Doctor Who: TARDIS Type Forty Instruction Manual

Doctor Who Manuals

by Richard Atkinson, Gavin Rymill (Illustrations), Mike Tucker

All of time and space…where do you want to start?

Governed by Time Lord technology, the TARDIS Type Forty is the most powerful craft in the universe and this comprehensive fully illustrated manual holds the key to its operation.

The appearance of the Doctor's TARDIS, both inside and out, has changed many times over the years, and this manual features every incarnation – including the latest version for the Thirteenth Doctor. The manual covers the console with fully labelled detailed schematic diagrams for each function, the ship’s famous chameleon circuit, as well as floorplans, specifics of dematerialisation, the use of force fields and tractor beams and much more.

Complete with case studies of the wonder-craft in action, taken from the TARDIS’s many trips through space and time, this manual is an essential guide to the wonders of the Whoniverse.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2018

Reviews

[Taksya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manuale d'uso e descrizione dei vari incidenti accaduti sul Tardis del Dottore.
Immagini fotografiche e diagrammi dei vari elementi della console, i vari ambienti e i diversi stili utilizzati. Interessante, una bella passeggiata nella memoria della serie e qualche dato in più sulla nostra time capsule Type 40 Mark III preferita.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A giant love in of gloriously put-together technobabble, with 55+ years of history woven together into a single, beautiful volume. There are in-jokes a plenty, and the entire package is full of utterly gorgeous photos of the TARDIS interior, some specially created for the first time (such as Missy's console room), and a much more proper look at the interior of the 8th Doctor's TARDIS. Something I inhaled, with endless geeky squees as I flipped through the pages.

[Katie Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written as if the reader is the one piloting the TARDIS. It was really interesting but I do feel like it was made for a younger reader. I’m a fan of Doctor Who but I don’t love it as much as I did when I was younger so I feel like if I was still obsessed with the show this would be like a bible! Instead it was an informative read about different aspects of the TARDIS- which, to be honest, there wouldn’t be a show without.

I did enjoy it.

[Rob Frampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

If The Doctor ever crash lands in your garden and is momentarily incapacitated by a tricky regeneration, you will now have the perfect instruction manual for taking control of his/her TARDIS and averting the imminent destruction of the universe!
Or... you can read a nicely illustrated and straight-facedly humorous book about everyone's favourite time-ship. Either way, you're golden!

[Jason Arbuckle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 165 - Richard Atkinson & Mike Tucker - Doctor Who- TARDIS Type 40 Instruction Manual

The ultimate in geekiness..the pinnacle of my nerdiness…the awesome anorak of science fiction fandom is the reason for this book being in existence.

From time to time (little Doctor Who jape there) I let my guard down and allow my Doctor Who scarf to show in public.

I won’t labour the point but this book ‘pretends’ that the Doctor’s famous time ship is real and shows what all the buttons…and levers and knobs are for. Interspersed with the retelling of some well known televisual anecdotes starring all the Doctors to date…a new one has just been announced as I type this back in May 2022. Indeed by the time this review sees the light of day…he may even have appeared on TV…Who knows ?!

Visually it is brilliant…from a fan point of view it is nectar to be supped generously…to the multitude of the British public…it is…another Doctor Who book.

For me…one of that special band that is part of that specific audience…it is great 😁

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/tardis-type-40-instruction-manual-by-richard-atkinson-and-mike-tucker/

This is one of those really lovely BBC spinoff books, looking in detail at the TARDIS, presented as an operator’s manual and pulling together all the TARDIS lore from the first 55 years of Doctor Who (it features Jodie Whittaker but not any of her stories). None of this is new, but it’s put together very imaginatively and entertainingly. I had forgotten that many of the early stories include a TARDIS malfunction of some kind, and the authors heroically retcon everything together, even the Eye of Harmony from the TV movie. A lovely effort.

[Nathanael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glorious celebration of the many years of Doctor Who, with a focus on the TARDIS - the time travelling ship from the show. This book is packed with case studies based on episodes from the original and modern series, tonnes of information on layouts and general trivia, and technobabble galore. I’d recommend this to any Doctor Who fan, however due to the nature of the extreme technical focus of this book it may not appeal to all fans.

Thankfully this book is filled to the brim with personality and interesting details, and really enriched my experience as a fan of this wonderful show.

[Duanne Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally! After the instruction manuals for Star Trek and Star Wars ships, we got one for the Tardis! I do wonder how they came up with it and how everything fits into the series, because the vast majority of the things within have never been mentioned! But just having it and reading it is awesome!

[Peter Hofstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a niche book for the super fan. It ranges across the lore of the doctors over 60 years to give us this Tardis technical manual, this guide to the one character in Dr Who that never really changes.

[Alex Cahill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and easy read, I mostly read it when I couldn't sleep and didn't want to engage with a story.

The technobabble got a bit much sometimes, but I enjoyed the in-universe way they described the events of the series.
It was fun to learn more about old Who through this as well.

[Junae Nicole Miniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's great a really great book

????????????I bet they Ben had joined jojo go through on earth year in December just know girl here go grab

[Shane Edman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fun read for any Whovian

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you need to know to pilot and maintain a Type 40 TARDIS. A-lonsy!

[Tim Drury · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read

[Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great visuals and graphic design are let down by the small size of the book. The text is a little dry, I often found myself skimming ahead.

[Stefan Zondag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heeeeel nice en gedetailleerd. Enige dat echt mist is references acherin naar de afleveringen van de Case Studies en bepaalde uitspraken, vooral voor de oude afleveringen.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s actually amusing. The thought that went into incorporating all the Doctor’s timelines, as well as referencing additional “materials”, made this a funny read.

[Carolyn]

I just skimmed some of the case studies. It was way too technical for me.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this aloud to my son who LOVES Dr. Who..........it was like learning to read a foreign language :)

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book!! Contains information from both classic who and new who. Would definitely recommend.

[Helen (they or he) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way this whole thing is written is very cool. There are a lot of retcons and inside jokes. And I'd really love to have a physical copy of this.

[Matthew Greenblatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a good book about the doctor's tardis

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever little extension on the amazing world of Doctor Who :)

[Helen Marsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and informative trad for anyone looking to get or be got by a TARDIS type 40.

[Jennifer Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of doctor who , I loved this, it was so much fun to look at.

[Mirek · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love how watching the interior and blueprints of tardis console provided me so much comfort and inspiration that i wanna build one too

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Love it.

[Rhys Causon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have to admit at the start. This book is not what I expected. I expected a book about the behind the scenes of how the different TARDIS rooms were made but what I got was an fake instruction manuals that took itself a little too seriously.

Now it might be because I feel like I got duped that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would but this would be very fun to read if I was younger. Maybe around 13, when I first got into Doctor Who, this would have been just the right amount of silly/seriousness to enjoy a lot more.

Or if I knew exactly what it was before reading it. But I can’t say the title of this book is a lie.