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Doctor Who universe: Difference between revisions
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{{retitle|''Doctor Who'' universe}} | {{retitle|''Doctor Who'' universe}} | ||
{{real world}} | {{real world}} | ||
The '''''Doctor Who'' universe''', sometimes abbreviated "'''Whoniverse'''" or "'''DWU'''", is a term used by fans and, increasingly, the mainstream press | {{dab page|The Whoniverse (disambiguation)}} | ||
The '''''Doctor Who'' universe''', sometimes abbreviated "'''Whoniverse'''" or "'''DWU'''", is a term used by fans and, increasingly, the mainstream press to describe the shared {{w|fictional universe}} in which ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and its related spin-offs and other related series, takes place. | |||
The term notably does not limit itself to "[[the Doctor]]'s [[universe]]" in terms of the in-universe definition of those terms, instead including the full breadth of the reality in which the Doctor exists, including the [[multiverse]] they inhabit; [[Pete's World]] is well-established to be a part of "the DWU" despite being separate from [[the Doctor's universe]]. | |||
Much like the related term of [[canon]], its scope is somewhat debated by fans. Fans often disagree about whether some stories and series are considered part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, and some dispute the concept's meaning or utility altogether. However, the concept potentially includes all the video-, prose-, audio-, and comic-based series. | |||
This wiki has established rules about what is and is not part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe for its own purposes (see [[T:VS|our valid source policy]] for more information), but this wiki has no authority beyond its borders. Much like canon, consumers of ''Doctor Who''-related media are free to decide for themselves what stories are part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, or indeed, whether the concept exists at all in a meaningful fashion. | This wiki has established rules about what is and is not part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe for its own purposes (see [[T:VS|our valid source policy]] for more information), but this wiki has no authority beyond its borders. Much like canon, consumers of ''Doctor Who''-related media are free to decide for themselves what stories are part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, or indeed, whether the concept exists at all in a meaningful fashion. | ||
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The BBC has never made a definitive pronouncement on the concept of "[[canon]]" for ''Doctor Who''. This is notable because in order to build a "fictional universe", you need to have an established list of stories that act as the building blocks for that universe. | The BBC has never made a definitive pronouncement on the concept of "[[canon]]" for ''Doctor Who''. This is notable because in order to build a "fictional universe", you need to have an established list of stories that act as the building blocks for that universe. | ||
''Doctor Who'' has had | ''Doctor Who'' has had thousands of contributors to its mythos — its universe — with each new story being a new contribution to the universe. | ||
The actual phrase "Doctor Who universe" and "Whoniverse" are terms that are used frequently throughout in BBC publications. In many BBC publications, they have phrased the continual development of the ''Doctor Who'' universe in terms of "continuing adventures" rather than a prescribed universe.<ref>Richard, Justin, ''[[Doctor Who: The Legend]]''</ref> | The actual phrase "Doctor Who universe" and "Whoniverse" are terms that are used frequently throughout in BBC publications. In many BBC publications, they have phrased the continual development of the ''Doctor Who'' universe in terms of "continuing adventures" rather than a prescribed universe.<ref>Richard, Justin, ''[[Doctor Who: The Legend]]''</ref> | ||
However, when creating their episode guide on their website the BBC republished several analyses from ''[[The Television Companion]]'', several of which mentioned the concept of a "Doctor Who universe". In discussing ''[[The Ribos Operation (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'', it is stated that the establishment of the [[Black Guardian|Black]] and [[White Guardian]]s form important new characters within the "Doctor Who universe,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/ribosoperation/detail.shtml|title=The Ribos Operation|date of source=1993, 1998, 2003|website name=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29th July 2012}}</ref> while in the episode guide for ''[[The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)|The Celestial Toymaker]]'', "the Celestial Toymaker's greatest legacy to the Doctor Who universe"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/celestialtoymaker/detail.shtml|title=The Celestial Toymaker|date of source=1993, 1998, 2003|website name=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29th July 2012}}</ref> is mentioned. It is this term and the idea of "legacy" and "mythos" where much of the idea of a "Doctor Who universe" continues development. An event at its earliest development, ''Doctor Who'' was never limited to TV and never had a prescribed canon; it is a broad universe of adventures. | However, when creating their episode guide on their website the BBC republished several analyses from ''[[The Television Companion]]'', several of which mentioned the concept of a "Doctor Who universe". In discussing ''[[The Ribos Operation (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'', it is stated that the establishment of the [[Black Guardian|Black]] and [[White Guardian]]s form important new characters within the "Doctor Who universe,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/ribosoperation/detail.shtml|title=The Ribos Operation|date of source=1993, 1998, 2003|website name=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29th July 2012}}</ref> while in the episode guide for ''[[The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)|The Celestial Toymaker]]'', "the Celestial Toymaker's greatest legacy to the Doctor Who universe"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/celestialtoymaker/detail.shtml|title=The Celestial Toymaker|date of source=1993, 1998, 2003|website name=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29th July 2012}}</ref> is mentioned. It is this term and the idea of "legacy" and "mythos" where much of the idea of a "Doctor Who universe" continues development. An event at its earliest development, ''Doctor Who'' was never limited to TV and never had a prescribed canon; it is a broad universe of adventures. | ||
=== Other fiction in the DWU? === | |||
In addition to [[Doctor Who spin-offs|works which branched off of ''Doctor Who'' outwards]], and thus expanded its universe, other works of fiction which some might deem unrelated to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' have been viewed by fans and creators alike as belonging to the DWU. This does not necessarily imply these works' original authorial intent was that they were set in the DWU — indeed, many predate the broadcast of ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' — but simply that writers chose to view these works as "applicable" to ''Doctor Who'' in the same retroactive sense as real-world history itself. | |||
The primary way this has manifested has been through some breeds of [[crossover]], licensed or not. However, this idea that many preexisting works of fiction are valid history for [[the Doctor]]'s [[universe]] has been espoused as a general philosophy by several writers of licensed DWU fiction. [[Ben Aaronovitch]] notably made it a guiding principle of his writing of [[Sylvester McCoy]] ''Doctor Who'' TV stories. | |||
{{quote|Aaronovitch's concept of the "universe" in which ''Doctor Who'' takes place [was] a fictional dimension in which characters such as [[Sherlock Holmes]] exist.|[[DWMS Summer 1993]]}} | |||
Thus, ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'' made mention of [[Bernard Quatermass]] and his [[British Rocket Group]], while ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]'' saw the Doctor directly interacting with elements of [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] mythos such as [[Morgaine]] and [[Camelot]]. | |||
In [[2012 (releases)|2012]], ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' writer [[Andrew Hickey]] noted on his blog<ref>[https://andrewhickey.info/2012/09/07/i-blame-ronald-knox/#comment-18286 ''I Blame Ronald Knox'' on andrewhickey.info]</ref>: | |||
{{quote|Any fiction I write takes place in the same universe as ''[[Doctor Who]]'' *and* ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' *and* ''[[Batman]]'' *and* ''[[Sherlock Holmes (series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' *and*… well, everything, really.|[[Andrew Hickey]]}} | |||
== History == | == History == | ||
The term "Whoniverse" dates at least as far back as [[Peter Haining]]'s 1983 reference book, ''[[A Celebration|Doctor Who: A Celebration]]''. At that time, the Whoniverse had a very broad meaning, which included not just the setting of ''Doctor Who'' stories, but everything about the series, including behind-the-scenes information and fandom itself. | The term "Whoniverse" dates at least as far back as [[Peter Haining]]'s 1983 reference book, ''[[A Celebration: Two Decades Through Time and Space|Doctor Who: A Celebration]]''. At that time, the Whoniverse had a very broad meaning, which included not just the setting of ''Doctor Who'' stories, but everything about the series, including behind-the-scenes information and fandom itself. | ||
"Whoniverse" gradually became a more specific term. Initially, it served to indicate that the ''Doctor Who'' stories told in other media were part of the same universe as those told on television. This came to have greater importance in the media and to new fans who were approaching ''Doctor Who'' through TV-based series such as ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]], [[K9 (TV series)|K9]] and [[Class (TV series)|Class]] '' | "Whoniverse" gradually became a more specific term. Initially, it served to indicate that the ''Doctor Who'' stories told in other media were part of the same universe as those told on television. This came to have greater importance in the media and to new fans who were approaching ''Doctor Who'' through TV-based series such as ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', ''[[K9 (TV series)|K9]]'' and ''[[Class (TV series)|Class]]''. | ||
== One shared universe == | == One shared universe == | ||
The ''Doctor Who'' universe is the shared universe created and collected from the stories that are told about it. | The ''Doctor Who'' universe is the shared universe created and collected from the stories that are told about it. | ||
With the return of ''Doctor Who'' on television in 2005, it began to include references to past stories, tying together various series of various media together into a single universe. [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|Series 1]] of ''Doctor Who'' included references to the [[planet]] [[Lucifer (planet)|Lucifer]], [[kronkburger]]s and [[Justicia]], and [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|series 5]] revealed that [[Winston Churchill]] had met the Doctor before ''[[Victory of the Daleks]]'', while the [[Slitheen-Blathereen family]], descendants of the [[Blathereen]], appeared in [[Series 3 (SJA)|series 3]] of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', all hinting that non-televised ''Doctor Who'' stories might take place in the "official" ''Doctor Who'' universe. | With the return of ''Doctor Who'' on television in 2005, it began to include references to past stories, tying together various series of various media together into a single universe. [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 1]] of ''Doctor Who'' included references to the [[planet]] [[Lucifer (planet)|Lucifer]], [[kronkburger]]s and [[Justicia]], and [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 5]] revealed that [[Winston Churchill]] had met the Doctor before ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]'', while the [[Slitheen-Blathereen family]], descendants of the [[Blathereen]], appeared in [[Series 3 (SJA)|series 3]] of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', all hinting that non-televised ''Doctor Who'' stories might take place in the "official" ''Doctor Who'' universe. | ||
[[File:122.jpg|thumb|''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' and ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' cross over into [[Doctor Who]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'')]] | |||
[[Martha Jones]]'s employment by [[UNIT]] was first mentioned in the ''Torchwood'' episode ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'', in which she appeared, and ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]'' had a semi-sequel in the form of the ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' story ''[[The Last Sontaran (TV story)|The Last Sontaran]]''. ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'' brought together cast members of three series. A number of more casual mentions have also taken place, such as Sarah Jane suggesting "[[Harry Sullivan|Harry]]" and "[[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Alistair]]" as possible names for [[Luke Smith|Luke]] in ''[[Invasion of the Bane (TV story)|Invasion of the Bane]]''. Likewise, Sarah's description of the origins of her [[coulrophobia]] in ''[[The Day of the Clown (TV story)|The Day of the Clown]]'' returns the viewer to the setting of ''[[A Girl's Best Friend (TV story)|A Girl's Best Friend]]''. | |||
In ''[[Liberty Hall (home video)|Liberty Hall]]'', a short minisode released with the DVD of ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'', [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] mentions being with [[Eighth Doctor|the Doctor]] in [[Malebolgia]] in [[2003]] (which is a reference to ''[[Minuet in Hell (audio story)|Minuet in Hell]]''). He also mentions [[Gordon Conall Lethbridge-Stewart|Gordon]] and [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] (who are characters from ''[[Downtime (home video)|Downtime]]''). | |||
In ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'', the [[Eighth Doctor]] name checks four of his [[companion]]s from [[Big Finish Productions]]' audio dramas. | |||
''[[Time Heist (TV story)|Time Heist]]'' features a gallery of [[criminal]]s including from both the classic and new series of ''Doctor Who'', ''Torchwood'', ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' as well as [[Abslom Daak]], a character from the [[Doctor Who Magazine]] comic strips. | |||
In ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'', the [[Twelfth Doctor]] noted that the [[Cybermen]] had risen naturally from [[Mondas]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts (audio story)|Spare Parts]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'') [[Telos]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Cybermen (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Cybermen]]'') [[Pete's World|Earth]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)|Rise of the Cybermen]]''/ ''[[The Age of Steel (TV story)|The Age of Steel]]'') [[Planet 14]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion (TV story)|The Invasion]]'') and [[Marinus]], ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The World Shapers (comic story)|The World Shapers]]'') effectively validating all of these known instances of the Cybermen rising outside of the television stories. | |||
While such "crossovers" can be narratively insignificant, they nevertheless reinforce the notion of a single, shared universe. | While such "crossovers" can be narratively insignificant, they nevertheless reinforce the notion of a single, shared universe. | ||
The | The Twelfth Doctor also appeared in the [[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|first episode]] of the spin off series, ''[[Class (TV series)|Class]]'', confirming the series as part of the same "universe" as ''Doctor Who''. | ||
== Other fictional universes == | == Other fictional universes == | ||
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There have been various deliberate attempts to create separate "fictional universes" that have elements of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, but are entirely separate entities. This is in an in-universe fictional sense, in a narrative sense and in a commercial sense. | There have been various deliberate attempts to create separate "fictional universes" that have elements of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, but are entirely separate entities. This is in an in-universe fictional sense, in a narrative sense and in a commercial sense. | ||
These other fictional universes ''are not'' [[alternate timeline]]s or [[parallel universe]]s. These two concepts exist within the ''Doctor Who'' universe as defined and contained concepts within the scope of that fictional universe, whilst these other fictional universes are separate, merely using familiar concepts and entities as the ''Doctor Who'' universe. | These other fictional universes ''are not'' [[alternate timeline]]s or [[parallel universe]]s. These two concepts exist within the ''Doctor Who'' universe as defined and contained concepts within the scope of that fictional universe, whilst these other fictional universes are separate, merely using familiar concepts and entities as the ''Doctor Who'' universe. For example, both ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]'' and ''[[Death Comes to Time (webcast)|Death Comes to Time]]'' were retroactively declared by their creators (and in the case of ''Shalka'', by the BBC) as ''not'' being part of the ''Doctor Who'' universe. | ||
[[ | A similar status is often ascribed to the two [[Peter Cushing]] films of the 1960s, ''[[Dr. Who and the Daleks (theatrical film)|Dr. Who and the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (theatrical film)|Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'', which borrow plots, characters and iconography from the TV stories ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'' and ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'', but alter various details to the extent that they seem irreconcilable with the televised version of events, and, indeed, most other stories involving a version of [[the Doctor]] — although notably, ''[[The Dalek Chronicles (comic series)|The Dalek Chronicles]]'' are just as much a prequel to these films as to the TV versions. As time went, the "Cushing Doctor" was considered more and more of an oddity, with writers and characters alike coming to denounce him as "not counting". The publication of ''[[Daleks Versus the Martians (comic story)|Daleks Versus the Martians]]'', as well as that of a series of unlicensed [[charity publication]]s featuring [[Dr. Who (Dr. Who and the Daleks)|Dr. Who]] by [[Obverse Books]], saw established ''Doctor Who'' writers trying to write in "the universe of the Cushing films", positing a world where the "canon" consisted of the two Cushing films and nothing else. | ||
== Footnotes == | == Footnotes == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[cs:DWU]] | |||
[[es:Universo de Doctor Who]] | |||
[[nl:Doctor Who universum]] | |||
[[Category:Fan terminology]] | [[Category:Fan terminology]] | ||
