask and his curiosity about broader threats.
- • Regain control over the TARDIS by forging a duplicate key, ensuring their group’s mobility and autonomy.
- • Protect his companions by maintaining access to the TARDIS’s resources and capabilities.
- • His intelligence and ingenuity will always outmaneuver external threats, including Polo’s authority.
- • The Hashashin represent a deeper, more insidious danger that requires his attention.
Unaware but indirectly influential; his actions have set the stage for the Doctor’s defiance, though he remains oblivious to the forgery.
Marco Polo is referenced indirectly as the authority figure whose confiscation of the Doctor’s original TARDIS key spurred the Doctor’s defiance. His absence in this scene underscores the Doctor’s ability to operate beyond his control, yet his influence looms as a catalyst for the Doctor’s covert actions.
- • Maintain control over the caravan and its resources, including the TARDIS.
- • Prevent unauthorized access to the TARDIS to ensure the group’s compliance with his leadership.
- • The Doctor and his companions are outsiders who must be kept in check.
- • His authority is absolute and must not be challenged.
Ping-Cho is mentioned indirectly as the source of a story about the Hashashin that Susan wants to share with the …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The forged duplicate TARDIS key is the centerpiece of this event, as the Doctor reveals its existence to Ian. Crafted secretly at the oasis, this key symbolizes the Doctor’s defiance of Polo’s authority and his commitment to maintaining control over the TARDIS. Its creation is a testament to the Doctor’s resourcefulness and his ability to outmaneuver external threats, ensuring the group’s mobility and autonomy.
The TARDIS repair circuit is mentioned casually by the Doctor as a secondary task, serving as a distraction or a way to downplay the significance of his forgery. While it does not directly impact this event, its mention underscores the Doctor’s constant vigilance over the TARDIS’s hidden vulnerabilities and his multitasking nature. It also reinforces the idea that the TARDIS is always in need of attention, adding to the group’s precarious situation.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The way-station courtyard serves as a neutral meeting ground where the Doctor, Ian, and Susan can discuss their plans without interruption. Its open yet relatively safe environment allows for the revelation of the forged TARDIS key, as well as the shift in conversation to the Hashashin. The courtyard’s atmosphere of tension and urgency reflects the group’s precarious situation, while its functional role as a gathering space enables the exchange of critical information.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Hashashin are referenced indirectly through Susan’s inquiry, foreshadowing their role as a shadowy and insidious threat. Though not directly involved in this event, their mention sets up a broader narrative tension that contrasts with the immediate conflict between the Doctor and Polo. The Hashashin represent an external danger that the group must eventually confront, adding layers of complexity to their already precarious situation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
Within this episode
"Because the Doctor declares his superior intellect, he resolves to do something, and because Polo confiscated the key, the doctor creates a duplicate key."
Polo Confiscates the TARDIS KeyAcross episodes
"Marco Polo’s rebuke of Susan and Ping-Cho for going unsupervised (Episode 15) leads directly to the Doctor’s conflict with Polo over the forged TARDIS key (Episode 16), as the threat of confinement drives the Doctor to defy Polo’s authority."
Polo Asserts Control Over Tegana’s Influence"Susan's suspicion of Tegana in Episode 15, later echoed by Barbara's warnings in Episode 16, creates the investigative mindset that leads the Doctor to forge a duplicate TARDIS key."
Susan challenges Tegana’s deception"Ian's observation of the Daleks' static-electricity power source (Episode 7) foreshadows his analytical mindset later, applied to the Doctor's problem-solving in bypassing the TARDIS key mechanism (Episode 16)."
Prisoners deduce Dalek power vulnerability"Marco's punitive measures against Susan and Ping-Cho after the sandstorm (monitoring exits) escalate the Doctor's need to clandestinely regain control of the TARDIS, shown by his forged key revelation."
Polo Asserts Control Over Tegana’s Influence"Susan’s assertion that 'One day we’ll know all the mysteries of the skies, and we’ll stop our wandering' (Episode 15) foreshadows the Doctor’s eventual escape via the TARDIS, culminating in his forging of a duplicate key to reclaim control of his ship in Episode 16."
Susan’s longing for permanence"The sandstorm incident that separated Susan and Ping-Cho leads directly into the Doctor's revelation about secretly forging a TARDIS key, showing the consequences of Marco's strict control."
Sandstorm traps Susan and Ping-Cho"The Doctor's forging of the duplicate key (Episode 16) leads to his ability to secretly repair the TARDIS in Episode 17, despite Polo's attempts to control his actions."
Doctor reveals Ping-Cho’s TARDIS exposure"The Doctor’s forging of the TARDIS key in Episode 16 results in Ping-Cho witnessing it during Barbara’s capture, which becomes a critical vulnerability in Episode 17."
Doctor reveals Ping-Cho’s TARDIS exposure"The Doctor's forging of a duplicate TARDIS key in Episode 16 enables Tegana to expose the Doctor's presence near the TARDIS in Episode 17."
Tegana exposes the Doctor’s presence"The Doctor's casual revelation that he forged a duplicate TARDIS key (Episode 16) directly ties to the growing security concerns about Ping-Cho knowing about the key's existence (Episode 17)."
Susan and Ping-Cho plot Tegana’s exposure"The Doctor's forging of the duplicate TARDIS key (Episode 16) and his earlier discovery of condensation-based water (Episode 16) establish his resourcefulness and willingness to bypass Polo's authority. This continuity drives his paranoia in Episode 17 about internal security threats (e.g., Ping-Cho's knowledge of the key)."
Doctor reveals Ping-Cho’s TARDIS exposure"The Doctor’s forgery of the TARDIS key—born of defiance against Polo’s confiscation—escalates into increased paranoia about the key’s exposure when the Doctor admits in Episode 17 that Ping-Cho witnessed it."
Doctor reveals Ping-Cho’s TARDIS exposure"The Doctor’s secrecy about the TARDIS key in Episode 16 escalates into Tegana’s manipulation of the key’s existence to seize the TARDIS in Episode 17."
Tegana seizes the TARDIS through manipulationThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"IAN: Aren't you forgetting something, Doctor?"
"DOCTOR: A key, my boy. A key. What use do you think it's going to be to him, hmmm? And where do you suppose I got that from?"
"IAN: Made it? When?"
"DOCTOR: On the night of the oasis. Only chance I had. She knows all about it, don't you, Susan?"
"SUSAN: Grandfather? What do you know about the Hashashin?"