User:SOTO/Forum Archive/The Panopticon/@comment-121.45.54.78-20130925110520/@comment-4028641-20170607163551

I haven't read through this thread in a while, but this is my stab at it:

• Flashbacks are not appearances if they are representing a story which already exists.
  • If a flashback represents a new scene that we haven't seen before, than it is an appearance. The Fourth Doctor's role in Assimilation² is an appearance, while his appearance in Old Girl (where he has no dialogue, and the scene being represented is from TV: Pyramids of Mars) is not.
  • Stock-footage, if used to paint a new scene, is an appearance. In this case, as their use in TV: The Lie of the Land represents a new situation (even if a false one) the Weeping Angels and Cybermen both appeared in that story.
• Similarly, a brief "vision" of a character (such as the first 10 Doctors appearing within the Doctor's mind in TV: Nightmare in Silver) is not a proper appearance. Nor is a picture.
• If a vision of a character takes sentience and basically takes the form of the character, there is a case to be made for either side. I'd prefer for Adric - list of appearances to take account of TV: Time-Flight. On the other hand, I'd be more skeptical of Martha Jones - list of appearances mentioning COMIC: The Forgotten, or even Rose Tyler - list of appearances mentioning TV: The Day of the Doctor. Perhaps a good compromise would be to splinter the appearances of IDW-style imitation-appearances to the bottom of the page. See my sandbox. This section would also be where things like clones, or someone stealing the appearance of the Doctor.