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{{title|''Doctor Who'' universe}}{{Real world}}
{{retitle|''Doctor Who'' universe}}
The '''Doctor Who universe''', or '''Whoniverse''', is a term used by fans, and increasingly the mainstream press, to describe the shared [[Wikipedia:fictional universe|fictional universe]] in which the stories of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and its spin-off series, ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' and ''[[K9 (TV series)|K-9]]'' take place. It has been greatly expanded through tie-in media such as the [[Virgin New Adventures]] and [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish audio plays]], now including normally unorthodox spin-off productions such as ''[[Faction Paradox]]'', ''[[Bernice Summerfield]]'', ''[[Iris Wildthyme]]'' and ''[[P.R.O.B.E.]]''. Although its boundaries are quite limitless, there are certain exceptions, and some material, for instance the [[Dr. Who and the Daleks|1960s ''Dalek'']] [[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.|films]] and charity romps such as ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'' and ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death]]'' are not included in the spectrum. Other productions are not classifiable including such things as ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'', ''[[Totally Doctor Who]]'' and ''[[Doctor Who at the Proms]]''.
{{real world}}
{{dab page|The Whoniverse (disambiguation)}}
The '''''Doctor Who'' universe''', sometimes abbreviated "'''Whoniverse'''" or "'''DWU'''", is a term used by fans and, increasingly, the mainstream press to describe the shared {{w|fictional universe}} in which ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and its related spin-offs and other related series, takes place.
 
The term notably does not limit itself to "[[the Doctor]]'s [[universe]]" in terms of the in-universe definition of those terms, instead including the full breadth of the reality in which the Doctor exists, including the [[multiverse]] they inhabit; [[Pete's World]] is well-established to be a part of "the DWU" despite being separate from [[the Doctor's universe]].
 
Much like the related term of [[canon]], its scope is somewhat debated by fans. Fans often disagree about whether some stories and series 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 video-, prose-, audio-, and comic-based series.
 
This wiki has established rules about what is and is not part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe for its own purposes (see [[T:VS|our valid source policy]] for more information), but this wiki has no authority beyond its borders. Much like canon, consumers of ''Doctor Who''-related media are free to decide for themselves what stories are part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, or indeed, whether the concept exists at all in a meaningful fashion.
 
== Concept ==
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 thousands of contributors to its mythos — its universe — with each new story being a new contribution to the universe.
 
The actual phrase "Doctor Who universe" and "Whoniverse" are terms that are used frequently throughout in BBC publications. In many 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.
=== Other fiction in the DWU? ===
In addition to [[Doctor Who spin-offs|works which branched off of ''Doctor Who'' outwards]], and thus expanded its universe, other works of fiction which some might deem unrelated to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' have been viewed by fans and creators alike as belonging to the DWU. This does not necessarily imply these works' original authorial intent was that they were set in the DWU — indeed, many predate the broadcast of ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' — but simply that writers chose to view these works as "applicable" to ''Doctor Who'' in the same retroactive sense as real-world history itself.
 
The primary way this has manifested has been through some breeds of [[crossover]], licensed or not. However, this idea that many preexisting works of fiction are valid history for [[the Doctor]]'s [[universe]] has been espoused as a general philosophy by several writers of licensed DWU fiction. [[Ben Aaronovitch]] notably made it a guiding principle of his writing of [[Sylvester McCoy]] ''Doctor Who'' TV stories.
{{quote|Aaronovitch's concept of the "universe" in which ''Doctor Who'' takes place [was] a fictional dimension in which characters such as [[Sherlock Holmes]] exist.|[[DWMS Summer 1993]]}}
Thus, ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'' made mention of [[Bernard Quatermass]] and his [[British Rocket Group]], while ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]'' saw the Doctor directly interacting with elements of [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] mythos such as [[Morgaine]] and [[Camelot]].
 
In [[2012 (releases)|2012]], ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' writer [[Andrew Hickey]] noted on his blog<ref>[https://andrewhickey.info/2012/09/07/i-blame-ronald-knox/#comment-18286 ''I Blame Ronald Knox'' on andrewhickey.info]</ref>:
{{quote|Any fiction I write takes place in the same universe as ''[[Doctor Who]]'' *and* ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' *and* ''[[Batman]]'' *and* ''[[Sherlock Holmes (series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' *and*… well, everything, really.|[[Andrew Hickey]]}}


== History ==
== History ==
The term "Whoniverse" dates at least as far back as [[Peter Haining]]'s [[1983]] 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.
The term "Whoniverse" dates at least as far back as [[Peter Haining]]'s 1983 reference book, ''[[A Celebration: Two Decades Through Time and Space|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]]'', ''[[K9 (TV series)|K9]]'' and ''[[Class (TV series)|Class]]''.
 
== One shared universe ==
The ''Doctor Who'' universe is the shared universe created and collected from the stories that are told about it.
 
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 2005)|Series 1]] of ''Doctor Who'' included references to the [[planet]] [[Lucifer (planet)|Lucifer]], [[kronkburger]]s and [[Justicia]], and [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 5]] revealed that [[Winston Churchill]] had met the Doctor before ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|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 (TV story)|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 (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]'' had a semi-sequel in the form of the ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' story ''[[The Last Sontaran (TV story)|The Last Sontaran]]''. ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End (TV story)|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 (TV story)|Invasion of the Bane]]''. Likewise, Sarah's description of the origins of her [[coulrophobia]] in ''[[The Day of the Clown (TV story)|The Day of the Clown]]'' returns the viewer to the setting of ''[[A Girl's Best Friend (TV story)|A Girl's Best Friend]]''.
 
In ''[[Liberty Hall (home video)|Liberty Hall]]'', a short minisode released with the DVD of ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'', [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] mentions being with [[Eighth Doctor|the Doctor]] in [[Malebolgia]] in [[2003]] (which is a reference to ''[[Minuet in Hell (audio story)|Minuet in Hell]]''). He also mentions [[Gordon Conall Lethbridge-Stewart|Gordon]] and [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] (who are characters from ''[[Downtime (home video)|Downtime]]'').
 
In ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'', the [[Eighth Doctor]] name checks four of his [[companion]]s from [[Big Finish Productions]]' audio dramas.
 
''[[Time Heist (TV story)|Time Heist]]'' features a gallery of [[criminal]]s including from both the classic and new series of ''Doctor Who'', ''Torchwood'', ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' as well as [[Abslom Daak]], a character from the [[Doctor Who Magazine]] comic strips.
In ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'', the [[Twelfth Doctor]] noted that the [[Cybermen]] had risen naturally from [[Mondas]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts (audio story)|Spare Parts]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'') [[Telos]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Cybermen (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Cybermen]]'') [[Pete's World|Earth]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)|Rise of the Cybermen]]''/ ''[[The Age of Steel (TV story)|The Age of Steel]]'') [[Planet 14]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion (TV story)|The Invasion]]'') and [[Marinus]], ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The World Shapers (comic story)|The World Shapers]]'') effectively validating all of these known instances of the Cybermen rising outside of the television stories.


"Whoniverse" gradually became a more specific term, at first used as a way to emphasize that ''Doctor Who'' stories told in other media were part of the same universe as those told on television and that ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series take place in the same universe. Prior to ''Torchwood'' and later ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', ''Doctor Who'' had not had a successful spin-off series. [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|Series 1]] of ''Doctor Who'' also included references to the [[planet]] [[Lucifer]], [[kronkburger]]s and [[Justicia]] and later, [[Slitheen-Blathereen family|descendants]] of the [[Blathereen]] appeared in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Additionally, [[Winston Churchill]] met the Doctor before ''[[Victory of the Daleks]]'', hinting that non-televised ''Doctor Who'' stories might take place in the "official" ''Doctor Who'' universe.
While such "crossovers" can be narratively insignificant, they nevertheless reinforce the notion of a single, shared universe.


[[file:122.jpg|thumb|''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' and ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' cross over into [[Doctor Who]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'')]]
The Twelfth Doctor also appeared in the [[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|first episode]] of the spin off series, ''[[Class (TV series)|Class]]'', confirming the series as part of the same "universe" as ''Doctor Who''.
[[Martha Jones]]'s employment by [[UNIT]] first got a mention 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 [[SJA]]: ''[[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.


The production team of the current production ''Doctor Who'', shy away from defining what is or is not canon. [[Steven Moffat]] observed at the 2008 Comic Con in San Diego that it is "impossible" for a show about a dimension-hopping time traveller to have a canon. Any disagreements between ''Doctor Who'' source material can be quickly rationalized by saying, "The audience just hasn't seen the adventure when the Doctor goes back in time and changes that detail."
== Other fictional universes ==
:''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.


Series writer [[Paul Cornell]] has stated in his blog that he does not believe that a ''Doctor Who'' canon actually exists.[http://paulcornell.blogspot.com/2007/02/canonicity-in-doctor-who.html]
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. For example, 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'' being part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe.


== Integrating elements into canon ==
A similar status is often ascribed to the two [[Peter Cushing]] films of the 1960s, ''[[Dr. Who and the Daleks (theatrical film)|Dr. Who and the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (theatrical film)|Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'', which borrow plots, characters and iconography from the TV stories ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'' and ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'', but alter various details to the extent that they seem irreconcilable with the televised version of events, and, indeed, most other stories involving a version of [[the Doctor]] — although notably, ''[[The Dalek Chronicles (comic series)|The Dalek Chronicles]]'' are just as much a prequel to these films as to the TV versions. As time went, the "Cushing Doctor" was considered more and more of an oddity, with writers and characters alike coming to denounce him as "not counting". The publication of ''[[Daleks Versus the Martians (comic story)|Daleks Versus the Martians]]'', as well as that of a series of unlicensed [[charity publication]]s featuring [[Dr. Who (Dr. Who and the Daleks)|Dr. Who]] by [[Obverse Books]], saw established ''Doctor Who'' writers trying to write in "the universe of the Cushing films", positing a world where the "canon" consisted of the two Cushing films and nothing else.
Fans have tended to not accept older elements, such as material presented in the ''[[Doctor Who Annual]]'', the comics published in ''[[TV Action]]'' into [[canon]]. The theatrical films ''[[Dr. Who and the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'', which portray a [[human]] "[[Dr. Who (Dalek movies)|Dr. Who]]" played by [[Peter Cushing]] are generally considered not canon, but a number of attempts have appeared to explain them away. In the short story ''[[The Five O'Clock Shadow]]'', the universe of the Dalek movies is described to be a sort of fairy tale that the [[First Doctor]] tells to [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]. Thus, while the Dalek movies are not set in the Whoniverse, some writers have chosen to consider them loosely canonical.


Likewise, the comic characters of [[John and Gillian]] are not generally regarded as inhabitants of the Whoniverse, but they have been made canonical by later writers' efforts to explain them as products of the [[Land of Fiction]] or dreams of the [[Eighth Doctor]]. ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Land of Happy Endings]]'')
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}


== See also ==
[[Category:Fan terminology]]
* [[Dr. Who (Land of Fiction)]]
* [[Doctor Who universe in other continuities]]
* [[Inconsistencies and Retcons]]
* [[Canon]]


{{wikipediainfo|Whoniverse}}
[[cs:DWU]]
[[Category:Time-Space Visualiser| ]]
[[es:Universo de Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Canon and continuity]]
[[nl:Doctor Who universum]]

Latest revision as of 01:39, 15 August 2024

RealWorld.png
You may wish to consult The Whoniverse (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

The Doctor Who universe, sometimes abbreviated "Whoniverse" or "DWU", is a term used by fans and, increasingly, the mainstream press to describe the shared fictional universe in which Doctor Who and its related spin-offs and other related series, takes place.

The term notably does not limit itself to "the Doctor's universe" in terms of the in-universe definition of those terms, instead including the full breadth of the reality in which the Doctor exists, including the multiverse they inhabit; Pete's World is well-established to be a part of "the DWU" despite being separate from the Doctor's universe.

Much like the related term of canon, its scope is somewhat debated by fans. Fans often disagree about whether some stories and series 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 video-, prose-, audio-, and comic-based series.

This wiki has established rules about what is and is not part of the Doctor Who universe for its own purposes (see our valid source policy for more information), but this wiki has no authority beyond its borders. Much like canon, consumers of Doctor Who-related media are free to decide for themselves what stories are part of the Doctor Who universe, or indeed, whether the concept exists at all in a meaningful fashion.

Concept[[edit] | [edit source]]

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 thousands of contributors to its mythos — its universe — with each new story being a new contribution to the universe.

The actual phrase "Doctor Who universe" and "Whoniverse" are terms that are used frequently throughout in BBC publications. In many BBC publications, they have phrased the continual development of the Doctor Who universe in terms of "continuing adventures" rather than a prescribed universe.[1]

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, it is stated that the establishment of the Black and White Guardians form important new characters within the "Doctor Who universe,"[2] while in the episode guide for The Celestial Toymaker, "the Celestial Toymaker's greatest legacy to the Doctor Who universe"[3] 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.

Other fiction in the DWU?[[edit] | [edit source]]

In addition to works which branched off of Doctor Who outwards, and thus expanded its universe, other works of fiction which some might deem unrelated to Doctor Who have been viewed by fans and creators alike as belonging to the DWU. This does not necessarily imply these works' original authorial intent was that they were set in the DWU — indeed, many predate the broadcast of An Unearthly Child — but simply that writers chose to view these works as "applicable" to Doctor Who in the same retroactive sense as real-world history itself.

The primary way this has manifested has been through some breeds of crossover, licensed or not. However, this idea that many preexisting works of fiction are valid history for the Doctor's universe has been espoused as a general philosophy by several writers of licensed DWU fiction. Ben Aaronovitch notably made it a guiding principle of his writing of Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who TV stories.

Aaronovitch's concept of the "universe" in which Doctor Who takes place [was] a fictional dimension in which characters such as Sherlock Holmes exist.DWMS Summer 1993

Thus, Remembrance of the Daleks made mention of Bernard Quatermass and his British Rocket Group, while Battlefield saw the Doctor directly interacting with elements of Arthurian mythos such as Morgaine and Camelot.

In 2012, Faction Paradox writer Andrew Hickey noted on his blog[4]:

Any fiction I write takes place in the same universe as Doctor Who *and* Faction Paradox *and* Batman *and* Sherlock Holmes *and*… well, everything, really.Andrew Hickey

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

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, The Sarah Jane Adventures, K9 and Class.

One shared universe[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor Who universe is the shared universe created and collected from the stories that are told about it.

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 of Doctor Who included references to the planet Lucifer, kronkburgers and Justicia, and 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 of The Sarah Jane Adventures, all hinting that non-televised Doctor Who stories might take place in the "official" Doctor Who universe.

Martha Jones's employment by UNIT was first mentioned in the Torchwood episode 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" and "Alistair" as possible names for Luke in Invasion of the Bane. Likewise, Sarah's description of the origins of her coulrophobia in The Day of the Clown returns the viewer to the setting of A Girl's Best Friend.

In Liberty Hall, a short minisode released with the DVD of Mawdryn Undead, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart mentions being with the Doctor in Malebolgia in 2003 (which is a reference to Minuet in Hell). He also mentions Gordon and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (who are characters from Downtime).

In The Night of the Doctor, the Eighth Doctor name checks four of his companions from Big Finish Productions' audio dramas.

Time Heist features a gallery of criminals including from both the classic and new series of Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures as well as Abslom Daak, a character from the Doctor Who Magazine comic strips.

In The Doctor Falls, the Twelfth Doctor noted that the Cybermen had risen naturally from Mondas, (AUDIO: Spare Parts, TV: The Tenth Planet) Telos, (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Cybermen) Earth, (TV: Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel) Planet 14 (TV: The Invasion) and Marinus, (COMIC: The World Shapers) effectively validating all of these known instances of the Cybermen rising outside of the television stories.

While such "crossovers" can be narratively insignificant, they nevertheless reinforce the notion of a single, shared universe.

The Twelfth Doctor also appeared in the first episode of the spin off series, Class, confirming the series as part of the same "universe" as Doctor Who.

Other fictional universes[[edit] | [edit source]]

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 timelines or parallel universes. 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. For example, both Scream of the Shalka and Death Comes to Time were retroactively declared by their creators (and in the case of Shalka, by the BBC) as not being part of the Doctor Who universe.

A similar status is often ascribed to the two Peter Cushing films of the 1960s, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., which borrow plots, characters and iconography from the TV stories The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth, but alter various details to the extent that they seem irreconcilable with the televised version of events, and, indeed, most other stories involving a version of the Doctor — although notably, The Dalek Chronicles are just as much a prequel to these films as to the TV versions. As time went, the "Cushing Doctor" was considered more and more of an oddity, with writers and characters alike coming to denounce him as "not counting". The publication of Daleks Versus the Martians, as well as that of a series of unlicensed charity publications featuring Dr. Who by Obverse Books, saw established Doctor Who writers trying to write in "the universe of the Cushing films", positing a world where the "canon" consisted of the two Cushing films and nothing else.

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. Richard, Justin, Doctor Who: The Legend
  2. The Ribos Operation. Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC (1993, 1998, 2003). Retrieved on 29th July 2012.
  3. The Celestial Toymaker. Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC (1993, 1998, 2003). Retrieved on 29th July 2012.
  4. I Blame Ronald Knox on andrewhickey.info