Tardis:Resources
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There are several resources that may prove useful in researching articles for the TARDIS Index File.
These resources, and the articles on which they are used broadly fit into two categories narrative-based and behind the scenes.
This article primarily concerns non-fiction or non-narrative sources with which you can use to write the real world or behind the scenes sections or articles.
This article represents all the reference texts we currently have articles for, there are many others, you can help by creating more reference work articles.
For in-universe pages information about valid sources can be found on our aptly named valid sources page, there is also a page that contains a more detailed list of sources.
For questions about specific parts of the Doctor Who universe, or those people, places and things that help create the DWU you can ask at the Reference desk forum or your question may have already been asked you can check in the Reference desk archives to see if it has.
Reference books
These are books that contain any information about the making of Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures or any thing else that is connected to or part of Doctor Who.
- Torchwood reference books
- Dalek reference books
- Doctor Who reference books
- Real world biographies
- SJA reference books
- Reference books by publication
- Reference books by year of release
- The Monster Vault
- Kklak! - The Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos
- Top Trumps (book)
- The Doctor Who Production Guide Volume Three: Cast and Crew
- Top Trumps Series Three
- Top Trumps Series Four
- Time Travels
- Doctor Who The Handbook
- The Punchdrunk Encyclopaedia
- The DNA of Doctor Who
- The Ultimate Collection (series)
Doctor Who handbooks
These were a series of seven books that were published by in the mid-1990s by Doctor Who Books, written by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker. These handbooks have been highly regarded as Doctor Who reference works.
- Doctor Who The Handbook
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fifth Doctor
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The First Doctor
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fourth Doctor
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Second Doctor
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Seventh Doctor
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Sixth Doctor
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Third Doctor
Doctor Who reference books
These books are a range of texts that cover everything from programme guides, books covering behind the scenes information, in-universe books detailing information that was not covered within the narrative and purely illustrated books that showcase a particular artist's work.
- Creatures and Demons (reference book)
- Doctor Who: Regeneration
- A History of the Universe (reference book)
- The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record
- The Gallifrey Chronicles (reference book)
- Aliens and Enemies (reference book)
- The Sixties
- The Doctor Who Monster Book
- Travel Without the TARDIS
- The Terrestrial Index
- The Target Book
- Special Effects (reference book)
- Howe's Transcendental Toybox
- Monsters and Villains (reference book)
- The Seventies
- The Early Years (reference book)
- The Visual Dictionary (reference book)
- Doctor Who On Location
- The Companions (reference book)
- Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia (reference book)
- The Second Doctor Who Monster Book
- The Making of Doctor Who
- The Doctor Who Programme Guide
- The New Audio Adventures: The Inside Story
- The Time-Travellers' Guide
- The Making of a Television Series
- The TARDIS Inside Out
- The Nth Doctor
- Cybermen (reference book)
- The Universal Databank (reference book)
- The Completely Useless Encyclopedia
- The Completely Unofficial Encyclopedia
- 25 Glorious Years
- The Doctor Who File
- The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)
- Doctor Who: The Inside Story
- The Writer's Tale
- The Television Companion
- Companions and Allies (reference book)
- A Celebration: Two Decades Through Time and Space
- The Doctor Who Technical Manual (reference book)
- The Monsters
- The Legend
- The Legend Continues
- A Book of Monsters
- The Eighties
- Timeframe: The Illustrated History
- Blacklight
- Classic Who - The Hinchcliffe Years
- Classic Who - The Harper Classics
- Ace! (reference book)
- The Ultimate Monster Guide (reference book)
- The Art of Doctor Who (reference book)
- Farewell Great Macedon (script)
- Space Travels
- Timeview: The Complete Doctor Who Illustrations of Frank Bellamy
- The Adventures of K9 and Other Mechanical Creatures
- The Book of Lists
- The Doctor Who Illustrated A-Z
- The Nine Lives of Doctor Who
- The TARDIS Handbook (reference book)
- The Brilliant Book 2011
- Doctor Who Monsters: A Bestiary
- The Brilliant Book 2012
- Doctor Who Monster Miscellany
- The Eleventh Doctor: Matt Smith
- Doctor Who Handbooks
- Doctor Who analysis books
- The Pandorica Opens: Exploring the worlds of the Eleventh Doctor
- Companions (reference book)
- The Doctors - 30 Years of Time Travel
- Who-ology: The Official Miscellany
- Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia
- The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years
- The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter
- Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who
- Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It
- Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things: Cultural Perspectives on Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
- The Unsilent Library: Essays on the Russell T. Davies Era of the new Doctor Who
- Lost in Time and Space: An Unofficial Guide to the Uncharted Journeys of Doctor Who
- Wit, Wisdom and Timey Wimey Stuff – The Quotable Doctor Who
- The Doctor: His Lives and Times
- The Life and Times of A Doctor Who Dummy: My Part In His Second Regeneration
- The Secret Lives of Monsters (reference book)
- The Essential Book of K9
- 1001 Completely Random Doctor Who Facts
- The Ultimate Doctor Who Fan Quiz Book
- Who is the Doctor (reference book)
- Who's 50: The 50 Doctor Who Stories to Watch Before You Die
- The Doctors Are In: The Essential and Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who's Greatest Time Lord
- Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who
- Whographica: An Infographic Guide To Space And Time
- Who Beyond 50: Celebrating Five Decades of Doctor Who
- The Eleventh Hour: A Critical Celebration of the Matt Smith and Steven Moffat Era
- Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe
- Encyclopedia of The Worlds of Doctor Who
- TARDIS Type 40 Instruction Manual (reference book)
- The Women Who Lived (reference book)
- Queers Dig Time Lords
- What Is the Story of Doctor Who?
- Army of Ghosts: Essays on Doctor Who's Sometimes Forgotten Stories
- 100 Illustrated Adventures
- Who and Me
- Doctor Who and Race
- Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia: Updated Edition (reference book)
- The Complete Visual Collection
- Doctor Who: The Essential Guide
- Doctor Who: The Essential Guide (Twelfth Doctor Edition)
- The Monster Vault
- The Doctor Who Production Guide Volume Three: Cast and Crew
- Dalek Combat Training Manual (reference book)
- The Thirteenth Doctor's Guide (reference book)
- Impossible Worlds
- Starships and Spacestations (reference book)
- 60 Moments in Time
- The Visual Dictionary (series)
- A Day with a TV Producer
- The BBC Radiophonic Workshop - The First 25 Years
- The Doctor Who Encylopedia: The Baker Years
- 100 Scariest Monsters (reference book)
- The DWB Compendium
- The DWB Interview File
- Science Fiction Audiences
- The Discontinuity Guide
- Companion Compendium (reference book)
- The Doctor Who Chronology
- Into the Vortex (reference book)
- Illuminart 1
- Illuminart 2
- Illuminart 3
- Exterminart!
- The Official Guide (reference book)
Doctor Who analysis books
These are Doctor Who books that provide analysis or breakdown of Doctor Who stories or of the universe as a whole. These can be books that provide an in-depth media anaylsis, or a running commentary of stories, or individual breakdowns and analysis of stories be it TV, novel or audio based.
- The Unfolding Text
- The Discontinuity Guide
- Doctor Who From A to Z
- Licence Denied
- Timelink
- Running Through Corridors
- Memoirs of an Edwardian Adventurer
- About Time
- The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who (anthology)
- The Black Archive
- The Complete History
- Pocket Essentials: Doctor Who
- I, Who
- Sheffield Steel: Essays on the Thirteenth Doctor
- The Doctor Who Companion
- TARDIS Eruditorum
- Back to The Eleventh Hour
- Bookwyrm: An Unauthorized & Unconventional Guide to the Doctor Who Novels
Script books
Script books are useful for behind the scenes information and can be a source of information that was not present in stories (or is not present in the case of missing stories).
- Doctor Who: The Scripts
- The Audio Scripts
- The Audio Scripts: Volume Two
- The Script of the Film
- Doctor Who script books
- Farewell Great Macedon (script)
- The Tribe of Gum (script)
- The Tomb of the Cybermen (script)
- The Talons of Weng-Chiang (script)
- The Daleks (script)
- The Masters of Luxor (script)
- The Daemons (script)
- The Power of the Daleks (script)
- Ghost Light (script)
- Galaxy 4 (script)
- The Crusade (script)
- The Scripts: Tom Baker 1974/5
- The Shooting Scripts
- The Audio Scripts: Volume Three
- The Audio Scripts: Volume Four
- Dalek Empire: The Scripts
- The Audio Scripts (book series)
- Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angel (script)
- Faction Paradox Protocols: The Scripts
- A Christmas Carol: Draft 1 (script)
Torchwood reference books
- Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)
- Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things: Cultural Perspectives on Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
Video-based documentaries
- Doctor Who documentaries
- Documentaries about missing episodes
- BBV documentaries
- Torchwood documentaries
- Doctor Who punditry documentaries
- Species spotlight documentaries
- Character spotlight documentaries
- History of Doctor Who documentaries
- Thematic spotlight documentaries
- Location spotlight documentaries
- Merchandise spotlight documentaries
- Real history spotlight documentaries
- Music spotlight documentaries
- Production spotlight documentaries
- Fandom spotlight documentaries
- Science spotlight documentaries
- Documentary series
- Audio production spotlight documentaries
- Documentaries by year of release
- Untitled (1963 trailer)
- Big Finish documentaries
- Trials and Tribulations (documentary)
- Going Underground: The Making of The Web of Fear (documentary)
- Doctor Who Am I
- Children in Need documentaries
- Imagine... Russell T Davies: The Doctor and Me (documentary)
Categories containing video documentaries
These categories contain articles about various subject matters. They are all contained within the Documentaries category.
- Doctor Who documentaries
- Documentaries about missing episodes
- BBV documentaries
- Torchwood documentaries
- Doctor Who punditry documentaries
- Species spotlight documentaries
- Character spotlight documentaries
- History of Doctor Who documentaries
- Thematic spotlight documentaries
- Location spotlight documentaries
- Merchandise spotlight documentaries
- Real history spotlight documentaries
- Music spotlight documentaries
- Production spotlight documentaries
- Fandom spotlight documentaries
- Science spotlight documentaries
- Documentary series
- Audio production spotlight documentaries
- Documentaries by year of release
- Untitled (1963 trailer)
- Big Finish documentaries
- Trials and Tribulations (documentary)
- Going Underground: The Making of The Web of Fear (documentary)
- Doctor Who Am I
- Children in Need documentaries
- Imagine... Russell T Davies: The Doctor and Me (documentary)
DVD special features
Since the advent of DVD editions of various serials, the amount of audio and and video material about the production of Doctor Who has risen dramatically. Any information found on any official BBC release may of course be considered a valid resource for the writing of real world articles andbehind the scenes sections of articles. Documentaries, commentaries and info text are all appropriate.
However, care must be taken to avoid using information that appears in these resources, but not within the narrative itself. Thus, if Philip Hinchcliffe were to hypothetically claim in the commentary to Terror of the Zygons that the Brigadier was actually a Dalek in disguise, this information could not be added to the in-universe portion of the article about the Brigadier or the article about Daleks, as there is no narrative evidence to support Hinchcliffe's claim. It could, however, be added to the behind-the-scenes sections of those articles.
Some care must be taken to balance views expressed in DVD commentaries against those seen in reference works. For instance, what William Russell might say in a 2009 commentary about the production of The Keys of Marinus can certainly be included in the article about that serial. But it must be remembered that Russell was at a considerable distance from the 45-year-old production, and was not reading from notes when he took part in the commentary. Thus, if a reference work like Doctor Who: The Sixties or even the DVD info text give alternative views on the same subject, these other accounts should be presented alongside Russell's. It is important, though, that Russell's views not be discounted as wrong. While it is certainly possible that Russell is misremembering, it's equally possible that he isn't. It may simply mean that Russell's view of things, as an actor who was there on the day, may be different to that of whatever other sources the researcher uncovered.
Radio documentaries
- Beyond the Vortex
- Project WHO?
- Project Who
- Doctor Who at the BBC: The Tenth Doctor
- Doctor Who at the BBC: A Legend Reborn
- Category:Doctor Who at the BBC
- Doctor Who - The Lost Episodes
- Doctor Who at the BBC
- Doctor Who at the BBC Volume 2
- The Terry Nation Story
- Who on Who?
- The Soundworld of Doctor Who
- The Regeneration of Doctor Who
- Big Finish Magazine
- Benjamin & Baxter
- Doctor Who at the BBC: Lost Treasures
- Doctor Who at the BBC: Happy Anniversary
- Doctor Who in the South
- Torchwood: All Access
- Doctor Who at the BBC: The Collection
- Doctor Who @ 60: The Modern Era (documentary)
- Doctor Who: 60 Years of Friends and Foes (documentary)
- Murray Gold: Hitting the Right Notes (documentary)
- Doctor Who @ 60: The Classic Years (documentary)
- My Life in a Mixtape (documentary series)
- Sylvester McCoy - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Janet Fielding - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Segun Akinola - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Sophie Aldred - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Ruth Madeley - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Bonnie Langford - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Peter Davison - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
- Nicholas Briggs - My Life in a Mixtape (documentary)
Websites
Only official sites should be cited on articles, but many fan sites can be a good "launch point" for further research. Most well researched sites will cite their sources, allowing you to double check their information prior to citation.
When using any websites also keep in mind our spoiler policy and our policy regarding out of universe sources.
Official sites
- The BBC's official Doctor Who site, focusing on the new series.
- The BBC's official Classic Doctor Who site, focusing on the "classic" series.
- Big Finish Productions has information on their news page and on behind the scenes sections of story pages.
Official Twitter pages
- Doctor Who Official, The official Twitter feed for Doctor Who.
- Classic Doctor Who, Official Classic "#DoctorWho" tweets from BBC Worldwide, mostly containing DVD related information.
Story guides=
These are fan created or maintained story and episode guides. Their information should be used as a launch point for further research.
- A Brief History of Time (Travel), a detailed history of Doctor Who on television
- Doctor Who Reference Guide, a complete list of Doctor Who stories from every medium
- The WHOniverse, featuring a biography of the Doctor and a chronology of the Doctor Who universe and also includes The WHOniverse Wiki.
- BroaDWcast, the first (and so far only) comprehensive online guide to the foreign airdates and worldwide transmissions of Doctor Who.
- Doctor Who Locations Guide, containing film locations for Doctor Who (Classic and New Series), Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
- The TARDIS Library, a guide to Doctor Who books, videos, DVDs, CDs and cassettes.
- The Doctor Who Transcript Project, containing transcripts for many episodes of the original series, especially the lost and incomplete stories from the 1960s.