-TARDIS Keys: Companions and Friends

This is a quick reference guide/info graphic for all of the keys used by the Doctor from 1963 to 2017's "The Doctor Falls". Any new keys after this time frame can be added to the thread as an when they appear. Basically, I saw many threads on keys on this forum but not one with collected information on all of the keys as a whole. The keys seen in my infographic are the keys in my own personal collection, within the following posts I will be posting reference pictures as well as write-up information about the keys.

For quick name reference purposes I'm only going to list either the first story each character's different key(s) was(were) seen in or whichever story (or place) that the best photo reference came from. The research on the TARDIS keys has been a collaborative effort with many of us on theRPF and other various Doctor Who communities throughout quite a few years.

Although some of the character's keys have been seen in multiple stories I'm only going to list either the first story each character's key(s) was seen in or whichever story (or place) the photo reference came from. Also, unless a companion was specifically given their own key or was seen to use their own key, they won't be listed as there is no key to screen match for them.

SUSAN FOREMAN:
"The Dalek Invasion of Earth"

ROSE TYLER:
(1) "Aliens of London"
(2) "The Long Game"

CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS:
(1) "The Sound of Drums"
(2) "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords"

MARTHA JONES:
(1) "42"
(2) "The Sound of Drums"
(3) "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords"

SALLY SPARROW:
(1) "Blink"
(2) "Blink"
(3) "Blink"

DONNA NOBLE:
"The Sontaran Stratagem"

CLARA OSWALD:
(1) "The Snowmen"
(2) "The Time of the Doctor"
(3) "Dark Water"
(4) "Sleep No More"

River Song
"The Husbands of River Song"

SUSAN FOREMAN:
"The Dalek Invasion of Earth"

We first get a good look at the rather long snake chain necklace that Susan keeps her TARDIS key on in "The Daleks" episode 6 "The Ordeal", when the Doctor uses it to short-circuit a conductor on the Dalek's Static Electricity Power Grid. In this scene, the Doctor promised to make Susan another key as this one would be destroyed by its use.


The Daleks:






It apparently took some time for the Doctor to make Susan's replacement key, potentially four stories since the she didn't have one to hand over or use to help the TARDIS team escape in "Marco Polo", however by "The Sensorites" she finally had her new TARDIS key and it appears to be identical to her first one, from what little we can make out in the scene; same key, still on the same snake chain and all.

It isn't until "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" that we finally get a close up shot of the key itself, as well as snake chain. This shot gave us the basic body shape of the key and that, along with telesnaps from "Marco Polo" showing the finer details of the top of the key, as well as a behind the scenes color photo from the same story, helped us find a good match with a Yale Y1 key with two stops. We believe all the classic keys were Yale keys, based on their use of Yale locks the Police Box prop.


The Dalek Invasion of Earth:



Susan also holds the distinction of being the only classic companion to have a TARDIS key of her own. Any other companion seen with a key in the Classic Series was just using a key the Doctor lent them for that episode. It wasn't until the New Series that the Doctor started handing them out like Jelly Babies.

ROSE TYLER:
(1) "Aliens of London"
(2) "The Long Game"

Rose Tyler's key went through a change in Series 1 which was down to the fact that the BBC doesn't advertise products in its shows. In "Aliens of London" she was given an ERA 1E key with one stop - same as the Ninth Doctor - which can clearly be seen in her hand as it begins to glow. Rose's key was also kept on a distinctive keychain, which matched the nautical theme of the Ninth Doctor and his console room. The chain was a wallet chain with 40 links, a key ring on one end, and a sailing d-shackle on the other. I found a promo shot of Rose holding her key by the d-shackle and counted all the links to make sure my chain was the same exact length.

Aliens of London:
(although the first pic is a promo shot in her "Rose" outfit)




Her second key was seen in "The Long Game" when the script called for more screen time than usual so they didn't want the key's logo to be seen. We're told by someone with supposed insider knowledge that they switched to a Silca brand key, which matched the basic shape of the ERA keys, and that they had filed off all the head details, then had rhodium plated the keys back to silver since the the Silca keys are made of brass then chrome plated. The keychain remained the same in "The Long Game".

Most of the Silca keys in my collection are actually a close match made by JMA, specifically a CIDL key with one stop the JMA keys are made of steel, so once filed/blanked of details, they won't require rhodium plating.

The Long Game:

CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS:
(1) "The Sound of Drums"
(2) "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords"

The first time we actually see Jack use his own TARDIS key was in Series 1, Episode 12: "Bad Wolf", however we didn't get a close up shot to see what it actually looked like. In fact, we don't see it at all since Jack just grabs it out of his pocket and goes straight for the door with no sight of the key at all. It's likely that Jack used a filed Silca in this scene however, since Rose's key switched from an ERA to a Silca midway through filming Series 1 and the production kept using mostly the Silca keys through to Series 5.

It isn't until "The Sound of Drums" in Series 3 that we finally get a look at his key, which by this story was kept on rather full key ring with his other Torchwood hub related keys. The key seen in this episode, as well as the following story, "Last of the Time Lords" was one of the Series 1 filed and rhodium plated Silca keys.

The Sound of Drums:



For the latter half of "The Sound of Drums" and for "Last of the Time Lords" Jack's Silca key was modified into a Perception filter key, which was worn on a long piece of twine with some electronic components added, specifically, a red and black wire, a 555 timer chip, a resistor, and a simm card. We are uncertain which color resistor the Jack's key actually had although, in 2008-2009, the three screen used keys were on display at the Art of Dr Who Exhibition on The Wirral. Two of the keys were displayed with the electronics face up, while the third had the back side shown, so we could not see its electronics. On the two face up keys the resistors were tan for the left one and blue for the far right key. The key in the middle was faced down so we can only guess at its resistor color, however there is one out of focus scene in "The Sound of Drums" where the Doctor is working on the three keys and here it appears that the final resistor was green.

For Jack's key, I chose to go with the green resistor. For the Doctor, see the Doctor's TARDIS keys write-up. For Martha, see below.

The Sound of Drums:



Photo from the Art of Dr Who Exhibition on The Wirral:

MARTHA JONES:
(1) "42"
(2) "The Sound of Drums"
(3) "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords"

When we first see Martha given a TARDIS key in "42" it is a filed and rhodium plated Silca key on a long ball chain, which was again seen in "Human Nature".

42:



Human Nature:




By the time of "The Sound of Drums" it seems Martha ditched the ball chain and kept her key without a keychain at all.

The Sound of Drums:



Martha also had one of the three Perception Filter keys, same as Jack and the Doctor, specifically the one with the tan resistor, which can clearly be seen in "Last of the Time Lords" when she shows Tom Milligan how she was able to hide from the Toclafane. Martha's key is a bit of an oddity, however, as the key itself used to make the Perception Filter prop doesn't match it's counterparts which are Silca keys. The key ring hole is set lower than the Silca keys and the stop is shaped more like an ERA key, however the ERA key hole is set higher, so as of yet, this key is unidentified. It's a small difference and one I chose not to replicate in my collection, but still worth a mention.

Last of the Time Lords:



Photo from the Art of Dr Who Exhibition on The Wirral:

SALLY SPARROW:
(1) "Blink"
(2) "Blink"
(3) "Blink"

Believe it or not Sally actually had three different keys in this one story alone.

The first key that we get a proper look at is an unaltered Silca key, just as she finds it in the Weeping Angel's hand, although this particular shot is very brief. Later, as she goes to the police station we can clearly see that she has an ERA key when she holds the key in her open hand in the rain. Her final key came at the end of the story when she tries to unlock the TARDIS and here it's clear that she is using a filed and rhodium plated Silca key.

Sally's key(s) was(were) kept on an untied, medium length piece of jute with frayed ends.


The non-filed Silca key:



The ERA Key:



The filed Silca Key:





And the frayed ends of the jute string:

DONNA NOBLE:
"The Sontaran Stratagem"

By the time the Doctor gave Donna a TARDIS key he seemed to have given up on any sort of decorative keychain as the key he gave Donna was just a plain Silca key that had been filed to remove any face details and rhodium plated.

CLARA OSWALD:
(1) "The Snowmen"
(2) "The Time of the Doctor"
(3) "Dark Water"
(4) "Sleep No More"

The first time Clara was given a key it was actually given to one of her splintered selves - 19th Century Clara - from "The Snowmen".  The production team went back to a Yale type key with two stops and while we are uncertain of the actual brand for this key, as the face was once again filed off and presumably rhodium plated, the key is shown in enough detail that we were able to get a good body match with an actual Yale key. In my case a Yale Y88. Once filed to remove the logo and details it's a great match for the Snowmen key. \

The Snowmen:





Clara was seen with another key in the Eleventh Doctor's final story "The Time of the Doctor", although when it was given to her is unknown. This new key also had two stops, however this time they hadn't filed the details off. Due to the short screen time it had we were once again unable to find out the exact brand but an eBay search dug up a perfect match which is identical on both sides of the key - aside from a very small Y1 marking on one side - which made it an ideal match to the TotD key.

The Time of the Doctor:




For Series 8 Clara's TARDIS key had changed it's appearance for the story "Dark Water" and this one had gotten a lot more screen time for both of the sides of the key. For this new key the head details were identical on both sides, with no letter or number marking at all and it also shares the same body type as the Series 1 ERA key, with only one stop. After another internet search I had found a replacement cylinder with a set of keys made by Hiatt Hardware, which were an identical match to the Capaldi TARDIS key on both sides! Identical body details with no words, letters or numbers at all, exactly as we had seen on screen.

Dark Water:




The last time we saw Clara's TARDIS key was in the Series 9 story "Sleep No More", where she now kept it on a what appears to be a very long thin snake chain (very reminiscent of Susan's key). For a moment it seemed possible that it could have been a long piece of string but judging by how it moves in the scene, and the metallic jingling SFX used in the scene, a snake chain is the most likely given it's shape. We can also see her regular necklace and pendant get caught up in the snake chain as she hurriedly tried to get her key out. Unfortunately it's difficult to see any finer details, due to the the stylistic way the story was filmed.

Sleep No More:

River Song
"The Husbands of River Song"

Over the years we've known River had the ability to come and go as she pleased with the TARDIS but for the first time in the 2015 Christmas Special we see her TARDIS key and while the image is a bit blurry it appears to be the same Hiatt Hardware key that was used in Series 8.

While it seems common place for a New Series companion to have a TARDIS key as a right of passage, the opposite is true of the Classic Series with Susan being the only classic companion to have her own TARDIS key. Other classic companions have used a TARDIS key from time to time, such as Ben Jackson, Teagan Jovanka, and Sarah Jane Smith, but in all of those cases the Doctor lent them his key or a spare for that particular story; or in the case of Ben, he picked up a key the Doctor had dropped.

Of course even the New Series had it's exceptions, in the Russell T. Davies (RTD) era there were some companions who didn't get a key, namely; Adam Mitchell, Mickey Smith, and Astrid Perth (Astrid may be a technicality for some, but to me she said yes to traveling with the Doctor before she died, so I count her.). Of course Adam abused his rights with Rose's key so who could blame the Doctor there, but why no key for Mickey?

In Steven Moffat's era, the gift of a TARDIS key as a right of passage wasn't as much of a focus as it was in the RTD era. Neither Amy or Rory were ever seen to have their own TARDIS key, despite how often they would come and go in their travels with the Doctor. It is conceivable that Moffatt just didn't feel the need to spend time on another scene giving a key to a companion when one could assume it just always happens now and we just never saw it? But if that were true, then what do we replicate? How can we know for sure that they had one?

River Song was often letting herself into the TARDIS and for a long time we were left to wonder about her relationship with the TARDIS, that is until "The Husband's of River Song" where we finally found out that she had a key of her own.

But what of Bill and Nardole? Nardole was often seen coming and going as he pleased, like River Song, so it certainly is possible that Nardole had a key of his own and we just never saw it. That said, it is equally as possible that the Doctor just didn't lock the TARDIS doors around Nardole except for when he wanted to keep him out, given that they were working together to protect the vault. The man had a criminal background after all, so why trust him with a TARDIS key?

And then there's Bill and that one brief scene in Series 10, Episode 7: "The Pyramid at the End of the World", where she tries to enter the TARDIS with the Doctor locked inside. As she comes to the door we can hear what seems like latching sounds followed by her saying "Have you double locked this thing?", so it's plausible that Bill had a TARDIS key, however as we never actually saw it on screen then there is no key to match for our collections. It's also possible that she just wasn't used to the doors being locked at all but then why ask if it was double locked?

Either way, whatever the case may be for these companions, while I did make an exception for the War Doctor's TARDIS key, I personally don't want a collection of "fan interpretation" keys, so I have chosen to only stick with screen used replicas. If there is no key to match any details, then it doesn't exist.

Again, see my comments here: http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=7858.msg99472#msg99472

Would it be possible for you to "spoiler" that last paragraph, since it mentions a certain part of the Christmas Special that other members may not know about (or might not want to know about) Just a thought. (Although on a similar note, with the First Doctor making an appearance, it could be possible that we see another key for him as well.

I can spoiler that section, but it's just a guess on my part, so not really a spoiler.

I know what you mean. So far I don't think that it has been confirmed yet, but it's just best to err on the side of caution.

Quote from: The14thDr on Jul 08, 2017, 02:12 pm
...with the First Doctor making an appearance...

If this is the worry, it was announced several months ago on several Doctor Who web sites, including the Doctor Who Hub Facebook page, and The Nerdist page. So this has been around the web for some time now, and there's really no need to spoiler tag it.

Dino.

Well, that wasn't specifically my worry (Terrasolo mentioned something else in his post) but I decided to spoiler my mention of it just in case. But I've just removed the spoiler from my post, (Unless you haven't seen the series finale of course, in which case I've just spoilt that - I'd better go back and fix that just in case, or at least until the two week window has elapsed)