Theory:Timeline - Seventh Doctor: Difference between revisions

This page lists '''appearances of the [[Seventh Doctor]] in the order in which he experienced them'''. This timeline is based upon observations of the ''Doctor Who'' universe and the events that occur during each of these stories. From these observations we have attempted to build a concise timeline. It is assumed, much like its TV story counterparts that for each novel or audio series their published/numbered order is the order they occur in. This does not apply to short stories which are often ambiguous about their placement. There are also many gaps between stories.

The layout of this timeline is in part based on the observations on [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who.htm#7TH Doctor Who Reference Guide] and [http://www.eyespider.org.uk/drwho/sm/list.html Doctor Who - The Complete Adventures], as well as Lance Parkin's ''[[AHistory]]'' and other sources that allow us to make observations, such as [http://www.whoniverse.net/biography/timeline07 The Whoniverse], [http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/seventh-doctor.html Doctor Who Reviews], [http://www.doctorwhoreviews.altervista.org/Seventh%20Doctor.htm The History of Doctor Who], [http://www.whoniverse.net/discontinuity The Discontinuity Guide], [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/ Clive Banks databanks], [http://forums.bigfinish.com/threads/5950-The-Seventh-Doctor-s-Timeline the Big Finish forums] and [http://notthebigfinishforum.freeforums.net/thread/114/7-seventh-doctors-timelne The Divergent Universe forum]. None of these sources should be used solely as a source or considered a "true" timeline for stories.

== Organisational aids ==

The Doctor's timeline is organised by companion, TARDIS, outfit, and personality. However, few indicators are absolute. His companions often leave and rejoin him, he switches TARDISes and TARDIS interiors multiple times, he sometimes explicitly wears the "wrong" outfit for a period, and his personality can be difficult to pin down. He's also seen removing his more "useless" memories in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys (novel)|Timewyrm: Genesys]]'', explaining errors in continuity he makes.

The Doctor switches from usually wearing his lighter jacket to usually wearing the darker one in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[1963: The Assassination Games (audio story)|1963: The Assassination Games]]''. His white linen suit is introduced in [[PROSE]]: ''[[White Darkness (novel)|White Darkness]]'', though he might have worn it before. Stories where he wears his tweed jacket should be placed after [[PROSE]]: ''[[So Vile a Sin (novel)|So Vile a Sin]]''.

Stories where the Doctor travels in his alternate self's TARDIS take place after [[PROSE]]: ''[[Blood Heat (novel)|Blood Heat]]'' and before [[PROSE]]: ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'', but often which TARDIS he is using goes unmentioned, and what companions he is with are a more useful indicator. Stories where he travels in his black TARDIS take place after [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge (audio story)|Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge]]'' and before [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Gods and Monsters (audio story)|Gods and Monsters]]''. Stories where the TARDIS is white take place after [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Angel of Scutari (audio story)|The Angel of Scutari]]'' and before [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Gods and Monsters (audio story)|Gods and Monsters]]''

Any stories where the Doctor is travelling with just [[Melanie Bush]] must take place between ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'' and ''[[Dragonfire (TV story)|Dragonfire]]'', while any story with her and [[Ace]] must follow ''[[A Life of Crime (audio story)|A Life of Crime]]''.

Any stories involving a younger Ace must take place from ''[[Dragonfire (TV story)|Dragonfire]]'' to ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'', while any story where Ace has combat-training must take place after ''[[Deceit (novel)|Deceit]]''.

Any stories where he travels with [[Bernice Summerfield]] must take place between ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'' and ''[[Deceit (novel)|Deceit]]'', or between ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'' and ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]''. Any stories where Ace and Benny's relationship is non-antagonistic must take place after ''[[No Future (novel)|No Future]]''.

Any story with [[Roz Forrester]] and [[Chris Cwej]] as companions must take place between ''[[Original Sin]]'' and ''[[So Vile a Sin]]''. Any story featuring just Chris as a companion must take place before ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]''.

Any story where the Doctor and Ace travel with Hex must take place between ''[[The Harvest (audio story)|The Harvest]]'' and ''[[Signs and Wonders (audio story)|Signs and Wonders]]''.

The Doctor edits his more "useless" memories in ''Timewyrm: Genesys'', which can explain anything he's forgotten from previous incarnations and adventures.

The ''Doctor Who Magazine'' comics start off with the Doctor travelling with [[Frobisher]], who acts like [[Peri Brown]] has just departed, before he himself leaves the series. The early comics also portray the Doctor as he acted in ''Time and the Rani'', until ''Nemesis of the Daleks'' sees him act as the manipulator he had become in the latter part of his television tenure.

=== Ace ===

Ace loses some of her memories in ''Timewyrm: Genesys'' and ''The Prisoner's Dilemma'', which can explain anything she's forgotten from her previous travels.

Throughout their travels together, Ace continued to mature and come to terms with her past and how she coped with it. The early audios that have her and the Doctor traveling with [[Raine Creevy]] generally follow the characteristics established by the television series; an immature rebel who enjoys explosives and is often in the dark about the Doctor's plans.  

In [[Virgin New Adventures]], Ace undergoes major character development after a fallout with the Doctor. It is this version of Ace that develops with the Doctor and [[Bernice Summerfield]] in the VNA series, after returning from fighting the [[Dalek]]s with [[Spacefleet]]; She often identifies herself as a soldier, and is abrasive toward the Doctor and Benny, at least until ''No Future'', where the three resolve their differences. Ace then becomes less prone to using explosives, more dedicated to TARDIS-life, and more accepting of the Doctor's manipulative nature, until she leaves again to become Time's Vigilante.  

David Bishop, when writing ''Enemy of the Daleks'', based Ace on the combat-trained "New Ace" from the New Adventures; this potentially indicates that the audio is set after ''Deceit''.

The biggest complication surrounding Ace is her death in ''Ground Zero'', in which she is shown travelling with the Doctor as he is seen in ''Doctor Who''.

Following on from ''The Chameleon Factor'', the TARDIS is changed to a beige design and retains it for most of the Doctor's continued travels, until ''Lungbarrow'', where the TARDIS changes into a Victorian parlour design to resemble the Doctor's family estate in the [[House of Lungbarrow]], and retains the look into ''Doctor Who''.

However, in ''The Settling'', the TARDIS is redecorated by the Doctor, [[Ace]] and [[Hex]] to the Victorian parlour design seen in ''Doctor Who'', though it reverts to the old design from ''Black and White'' to '' Gods and Monsters'', and is changed back again in ''Signs and Wonders''.  

Furthermore, in ''Ground Zero'', the elderly Doctor is using his old interior design until the TARDIS is damaged and forced to change the interior design, with the authorial intent being that it changed to the Victorian parlour design in the lead up to ''Doctor Who''. Also, ''Excelis Decays'' claims that the Doctor apparently built the Victorian parlour design himself.

=== Travels with Mel ===

: Set after ''Delta and the Bannermen''.

* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Just War (novel)|Just War]]''

=== Early travels with Ace ===

* [[COMIC]]: ''[[War World! (comic story)|War World!]]''

=== Growing darker ===

: Ace recognises the Master, so this is after ''Survival'' for her. After thwarting the Mater's scheme, Ace is kidnapped [[Adam Mitchell]], leading directly into ''Endgame''.

: This is Ace's first encounter with an [[Ice Warrior]]. The Doctor claims to have never delivered a baby before he delivers baby [[Raine Creevy]]. The Doctor tries to get Ace accepted into the [[Time Lord Academy]], but she turns down the offer when offered.

: Set almost immediately after ''Thin Ice''. After defeating the [[Metatraxi]], the Doctor offers [[Raine Creevy]] the chance to travel in the TARDIS, which she accepts.

: Raine's first journey is to [[Margrave University]] in [[2001]], where, she discovers that her father has died. Upset by the revelation, Raine decides to stay at Margrave for a short time.

: The Doctor is depicted in his brown coat on the cover, and has a more jovial outlook, so this has been placed before ''Nightshade'', where he becomes more dedicated to his plans.

=== Beginnings as Time's champion ===

: The Doctor is making a cube in his lab that Ace must not know about, setting this shortly before ''Love and War''.

: The Doctor is acquainted with [[Abslom Daak]], placing this after ''Nemesis of the Daleks''. Ace claims that the events of ''Nightshade'' occurred some months ago.  

: As the Doctor leaves in the TARDIS, he calls out to Benny.

: The Doctor inexplicably has a [[sonic screwdriver]].

=== Ace returns ===

=== Struggling with alternate timelines ===

: The Big Finish website places this audio after ''The Shadow of the Scourge''.

: Ace is 26-years-old. After an ordeal with the [[Ant (Set Piece)|Robot Ants]], Ace leaves the TARDIS crew to become Time's Vigilante.

=== Alone with Benny ===

* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Original Sin (novel)|Original Sin]]''

: The Doctor and Benny are joined by [[Adjudicator]]s [[Roz Forrester]] and [[Chris Cwej]], who wish to escape the corruption and manipulation rife on Earth in their time.

: The Doctor, Roz and Chris have only just left Benny and Jason's wedding, placing this immediately after ''Happy Endings''.

* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Cold Fusion (novel)|Cold Fusion]]''

: Chris unsuccessfully pretends to be the [[Fifth Doctor]], setting this story after ''Cold Fusion''.

: Set immediately after ''Damaged Goods''. Roz dies leading her sister's forces into battle against the army of Emperor Walid as part of Leabie's revolution. The Doctor suffers a one sided heart attack at her funeral, and has a vision of Death tormenting him about his coming demise. The Doctor begins wearing the clothes from ''Doctor Who''.

 

: The Doctor is wearing his cream linen suit, setting this near ''Bullet Time''.

: The Doctor is wearing his cream linen suit, setting this near ''Bullet Time''.

: The Doctor returns to the [[House of Lungbarrow]]. Chris decides to travel alone using a [[Time ring]] given to him by Romana. The Doctor is sent on a mission by the Time Lords to pick up {{Roberts}}'s remains on [[Skaro]], and is also given a new [[sonic screwdriver]] by Romana.

: Ace obtains a CD Walkman from [[Paul Tanner]].

: At [[Colditz Castle]] during the [[Second World War]], the Doctor and Ace are confronted by [[Elizabeth Klein]], a scientist from an alternate timeline, who escapes her defeat as an anomaly. Ace decides to be called "McShane" from this story on.

: Set after ''Colditz''.

* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Heroine, the Hero and the Megalomaniac (short story)|The Heroine, the Hero and the Megalomaniac]]''

: Ace has significant military and tactical knowledge, implying a post-''Deceit'' setting. This is Hex's his first encounter with the [[Dalek]]s.

: The Doctor goes to [[Alaska]], setting this after ''Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible''.  

: The Doctor meets [[Liv Chenka]] while testing his new black TARDIS.

: After a battle against the Kai'lizakia, [[The Forge|Forge]] operative [[Lysandra Aristedes]] joins the Doctor and Sally in the Black TARDIS.

: Ace no longer knows her age, setting this after ''Set Piece'', where she knew for a fact she was 26. The Doctor has posited Lysandra to fight in a war in her native time, and Sally also leaves the TARDIS.

: Hector leaves the TARDIS and settles down with Sally to raise a family. Ace's glimpses herself wearing a high collar, riding a motorbike in Paris in the 19th century, and being surrounded by the [[Lobri]] in her future.

: The TARDIS interior has its Victorian parlour design. <!--Movie sounds at 1hr 25min-->

: ''Ace is eventually left in the Academy on [[Gallifrey]] by the Doctor to become a Time Lord. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[UNIT: Dominion (audio story)|UNIT: Dominion]]'') Ace's life on Gallifrey can be blamed for the anomalies in her aging or sterility, such as with [[Leela]] and [[Chris Cwej]].''

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Unknown (audio story)|The Unknown]]''

: The Doctor's mentions having a best friend who is an archaeologist, referring to Benny.

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Eye of the Storm (audio story)|The Eye of the Storm]]''

: Follows on from ''The Unknown''. The TARDIS is using its Victorian parlour interior.

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Many Happy Returns (audio story)|Many Happy Returns]]''

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Revolution (audio story)|The Revolution]]''

: The Doctor finds Benny, and asks her to help him find Ace, who has left Gallifrey. The Doctor is wearing his cream linen suit on the cover, but dialogue describes him in his question mark pullover.

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Good Night, Sweet Ladies (audio story)|Good Night, Sweet Ladies]]''

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Lights of Skaro (audio story)|The Lights of Skaro]]''

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Pyramid of Sutekh (audio story)|The Pyramid of Sutekh]]''

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vaults of Osiris (audio story)|The Vaults of Osiris]]''

: Ace has had a TARDIS driving lesson.

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Eye of Horus (audio story)|The Eye of Horus]]''

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Tears of Isis (audio story)|The Tears of Isis]]''

:: ''Ace eventually returns to Gallifrey. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Enemy Lines (audio story)|Enemy Lines]]'')''

: The Doctor is wearing his linen suit and is wistful about travelling alone. After reencountering [[Elizabeth Klein]], the Doctor insists on her accompanying him on his travels so that he can keep an eye on her, knowing she will continue to pose a threat to history.

: After Klein is erased from history by the Time Lords, the Doctor visits [[UNIT]] to find a different version of Klein now working there. The Doctor is beginning to show signs of aging; his hair is depicted as tufts growing out of the side of his head.

: [[Raine Creevy]] is travelling with an older Doctor, and Ace is on Gallifrey. The TARDIS is using its Victorian parlour interior.

: The Doctor is older looking and traveling with a teenaged Ace. Ace is killed and the white TARDIS interior is damaged, implying that it is about to change to the Victorian parlour interior seen in ''Doctor Who''. Any placement for this story will be contentious because of Ace's apparent death, though it is revealed in ''Sometime Never...'' that the [[Council of Eight]] were attempting to eliminate the Doctor's past companions, but they were thwarted by the [[Eighth Doctor]], resulting in the restoration of multiple timelines and free will to the Universe.

: Set after ''Excelis Decays'', with the Doctor presented as older looking. He briefly considers returning to Gallifrey.

: The Doctor uses the alias "Vaughn Sutton," so this is after ''Excelis Decays''. He also makes vague references to Benny, Chris and Roz, placing this after ''Original Sin'' as well. The Doctor has just "burned back into existence", so this is placed immediately after ''A Death in the Family''.

: The Doctor thinks back to his recent failures in ''Excelis Decays'', ''Project: Lazarus'' and ''Master''.

: The Doctor is serving on a medical ship, saving lives, in order to atone for his recent actions, which is possibly a reference to ''Love and War'', or ''Master''. Given the amount of time the Doctor has spent on the ship, the latter seems the most plausible.

* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Eleven (audio story)|The Eleven]]''

: After managing to capture [[the Eleven]], the Doctor is cryptically informed of a task he has to complete for the High Council. This is presumably the task he was given in ''Lungbarrow'', to retrieve {{Roberts}}'s remains from [[Skaro]], setting this immediately prior to ''Doctor Who''.

: Having visibly aged from years of his Machiavellian schemes, the Doctor is shot in a [[San Francisco]] gang shootout while transporting the Master's remains from Skaro to Gallifrey. Taken to [[Walker General Hospital]], the Doctor dies when Dr. [[Grace Holloway]]'s exploratory surgery damages his circulatory system. Despite the [[anaesthesia]] halting the process, the Doctor is able to [[Regeneration|regenerate]] into his [[Eighth Doctor|next incarnation]] several hours later.