Story arc

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"Story arc" is a term which refers to a common thread in a series of stories, forming an overall "arc" throughout them. This can be a central subject that holds the stories together, such as Season 16 of Doctor Who, which featured the central theme throughout the season of the hunt for the Key to Time, and Trial of a Time Lord in Season 23. Other arcs only covered a few stories in the season, such as The E-Space Trilogy in the middle of Season 18.

Throughout the novels published by Virgin Publishing and BBC Books, each of the main ranges featuring the Seventh Doctor and Eighth Doctor (respectively) had ongoing story arcs. During the Virgin New Adventures' first four novels, a common thread of a being known as the Timewyrm flowed throughout the first four novels.

Throughout the Virgin New Adventures there were several story arcs that grouped several novels around ideas that flowed through sets of novels. The novels Blood Heat, The Dimension Riders, The Left-Handed Hummingbird, Conundrum and No Future had a common idea and a central character revealed only in the final novel of the story arc as the individual responsible for events throughout the arc.

When Doctor Who was revived for television by BBC Wales, Russell T Davies, the show's executive producer and head writer, introduced the first story arc for the new series of Doctor Who, known now as the Bad Wolf arc. It was the defined story arc which appeared throughout the first series of BBC Wales' Doctor Who.

The story arc has become a common feature of the new televised Doctor Who, with each series revealing its own unique story arc carried throughout each series. The only series not to include a story arc within the revived era is eleventh series.

Intention as an arc

Many stories during the 1963-1989 production of Doctor Who shared common themes in their writing and production history. However there is some contention concerning the intent of an arc. Regarding post-2005 TV Doctor Who, and those stories within the prose, comic and audio space there is often authorial or editorial intent in creating an arc thread through stories.

In 1963-1989 Doctor Who while there has been thematic links and some season-long stories such as Mission to the Unknown and The Daleks' Master Plan, Key to Time and The Trial of a Time Lord, other stories have been identified as having a thematic link without the interconnected arc that later stories or these contain.

Stories such as Seasons 1 to 6 have been viewed as "the Doctor’s origins/fleeing home/uncontrollable ship", Seasons 7 to 10 as the Third Doctor's Exile on Earth together with Season 8 - The Master.

Stories like the latter of the Daleks stories; Destiny of the Daleks, Resurrection of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks are now in reflection parts of the Dalek Civil War only in Revelation and Resurrection are these links apparent and it's unclear if this was an intentioned arc.

While other concepts like the Cartmel Masterplan was more of decision by writers to re-introduce mystery and darkness into the Doctor's character, rather than a defined "arc".

Similar to the story arcs but consisting of three stories, numerous trilogies have been formed in novels, television stories and audio stories. These stories may have thematic links rather than defined an arc through the stories.

Post-2005 arcs

In the post-2005 era of Doctor Who each series has had deliberate arc or thread through many of the stories in the series, usually culminating in a final story exploring the arc's origins / results of the arc's theme on the Doctor and companions. While most of the series in the post-2005 era do have some sort of defined arc, the mostly stand alone 2009 Specials are not, except a broad thematic sense leading towards the Tenth Doctor's regeneration and "He will knock four times".

• Series 1 - The Bad Wolf meme, while thematically exploring the Last Great Time War
• Series 2 - Torchwood Institute
• Series 3 - Contains references to the British election along with "You Are Not Alone" culminating in Harold Saxon
• Series 4 - Multiple references to disappearing bees and lost worlds with references to (and the return of) Rose Tyler and the Medusa Cascade.
• Series 5; - Cracks in Time and the opening of the Pandorica
• Series 6 - The Eleventh Doctor's apparent death at Lake Silencio
• Series 7 - The Impossible Girl, the multiple lives and deaths of Clara Oswald
• Series 8 - Missy and the Afterlife
• Series 9 - The Hybrid legend and the immortal Ashildr
• Series 10 - The Vault and Missy's rehabilitation.
• Series 11 - The Stenza,

• Series 12 - The Timeless Child and the Lone Cyberman
• Series 13 - The Flux, the Ravagers and the Division.

Prose

In prose as in audio both arcs and trilogies are present in several stories as authors and editors pursued thematic arcs and other arc-style stories in their ranges. In many of these ranges the arc-link is a character present throughout the stories.

Virgin New Adventures

• Timewyrm: Genesys, Timewyrm: Exodus, Timewyrm: Apocalypse and Timewyrm: Revelation — The Timewyrm tetralogy
• Love and War, Transit, The Highest Science, The Pit, Deceit, Lucifer Rising — Future History arc
• Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark, Nightshade, Love and War, The Pit, Deceit - Infected TARDIS arc
• Blood Heat, The Dimension Riders, The Left-Handed Hummingbird, Conundrum and No Future — The Alternate universe arc
• Warchild, SLEEPY, Christmas on a Rational Planet, Cold Fusion, The Death of Art, Damaged Goods and So Vile a Sin — The Psi powers arc

BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures

• Alien Bodies, Unnatural History, Interference - Book One, Interference - Book Two, The Taking of Planet 5, The Shadows of Avalon, The Ancestor Cell - Time Lords' future war with The Enemy
• Longest Day, Legacy of the Daleks, Dreamstone Moon, Seeing I - Interference of the I and Sam's separation from the Doctor
• The Shadows of Avalon, The Fall of Yquatine, Coldheart, The Space Age, The Banquo Legacy, The Ancestor Cell - loss of the TARDIS and travels in Compassion
• The Ancestor Cell, The Burning, Casualties of War, The Turing Test, Endgame, Father Time, Escape Velocity - Lost memory and second exile in Earth
• The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Hope, Anachrophobia, Trading Futures, The Book of the Still, The Crooked World, History 101, Camera Obscura - Introduction of Sabbath and the loss of the Doctor's second heart
• Time Zero, The Infinity Race, The Domino Effect, Reckless Engineering, The Last Resort, Timeless, Emotional Chemistry, Sometime Never... - Alternate universe arc, culminating in the final confrontation with the Council of Eight and Sabbath

Audio

In audio there is usually a thematic link or piece of dialogue linking stories. That a character has joined the TARDIS crew is somewhat of a tenuous link to define an arc, but a returning character may qualify as a vague arc such as Charlotte Pollard's travels with the Sixth Doctor from The Condemned to Blue Forgotten Planet

The Monthly Adventures

• Storm Warning, Sword of Orion, The Stones of Venice, Minuet in Hell, Invaders from Mars, The Chimes of Midnight, Seasons of Fear, Embrace the Darkness, The Time of the Daleks, Neverland - The Web of Time arc
• Zagreus, Scherzo, The Creed of the Kromon, The Natural History of Fear, The Twilight Kingdom, Faith Stealer, The Last, Caerdroia, The Next Life - Divergent Universe arc

• The Haunting of Thomas Brewster, The Boy That Time Forgot, Time Reef, A Perfect World - Thomas Brewster steals the TARDIS

• Patient Zero, Blue Forgotten Planet, Mission of the Viyrans, Urban Myths, Urgent Calls, I.D., The Wishing Beast, The Vanity Box, Order of Simplicity - Virus Strain arc
• The Magic Mousetrap', Enemy of The Daleks, The Angel of Scutari, Project: Destiny, A Death in The Family, Lurkers at Sunlights Edge, Robophobia, The Doomsday Quatrain, House of Blue Fire, Project: Nirvana, Protect and Survive, Black and White, Gods and Monsters - Black and White Tardis Arc, Elder Gods Arc.
• Cobwebs, The Whispering Forest, The Cradle of the Snake, Heroes of Sontar, Kiss of Death, Rat Trap, The Emerald Tiger, The Jupiter Conjunction, The Butcher of Brisbane, Eldrad Must Die!, The Lady of Mercia, Prisoners of Fate, Mistfall, Equilibrium, The Entropy Plague - Older Nyssa joins the TARDIS crew, Richter's Syndrome, return to E-Space
• Afterlife, Revenge of the Swarm, Mask of Tragedy, Signs and Wonders - Hex's resurrection
• You Are the Doctor and Other Stories, A Life of Crime, Fiesta of the Damned, Maker of Demons, The High Price of Parking, The Blood Furnace, The Silurian Candidate, Red Planets, The Dispossessed, The Quantum Possibility Engine - Mel's new travels with the Doctor and Ace

Eighth Doctor Adventures

• Blood of the Daleks, Human Resources, Grand Theft Cosmos, The Vengeance of Morbius, Orbis, Worldwide Web — Headhunter saga
• Situation Vacant, Nevermore, The Book of Kells, The Resurrection of Mars, Lucie Miller, To the Death - The revenge of the Monk.

The Companion Chronicles

• The Catalyst, Empathy Games, The Time Vampire, The Child — Leela's fate
• Echoes of Grey, The Memory Cheats, The Uncertainty Principle, Second Chances — Zoe's memories, the Company
• Fields of Terror, Across the Darkened City, The Bonfires of the Vanities, The Plague of Dreams — Interference in the First Doctor's timeline

Fourth Doctor Adventures

• The Sands of Life / War Against the Laan, The Dalek Contract / The Final Phase, The Pursuit of History / Casualties of Time — Cuthbert, the Conglomerate
• Series 8 — The Syndicate

New Series Adventures exclusive-to-audio books

• The Gods of Winter, The House of Winter, The Sins of Winter, The Memory of Winter - The Winter family

Other releases

• Excelis Saga
• Dark Eyes — Molly O'Sullivan, Dalek Time Controller, the Eminence
• Destiny of the Doctor — The Eleventh Doctor sends messages to his past selves
• The Worlds of Doctor Who — Mr Rees
• Doom Coalition — The Eleven, the Sonomancer, Padrac
• Ravenous — The Ravenous, the Eleven
• The Legacy of Time - The return of the Sirens of Time

Comics

Doctor Who Magazine

• Voyager, Polly the Glot, Once Upon a Time Lord - Task for Voyager
• Ground Zero, Fire and Brimstone, The Final Chapter, Wormwood - Fight against Threshold
• The Fallen, The Road to Hell, The Company of Thieves, The Glorious Dead - Fight for The Glory.
• Supernature, Planet Bollywood, The Golden Ones, The Screams of Death, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Apotheosis, The Child of Time - Chiyoko arc
• The Chains of Olympus, Sticks & Stones, The Cornucopia Caper, The Broken Man, Hunters of the Burning Stone - What is buried in man?
• The Pestilent Heart, Moving In, Bloodsport, Be Forgot, Doorway to Hell - Living with the Collins family
• The Parliament of Fear, Matildus, The Phantom Piper, The Clockwise War - Dreamspace arc
• The Warmonger, Herald of Madness, The Power of the Mobox, Mistress of Chaos - Catastrophia arc

Titan Comics

Thirteenth Doctor

• The Road to..., A New Beginning, Hidden Human History, Old Friends - Time Agency arc

Bernice Summerfield

Prose

• Where Angels Fear, The Mary-Sue Extrusion, Dead Romance, Return to the Fractured Planet, Twilight of the Gods - Dellahan gods arc

Audio

• to be added

Torchwood

Television

• Series 1 — The Rift, Owen’s infatuation with Diane, Owen and Gwen Cooper’s affair
• Series 2 — The resurrection of Owen Harper, Jack's past, John Hart
• Series 3 — The 456
• Series 4 — Miracle Day

Audio

• Aliens Among Us - The Sorvix, Ng
• God Among Us - God, the Committee

K9

Television

• Series 1 — The Great Cataclysm

Class

Television

• Series 1 - Corakinus, April's heart, the Cabinet of Souls, Miss Quill's arn, the Governors

Trilogies

Similar to the story arcs but consisting of three stories, numerous trilogies have been formed in novels, television stories and audio stories. These stories may have thematic links rather than defined an arc through the stories.

Television

• Full Circle, State of Decay, Warriors' Gate: The E-Space trilogy
• The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis, Castrovalva: The Return of the Decayed Master
• Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment: The Black Guardian
• Dragonfire, Silver Nemesis, The Curse of Fenric: Fenric
• The End of the World, New Earth, Gridlock: The Face of Boe
• Utopia, The Sound of Drums, Last of the Time Lords: The return of the War Master and his invasion of Earth
• The End of Time, The Day of the Doctor, Hell Bent: Return of the Time Lords
• The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, The Name of the Doctor: The Great Intelligence trilogy
• Extremis, The Pyramid at the End of the World, The Lie of the Land: The Monks trilogy
• The Haunting of Villa Diodati, Ascension of the Cybermen, The Timeless Children: The Ashad trilogy

Prose

• Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, Cat's Cradle: Warhead, Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark - Cat's Cradle trilogy
• Cat's Cradle: Warhead, Warlock, Warchild — Andrew Cartmel's War trilogy
• Sky Pirates!, Death and Diplomacy, Oblivion — Dave Stone's Clockwork trilogy
• The Scales of Injustice, Business Unusual, Instruments of Darkness — Gary Russell's C19 trilogy
• First Frontier, The Dark Path, The Face of the Enemy- David A. McIntee's Master trilogy
• Transit, Set Piece, The Also People - Ben Aaronovitch and Kate Orman's Kadiatu trilogy
• The Pit, Blood Harvest, Goth Opera - Vampire Trilogy
• Players, Endgame, World Game - Terrance Dicks' Players trilogy

Audio

• The Reaping, The Gathering, The Harvest: Cybermen trilogy
• Project: Twilight, Project: Lazarus, Project: Destiny: The Forge (more specifically exploring the fate of Cassandra Schofield)
• Project: Lazarus, Arrangements for War, Thicker Than Water: Evelyn Smythe's departure, Világ
• The Condemned, The Raincloud Man, The Crimes of Thomas Brewster: Patricia Menzies' meetings with the Doctor
• Home Truths, The Drowned World, The Guardian of the Solar System: Sara Kingdom in the House
• The Judgement of Isskar, The Destroyer of Delights, The Chaos Pool: The Key 2 Time trilogy
• The Perpetual Bond, The Cold Equations, The First Wave: Oliver Harper joins the TARDIS crew
• The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, The Feast of Axos, Industrial Evolution: The return of Thomas Brewster
• City of Spires, The Wreck of the Titan, Legend of the Cybermen: The Land of Fiction trilogy
• Protect and Survive, Black and White, Gods and Monsters: The Black and White TARDIS trilogy
• The Burning Prince, The Acheron Pulse, The Shadow Heart: The Drashani Empire trilogy
• Persuasion, Starlight Robbery, Daleks Among Us: Will Arrowsmith's travels with the Seventh Doctor and Klein, The hunt for Kurt Schalk
• 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men, 1963: The Space Race, 1963: The Assassination Games: The 1963 trilogy
• The Beginning, The Dying Light, Luna Romana - Stoyn
• The Widow's Assassin, Masters of Earth, The Rani Elite: Peri's new travels with the Doctor
• The War To End All Wars, The Founding Fathers, The Locked Room - Steven Taylor's fate
• The Defectors, Last of the Cybermen, The Secret History: The locum Doctors trilogy (Seventh, Sixth and Fifth Doctors swap places with the Third, Second and First as part of a plan engineered by the Monk)
• And You Will Obey Me, Vampire of the Mind, The Two Masters: The Multi-Master Trilogy (to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Master's debut)
• The Helliax Rift, Hour of the Cybermen, Warlock's Cross: The UNIT trilogy
• The Monsters of Gokroth, The Moons of Vulpana, An Alien Werewolf in London: Mags
• Gallifrey IV, Gallifrey V, Gallifrey VI: Alternative Gallifreys
• Men of War, Horrors of War, Fortunes of War: First World War trilogy

Multi-Media

The Time Lord Victorious series would mark the first time in the Doctor Who universe that a story arc would encompass multiple different forms of media.