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| :''For policy information for how we deal with canon on this wiki, see [[Tardis:Canon policy]].'' | | :''For policy information for how we deal with canon on this wiki, see [[Tardis:Canon policy]].'' |
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| '''Canon''' is a fan-based idea that exists in a unique way within ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fandom. In ''theory'', it means a body of work that an established body of literature that can draw upon<ref name="Eruditorum">{{cite web|url=http://tardiseruditorum.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-were-expecting-someone-else-ii-1966.html|title=You Were Expecting Someone Else II (1966 Annual, The Dalek Book, Dalek World) |author=Philip Sandifer|date of source=Wednesday, March 16, 2011|website name=TARDIS Eruditorum: A Psychochronography in Blue|accessdate=22nd October 2011}}</ref>, but it is more commonly thought as what a [[fan (person)|fan]] considers what forms part of the ''[[Doctor Who universe|Doctor Who]]''[[Doctor Who universe| universe]], or what "really happened". This is often a personal choice, one which is ''endlessly'' discussed and argued about in just about every ''Doctor Who''-related forum or message board that has existed on the internet. | | '''Canon''' is a term used by the Roman Catholic Church from the Latin ''Codex Canonum Ecclesiarium Orientalium''<ref>http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19901018_index-codex-can-eccl-orient_lt.html</ref> to identify which books of the Holy Bible are and are not inspired by Almighty God. |
| Unlike the ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Star Wars]]'' universes, the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] (BBC) has never made a pronouncement about what is or is not canon for ''Doctor Who''.<ref name="PC Canon in DW">{{cite web|url=http://www.paulcornell.com/2007/02/canonicity-in-doctor-who.html|title=Canonicity in Doctor Who|author=Paul Cornell|date of source= Feb 10 2007|website name=PaulCornell.com|accessdate=22nd October 2011}}</ref>
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| In August 2010 however, the BBC did make a fleeting reference to canon, in relation to their ''[[Doctor Who: The Adventure Games]],'' stating in their press release that "Players will encounter new and original monsters, in stories which form part of the overall Doctor Who canon". <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/04_april/08/doctor_who.shtml|title=BBC unveils Doctor Who – The Adventure Games|date of source=08.04.2010|website name=BBC - Press Office|accessdate=22nd October 2011}}</ref>
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| A large issue when attempting to construct a definition of canon for ''Doctor Who'' is that it is never finished; ''Doctor Who'' has been in more or less constant production in one way or another since [[1963 (production)|1963]], what with TV stories, novelisations, novels, radio dramas, audio stories, toys, comic stories and so much more. Some fans want a complete narrative, but ''Doctor Who'' can never be complete. <ref>Magrs, Paul, (2007), "Afterword - My Adventures", ''[[Time and Relative Dissertations in Space]]'', Manchester University Press, Manchester, UK, &, Room 400, New York, USA, p.302</ref>
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| == Narrative history ==
| | Numerous fanatical devotees of fictional works such as Star Wars, Twilight, Harry Potter, Supernatural, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and most notably Star Trek<ref>http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Canon</ref> appropriated this term. |
| Canon can be defined as the body of cultural/narrative history of ''Doctor Who'' that everything narratively ''Doctor Who'' related is canon, from the annuals to the audio stories, their ideas, their history filters down through their stories becomes part of the larger ''Doctor Who'' universe. With writers being influenced or referencing this body of work as they create new stories.<ref name="Eruditorum" /> This can also be seen as [[continuity]], which is roughly the interconnectedness of stories and how they're referenced in each story.
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| As a narrative history, that it exists is enough to consider it canon, the ideas and themes, forms and designs filter down through the stories, with elements making their way into future productions. The Dalek space craft of ''[[The Dalek Chronicles]]'' were worked into CGI replacement shots on the DVD of ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'' and then further into television stories such as ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]''. Again this can merely be an example of [[continuity]] within the show rather than as an established canon.
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| == Competing narratives ==
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| Throughout ''Doctor Who's'' production there have always been 'competing narratives'; stories produced across several mediums that used the TV-created characters, in the 1960s and 70s these took the form of short stories and comic stories produced in annuals and comic strips. In the 1980s ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' joined the fray with their own comic strip based stories and as the annuals did and continued to do short fiction was also produced for the magazine.
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| During the 1990s ''Doctor Who'' as a brand shifted and fragmented with the end of television production, with multiple [[Doctor Who spin-offs|''Doctor Who'' spin-offs]] being produced by fans and novel series published by [[Virgin Books]] continuing the Doctor's travels beyond its TV realm. Concurrently, the TV series was analysed in detail, academics unearthing long undiscovered materials about the genesis of the show, and the official history of the ''Doctor Who'' series was greatly expanded upon within a postmodern context. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/doctor_who.htm|title=DOCTOR WHO The Transmedia Experience |author=Frank Collins |date of source=|website name=Television Heaven|accessdate=22nd October 2011}}</ref>
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| == Other universes ==
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| There have been deliberate moves to create separate canons of ''Doctor Who'', the earliest example of this are the two movies of the [[1960s]], staring [[Peter Cushing]] ''[[Dr. Who and the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'' make no effort to be a part of what even at that point was "established", with none of the ''Doctor Who'' elements, aside from the police box and the Daleks appearing in their accepted form. These stories however still "exist" and have not been ignored by even the BBC with a short story appearing in the [[BBC Books]] short story anthology ''[[Short Trips and Side Steps]]'' featuring a story featuring Dr Who.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv61/rev-shorttrips.html|title=Short Trips and Side Steps: A Collection of Short Stories - Book review|author=Jon Preddle|date of source=December 2000|website name=NZDWFC|accessdate=22nd October 2011}}</ref>
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| Other examples are evidenced with an official shift in definition, [[2003]]'s ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]'' '''was''' to have been the continuation of ''Doctor Who'', with [[Richard E. Grant]] promoted as the "new" Ninth Doctor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2003/07/09/5660.shtml|title=BBCi's Ninth Doctor|accessdate=22nd October 2011|date of source=11 July 2003|website name=BBC - News|publisher=bbc.co.uk|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060815015720/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2003/07/09/5660.shtml|archivedate=August 15 2006}}</ref> The BBC's first edition of ''[[Doctor Who: The Legend]]'' even has several pages which details the "Ninth Doctor". But this detail was changed and the [[Ninth Doctor (Scream of the Shalka)|"Shalka Doctor"]] shifted away from what was considered to be part of the ''Doctor Who'' history with the arrival of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|the new BBC Wales series]].
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| == See also ==
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| * [[Fanon]]
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| * [[Continuity]]
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| * [[Tardis:Canon policy]]
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| == Footnotes ==
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| {{reflist}}
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| == External links ==
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| * [http://paulcornell.blogspot.com/2007/02/canonicity-in-doctor-who.html#links Paul Cornell blog post about canonicity in the Doctor Who Universe]
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| * [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.drwho/browse_thread/thread/da90438e52602afc/14af5f8a005dc5b8?lnk=st&q=canon&rnum=81#14af5f8a005dc5b8 Kate Orman's 1996 observations as to what people mean by canon]
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| * [http://www.whoniverse.net/wiki/Canon Canon as defined by the WhoniverseWiki]
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| {{wikipediainfo|Canon (fiction)}} | | {{wikipediainfo|Canon (fiction)}} |
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| [[Category:Fan terminology]] | | [[Category:Fan terminology]] |
