Doctor Who universe: Difference between revisions

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Doctor Who'' universe}}

The '''''Doctor Who'' universe''', sometimes abbreviated "'''Whoniverse'''" or "'''DWU'''", is a term used by fans and, increasingly, the mainstream press. Much like the related term of [[canon]], its scope is somewhat debated by fans.  

Generally speaking, the ''Doctor Who'' universe is the shared {{w|fictional universe}} in which ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and its related spin-offs take place. Fans disagree on whether some stories and spin-offs are considered part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, and some dispute the concept's meaning or utility altogether. However, the concept potentially includes all the TV broadcast based spin-offs, video-only release spin-offs, prose and comic based spin-offs.

The BBC has never made a definitive pronouncement on the concept of "[[canon]]" for ''Doctor Who''. This is notable because in order to build a "fictional universe", you need to have an established list of stories that act as the building blocks for that universe.  

''Doctor Who'' has had hundreds, likely thousands, of contributors to its mythos — its universe — with each new story being a new contribution to the universe; the world of ''Doctor Who''.  

The actual phrase "Doctor Who universe" and "Whoniverse" are terms that are used frequently throughout in BBC publications. In many{{Which}} BBC publications, they have phrased the continual development of the ''Doctor Who'' universe in terms of "continuing adventures" rather than a prescribed universe.<ref>Richard, Justin, ''[[Doctor Who: The Legend]]''</ref>

However, when creating their episode guide on their website the BBC republished several analyses from ''[[The Television Companion]]'', several of which mentioned the concept of a "Doctor Who universe". In discussing ''[[The Ribos Operation (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'', it is stated that the establishment of the [[Black Guardian|Black]] and [[White Guardian]]s form important new characters within the "Doctor Who universe,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/ribosoperation/detail.shtml|title=The Ribos Operation|date of source=1993, 1998, 2003|website name=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29th July 2012}}</ref> while in the episode guide for ''[[The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)|The Celestial Toymaker]]'', "The Celestial Toymaker's greatest legacy to the Doctor Who universe"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/celestialtoymaker/detail.shtml|title=The Celestial Toymaker|date of source=1993, 1998, 2003|website name=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29th July 2012}}</ref> is mentioned. It is this term and the idea of "legacy" and "mythos" where much of the idea of a "Doctor Who universe" continues development. An event at its earliest development ,''Doctor Who'' was never limited to TV and never had a prescribed canon; it is a broad universe of adventures.

The term "Whoniverse" dates at least as far back as [[Peter Haining]]'s [[1983]] reference book, ''[[Doctor Who: A Celebration]]''. At that time, the Whoniverse had a very broad meaning, which included not just the setting of ''Doctor Who'' stories, but everything about the series, including behind-the-scenes information and fandom itself.

"Whoniverse" gradually became a more specific term. Initially, it served to indicate that the ''Doctor Who'' stories told in other media were part of the same universe as those told on television. This came to have greater importance in the media and to new fans who were approaching ''Doctor Who'' through TV-based series such as ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' and ''[[K9 (TV series)|K9]]''.

With the return of ''Doctor Who'' on television in [[2005]], it began to include references to past stories, tying together various series of various media together into a single universe. [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|Series 1]] of ''Doctor Who'' included references to the [[planet]] [[Lucifer]], [[kronkburger]]s and [[Justicia]], and [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] revealed that [[Winston Churchill]] had met the Doctor before ''[[Victory of the Daleks]]'', while the [[Slitheen-Blathereen family]], descendants of the [[Blathereen]], appeared in [[Series 3 (SJA)|Series 3]] of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', all hinting that non-televised ''Doctor Who'' stories might take place in the "official" ''Doctor Who'' universe.

[[File:122.jpg|thumb|''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' and ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' cross over into [[Doctor Who]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'')]]

[[Martha Jones]]'s employment by [[UNIT]] was first mentioned in the ''Torchwood'' episode ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'', in which she appeared and ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky]]'' had a semi-sequel in the form of the ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' story ''[[The Last Sontaran]]''. ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'' brought together cast members of three series. A number of more casual mentions have also taken place, such as Sarah Jane suggesting "[[Harry Sullivan|Harry]]" and "[[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Alistair]]" as possible names for [[Luke Smith|Luke]] in ''[[Invasion of the Bane]]''. Likewise, Sarah's description of the origins of her [[coulrophobia]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Clown]]'' returns the viewer to the setting of ''[[A Girl's Best Friend]]''. While such "crossovers" can be narratively insignificant, they nevertheless reinforce the notion of a single, shared universe.

:''See [[Canon#Other universes]]'' for detailed information.

There have been various deliberate attempts to create separate "fictional universes" that have elements of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, but are entirely separate entities. This is in an in-universe fictional sense, in a narrative sense and in a commercial sense.  

These other fictional universes ''are not'' [[alternate timeline]]s or [[parallel universe]]s. These two concepts exist within the ''Doctor Who'' universe as defined and contained concepts within the scope of that fictional universe, whilst these other fictional universes are separate, merely using familiar concepts and entities as the ''Doctor Who'' universe.

The first example of this is the two [[Peter Cushing]] films of the 1960s; ''[[Dr. Who and the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'' Both these films and any prose (and other) stories connected to them establish an entirely different, separate fictional universe in which their events take place. Different fictional universe rules apply to the characters and events that take place within the fictional universe.  

Other examples of other fictional universes are works that are, from their outset, or sometimes retroactively, stated to ''not'' be set in ''the'' ''Doctor Who'' universe through proclamation by the creators or publishers. Both ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]'' and ''[[Death Comes to Time (webcast)|Death Comes to Time]]'' were retroactively declared by their creators (and in the case of ''Shalka'' by the BBC) as ''not'' part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe.

[[Big Finish Productions]]' ''[[Doctor Who Unbound]]'' series from its outset was created to explore other fictional universes, where the elements of the ''Doctor Who'' universe existed but were not constrained by ''the'' ''Doctor Who'' universe.

== See also ==

*[[Canon]]

*[[Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe]]

*[[Forum:Discontinuity index|Discontinuity index]]