Theory:Timeline - Seventh Doctor

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
Revision as of 11:58, 17 October 2016 by WJDTwGL (talk | contribs) (BananaClownMan - Message on your talk page. Undid your reversion of my edits, but integrated the contributions you've made since.)
IndexTimey-wimey detector → Timeline - Seventh Doctor
Spoilers are strongly policed here.
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.

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 Doctor Who Reference Guide and Doctor Who - The Complete Adventures, as well as Lance Parkin's AHistory and other sources that allow us to make observations, such as The Whoniverse, Doctor Who Reviews, The History of Doctor Who, The Discontinuity Guide, Clive Banks databanks, the Big Finish forums and The Divergent Universe forum. None of these sources should be used solely as a source or considered a "true" timeline for stories.

Additionally there are statements on the back many BBC Past Doctor Adventures novels that state between which TV stories the novel takes place between. These can be used to narrow the field, but should not be viewed as the only placement for these novels.

Organisational aids and complications

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.


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 he had in the more developed television series.

Stories where the Doctor travels alone are most often organised by personality: if he is more lighthearted, they can be placed early in his life or immediately before the end, while stories where he is more sombre are usually placed close to, but not immediately before, his death.

Outfit

In Season 24 and Season 25, the Doctor wears a light coloured jacket. He begins wearing a darker one in 1963: The Assassination Games.

The Doctor primarily wears a cream linen suit starting in White Darkness, though he may have worn it before and still occasionally wears his old outfit.

Any story where the Doctor wears the outfit with a tweed jacket introduced in Doctor Who should be placed after So Vile a Sin.

TARDIS

In Iceberg and Sanctuary, the Doctor travels in the Jade Pagoda - the TARDIS's small "escape pod."

The Doctor starts travelling in the TARDIS off an alternate version of his third incarnation in Blood Heat, and doesn't switch back until Happy Endings.

In The Angel of Scutari, the TARDIS turns white. It stays that way until Gods and Monsters.

After Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge and until Gods and Monsters (when it is destroyed) the Doctor also travels in a second, black TARDIS - the daughter of the proper, white one.

Following on from The Chameleon Factor, the TARDIS interior is changed to a beige design.

The change from the TARDIS's white interior to the Doctor Who one is depicted or referred to several times.

  • In Lungbarrow, the TARDIS changes into a Victorian parlour design to resemble the Doctor's family estate in the House of Lungbarrow.
  • Notre Dame du Temps references the change being recent, and also refers to meeting Romana (in Lungbarrow).
  • The Settling follows a period where the Doctor and companions are separated, and says that they've just redecorated. From that point on, monthlies with Ace have Doctor Who TARDIS sound effects.
  • From Black and White to Gods and Monsters, the proper TARDIS temporarily reuses the white interior and the black one has the Doctor Who one.
  • The interior very temporarily reverts in Signs and Wonders.
  • In Ground Zero, the TARDIS (with white interior) is damaged, and it's implied that it's going to change.
  • In Excelis Decays, the Doctor has just redone the console room. From that point on "old Seventh Doctor" audios use Doctor Who sound effects.

Companions

Any stories where the Doctor is travelling with just Melanie Bush must take place between Time and the Rani and Dragonfire, while any story with her and Ace must follow A Life of Crime.

Any stories involving a younger Ace must take place from Dragonfire to Love and War, while any story where Ace has combat-training must take place after Deceit.

Any stories where he travels with Bernice Summerfield only must take place between Love and War and Deceit, or between Set Piece and Happy Endings. Any stories where Ace and Benny's relationship is non-antagonistic must take place after 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.

Any story where the Doctor and Ace travel with Hex/Hector must take place between The Harvest and Signs and Wonders.

Ace

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

Ace's characterisation is complicated and inconsistent. It can be roughly divided into a few versions, though:

  • TV Ace. Ace is immature, enjoys explosives, and is not always given a large role in the Doctor's plans. She is often exasperated or hurt by the Doctor's manipulation of her and reticence about the situation and his plans - see The Curse of Fenric, Thin Ice, Nightshade, and Love and War. She is characterised like this on TV, in the "Season 27" Lost Stories, in some of the early New Adventures, and in a variety of short stories. Some writers revert to this characterisation in spite of chronologically earlier stories where she is more mature: In Cat's Cradle: Warhead she is capable and the Doctor trusts her, but she is immature in Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark. Most of her early monthlies also make her more mature and capable (in line with developments of TV and in the New Adventures) but in The Rapture Joe Lidster indulges his soap opera tendencies and her decision to start going by "McShane" comes off as very immature.
  • "New Ace." After her return to the TARDIS in Deceit, Ace is even more angsty and gung-ho. Sophie Aldred deliberately makes her sound younger on audio. She often identifies herself as a soldier, and is abrasive toward Benny and (especially) the Doctor, at least until No Future, when they resolve their differences. She is also depicted like this in Random Ghosts/The Lights of Skaro and Enemy of the Daleks.
  • Older Ace. Ace matures gradually, becoming more capable, more familiar with the Doctor, and is given larger roles in the Doctor's plans. This is seen in Cat's Cradle: Warhead and most of her early monthly audios. It become especially prominent once Hex is introduced (from The Harvest on) and she becomes less prone to use explosives, more dedicated to TARDIS-life, a mentor figure to Hex, and more accepting of the Doctor's manipulative nature.

The comic Ground Zero depicts Ace (dressed as she was on TV) dying while travelling with the Doctor, who wears the outfit he wore in Doctor Who. This was intended to deliberately contradict other DWM comics and the New Adventures, but can be made to fit anyway.

Timeline

Regeneration and Mel

The Seventh Doctor's persona begins to emerge as his previous incarnation regenerates.
The Doctor regenerates from his previous incarnation, and is immediately thrown into a confrontation with the Rani on Lakertya.
Set immediately after Time and the Rani, with the Doctor bemoaning the loss of his scarf and umbrella on Lakertya, and still adjusting to his new body while he replaces his lost items.
The Doctor is still recovering from the effects of his recent regeneration, as indicated by the large amount of the lindos hormone in his system.
The Doctor brings a new hat stand back into the TARDIS console room. He acts much like his immediate predecessor, suggesting he is still recovering from the regeneration.
Mel is wearing the same clothes she wore in Paradise Towers.
Mel is wearing the same clothes she wore in Paradise Towers.
Pex's sacrifice from Paradise Towers is still on Mel's mind.
The Doctor's whangee umbrella is damaged, and he says he'll get a new one. All stories where the Doctor has his red question mark umbrella should be placed after this one.
The audio's blurb sets this between Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannermen, and the Doctor is carrying his red question mark umbrella, setting this after The Warehouse. The two versions of the story detail what happens when the Doctor is coerced into changing the past, but offers no conclusion about which of the versions is the "correct" one.
The Doctor is using an umbrella with a large red question mark designed handle.
Set after Delta and the Bannermen.
The Doctor is carrying his red question mark umbrella, so this is placed after The Warehouse, and gets a proverb wrong, so this is placed before Bang-Bang-a-Boom!
The Doctor is carrying his red question mark umbrella, setting this after Delta and the Bannermen.
The Doctor still acts lighthearted, but Mel is starting to feel alienated by him.
The Doctor promises to stop mangling proverbs, so this is placed after Delta and the Bannerman.
The Doctor acts more brooding, something Mel claims to have never seen in him before.
The Doctor and Melanie meet Emil Hartung. The Doctor realises he will have to leave Mel soon, or else her morals compromise his agendas.
On Iceworld, the Doctor and Mel bump into Sabalom Glitz again, and also meet a time-displaced 16 year old girl named Ace. Mel leaves the Doctor to travel with Glitz. The Doctor offers to let Ace travel with him in the TARDIS, and she accepts.

Ace

Ace has "only just come on board" the TARDIS, and is exploring her new surroundings.
The Doctor does not have much control over events, and his relationship with Ace is more trusting, so this has been placed in their early travels.
The Doctor and Ace go back in time to kill a dictator as a baby, but is unable to go through with it.
The Doctor is beginning to act more manipulative. He gives away his white coat, and begins thinking about changing it for a brown one.
The Doctor plays the spoons, with Master indicating he did this less as he matured, setting this early in his travels with Ace.
Ace is carrying around the baseball bat that was destroyed in Remembrance of the Daleks.
The Doctor gives Clio a Blue Peter badge on Ace's behalf.
Ace feels the Doctor is showing off with his time travel shenanigans.
Ace is familiar with the TARDIS, but is surprised that the Doctor keeps secrets, so this has been placed early in their travels.
Ace encounters the Daleks for the first time. According to Head Games, this story was the first time she doubted the Doctor's motives.
Ace learns that the TARDIS is stuck with the police box exterior due to a broken chameleon circuit and begins questioning the Doctor's intentions and motivations.
The Doctor and Ace leave for Terra Alpha, setting this immediately before The Happiness Patrol.
Broadcasted out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, to accommodate real world timing into the broadcast schedule.
After The Happiness Patrol, Ace asks the Doctor how he operates, and believes they come to an understanding.
Broadcasted out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, to accommodate with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Doctor Who. Ace encounters the Cybermen for the first time. The Doctor spots a chess set in Lady Peinforte's home and realises that Fenric is orchestrating events in his favour.
The Doctor remains in the TARDIS while Ace visits Judith Winters in 1993, thirty years after Remembrance of the Daleks.
The Doctor, out gift-shopping for a friend, mentions that Ace likes Charlton Athletic, which he learnt in Silver Nemesis.
Set just before The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
Broadcasted out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, due to a delay brought about by the 1988 Olympics, explained how Ace was wearing Flowerchild's earring in Silver Nemesis, despite acquiring it during this serial.
Set after The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
The Doctor is wearing his off-white jacket.
Set soon after The Time and Tide.
The Doctor is described as wearing a light jacket with a patterned sweater.
The Doctor recalls his movements in 1963 from Remembrance of the Daleks and an unknown second adventure. At the conclusion, the Doctor changes into his chocolate brown jacket for the first time.
The Doctor has not yet told Ace about regeneration, and she doesn't know who the Master is, setting this before Survival.
Ace has faced the Daleks and Cybermen. She knows the Doctor can regenerate, so this must be after The Light at the End.

Ercildoune

After leaving Ace in the Cretaceous period, (COMIC: Train-Flight) the Doctor takes up residence at Ercildoune in Scotland in the 13th century, using it as a base from which to set out on various travels. (PROSE: Birthright)
The Doctor is travelling with Frobisher. Frobisher decides to leave the Doctor, claiming that he isn't needed as much without Peri. At the end of the story, Frobisher stays on A-Lux in the 41st century, while the Doctor departs with a female Dreilyn named Olla.
Olla is handed over to Skaroux, whom she stole money from, leaving the Doctor alone again.
After colliding with him in the Time Vortex, the Doctor uses a TCE to shrink Death's Head to human size.
Feeling old and useless, the Doctor considers returning the Gallifrey for good. After saving the Culture, the Doctor feels a renewed sense of purpose and leaves looking another adventure.
The Doctor visits Victorian London, and saves Barbara Wright's grandfather, Ernie Wright, from being arrested for a murder he did not commit.
Due to a "glitch" caused by the TARDISes surrounding each other, the Doctor briefly ages to his Doctor Who appearance.
The Doctor begins trying to get to Maruthea for Bonjaxx's birthday.
The Doctor and Death's Head cross paths again, and come to an uneasy truce.
The Doctor is still attempting to attend Bonjaxx's birthday on Marathea.
While still searching for Banjaxx's party, the Doctor meets Abslom Daak, a professional Dalek killer. The Doctor believes Davros to be the Dalek Emperor, indicating that this is after Remembrance of the Daleks for the Doctor.
The Doctor has begun wearing a dark brown variant of his jacket.
The Doctor is acting as a representative for the Time Lords.
The Doctor is no longer trying to get to Maruthea, and is wearing his dark jacket.
The Doctor is depicted with his brown coat. He gives his past incarnation the Hand of Omega, so this must be after he sent it off to Gallifrey in Remembrance of the Daleks.
The Doctor leaves Ercildoune for the last time, shortly before the Charl Queen arrives looking for the TARDIS.

Returning to Ace

Accompanying images show the Doctor as on television - young, in his dark jacket. He doesn't recognise his next incarnation.
The Doctor writes in his diary about having just defeated the Kalik in Train-Flight. Having felt distracted lately, the Doctor decides he needs to find a way to concentrate, presumably leading into his retrieval of Ace.
The Doctor retrieves Ace from the Cretaceous period of Earth's pre-history, and the two resume travelling together.
Broadcast out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, to accommodate real world timing into the broadcast schedule. Ace meets the Brigadier for the first time in her life, while the Doctor meets him for the first time since his sixth regeneration.
Set after Battlefield.
Broadcast out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, to accommodate real world timing into the broadcast schedule.
Ace is under 18. She is familiar with UNIT and the Brigadier, so this is after Battlefield.
Broadcast out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, as the episode's theme fitted well with the Halloween broadcast slot. Fenric's master plan reaches its climax, but the Doctor is able to best his foe again. Ace is gifted an authentic cap insignia of the Red Army by Captain Sorin.
Back cover places this story between Fenric and Survival, while the Doctor has a "To Do List" reminding him to leave a settee in Perivale, implying this occurs after Survival, but the Sixth Doctor already left it for himself in Nemesis of the Daleks.
Broadcast out-of-production-order on John Nathan-Turner's orders, to accommodate real world timing into the broadcast schedule. The novelisation details how the Doctor and Ace have returned to Earth for the first time since The Curse of Fenric, which was a week before. Ace encounters the Tremas Master for the first time on Cheetah World, and both become infected with the Cheetah virus, though Ace begins to recover by the serial's conclusion.
Set "not so long [after]" The Curse of Fenric.
Ace references Ghost Light.
While Ace is asleep, the Doctor travels back in time to apologise to baby Ace for the events of Ghost Light and The Curse of Fenric, and for the pain "yet to come".
Ace recognises the Master, so this is after Survival for her. After thwarting the Master'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.
Set "more than twenty months" before Timewyrm: Revelation.
It has been some time since the Doctor and Ace last saw Raine, who decides to return to the TARDIS.
Raine appears.
Ace is depicted with the same character traits she showed in Illegal Alien.
Ace is 17. The Valeyard uses the Dark Matrix to briefly reawaken the Cheetah virus within her, presumably amplifying her continued difficulties with the virus.
Set immediately after Matrix.
The Doctor and Ace meet Bev Tarrant.
Ace refers to the recent events of Storm Harvest and The Genocide Machine. The Doctor refers to his encounter with the Master in Stop the Pigeon. The Doctor discovers Ace's future dead body, and tries to keep her out of danger, leading into Heritage.
Ace hasn't yet worn her special sunglasses from the New Adventures era, placing this before Timewyrm: Genesys at most.
Sequel to Illegal Alien. Ace is killed by George Limb, but the Doctor manipulates events so that, when Limb's plans are thwarted by James Dean, the timeline recreates itself with Ace still alive, though slightly altered.
When the Doctor restores the Ace's memories, the first thing that she recalls is the events of Survival, and she still feels some of the after-effects of the Cheetah Virus. She knows about regeneration, and is aware that the Doctor has regenerated six times.
Set immediately after Timewyrm: Genesys.
The amnesiac Eighth Doctor observes the Seventh Doctor and Ace visiting the Festival of Britain during Timewyrm: Exodus.
Ace sees an animal in the TARDIS, foreshadowing Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible.
The Doctor and Ace have "only just left Kirith", placing this immediately after Timewyrm: Apocalypse.
Visiting Ethan Amberglass whilst in hospital, the Doctor mentions the recent events of Timewyrm: Revelation.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures. The Doctor mentions that he's recently been unable to take the TARDIS away from Earth. He has also been redecorating the TARDIS and has discarded his question mark pullover.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures. The Doctor finally reaches Maruthea, just as his predecessor is leaving.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures. The Doctor locates his old signet ring in the TARDIS control console and decides to resume wearing it.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures. The TARDIS' chameleon circuit is inexplicably working, and has changed the TARDIS's form into a Cadillac.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
The Doctor is wearing his dark brown jacket underneath his duffle-coat, and Ace looks older than her television counterpart.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures. When listing the worst creatures she can imagine, Ace mentions the Daleks, the Timewyrm and the Cybermen.
The Doctor hasn't been to Alaska, and Ace has learnt how to swear in eleven alien languages. The Doctor and Ace decide they should go their separate ways at the end.

Time alone

The Doctor is wearing his dark jacket, and appears to be traveling alone.
The Doctor carries a Telphin life-seed to Earth.
The Doctor has Excalibur in his TARDIS, placing this after Battlefield.
The Doctor visits the court of Elizabeth I, and persuades the Queen to send John Dee on a fool's errand.
The Doctor is depicted in his brown coat on the cover. He notes that people in the past have doubted his plans, placing this at least after Remembrance of the Daleks, where Ace first had doubts. He has a more jovial outlook, so this has been placed before Nightshade, where he becomes more dedicated to his plans. He is travelling alone. He implies he is working for the Time Lords, but it may be untrue.

Reunited with Ace again

The Doctor and Ace reunite in Turkey.
Set during Cat's Cradle: Warhead, according to Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Ace can still feel the biological effects of being on the Cheetah planet. The TARDIS gets infected by demonic protoplasm.
Ace has already been traveling with the Doctor for several years.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
An opening annotation places this story directly after the consecutive events of Memorial and Nightshade, which is supported by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Ace refers to her escape from the underwater spaceship in Battlefield, and meeting her grandmother during The Curse of Fenric. She is still under the legal drinking age. Miss Gallowglass gives a cryptic warning to the Doctor and Ace about the upcoming events of Independence Day.
The Doctor is making a cube in his lab that Ace must not know about, setting this shortly before Love and War.
Ace has more experienced and confident, and knows more about future technology than she used too, placing 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.

Interim

After saving Heaven, the weary Doctor travels alone in the Time Vortex for a long time, visited some worlds and drifting past others in the process.
The Doctor is travelling alone without a companion and is trying to atone for his past mistakes.
The Doctor is alone, wearing his dark jacket and in an introspective mood.
The Doctor appears to be alone, and in need of reassurance that some of his plans have worked out as he intended.
Returning to the 26th century, Ace leaves the Doctor after realising that his manipulations resulted in the death of Jan Rydd, a man she had fallen in love with. Bernice Summerfield agrees to travel with the Doctor in her place, but only after he promises not to play games with her life.
The Doctor mentions that his companion is having a hangover after a night testing drinks from the TARDIS food replicator, suggesting that he is referring to Benny.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures. The Doctor says that Benny has just joined his company.
The Doctor is alone with Bernice and wears his light jacket, placing this shortly after Pureblood.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
As the Doctor leaves in the TARDIS, he calls out to Benny.
The Doctor inexplicably has a sonic screwdriver.

New Ace

Three years after leaving the Doctor on Heaven, Ace decides to return to the TARDIS, but no longer trusts the Doctor. The TARDIS is cured of the protoplasm infection from Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark.
Ace more curt and aggressive, setting this not long after her return in Deceit.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
The Doctor and an Old One are in an antagonistic relationship, setting this before their truce in Signs and Wonders. The Doctor begins wearing a cream linen suit and fedora.
Ace still keeps track of her age. The Doctor decides he needs a holiday, leading into Birthright and Iceberg.
The Doctor gives Bernice the keys to the TARDIS, and leaves her in control, having arranged for it to crash in Victorian London, leading directly into Iceberg.
This novel takes place at the same time as Birthright, with the events of both novels occurring concurrently for the Doctor, Ace and Benny.
This novel runs parallel with the events of Iceberg, with the Doctor being absent for the majority of Birthright. The Doctor's deceptions cost him Benny's trust.
The Doctor watches Sonia Bannen being killed in a food riot.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.

Alternate universe cycle

A few months have passed since Deceit, but the events of Birthright are recent. The TARDIS falls through a puncture in the Time Vortex, and the Doctor later realises that someone is toying with time. The Doctor acquires a new sonic screwdriver from the possessions of his deceased alternate third incarnation, and also takes that Doctor's TARDIS after his is lost in a tar pit.
Ace still does not trust the Doctor, nor does the TARDIS from the alternate world. The Doctor discovers that the one who created the Silurian Earth has successfully altered the flow of time in the real universe.
The Doctor fixes the chameleon circuit in his new TARDIS.
Benny decides to stay with the Doctor after struggling with her inability to trust him. The Doctor learns history is going to change again, and he sets out to find the cause, leading into No Future.
The Doctor discovers that the Monk has been corrupting the timeline as a revenge stunt, but is able to defeat his enemy and regain Ace's trust. He also smashes the chameleon circuit of his TARDIS with a hammer, destroying it. The Doctor thinks he killed the Master in Survival, despite having spoken of him in the present tense during Deceit.

Amicable travels

The Doctor has had experience with delivering babies.
Ace refers to the TARDIS team's recent encounter with the Monk in No Future.
Placement established by Interweaving with the New Adventures.
The TARDIS has been to Olleril recently, setting this shortly after Tragedy Day. As far as Ace knows, this is the first time she has seen an Ice Warrior, though she did encounter them in Thin Ice. Benny, who has never been on Mars before this point in her life, takes a temporary leave of absence from the TARDIS.
Though the book's blurb would place this immediately after Survival, the Doctor is wearing his cream linen suit from White Darkness, and Ace is depicted with the confidence and general demeanour she had in the Virgin New Adventures. With Benny absent, this must take place during her brief leave-of-absence.
Benny returns to the TARDIS after her temporary leave of absence that started in Legacy.
The Big Finish website places this audio between All-Consuming Fire and Blood Harvest.
The Doctor is wearing his white suit from White Darkness, though the TARDIS console room is the one from before Final Genesis.
The Big Finish website places this audio after The Shadow of the Scourge.
The Doctor sends Ace and Benny on a mission to Antarctica.
The Doctor, Benny and Ace end up in E-space, where they find Romana and return her to Gallifrey, where she opts to remain.
Some time has passed since Blood Harvest, with Ace getting trigger-happy due to the lack of dangerous adventures.
The Doctor and Ace encounter the Tremas Master for the first time since Survival. Ace fatally shoots the Master, but he is able to regenerate into Template:Frontier. Ace considers leaving the TARDIS.
Ace has her head shaved clean.
Ace's hair is till re-growing.
It has been at least a full year since No Future. Ace is still thinking about when she'll leave the Doctor.
The Doctor, Ace and Benny have been at Smithwood Manor for almost a year.
Ace is 26-years-old. After an ordeal with the Robot Ants, Ace leaves the TARDIS crew to become Time's Vigilante.

Just Benny

Ace has only just left the TARDIS.
Set Piece was the Doctor's last previous adventure.
The TARDIS has only just left Gadrell Major, setting this immediately after Infinite Requiem.
The Doctor changes himself into a human to understand Benny's grief over the death of Guy de Carnac, which happened in Sanctuary. After he resumes his Time Lord identity, he is given a cat named Wolsey as a pet.
The Doctor rescues Kadiatu from a slave ship.

Chris and Roz

The Doctor and Benny are joined by Adjudicators Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej, who wish to escape the corruption and manipulation rife on Earth in their time.
Three-odd subjective years have passed since Love and War.
Set immediately after Sky Pirates!
The dark-attitude Doctor is wearing his white linen suit, with his mission being to talk a man with good intentions into killing himself because of foreknowledge of a possible future.
Ending leads directly into The Also People.
Ending leads directly into Warchild.
Set immediately after Sleepy. Jason Kane proposes to Benny, and she accepts, leading into Happy Endings.
Benny leaves the Doctor's company after her wedding to Jason Kane. The Doctor retrieves his original TARDIS from the Charrl after it was lost to him during Blood Heat.
The Doctor, Roz and Chris have only just left Benny and Jason's wedding, placing this immediately after Happy Endings.
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.
Little time has passed since So Vile a Sin.
The Doctor and Chris have recovered from the shock of Roz' death.
Set shortly after Eternity Weeps, with Chris still traumatised by the events. The Doctor knows that his regeneration grows nearer. He thinks of his next of kin and family, leading into Lungbarrow.
The Doctor leaves Chris behind to take Penelope Gate and Joel Mintz back to their proper homes, and spends some time traveling on his own for a while afterwards.
Set during The Room With No Doors, when the Doctor leaves Chris and travels on his own.
The Doctor obliquely claims to have lost someone in a war, and to have kept someone else in it for too long. He is most likely referring to Roz and Chris, respectively.
The Doctor has an encounter with Victoria Waterfield, but she doesn't recognise him.
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 the Bruce Master's remains on Skaro, and is also given a new sonic screwdriver by Romana.
Many stories, such as Notre Dame du Temps and The Eleven, unambiguously establish that the Doctor does not immediately head for Skaro.

Moving on

The Doctor has redecorated the TARDIS interior after his trip to Gallifrey in Lungbarrow, and is wearing his VNA suit and fedora.
The Doctor is wearing his VNA fedora.
The Doctor saves Montague Manor, at the coat of a servant's life.
The Doctor sets up a plan that involves using his eighth incarnation.
The Doctor is wearing his clothes from Lungbarrow, and is using the sonic screwdriver he acquired in that story.
The Doctor is wearing his linen suit, with a Santa Claus hat for the festive season.

Old friends reunited

The Doctor catches up with an older Ace following the defeat of the Voltranons.
The Doctor is trying to find Benny.
The Doctor finds Benny. He has left Ace on Gallifrey in his future, at a point after Romana opens the Academy to aliens. Ace's life on Gallifrey can be blamed for the anomalies in her aging or sterility, such as with Leela and Chris Cwej. The Doctor is wearing his cream linen suit on the cover, but dialogue describes him in his question mark pullover.
Ace had a TARDIS driving lesson on Gallifrey.
Ace refers to Happy Endings, but she is travelling with the Doctor without Benny. She loses her memory, which the Doctor does his best to restore.
The Doctor has a sonic screwdriver.
Ace obtains a CD Walkman from Paul Tanner.
The Doctor and Ace bump into Bev Tarrant again, after meeting her in The Genocide Machine, and she leaves with them in the TARDIS after they defeat the Master.
Bev travels with the Doctor and Ace for some time, before eventually being left in the 26th century. (AUDIO: The Judas Gift)
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.
McShane references the recent events of Colditz and Dust Breeding.

Hex joins

McShane tells Hex that she has been travelling with the Doctor "for a surprisingly long time." The Doctor has a sonic screwdriver, and is convinced by McShane to let Hex join them in the TARDIS.
Hex has only just joined the TARDIS crew, and visits his first alien world.
Set during These Things Take Time for the Seventh Doctor.
Hex sees aliens and spaceships for the first time.
The Doctor battles the Cragvar.
Set before LIVE 34, as Ace is still going by her surname.
McShane decides that "Ace" is her true name, and resumes using it. Reporter Ryan Wareing estimates Ace's age to be in her mid-to-late twenties. Ace refers to her brother from The Rapture.
This is Hex's first visit to Earth's past. The TARDIS interior has been redecorated to as it will be in Doctor Who.
Ace and Hex mention the recent events of The Settling.
Set a few months after The Harvest. Hex mentions killing a man during The Settling.

Battling the Elder Gods

The Doctor sees a chess set in the sanatorium, and realises Fenric is preparing his return.
Ace has significant military and tactical knowledge, implying a post-Deceit setting. This is Hex's his first encounter with the Daleks.
Hex is still reeling from the events that he witnessed on Bliss with the Daleks. The exterior shell of the TARDIS is shattered after the HADS are activated, and its colouration is stuck as white.
Follows directly on from The Angel of Scutari. Hex leaves the TARDIS crew after discovering that the Doctor had previously been witness to his mother's death.
Ace is incapable of flying the TARDIS. Hex rejoins the TARDIS at Evelyn Smythe's prompting, before Evelyn passes away.
The Doctor goes to Alaska, so this is after Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible.
The Doctor is testing is black TARDIS. He seems to be evaluating Liv as a potential companion. Black and White says that he left Ace and Hex after Alaska.
The Doctor is joined in the Black TARDIS by Sally Morgan after she helps him defeat the Mi'en Kalarash.
After a battle against the Kai'lizakia, Forge operative Lysandra Aristedes joined the Doctor and Sally in the Black TARDIS.
The TARDIS is restored to its prime condition, and the Black TARDIS is destroyed.
Hex enters the Time Vortex to defeat Fenric, apparently killing himself in the process.
Ace no longer knows her age, so this is after Set Piece, where she knew for a fact she was 26. Sally and Lysandra leave.
The Doctor had decided to take Ace and Hector to Greece to relax after the events of Revenge of the Swarm. After their vacation, Hector asks the Doctor to return him home, leading into Signs and Wonders.
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 control room is temporarily changed to a white configuration after To'Koth uses it to return to the home dimension of the Elder Gods.

After Hex

The Doctor begins teaching Ace how to fly the TARDIS, as he promised to do in Signs and Wonders, also placing this after Deceit.
Ace refers to Hex having left.
The TARDIS finds who it's been looking for; Mel, who rejoins the TARDIS crew.
The TARDIS interior has its Victorian parlour design.
The Doctor is wearing his Doctor Who outfit, and traveling with Ace, who wears her TV outfit. The TARDIS has its white interior, so presumably reverted at some point. Ace is killed and the TARDIS is damaged, implying that it is about to change to the Doctor is using the Victorian parlour interior seen in Doctor Who.

Alone

The TARDIS interior has been changed recently, and the Doctor has his Doctor Who outfit on the cover.
The Doctor spends a couple of decades in the Daleks' prison, which can explain why he looks older in later stories. He refers to Mel, Ace and Hex - placed here, he has travelled with all three recently.
Directly after Project: Lazarus. After the Doctor's younger self is killed, he "burns out of existence" when time catches up to him. He and the young Doctor agree that "burning into existence" will be painful. He look older than the young Doctor. He implies that something bad will happen to Ace.
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 arrives screaming, in pain, and singed, i.e. he "burned 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 says that he is personal friends with Death. This placement is shortly after their encounter in Master.
Set after The Death Collectors.
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.
The Doctor and Nimrod catch up after Project: Lazarus and Project: Destiny/A Death in the Family.

Klein's revenge

The Doctor is wearing his White Darkness outfit and is wistful about travelling alone. He knows Klein from Colditz.
Set immediately after A Thousand Tiny Wings. The Doctor is using the TARDIS interior from Doctor Who.
After travelling together for a while, Klein takes her chance of revenge on the Doctor by stealing his TARDIS and abandoning him on the planet of the Vrill.
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's hair is depicted as tufts growing out of the side of his head on the cover.

Unfinished business

The Doctor refers to the events of Log 384 as happening a long time ago.
The Doctor has had many solo adventures by this point.
Raine Creevy is travelling with an older Doctor than normal. The TARDIS is using its Doctor Who interior. Ace is on Gallifrey, and must be meeting the Doctor asynchronously. The Doctor has travelled with the Nazi Klein.
The Doctor is depicted with the aged appearance he had in Doctor Who.
The Doctor is portrayed with the aged appearance he had in Doctor Who.
Set after Kingdom of Silver.
The Doctor is portrayed with the aged appearance he had in Doctor Who.
The Doctor has stopped believing in the efficacy of imprisonment.
The Doctor is disposing of the evidence of his predecessor's adventure.
The Doctor is using the Victorian parlour console room.
The Doctor is portrayed with the aged appearance he had in Doctor Who.
The Doctor is using the Victorian parlour console room, and recognises the Reborn Master from UNIT: Dominion.

Search for the Persuasion machine

Set after UNIT: Dominion, with the TARDIS control room having the Victorian parlour console room design from Doctor Who. The Doctor is nearing the end of his current life, and has been trying to eradicate evil before his end.

Nearing the end

The Doctor is using the Victorian parlour console room, and has a premonition of his upcoming death, though he doesn't recognise it as such.
The Doctor is alone. He refers to his "younger days." He is sadder than in earlier stories, placing this story before his renewed sense of happiness in The Eight Doctors.
After having a "mid-life crisis" whilst dealing with his approaching death, the Doctor is inspired to enjoy the time he has left after being rescued from an Eight Leg by his successor.
The Doctor has abandoned his manipulative ways, and helps someone else realises how such ways only results in everyone leaving him when it matters.
The Doctor is using the Victorian parlour console room.
On Gallifrey, the Doctor is given a task. Presumably the Time Lords want him to complete his task with the Master's remains.
The Doctor regenerates.