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Theory:Timeline - Ian & Barbara

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Index → Timey-wimey detector → Timeline - Ian & Barbara
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 Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright in the order in which they 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, comic story and 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 information in Lance Parkin's AHistory which allow us to make observations on placement of stories, such as Doctor Who Reviews, The History of Doctor Who, The Discontinuity Guide, Clive Banks Databank, the Big Finish forums, The Whoniverse and the Divergent Universe forums. 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 of Virgin Missing Adventures and BBC Past Doctor Adventures novels that state between which TV stories the novel takes place between. These can be used to narrow the field, and should be viewed as the only placing for these novels.

Timeline[[edit source]]

Teaching at Coal Hill[[edit source]]

Set on 11 October 1962. Ian bumps into an older, alternate version of himself while on his commute to Coal Hill School.
Set in June 1963. Barbara and Ian each encounter future versions of each other.
Susan's diary. Ian appears in various events at Coal School from 26 March to 1 April 1963. Barbara appears in events on 28 and 30 March.
Set during the summer, Ian holidays in Dorset, and thinks he sees Barbara there as well. He gains a splinter on the gate to his guest house. Both Ian and Barbara are teachers at the "same London school" by this point. Some time later, Barbara hosts a party attended by Ian.
The Doctor is still collecting parts for his TARDIS, and meets River Song for the first time.

Discovering the TARDIS[[edit source]]

On 22 November 1963, Ian and Barbara, intrigued by student Susan Foreman, follow her home and force themselves into the TARDIS, and the First Doctor flies the ship in a panic, bringing the teachers with him and Susan to 100,000 BC. Ending leads directly into The Daleks.
Set during An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Child, the silhouettes of Ian and Barbara can be seen in their car parked outside Totter's Lane. In an alternate timeline created by Rassilon and the Cybermen, the Doctor is captured by the Cybermen immediately before he meets Ian and Barbara.
Set during An Unearthly Child: The Firemaker, as the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan prepare their final escape from the Cave of Skulls. Barbara tells the Doctor the story of Godfather Death.
The travellers encounters the Daleks for the first time. He also explains that he can't properly fly the TARDIS and can't return to 76 Totter's Lane. Ending leads directly into The Edge of Destruction.
In an alternate account to The Daleks that completely omits An Unearthly Child, Susan, going by "Susan English", receives private tutorship from Barbara instead of attending Coal Hill School, and they are struck by a lorry while driving to Barnes Common. Ian meets them for the first time at the crash site. After Ian becomes an unwilling passenger aboard the Doctor's TARDIS, the newly formed TARDIS crew arrive directly on Skaro from 20th century Earth, and experience events that are nearly identical to The Daleks.
In a third account, Ian and Barbara investigate their strange student Panda, following him back to a double-decker bus in Putney Common. There, they meet his equally strange Aunty Iris, who whisks them away in her bus, travelling to somewhere fabulous.
Set immediately after The Daleks, with Ian referring to Skaro as having been the previous trip. The TARDIS's sentience is brought up for the first time. After realising that his paranoia got the best of him when the TARDIS tries to warn him about its imminent destruction, the Doctor makes amends to better himself in the future after he saves the TARDIS. He starts by reconciling with Barbara as the TARDIS lands at the Plain of Pamir, leading directly into Marco Polo.

The great spirit of adventure[[edit source]]

The TARDIS crew spend several months travelling across Cathay with Marco Polo in 1289.
The TARDIS crew have left China "only two minutes ago", setting this immediately after Marco Polo. They spend over a week on Avalon in 2991, with Barbara and Susan getting changed out of their Chinese garbs before leaving the TARDIS, while Ian remains in his Chinese gown for at least the first day on Avalon, with no further mention of his attire.
Ian is still wearing his Chinese gown, setting this shortly after Marco Polo. The TARDIS crew spend a few days in North America in 1002.
The TARDIS lands on Marinus, and the travellers encounter the Voord for the first time. Ian is still wearing his Chinese clothes from their adventure with Marco Polo, setting this shortly after Marco Polo.
The Doctor believes that he and Susan should be more open with Ian and Barbara, setting this shortly after The Edge of Destruction. Ian and Barbara are given their first proper tour of the TARDIS, though it is a brief one. Though they are still recent additions to the TARDIS crew, Susan claims they have "been through so much together" by this point.
Barbara has yet to visit an Aztec temple, setting this before The Aztecs. Barbara notes that they are finally visiting a time and place where she has an expertise in. The Doctor is constantly rude to Ian and Barbara, who are not particularly fond of him either. The Doctor has his cane, which, later in the story, the Tenth Doctor reveals was given to him by Kublai Khan during the events of Marco Polo.
The Doctor is still unfamiliar with the layout of the TARDIS interior, and is still learning about most of the universe. Ian is still exploring the TARDIS. The Doctor wields the walking stick he acquired from Kublai Khan, setting this after Marco Polo.
Ian and Barbara struggle to grasp the concept of hermaphroditic humanoids. Barbara recalls the events of The Daleks.
The Doctor warns Barbara about the consequences of altering the course of history when she tries to educate the Aztecs against using human sacrifices. The Doctor has a brief affair with Cameca, and is gifted with a brooch from her when he leaves. According to the novelisation, Ian is 28-years-old.
The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan spend several weeks on the planet Fragrance. The Doctor is making repairs to the TARDIS in order to get Ian and Barbara home.
The crew spend over a month in 4th century BC Babylon. Although the Big Finish website places this between The Reign of Terror and Here There Be Monsters,[1] The Library of Alexandria is set shortly after The Reign of Terror and references Alexander as a close friend, meaning this must be set earlier. Barbara knows that history cannot be changed, but Ian isn't convinced.
Set a day after Farewell, Great Macedon, with the events from The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance being mentioned.
Ian recalls the events of The Daleks as a recent example of the Doctor's obsessiveness. Barbara has made 40-to-50 identical marks in her notebook while keeping track of the days on the TARDIS. This tally seems to represent days, but it is not entirely clear. The Doctor is trying to make the TARDIS feel more comfortable for Ian and Barbara, having spent the past week searching for tea as part of his goal. He has also provides Ian with a new cardigan, after his last one was destroyed by fire ants.
Susan unlocks a deeper telepathic ability than the Doctor thought she had. Barbara has fully recovered from her ordeal from The Aztecs. When Ian makes a snide comment about the Doctor's piloting, the enraged Doctor claims he will leave Ian at the next stop, leading into The Reign of Terror. The Doctor and Susan have been travelling for years, and have never had an argument.
Set between The Sensorites and The Reign of Terror, with the Doctor preparing to throw Ian and Barbara out of the TARDIS. The Doctor and Ian spend several months on the Endeavour while Barbara and Susan are trapped in the TARDIS, though the Doctor still intends to exile Ian and Barbara when they leave in the TARDIS. Susan's enhanced telepathic telepathic abilities she gained from the Sensorites are still lingering.
Following on from The Sensorites, the Doctor is still arguing with Ian and Barbara, until an adventure during the French Revolution calms him down enough to forgive them.

Destiny in the stars[[edit source]]

The Doctor takes Susan, Ian and Barbara to a planet to relax following the events from The Reign of Terror. Ian believes the Doctor is trying to convince him and Barbara to stay.
Ian recalls the Doctor telling them that their "destiny is in the stars" and notes that they have arrived on Earth again, suggesting a setting shortly after The Reign of Terror. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan spend several weeks in Alexandria. Ian refers to Alexander the Great as "an old friend", setting this after Farewell, Great Macedon. He and Barbara begin to think that the Doctor has been deceitful with them about changing history. Weeks after arriving in Alexandria, Ian recalls the events of The Transit of Venus as occurring weeks ago.
Susan believes that Ian and Barbara are still on "probation" with the Doctor following the events of The Reign of Terror. Susan starts to wonder if she will need to leave the TARDIS and make her own life, for the Doctor's sake. Susan thinks the Doctor could do with a holiday, even if he doesn't agree, setting this before The Mother Road.
Ian refers to the events of The Transit of Venus. He and Barbara aren't surprised when the Doctor thinks that history can be changed. Ian also mentions the watch he has retained since he left Coal Hill.
The crew are a close unit, and Ian wonders if they are still on Earth, indicating that this takes place after an Earthbound adventure. The Doctor spends two years on Destination fixing the damage caused by the Master. Ending leads directly into The Great White Hurricane.
This is Ian's first time in New York City. Susan admits that she sees Ian and Barbara as family. After their adventure in New York City, the Doctor claims to have found a way to return Ian and Barbara home.
Following directly on from The Great White Hurricane, the Doctor fails to return the TARDIS to 1963. Susan refers to the events of The Reign of Terror. Ending leads directly into The Barbarians and the Samurai. Barbara and Ian first learn of the concept of cloning.
When telling Takagi Mamoru about his recent voyages, the Doctor refers to London, China and Mexico, and "more recently, Paris", setting this not long after the events of The Reign of Terror.
Follows directly on from The Barbarians and the Samurai. Barbara learns that the TARDIS has a library, According to Ian's watch, it should be around 23 March 1964 in their own time, meaning it has been four months since they left Shoreditch. Ian sells his watch, setting this after The Flames of Cadiz.
Follows directly on from The Phoenicians. Susan mentions that she is a little bit telepathic, and the Doctor realises that he needs to give Susan more independence.
Still experimenting with ways to take Ian and Barbara home, the Doctor attempts to use the fast return switch for a second time, but it brings the TARDIS back to Skaro fifty years after their previous visit in The Daleks.
The TARDIS has just left Skaro, setting this immediately after Return to Skaro. Barbara and Ian have been travelling with the Doctor and Susan for months by now. Susan believes that history can be changed, but Barbara disagrees and refers to the events of The Aztecs. The Doctor is beginning to wonder if he has a duty to intervene in events, despite what he was taught on Gallifrey. The TARDIS stops working, leading directly into For the Glory of Urth.
The Doctor manages to reboot the TARDIS, however the travellers land on Urth and must disembark while the TARDIS is repairing itself. Susan believes that she has discovered the cause of the TARDIS's troubles, leading directly into The Hollow Crown.
Susan removes a Goliathan spiny-back beetle from the TARDIS console and believes that has resolved their issues getting to 1963 Shoreditch, however the travellers arrive in 1603 Shoreditch instead. Barbara and Susan recall the events of Last of the Romanovs. The Doctor meets William Shakespeare for the first time, who has met one of his future incarnations before.
Barbara vists Susan in her bedroom to inform her that the TARDIS is landing. However, Susan is distressed, having had a nightmare about the piece of supposedly-cursed piece of red glass she and the Doctor took from a planet before they met Barbara and Ian. Ian does not appear.
The Doctor, Susan, Barbara, and Ian spend weeks in Judaea during the siege of Masada. While Ian knows what the Doctor thinks of changing history, he isn't convinced and tries to help the Jews defeat the Roman Empire in the siege, despite Barbara's insistence that history shouldn't be interfered with, in reference to what she learned during The Aztecs.
The TARDIS crew spend three months in 19th century Afghanistan. Ian begins to realise his love for Barbara.
Barbara refers to the Doctor's warning about interfering with history from The Aztecs. The crew spend months in 19th century Earth, with Ian and Susan crossing the United State together while the Doctor and Barbara remain in England.
Susan knows of Barbara's familiarity with Cortez and the Mexican civilisations, setting this after The Aztecs. The Doctor learns how to drive for the first time and seems unfamiliar with the use of 21st century computers and the internet. He tricks the crew into taking a recreational road trip across the US.
The Doctor visits 30th century Prague with Ian while Barbara and Susan stay behind in the TARDIS.
The Doctor considers Ian and Barbara as part of his family.
Barbara believes that history cannot be changed, setting this after The Aztecs.
Ian remembers the Doctor saying that the crew's "destiny is in the stars", which he said in The Reign of Terror. Barbara and Ian still believe that history can't be changed. The Doctor takes Rasputin through the Time Vortex to St Petersburg on first try using Dahensa tech. Ian and Barbara are surprised that he'd attempt this before he mentions the technology, which breaks down after a single use.
Sequel story to The Keys of Marinus. The TARDIS crew spend months on the planet Hydra evading and fighting the Voord.
The Doctor recalls his encounter with the Pied Piper from Challenge of the Piper. Barbara is unsurprised when Susan mentions he has two hearts.
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara only appear in a brief flashback to Susan's arrival on Malkon. Set after The Sensorites, with Susan's telepathy accentuated by the conditions of the planet.
Barbara unintentionally contacts Joan Wright in a dream via the telepathic circuits. For Joan, it is 23 November 1964, perhaps suggesting that a year has passed for Barbara also, which, if true, would set this story two months before Venusian Lullaby. Ian does not appear.

Final adventures with Susan[[edit source]]

Susan alludes to the human-colonised planet from The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The Doctor removes a "portion of folded space" from the TARDIS to help an additional 150 people escape to Mirath, hoping that its "unorthodox removal doesn't intefere with the TARDIS's dimensional stability", suggesting a setting this shortly before Planet of Giants.
Told through the fictional documentation of a "lost" TV story, including plot synopses, Target novelisation extracts and DWM articles. Ends with the fault detector warning of a build-up of "space pressure" outside and refers to a cliffhanger leading into Planet of Giants.
Set during The Thief of Sherwood. Barbara doesn't appear.
Despite the events of Return to Skaro, Susan claims the fast return switch hasn't been used since the events of The Edge of Destruction and that it was only recently fixed. Barbara claims to be "on familiar ground for the first time in so long" when visiting Bristol in 1954. Susan's is still troubled with the telepathic powers she demonstrated in The Sensorites. The Doctor continues to doubt the Time Lord ideals of non-interference, but still takes great pains to avoid changing history. After travelling from Salem Village 1692 to 1742, the Doctor notices that the TARDIS has been working a lot more efficiently lately and makes plans to travel to the 1960s, leading directly into Planet of Giants.
The TARDIS has just left the late 18th century, with the Doctor attempting to travel forward to the mid-20th century when the TARDIS shrinks due to a malfunction. The Doctor is more apologetic towards his rudeness at Ian and Barbara than he was previously.
Set immediately after Planet of Giants. Ian and Barbara learn that the Doctor hasn't been entirely truthful regarding their ability to change time. The Doctor adopts a more lax approach to interfering with time.
Set between Planet of Giants and The Dalek Invasion of Earth, according to authorial intent, with the part of the TARDIS the Doctor is shown tinkering with intended to be the scanner.Evidence yet to be determined for this placement. Ian and Barbara are unsure of how long they've been travelling with the Doctor, but suspect it has been months at the earliest and "years" at the latest.
The Doctor encounters the Daleks off of Skaro for the first time. Susan falls in love with David Campbell, a rebel of the 2150s Dalek invasion of Earth, and the Doctor decides to leave her behind so she can grow into her own person after the crew help defeat the Daleks on Earth.

Leaving Susan behind[[edit source]]

The TARDIS crew visit circa 3 billion BC Venus minutes after leaving 22nd century Earth. Based on his calendar, Ian surmises that it should be "past" Christmas 1964 for him and Barbara, with the more specific January 1965 being later suggested. Using Trikhobu's calculations, the Doctor makes plans to visit Aristea of Alexandria to acquire gold for a wedding ring for Susan, leading into The Book of Shadows.
Arriving in Alexandria in 322 BC, the Doctor and Barbara discover the TARDIS has landed in an alternate timeline, which is negated, along with all the events of this story, when Barbara reads from The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey. Despite the events of Farewell, Great Macedon and The Library of Alexandria, Barbara does not appear familiar with Ptolemy Lagus or the city of Alexandria.
The TARDIS crew spend four months living in the Scottish village of Kilmartin in 1950-1951, with the Doctor wanting to have a holiday, which Barbara suspects is to help him get over the Susan's departure. Despite the events of Home Again, Home Again, Barbara claims that 1950 is the closest the Doctor has ever brought them to their own time.
Arriving in the Orkney Islands in 1956, Ian and Barbara step out of the TARDIS only for the Doctor to continue travelling for some years into the past, implied to be hundreds of years. Ian claims that 1956 is the closest the Doctor has ever brought them to their own time, setting this after Set in Stone, despite the events of Home Again, Home Again. Susan's departure from the TARDIS is still recent.
The Doctor explains how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside to Ian and Barbara.
The TARDIS crew meet Jane Grey in 1553, where they spend two months tracking down the Vrij.
Claiming to have received a message from an old friend, the TARDIS crew partake in a demonic ritual with Edgar Allan Poe, tracking down a tracking down an evil entity.

Joined by Vicki[[edit source]]

The Doctor is still adjusting to Susan's absences, absentmindedly calling out to her when the TARDIS arrives on Dido, where he rescues a young girl named Vicki from the clutches of Koquillion. In agreement with Ian and Barbara, the Doctor invites Vicki to join them aboard the TARDIS. After leaving Dido, the TARDIS materialises on a cliff and topples over the edge.
Set immediately after The Rescue, with the TARDIS crew recovering from the fall and realising they have arrived in Italy in 64 AD. They agree to look after the villa of Flavius Giscard after its caretaker, Lucius, is killed by a lion, setting the scene for The Romans.
In an alternative account, also set directly after The Rescue, the TARDIS instead materialises in Thrace, near the city of Byzantium on 14 March 64. The Doctor left Gallifrey sixty years ago,[quote 1] while Barbara and Ian have been travelling with the Doctor for "a year or more".[quote 2] Vicki is fourteen-years-old.[quote 3] After the TARDIS crew are separated for over two weeks, they discover that the TARDIS has been taken to Rome by Germanicus Vinicius and set off to retrieve it, again setting the scene for The Romans.
Having stayed at the villa for nearly a month, the TARDIS crew eventually find themselves in the city of Rome, before returning to the villa and departing in the TARDIS. The Doctor accidentally inspires Nero to burn down Rome.
The Doctor is trying to make the shortest journey possible away from Rome, setting this directly after dematerialising at the end of The Romans.[quote 4] They instead arrive in Guangzhou in 1865. The TARDIS crew change into casual gear,[quote 5] despite the epilogue of The Romans showing them still wearing their Roman regalia immediately before the events of The Web Planet. Ian and Barbara have been traveling in the TARDIS for two years,[quote 6] and Barbara proposes that she and Ian should marry each other if they ever return home.[quote 7]
In an alternative account, also set immediately after leaving Rome, Vicki is about to tell Barbara about her experiences in Rome when they land in London in the early 20th century,[quote 8] They then visit an unnamed planet in the distant past, not getting out of their Roman clothing throughout the adventure.
(EPILOGUE)
Vicki recounts her experiences in Rome to Ian and Barbara, who decide to change out of their Roman clothes. Meanwhile, the TARDIS is pulled towards a planet by an unknown force. (TV: The Romans)
Following directly on from the last scene of The Romans, the TARDIS is forced to land on Vortis by the Animus. The Doctor is aware of Vortis, but his comments leave it vague as to whether or not he has visited the planet before. He has at least heard of the Menoptera,[quote 9] and claims to have little to no understanding of the Zarbi to Ian.[quote 10]
Set between The Web Planet and The Crusade, according to the production codes. Looking at the scanner shortly after arriving on Noumeia, Barbara notes that they've arrived on "another desert", suggesting a setting directly after The Web Planet.
The TARDIS crew encounter Jospa, who in inserts himself into the memories of their past trips; Barbara recalls him being with them at Vortis, Rome, and "everywhere",[quote 11] while Ian also remembers him being in Byzantium and China.[quote 12] The fact that they don't mention any adventures after Vortis suggests a setting shortly after The Web Planet.
The TARDIS lands in Natal in 1877, but the Doctor contracts a fever. While he recovers, Barbara and Ian journey to Pretoria for a few days.
The TARDIS finally arrives in London on 23 November 1963, but the crew find time to be frozen. The Doctor discovers it is because of a fault with the TARDIS, which is only fixed upon their departure.
Set between The Web Planet and The Crusade, according to a continuity note on the Big Finish website.[2]
Sequel story to The Web Planet. After helping Thomas Huxley fight off the Animus and the Zarbi, Ian, Barbara and Vicki are kidnapped by Adam Mitchell, leading directly into The Choice.
Barbara, Ian and Vicki have been captured by Adam Mitchell and the Tremas Master.
Ian, Barbara and Vicki are rescued from Adam and the Master.
The TARDIS crew visit the Holy Land in the 1190s, where Ian is knighted as "Sir Ian of Jaffa" by King Richard I of England. Barbara recalls the recent events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Romans and The Web Planet.[quote 13] The Doctor has Vicki pretend to be a boy named "Victor". As they slip away from Jaffa, the TARDIS stops working, leading directly into The Space Museum.
After the TARDIS crew escape a time track and help the Xerons to defeat the Moroks on Xeros, the Doctor acquires a Time-Space Visualiser from the Space Museum. Vicki has not yet encountered a Dalek, but knows of them from history books. Unbeknownst to the Doctor, the TARDIS is observed departing Xeros by Pursuer-Daleks, who make plans to begin chasing them, setting up the events of The Chase.[quote 14]
The Doctor and Ian visit the planet Seetar while Barbara and Vicki are sleeping in the TARDIS. Ian recalls the events of The Crusade,[quote 15] and the Doctor is still wondering if leaving Susan behind was the right thing to do. Upon their return to the TARDIS, they are greeted by Barbara, though Vicki is still asleep.
The TARDIS crew become embroiled in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Vicki is once again dressed up as a boy by the Doctor, setting this after The Crusade.[quote 16]
Ian recalls the events of The Crusade.
The TARDIS crew spend three months in a human colony. Barbara hides between "archival building stacks" Q and R, which were the production codes of The Space Museum and The Chase, respectively, suggesting an in-joke to the placement of this story.
Barbara and Ian recall the events of The Romans, and wonder if they will find their way home soon, suggesting an intended setting shortly before The Chase by the author.[quote 17]
Despite the events of Room for Improvement, the Doctor claims that their visit to 23rd century Unitaria is the furthest Ian and Barbara have visited Earth in the future. Vicki recalls the events of The Space Museum.
The TARDIS crew spend several weeks in 1400 England. After returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor decides to begin working on the Time-Space Visualiser, setting this shortly before Every Day.[quote 18]
The Doctor has been working on the Time-Space Visualiser for hours, setting this between The The Doctor's Tale and The Chase.[quote 19][quote 20]
The Doctor is able to get the Time-Space Visualiser working. The TARDIS crew visits Aridius, only to find that they are being chased by the Daleks in their time machine as revenge for their past defeats. Whilst evading the Daleks, the TARDIS crew visits the Empire State Building in 1966, the Mary Celeste in 1872 and the Festival of Ghana, before finally confronting them on Mechanus, where they free spaceship pilot Steven Taylor from the Mechanoids. After the Daleks are defeated, Ian and Barbara use the Dalek time machine to finally return to 1960s, after two years of travel with the Doctor.[quote 21]
Set during The Chase: Episode 4, just as the Doctor, Ian and Barbara realise they have left Vicki at the Festival of Ghana.

Life after the TARDIS[[edit source]]

1965

Set directly after The Chase, with Barbara and Ian returning home to Shoreditch on 26 June 1965
Set from the first week after their arrival back in London to December of that year. Barbara and Ian haven't met the Doctor since The Chase, setting this before Hunters of the Burning Stone.
Set in 1965. Shortly after returning home, Ian and Barbara are wed following an encounter with the Eleventh Doctor.
Set in 1966. Ian and Barbara are travelling the world and have decided to not to immediately resume their regular lives after returning from their adventures with the Doctor.

Later years

Set during the 1970s.
Ian meets the Seventh Doctor.
An older Ian recounts the events of The Crusade.
Ian and Barbara are retired. Ian describes himself as nearly as old as The Doctor.
Ian tells the story of his journey aboard the Endeavour shortly after the 1770 Transit of Venus, mentioning that he successfully saw the transit in 2004.
Set 50 years after the 1960s. Ian takes the Orkney ferry and tells one of his fellow passengers about a trip he once took in the TARDIS, to Orkney in 1956.
Ian has no knowledge of the doctor's fate after his departure from the TARDIS, setting this before The Five Companions.
Ian reunites with Steven Taylor among other companions meeting the Fifth Doctor.
Barbara talks with other companions after leaving the TARDIS.
Ian and Barbara attend the funeral of Sarah Jane Smith.
50 years have passed since The Dalek Invasion of Earth for Ian.
In 2022, Ian meets up with other former companions of the Doctor and learns that she is now a woman.

Alternate universes[[edit source]]

Quotes[[edit source]]

  1. ↑ Memories flooded back to the Doctor. In the 60 years since he had hurriedly abandoned his home and fled in terror into the universe, he had stared death in the face on numerous occasions.
  2. ↑ The Barbara Wright who had taught at Coal Hill School would have cowered under her bedclothes rather than face whatever potentially embarrassing situation she was about to walk into, but Barbara had already changed in the year or more that she and Ian had travelled with the Doctor.
  3. ↑ "She's got a chip on her shoulder the size of Big Ben," continued Barbara. "I told her to act her age and she asked how she was supposed to 'act fourteen'."
  4. ↑ "Well, I didn't tell you, because I didn't want to disappoint you if it didn't work, but as we left Rome I tried to make the shortest increment - that is to say, the shortest journey - that I could."
  5. ↑ Ian Chesterton stood in the TARDIS doorway and looked out at the pre-dawn tint of the eastern sky. He had managed to rest well, before dressing in casual slacks, rollneck and jacket. Barbara had found herself sensible shoes to go with a plain trouser suit and Vicki wore baggy trousers and an oversized sweater.'
  6. ↑ They'd been travelling together in the Ship for two years now, and knew each other pretty well, but moments like this still kept her surprising and fresh.
  7. ↑ Barbara leant against Ian, and said, "I wanted to ask you something." "Anything." He realised that the word probably sounded more soulful than he had intended it to, and thought about correcting this. "You know you could ask anything of me," he said, finally. "What did you have in mind?" "Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering if you'd marry me, if ever we get home." What made Ian feel most comfortable, however, and most complete, was the peace that had come with saying "Yes".
  8. ↑ STELLA: "Listen to me! You return to the TARDIS leaving Rome burning behind you. You were just about to tell Barbara about the things that happened to you there, about the trick the Doctor played on Nero, but the TARDIS was gripped by some unexplained force, and you landed again only moments after takeoff. Barbara and Ian saw London on the scanner and thought they were home. You found out that it was decades before their time, but decided to spend a little time in the city anyway."
  9. ↑ DOCTOR: "Menoptera. Yes, does that word mean anything to you, hmm?"
    IAN: "No, nothing. You mean you've been here before?"
    DOCTOR: "No, no, my boy. No, but it's this rock formation and now this creature, this object, it suggests the planet Vortis."
  10. ↑ DOCTOR: "Apart from rubbing our back legs together like some sort of grasshopper? I doubt if we could get on speaking terms with them. Stand still! Obey! These creatures on this planet are completely unknown to me. Just stand still and obey."
  11. ↑ BARBARA: "What are you talking about? He's real. I remember him on Vortis handing me the isop-tope, I remember him in Rome, I remember him everywhere."
  12. ↑ IAN: "All the things we've done with Jospa - Vortis, Rome, Byzantium, China... He wasn't there? Not for any of it?"
  13. ↑ BARBARA: "Well, I could say that I'm from another world, a world ruled by insects. And before that we were in Rome at the time of Nero. Before that we were in England, far, far into the future."
  14. ↑ DALEK #1: "Our greatest enemies have left the planet Xeros. They are once again in time and space."
    DALEK #2:     "They cannot escape! Our time machine will soon follow them."
  15. ↑ IAN: "It's not the life and death battles with Daleks or Saracens I'll remember of our times together but quiet moments like this, on some uncharted alien paradise."
  16. ↑ Having made certain the door of his craft was secure he came across to examine her. "Yes, yes, suits you very well." "Do I have to be a boy again?"
  17. ↑ "The sixpence that brings luck to the one who finds it. Maybe it's a sign that we will soon be home after all." Barbara smiled. "Yes, perhaps we will."
  18. ↑ DOCTOR: Now, where was I? Vicki? What did you do with that instruction manual for my Time-Space Visualiser?
  19. ↑ Their pilot was probably still busy on his latest gizmo inside the Ship. He'd been immersed in it for hours; trying to tune it in, he'd told Barbara, to see a particular year.
  20. ↑ He made his way to the Time and Space Visualiser once more, swinging open the door of its access panel. "And hope, and pray, that one day, somehow, despite the odds, they make their way back to you. Now then, let's see if we can get this thing," he muttered, "to summon up 2164..." And that was the last thing he said for several hours.
  21. ↑ DOCTOR: "I've tried for two years to get you both home!"


Footnotes[[edit source]]

  1. ↑ https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-lost-stories-the-first-doctor-429
  2. ↑ https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-companion-chronicles-the-rocket-men-502
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