Canonicity

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The Fourteenth Doctor, upon arriving on Skaro during the genesis of the Daleks, fears he will cause "the timelines and canon" to rupture. (TV: Destination: Skaro ^[+]Loading...{"timestamp":"03:41","1":"Destination: Skaro (TV story)"})

Canonicity, also called canon, was a concept that determined whether or not a certain source (such as a religious or fictional text) could count as a proper part of a greater whole; this concept was used by humans on Earth, whether they be practitioners of Christianity (AUDIO: The Council of Nicaea ^[+]Loading...["The Council of Nicaea (audio story)"]) or fans of the fictional adventures of Iris Wildthyme. (PROSE: From Wildthyme with Love ^[+]Loading...["From Wildthyme with Love (novel)"])

However, many individuals within the Doctor's universe inexplicably questioned the canonicity of either parts of their own lives or of others, (AUDIO: Doctor Who and the Pirates ^[+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Pirates (audio story)"], PROSE: Lady Peinforte ^[+]Loading...["Lady Peinforte (short story)"], WC: The Story of the Diary of River Song ^[+]Loading...["The Story of the Diary of River Song (webcast)"], TV: Destination: Skaro ^[+]Loading...{"timestamp":"03:41","1":"Destination: Skaro (TV story)"}) with the Time Lords even having a Tower of Canonicity. (PROSE: The Blue Angel ^[+]Loading...["The Blue Angel (novel)"], The Gallifrey Chronicles ^[+]Loading...["The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)"], Rebel Rebel ^[+]Loading...["Rebel Rebel (short story)"])

Usage

On Earth

Religious canon

In 325, the Council of Nicaea (to which the Fifth Doctor bore witness alongside companions Erimem and Peri) saw a gathering of the greatest scholars and leaders of 4th century Christianity to debate and solidify the reaches of biblical canon, showing the concept was applied by humans to religion. (AUDIO: The Council of Nicaea ^[+]Loading...["The Council of Nicaea (audio story)"])

Fictional canon

Panda found out about the spin-offs from the Iris Wildthyme series from "super-fan" who "hardly knew what was canonical". (PROSE: From Wildthyme with Love ^[+]Loading...["From Wildthyme with Love (novel)"])

By Time Lords and other time travellers

The Sixth Doctor didn't believe something to do with Hecate was "canonical". (AUDIO: Doctor Who and the Pirates, TV: A Girl's Best Friend)

Canonicity was seemingly of interest to the Time Lords, as there existed a Tower of Canonicity in the Capitol, twin to the Tower of Likelihood. (PROSE: The Blue Angel ^[+]Loading...["The Blue Angel (novel)"])

The Sixth Doctor once expressed doubt on whether something to do with Hecate (about which he didn't elaborate) was "canonical". (AUDIO: Doctor Who and the Pirates ^[+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Pirates (audio story)"], TV: A Girl's Best Friend ^[+]Loading...["A Girl's Best Friend (TV story)"])

In response to a letter from Rebecca asking, if two were present, how he'd know which version of the Doctor was "real", the Eleventh Doctor mentioned that his preceeding ten incarnations were all "real enough", while from another point in his timeline, there "could well be a few more", with "dodgy duplicates, pan-dimensional alternates and non-canonical spin-offs" muddling things up further. (PROSE: "Two of Everything" ^[+]Part of Doctor, Doctor! 232, Loading...{"page":"29","namedpart":"Two of Everything","1":"Doctor, Doctor! (DWA 232 short story)"})

The information contained on the TARDIS Wiki influenced Lady Peinforte's search for information on the Doctor, and she disbelieved that the Looms were canonical. (PROSE: Lady Peinforte ^[+]Loading...["Lady Peinforte (short story)"])

A group of three Retconning Crocodiles once swore on their canonicity to uphold their side of a bargain with Auteur, in that they would fully resurrect him in exchange for his authorship of a cursed abecedarium; however, while true to their bargain, they left Auteur in the crumbling reality he was in. (PROSE: Auteur's Abecedarium ^[+]Loading...["Auteur's Abecedarium (short story)"])

The adventures experienced by River Song where she met her adoptive mother, her "sort-of" sisters, and various incarnations of the Master (including the War Master and Missy) were "probably" canonical. (WC: The Story of the Diary of River Song ^[+]Loading...["The Story of the Diary of River Song (webcast)"])

When the Fourteenth Doctor inadvertently travelled to the genesis of the Daleks, he realised that Castavillian was writing down his musings about Daleks and extermination in front of the first Dalek, and quickly made to depart before he caused more of a paradox, excusing himself by saying that "the timelines and canon [were] rupturing". (TV: Destination: Skaro ^[+]Loading...["Destination: Skaro (TV story)"])

[[the most canon man]] once emerged from a pile of Nothing in the Plume Coteries' Library in front of Callum, Maritsa, Coloth and Rich, appearing to dance the live choreography to "Ram Ranch" before asserting that he was "SO VALID" and "CANON!" and stating he was "introducing noOdle," before vanishing. After this ordeal, the group noticed that every book in the entire library had been given noodle-related titles. (PROSE: How to Appear Noodles in Several Uneasy Lessons ^[+]Loading...["How to Appear Noodles in Several Uneasy Lessons (short story)"]) This introduced The Noodle Man; when he appeared in Wonderland, Abraytha Janus Colefia claimed that "none of this [was] canonical!" (PROSE: Tea Time!! Noodles!! ^[+]Loading...["Tea Time!! Noodles!! (short story)"])

Behind the scenes

• In the real world, canon is (as detailed on this page) a concept originally concerning religious texts, and later more widely applied to works of fiction, beginning with the tradition of Sherlock Holmes.
  • That the Time Lords and others such as the Sixth Doctor and River Song, whom are fictional characters, would thus consider canonicity a genuine property of their (fictional) universe, on par with "likelihood", should therefore be read as a borderline-fourth-wall-breaking, metafictional joke.
• Whilst the song I Am the Very Model of a Gallifreyan Buccaneer contained numerous references to classic Doctor Who serials, the reference to Hecate was distinct in that it was derived from A Girl's Best Friend, the first and only instalment of the spin-off K9 and Company.

Information from invalid sources

Ken Book interviewed Beep the Meep for Doctor Who Magazine, and after Ken asked if Beep had any plans to appear on television, he responded no, explaining it was a "backwards step" that'd be repeating what had already been done thirty years prior in The Star Beast, and ultimately, he didn't consider Doctor Who on TV to be canonical. He also added he was afraid they'd "do [him] in CGI". (PROSE: Who on Earth is... Beep the Meep ^[+]Loading...["Who on Earth is... Beep the Meep (short story)"])