Shared Travel Dials (Marinus)

Generic, non-owner-specific handheld time-travel devices used collectively by the Doctor, Susan, Altos, and other companions for navigation across Marinus. Lack individual assignment or narrative specificity; function as a shared resource in the group's mission.

2 appearances

Purpose

Enable travel to specific Marinus sites like Millenius

Significance

Drive quest progression by enabling party split; Susan's secret tweak ignites her autonomy arc, undercutting Doctor's authority amid Eprin mystery and Voord threats.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E22 · The Velvet Web

The Doctor reveals Altos’s mission and Eprin’s disappearance

The travel dials are central to the Doctor's plan, serving as both a tool for time travel and a symbol of the group's fractured mission. The Doctor reveals he has learned to adjust his dial from Altos, while Susan secretly adjusts hers to follow him—an act of defiance that hinges on her understanding of the device's operation. The dials represent the group's division: the Doctor's solo journey to Millenius, Susan's impulsive pursuit, and the others' delayed departure. Their functionality is critical, but their symbolic role as catalysts for the group's split is equally significant.

Before: The Doctor possesses one dial, demonstrated to him by Altos. Susan has her own dial, which she adjusts covertly during the event. The others (Ian, Barbara, Altos, Sabetha) do not yet have dials or are not shown using them.

After: The Doctor departs with his dial set for Millenius. Susan disappears with her dial adjusted to follow him. The remaining group (Ian, Barbara, Altos, Sabetha) prepares to use their dials (or acquire them) to follow later.

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S1E22 · The Velvet Web

Susan secretly defies the Doctor

The travel dials are the critical tools enabling the group’s time-based movements across Marinus. The Doctor demonstrates their use to Altos, and Susan secretly adjusts hers to follow him, exploiting their portability and precision. These devices symbolize both the group’s agency and the fragility of their coordination—Susan’s unauthorized use highlights how easily the plan can unravel when individual wills clash with the Doctor’s authority.

Before: The travel dials are in the possession of the Doctor and Susan. The Doctor has just learned how to adjust them from Altos, and Susan holds hers discreetly, waiting for an opportunity to act.

After: Susan’s travel dial is now set to follow the Doctor, and she vanishes using it. The Doctor’s dial remains with him as he departs for Millenius, while Ian and Barbara are left without one, forcing them to pursue Susan on foot or through other means.

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