# Dr. Who question: What is a "Police box"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595 "2008-05-01T13:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/21 "2008-05-01T16:39:31Z")
[QUOTE=Meurglys] I certainly remember seeing people being _questioned_ in them (or maybe held before a police van arrived to collect a prisoner) but you wouldn’t lock somebody inside and leave them on their own. [/QUOTE] Oh I dunno. They’re much bigger on the inside than you’d think. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/22 "2008-05-01T16:46:09Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Oh I dunno. They’re much bigger on the inside than you’d think. [/QUOTE] \Boom Boom!\ ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/23 "2008-05-01T18:18:34Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Except of course in spoken dialogue, where it’s always ‘The Doctor’, never ‘Doctor Who’ (except by ‘accident’ when someone is asking a question, and in the non-canon movie). [/QUOTE] If you are speaking of the movie with Paul McGann, you are in error. It is considered canon. Current producer Russell T. Davies and the BBC say so. I’m too busy to provide links but it can be easily found. If you refer to the bizarre Dalek movies of the 1960’s, you’d be correct. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/24 "2008-05-01T18:32:49Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] If you refer to the bizarre Dalek movies of the 1960’s, you’d be correct. [/QUOTE] Terry Nation’s cynical attempt to cash in on the Daleks. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/25 "2008-05-01T18:34:18Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] More from Wikipedia on the [TARDIS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS): At the time of the series’ debut in 1963, the police box was still a common fixture in British cities. It provided a direct telephone link to the local police station, but contrary to popular conception, the telephone was on the exterior of the box, and the box itself was designed for use as a temporary holding cell. [/QUOTE] The thing about the holding cell has been said in a Doctor Who episode. I think it was last season. Obviously, this doesn’t have any indication that it’s true in reality, but I recall it being true in the Doctor Who version of reality. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/26 "2008-05-01T18:39:10Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Except of course in spoken dialogue, where it’s always ‘The Doctor’, never ‘Doctor Who’ (except by ‘accident’ when someone is asking a question, and in the non-canon movie). [/QUOTE] Pshaw. [And you call yourself a fan.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihcf1EAqsxk) _YouTube Link. 3:45._ ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/27 "2008-05-01T18:44:32Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] Note that [this](http://www.eee.strath.ac.uk/r.w.stewart/boxes.pdf) ( **pdf** ) article makes no mention of any such function. [/QUOTE] It does say on page four that; > [@](#): > > the Chicago Police adopted the use of sentry style boxes large enough for a police officer and a prisoner Or do you mean with specific reference to British police boxes? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/28 "2008-05-01T18:48:01Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Pshaw. [And you call yourself a fan.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihcf1EAqsxk) _YouTube Link. 3:45._ [/QUOTE] In that clip, not only is the Doctor referred to as “Doctor Who” in conversation, but he’s listed in the credits as “Dr Who”, how is he normally listed “Doctor Who”, “The Doctor” or “Dr Who”? ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/29 "2008-05-01T18:56:49Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] In that clip, not only is the Doctor referred to as “Doctor Who” in conversation, but he’s listed in the credits as “Dr Who”, how is he normally listed “Doctor Who”, “The Doctor” or “Dr Who”? [/QUOTE] Actually, these days, each actor gets to choose how he wants to be credited…that’s what I recall hearing. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/30 "2008-05-01T19:04:52Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Pshaw. [And you call yourself a fan.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihcf1EAqsxk) _YouTube Link. 3:45._ [/QUOTE] Nah, the computer is just missing out on some punctuation. “Doctor, who is required, bring him here.” Sort of along [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_while_John_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_a_better_effect_on_the_teacher) lines 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/31 "2008-05-01T20:48:07Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] Nah, the computer is just missing out on some punctuation. “Doctor, who is required, bring him here.” Sort of along [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_while_John_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_a_better_effect_on_the_teacher) lines 😛 [/QUOTE] Actually, the best (best in terms of fanwankery, at least) explanation I’ve seen is that WOTAN was programmed, when it didn’t know the name, to use “Who,” essentially saying, “Doctor [INSERT NAME HERE] is required.” NEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/32 "2008-05-01T21:02:00Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] The thing about the holding cell has been said in a Doctor Who episode. I think it was last season. [/QUOTE] [ahem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9753268&postcount=20) I believe the episode in question was “Blink.” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/33 "2008-05-01T21:54:28Z")
Speaking of YouTube and The Doctor, I was irked that one great parody clip by the late comedian Dave Allen \* was not posted. It finally showed up: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nh1D9ujvPQ0/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/nh1D9ujvPQ0?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque Even the Catholic church was amused. 🙂 - [Dave Allen (comedian) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Allen_(comedian)) > [@](#): > > Allen’s act was typified by a very relaxed, intimate style — he would sit on a chair, smoking and holding a glass of whiskey. An atheist[1] (according to Allen himself, “what you might call a practicing atheist”), he would often make jokes about religion, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/34 "2008-05-02T01:27:41Z")
There was also an episode where someone asked K9 “Who is the Doctor?” and K9 replied “Affirmative”. Seventh Doctor story **Silver Nemesis** : Lady Peinforte addresses the Doctor as “Who”, to demonstrate that she knows about the Doctor’s secret past. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/35 "2008-05-02T07:38:50Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] If you refer to the bizarre Dalek movies of the 1960’s, you’d be correct. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that. As I understand it, ‘Who’ was The Doctor’s surname there. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/36 "2008-05-02T07:40:42Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Pshaw. [And you call yourself a fan.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihcf1EAqsxk) [/QUOTE] Actually, I don’t - not really. Interesting link. Slipup by the writers, I guess - or maybe the naming rules weren’t so rigidly established way back then. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595/37 "2008-05-02T13:47:06Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] [ahem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9753268&postcount=20) I believe the episode in question was “Blink.” [/QUOTE] Whoops, sorry, **Otto**. Missed you there. As penance I will selflessly volunteer to re-watch that episode as soon as I can and report back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-question-what-is-a-police-box/447595.md?page=1)