Temporal grace Temporal grace was the term used to describe the state in which the interior of TARDIS es existed . Supposedly , it ensured no weapons could be used inside the Doctor ' s TARDIS . ( TV : " The Hand of Fear " ) It was linked to the TARDIS ' telepathic circuits , and when fully functional , it would negate all hostile and aggressive actions within the ship . ( PROSE : " The Bodysnatchers " ) Uses of temporal grace . Temporal grace stopped Eldrad from using her powers . ( TV : " The Hand of Fear " ) Temporal grace prevented Sha ' ol from firing his disruptor . ( PROSE : " " ) After the Seventh Doctor set off an explosion inside the SARDIT , he commented that the state of grace circuit still needed looking at . ( PROSE : " " ) When nuclear missile s were launched on an alternate Earth , the Doctor materialised the TARDIS around the whole planet so that the temporal grace would prevent the missiles from exploding . ( PROSE : " Blood Heat " ) Temporal grace , in conjunction with the TARDIS ' medical nanite s , freed Annie Carpenter from being possessed by the Scourge . ( AUDIO : " The Shadow of the Scourge " ) Temporal grace prevented guns from being used against Nobody No - One , but since he was from another dimension ( and as such , operated under different laws of physics ) , this did not apply to him . ( AUDIO : " The Word Lord " ) Garundel ' s gun was prevented from working when he planned to shoot Sally Morgan . ( AUDIO : " Black and White " ) The Eighth Doctor repaired the state of grace circuitry . When he drew several Skarasen into the TARDIS , he told his companions that the state of grace within the ship meant that the creatures couldn ' t harm them . ( PROSE : " The Bodysnatchers " ) The Doctor later admitted to Sam that he had forgotten to reconnect the state of grace circuitry when they were faced with a fusion bomb the Dalek s had planted . ( PROSE : " War of the Daleks " ) In another universe , General Sontar tried to kill the Doctor by breaking his neck , but he survived due to the TARDIS ' state of grace . ( PROSE : " The Infinity Doctors " ) During the Last Great Time War , temporal grace prevented Gardezza native Osen from shooting in his TARDIS . ( AUDIO : " Beneath the Viscoid " ) Failures of temporal grace . According to the Sixth Doctor , temporal grace worked when the TARDIS was in the Normal Space . ( COMIC : " Changes " ) Nyssa asked the Fifth Doctor about temporal grace not stopping the Cybermen from firing weapons inside the TARDIS , but he only replied , " Nobody ' s perfect . " ( TV : " Arc of Infinity " ) Ace also questioned the Doctor about temporal grace after the interior nearly disintegrated . ( PROSE : " Blood Heat " ) After Mels shot the TARDIS console , the Eleventh Doctor admitted that the presence of temporal grace in the TARDIS was ( at least at that point ) a " clever lie " . ( TV : " Let ' s Kill Hitler " ) Sontaran s ( TV : " The Invasion of Time " ) , Cybermen ( TV : " Earthshock " , " Attack of the Cybermen " ) , a Terileptil android ( TV : " The Visitation " ) and a Dalek ( TV : " The Parting of the Ways " ) discharged their guns in the TARDIS . Andred ' s staser did not work , although the Fourth Doctor attributed it to the relative dimensional stabiliser field . However , K9 ' s laser and the Sontaran s ' guns did work . ( TV : " The Invasion of Time " ) The Eighth Doctor stated that the TARDIS ' defence mechanisms sometimes worked and sometimes did not , as he reminded the Monk when Ollistra threatened him with a staser within the TARDIS . ( AUDIO : " The Side of the Angels " ) Threatening the Eighth Doctor with a staser within the TARDIS , Commander Roxita noted that , as a Capitol Guard , he could override the temporal grace . ( AUDIO : " Day of the Vashta Nerada " )