How's this for a story idea?

[JRoss]

The TARDIS breaks up with the Doctor. Like it strands him somewhere. This would be a multi-episode (possibly season-long) arc where the Doctor hitches rides with various aliens to find the TARDIS and figure out why it left.

He's still the protagonist, still saves the day and so forth, but we get to see him out of his element, maybe he grows and starts treating companions better.

Why does the TARDIS go away? Is it to protect the Doctor from the evil in the heart of the TARDIS? Does it gain foreknowledge of some villainous act on his part? Is it called away by the Black Guardian or some other cosmic being who wants to mess with the Doctor?

 

[Green Lantern]

This is a pretty cool idea. Could be a good regeneration story even. Perhaps the Valeyard could have stolen it and plays "games" with the doctor. Eventually he has a choice between giving up his regenerations or giving up his TARDIS. Maybe something or other could stop the Valeyard in time for the doctor to keep his regenerations but kill his current incarnation, or maybe the Valeyard succeeds and the doctor regenerates for "a final time" (until the timelords again give him a new regeneration cycle. It'd be cool if he went a while thinking he'd be the last doctor and he mourns himself for a bit. Better not rehash the Smith era or do it too soon though).

Or another cause, maybe the TARDIS knew that the doctor needed to learn the lessons learnt from travelling without the TARDIS to save the universe or something like that.

 

[Mr Awe]

Reminds me of the Red Dwarf story line where Red Dwarf went missing and they had to chase it down with Starbug.

Mr Awe

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I like it. I figure it would work for at least half a season. I like the idea of doing brief periods of shaking up the format a little bit, like when the Doctor was exiled to Earth during the early Jon Pertwee years or Paul McGann's Divergent Universe arc in the Big Finish audios. Maybe one of these days they can have the Doctor stranded in Arthurian times, tying into stuff that was hinted at back in "Battlefield."

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I like it. I figure it would work for at least half a season. I like the idea of doing brief periods of shaking up the format a little bit, like when the Doctor was exiled to Earth during the early Jon Pertwee years or Paul McGann's Divergent Universe arc in the Big Finish audios. Maybe one of these days they can have the Doctor stranded in Arthurian times, tying into stuff that was hinted at back in "Battlefield."

The "what if?" I've thought about for a long time actually relates to McGann. At the end of the television movie, the Doctor asks Grace to come with him. She counters by asking him to stay with her. My "what if," then, is "What if the Doctor stayed?" And I think what you'd have ended up with was something similar to Millennium or Torchwood. Or the early Pertwee era, but I think that comparison is superficial at best because the story structures would be vastly different.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Considering it would have been a FOX series, probably very similar in tone to Millennium or The X-Files.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

This could have fit with the first two The Stranger movies, which, to me, always felt like "the Doctor in exile" stories.

 

[publiusr]

When Matt's Doctor was dealing with the crack in the universe-- I thought then he would be without the Tardis.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

"evil at the heart of the TARDIS"

No way, but I am intrigued with this idea.. Do go on...

I thought the heart of the TARDIS was it's spirit Idris?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think it would be a good idea. The Doctor's pretty good at controlling the TARDIS. It would be a good change of pace.

 

[diankra]

"evil at the heart of the TARDIS"

That was, actually, Christopher Priest's idea for the story that was replaced by Earthshock: the TARDIS was powered by an enslaved evil creature at its centre that was the Doctor's greatest fear and most shameful secret.

 

[od0_ital]

Would there still be a time travel element to the search, or would the Tardis remain in the same era as the Doctor while he's searchin' for it? If there is time travel involved, how would he go lookin' for it? It would have to be backwards, not forward, in time, or else there wouldn't be a clue or evidence for the Doctor to use.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The more I think about this I like it. I wish you could pitch this to the BBC

 

[JRoss]

^Thank you very much.

As for the evil at the heart of the TARDIS, that was mentioned briefly, IIRC, in Castrovalva.

 

[JRoss]

The Doctor could use the Library to research various historical events.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The Doctor could use the Library to research various historical events.

That could be difficult since the Vashta Nerada have taken up home there..

It was mentioned in Castrovalva. I wonder what they meant specifically though?

Does every TARDIS have this?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^Thank you very much.

As for the evil at the heart of the TARDIS, that was mentioned briefly, IIRC, in Castrovalva.

The TARDIS also destroyed/absorbed House and possibly the Dream Lord. There could be elements of either still floating about.

 

[Mitty]

If the TARDIS leaves the Doctor, where does it go? What does it do? If it's turned evil, does it just keep falling on and squashing people?

Personally I think a new Zany Character would be a better boost for ratings, kind of like Andy from Family Ties.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

^Thank you very much.

As for the evil at the heart of the TARDIS, that was mentioned briefly, IIRC, in Castrovalva.

The TARDIS also destroyed/absorbed House and possibly the Dream Lord. There could be elements of either still floating about.

Yes but that happened after Castrovalva so what was there at that time? I do wonder.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The TARDIS "exists across all time & space". The evil didn't have to come from before Castrovalva.