Methodology

WHEN and WHEN’NT

I. The Order

This chronology is presented in chronological order of when each event in the Doctor Who universe (I guess technically it’s a multiverse) takes place.

The order is determined by the video and not the audio of each clip. (E.g. if there is voiceover/narration over the clip, the clip will be considered to take place at the point in time depicted by the camera. The audio of the narration would not be placed separately in the chronology.)

II. The Range Rule

An unspecified year will be randomly calculated by a true random number generator (TRNG), with the range of possible years given as the minimum and maximum bounds.

III. The Present Day Guideline

All events that appear to take place during the present day take place on or around the air date of the episode, unless implicit or explicit clues suggest otherwise.

IV. The Actor Age Rule

The otherwise unknown precise year of an event can be calculated by an actor’s age in relation to the character they are playing (i.e. a child playing a younger version of an established character, or an actor playing a real historical figure).

V. The Time Travel Rule

Time travel is considered to take place outside of the three-dimensional universe and thus will not be included in the linear timeline of events.

This includes scenes that take place aboard the TARDIS while it is dematerialized.

a. The TARDIS Console Guideline

In general, when the TARDIS is traveling through time, the center console is moving up and down, so that has been my guideline for determining when the TARDIS is time-traveling while the camera is aboard the TARDIS.

This is not a hard-and-fast rule, as there are some exceptions to it, but those are apparent from context.

VI. The Simultaneous Times Rule

An event that occurs simultaneously in multiple times (e.g. the “conference call” between Vastra, Jenny, Strax, Clara and River in “The Name of the Doctor” (Doctor Who (2005), S07E14); an event which takes place in Victorian times, present day, and the future) are considered to take place outside of time and therefore not part of the temporal continuity.

VII. The False Dream Rule

Sometimes a character will have a vision or dream about another time. One example of this is the flash-forwards that John Smith has in “The Family of Blood” (Doctor Who (2005), S03E09), in which he imagines a future with Joan Redfern. These events represent a particular point in the future, even if those events do not end up coming to pass. These will be place in the chronology, but labeled as “false dreams” or other applicable things.

VIII. The Unknown Era Rule

Any events that take place in an unknown year will require the use of a TRNG. The min and max bounds used for it is based on data of known dates of TARDIS destinations. I’m still working out the specific mathematical execution of this rule, but essentially it’s a random number.

IX. The Humanoid Rule

A creature not on Earth that appears human and has no significant costuming, makeup or prosthetics to suggest otherwise is assumed to be human, unless the script or story imply that they are not human.

This is significant to this project because humans can only travel in space after a certain point in time, but alien civilizations can exist at any time (see The Future Guideline).

X. The Future Guideline

An event that takes place in an unknown year in the future shall be guided by the technologies present in the episode, as well as the earliest dated appearances of similar technology in the series, given by the following milestones.

a. The Human Astronauts Milestone

This milestone describes an event in which human beings undergo manned expeditions within or outside the solar system (such as astronauts on other planets/futuristic spaceships/space stations), but no planetary colonization has necessarily taken place.

This is given roughly as the middle of the 20th century, with manned space flights of real-life history, as well as the Mars probe in “The Ambassadors of Death” (Doctor Who (1963), S07E12-18) as an in-universe indication of the beginning of this era in human history.

b. The Humans Time-Traveling Milestone

Human beings begin to develop time travel around the 23rd century.

Orson Pink is from the 22nd century in “Listen” (Doctor Who (2005), S08E04), and Hila Tacorian in “Hide” (Doctor Who (2005), S07E10) probably is too if you do the math, but they are both from early (failed) time travel experiments.

c. The Solar Planets Colonized Milestone

The solar planets are starting to be colonized in “Frontier in Space” (Doctor Who (1963), S10E09-14) around the 26th century.

d. The Human Ark Milestone

Human beings have first begun to leave Earth en masse in space arks in “The Beast Below” (Doctor Who (2005), S05E02) around the 34th century.

e. The Exoplanets Colonized Milestone

The first evidence of planets outside the solar system being colonized by human beings is around the 40th century in “The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit” (Doctor Who (2005), S02E08-09).

I realize that “Colony in Space” (Doctor Who (1963), S08E15-20), which features a human colony on an exoplanet, takes place in the 25th century, but because the solar planets aren’t even colonized until the 26th century in “Frontier in Space” (Doctor Who (1963), S10E09-14, see The Solar Planets Colonized Milestone), I am considering “Colony in Space” to be an indirectly deleted timeline (see The Deleted Timeline Addendum).

XI. The Conflicting Timelines Rule

I do my best to use all the information I can in determining where and when a given event happens, but some information contradicts other. In these cases:

Explicitly dated events take precedence over implicitly dated events
Text slides and supers take precedence over what characters say in a scene
Earlier (aired/released) episodes take precedence over later episodes, with these exceptions:
- All Doctor Who episodes take precedence over all episodes of spinoffs
- All episodes of spinoffs take precedence over the rest of the extended universe

In the case that two events or timelines still conflict with one another after this hierarchy, the earlier (aired/released) event can be considered an indirectly deleted timeline (see The Indirectly Deleted Timeline Addendum).

XII. The Pushed Forward Guideline

If a present-day event’s continuity is pushed forward by a certain number of years, the event will still take place around the same time of year as its air date (unless some other element of continuity suggests otherwise).

For example, the present-day events in “The Parting of the Ways” (Doctor Who (2005), S01E13) would ordinarily be placed around June of 2005 (the episode first aired June 18, 2005). However, those events actually take place roughly one year in the future (see The Aliens of London Guideline), rather than present day.

This guideline would now place those events around June of 2006.

XIII. The Significant Figures Approximation Rule

In most cases, when an event takes place before 10,000 BC or after 10,000 AD, it is marked as an approximate year, and understood to take place in the era that rounds to two significant figures (see The Unknown Era Rule).

For this reason, even great spans of time passing within such an era will be marked with the same approximate year.

For example, “The Steel Sky” and “The Plague” (Doctor Who (1963), S03E26-27) take place around 10 million AD, and the other two episodes in the serial, “The Return” and “The Bomb” (Doctor Who (1963), S03E28-29) take place 700 years later.

Because 10,000,700 rounds down to 10,000,000 with two significant figures, they are both labeled as being approximately 10,000,000 AD, rather than 10,000,000 AD and 10,000,700 AD.

XIV. The UNIT Dating Controversy Solution

The UNIT Dating Controversy refers to the problem arising from determining the exact dates of events and stories involving UNIT stories in classic Doctor Who. The confusion comes from different dates of different stories. Here are the conflicting dates as they are presented in the show:

1935 - Events of “The Abominable Snowmen” (Doctor Who (1963), S05E05-10)
1975 (at the earliest) - Events of “The Web of Fear” (Doctor Who (1963), S05E23-28)
1976 - Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart retires from UNIT, according to “Mawdryn Undead” (Doctor Who (1963), S20E09-12)
1979 - Events of “The Invasion” (Doctor Who (1963), S06E11-18) in which Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart still works for UNIT
1980 - Sarah Jane Smith is from this year according to “Pyramids of Mars” (Doctor Who (1963), S13E09-12)—she started working for UNIT and traveling with the Doctor this year, during which time Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was working for UNIT the whole time

However, upon closer examination—and making a LOT of assumptions—we can actually make all of this work. And here’s how! *cracks knuckles*

a. The Abominable Snowmen Assumption

“The Abominable Snowmen” never directly mentions the year in which it takes place, and so it is possible that the Doctor and his companions don’t know exactly which year they’ve traveled to.

In “The Web of Fear,” Professor Travers says that the events of “The Abominable Snowmen” were “over forty years ago.” Later, when Travers isn’t there, Victoria Waterfield tells his daughter Anne about time travel. Victoria tells Anne that “The Abominable Snowmen” took place in 1935, but it could potentially have been earlier, if Victoria is wrong about the year. And since Anne would not have been old enough to have been around for the events of “The Abominable Snowmen,” it is also reasonable to expect that Anne wouldn’t correct Victoria on this.

b. The Web of Fear and Invasion Assumption

“The Invasion” takes place 4 years after “The Web of Fear,” but no specific year is given for either story.

c. The Mawdryn Undead Guideline

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart retires explicitly in 1976, according to him in “Mawdryn Undead.” Theoretically, all UNIT stories—from “The Invasion” all the way through “The Android Invasion” (Doctor Who (1963), S13E13-16)—could take place in 1976 (before his retirement). That puts “The Web of Fear” in 1972, and “The Abominable Snowmen” in 1931. As I’ve mentioned above, those are all perfectly possible.

d. The Pyramids of Mars Assumption

Now we need to reconcile Sarah Jane Smith being “from 1980.” On its surface, this appears to mean that she started traveling with the Doctor that year—when the Doctor was very much still working with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart at UNIT in “The Time Warrior” (Doctor Who (1963), S11E01-04). But let’s instead assume that “The Seeds of Doom” (Doctor Who (1963), S13E21-26)—the only Sarah Jane story that takes place on present-day Earth and doesn’t directly involve UNIT—takes place in 1980, and that’s what she’s referring to. It’s not necessarily that she’s “from” 1980, so much as she’s been there before, and therefore knows that the world isn’t destroyed by Sutekh in 1911.

i. The “Episodes Don’t Necessarily Take Place In The Order That They Aired, Even From the Perspectives of the Doctor and his Companions” Theory

First—and most obvious—problem: “The Seeds of Doom” is after “Pyramids of Mars.” As in, “The Seeds of Doom” is S13E21-26, while “Pyramids of Mars” is S13E09-12. However, nothing in either serial suggests that “The Seeds of Doom” can’t take place before “Pyramids of Mars” (from the perspectives of the Doctor and Sarah Jane).

ii. The Brigadier Crichton Theory

Second problem: In “The Seeds of Doom,” the Doctor and Sarah Jane have been sent by UNIT to look into the mysterious seeds. Upon asking where the Brigadier is, the reply given is that he is “in Geneva.” This implies that this serial can’t take place after the Brigadier has retired. However, they only ever say “the Brigadier,” and not “Lethbridge-Stewart,” which means that it could technically be a different Brigadier entirely.

In “The Five Doctors” (Doctor Who (1963), 20th Anniversary Special), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is attending a UNIT reunion, and introduces the Second Doctor to his replacement, Colonel Crichton. Crichton could have been promoted to the rank of Brigadier between these two stories. So if the Doctor asks after “the Brigadier” with regard to UNIT, those around him would naturally assume he’s talking about Brigadier Crichton, not the retired Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

e. The New UNIT Timeline

So my new timeline is as follows:

1931 - Events of “The Abominable Snowmen” (mistakenly dated 1935 by Victoria Waterfield in “The Web of Fear” when she is talking to Anne Travers)
1971 - Events of “The Web of Fear” (Professor Travers says that the events of “The Abominable Snowmen” was “over forty years ago” but isn’t around to correct Victoria when she gets the year of those events wrong)
1975 - Events of “The Invasion” (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart says that the events of “The Web of Fear” were “four years ago.”)
1975-1976 - All present day events of “Spearhead from Space” (Doctor Who (1963), S07E01-04) through “The Android Invasion”
1976 - The Brigadier retires (as he says in “Mawdryn Undead”)
1977 - Nyssa and Tegan work with the Brigadier to return to 1983 (“Mawdryn Undead”)
1978 - The Brigadier returns to UNIT for a reunion (he is there when the Second Doctor shows up in “The Five Doctors” and introduces him to the new head of UNIT, Colonel Crichton). I’m putting this closer to 1977 rather than 1983 because the Lethbridge-Stewart in “The Five Doctors” looks much closer to the Lethbridge-Stewart in the 1977 section of “Mawdryn Undead” than in the 1983 section.
1979 - Colonel Crichton is promoted to Brigadier Crichton
1980 - Events of “The Seeds of Doom” (For the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, this adventure actually takes place sometime between “The Android Invasion” and “Pyramids of Mars,” so that when Sarah Jane says that she’s been to 1980 it can be correct.) When the Fourth Doctor asks about the Brigadier, he thinks he’s asking for Lethbridge-Stewart, but Colin Thackeray, the guy he’s talking to, assumes he means Brigadier Crichton.

Boom! Fixed. Solved. Thwarted.

XV. The Aliens of London Guideline

In “Aliens of London” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S01E04), the Doctor returns Rose to the present one year after they left, in which she has been missing the whole time.

For this reason, starting with “Aliens of London,” all present day events relating to Rose (or Mickey, Jackie, etc) take place 1 year in the future.

The timeline catches up again in “The End of Time” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 2009 Christmas Special/2010 New Year’s Day Special) due to the fact that none of the other 2009 specials take place in present day—except for “The Dead Planet” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 2009 Easter Special), but that episode doesn’t involve any characters or events that are referenced later, so although it itself is pushed forward, it doesn’t have to push any future events forward.

However, spinoffs “Torchwood” and “The Sarah Jane Adventures” continue to take place one year in the future, even after “The End of Time,” since they began after the events of “Aliens of London” and have their own continuities to consider.

a. The Nightmare Man Addendum

“The Nightmare Man” (“The Sarah Jane Adventures,” S04E01-02) explicitly takes place in September of 2010 (although it should take place in September of 2011 given The Aliens of London Guideline and the Pushed Forward Guideline).

Therefore, Series 3 of “The Sarah Jane Adventures” must take place over the spring semester of 2010 (not in the fall) to make room for Series 4 (fall 2010).

XVI. The Pete’s World Timeline

In “Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S02E05-06), Mickey explicitly states that the events are taking place “this year” (as in, present day according to him, the Present Day Guideline and the Aliens of London Guideline).

However, in “Army of Ghosts/Doomsday” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S02E12-13), the group that jumps from Pete’s World into Universe 1 say that they are about three and a half years ahead of Universe 1.

I interpret this as evidence that the teleports that the Pete’s World crew use are making a jump in time as well as a jump between universes.

Therefore, the events that take place in Pete’s World (after “Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel”) occur roughly three and a half years ahead of the timeline set forth in the Aliens of London Guideline.

XVII. The Planet of the Ood Guideline

“The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S02E08-09) take place before “Planet of the Ood” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S04E03), when the Ood are set free (4126 AD), despite the explanation that “The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit” actually takes place in 4221 AD (which is never stated by the show itself, but rather by the extended universe).

The only reason this guideline even exists is just because my fan brain wants the Doctor and Donna to have successfully started a revolution that culminated in the end of Ood slavery in “Planet of the Ood,” but such a movement is not really in the awareness of the crew in “The Impossible Astronaut/The Satan Pit.” #woke #friendsoftheood

XVIII. The Hide Guidelide [sic]

When the Eleventh Doctor and Clara first travel into the past in the photography montage in “Hide” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S07E10), the Doctor steps into the TARDIS from a molten Earth and (wrongly) states that they’ve traveled about 6 billion years into the past.

This is not only contradicted by our real-life scientific understanding of the history of our solar system and planet, but also contradicts the Tenth Doctor’s (more accurate) estimation of 4.6 billion years when he and Donna watch the Earth form in “The Runaway Bride” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 2006 Christmas Special).

My point is, it’s really hard to stand on the surface of a planet 1.4 billion years before it exists.

XIX. The In the Forest of the Night Guideline

There is a 2+ year gap between the present day events in “The Name of the Doctor” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S07E14) and “The Day of the Doctor” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 50th Anniversary Special, between Series 7 and 8).

This is because “The Name of the Doctor” explicitly takes place in 2013, and “In the Forest of the Night” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S08E10) explicitly takes place in 2016.

It seems that the gap cannot be anywhere after “Into the Dalek” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S08E02) due to the natural, gradual evolution of Clara’s relationship with Danny Pink.

I’m also assuming Clara’s classroom flashback in “Deep Breath” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S08E01) is at the beginning of her first teaching term, which occurs before “The Day of the Doctor.”

As Courtney Woods clearly does not age two years between the “Deep Breath” flashback and her next appearance in “Into the Dalek,” the gap must happen between “The Name of the Doctor” and the “Deep Breath” flashback, meaning that all present-day events from “The Day of the Doctor” through the end of Series 8 take place in 2016.

a. The Class Addendum

In “For Tonight We Might Die” (“Class,” S01E01), the Twelfth Doctor examines a list of Coal Hill’s dead and missing, which includes Danny Pink and Clara Oswald. This means that the entire series of “Class” must take place after “The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S09E07-08), which is the last time Clara is in present day and going about her normal life.

Given the In the Forest of the Night Guideline and the Pushed Forward Guideline, this places the events of “Class” in the 2018 fall semester.

XX. The Last Christmas Exception

Despite the Present Day Guideline, “Last Christmas” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 2014 Christmas Special) does not take place in present day. It is heavily implied that the scientists are all from different times, although they appear to wake up in roughly present-day surroundings. Therefore the year of each scientist has been randomly generated with reasonable present-day bounds.

This also means that the shared dream state that makes up the majority of the episode does not take place in the linear chronology (see the Simultaneous Times Rule).

XXI. The Hell Bent Guideline

Stories that take place on Gallifrey take place around the Doctor’s lifespan, which can be said to take place in the future, using the Twelfth Doctor’s time in his confession dial to place the events of “Hell Bent” (Doctor Who (2005), S09E12) 4.5 billion years in the future.

a. The Timeless Child Addendum

In “The End of Time, Part 2” (Doctor Who (2005), 2010 New Year’s Day Special), Rassilon implies that the Time Lord civilization has existed for a billion years. This, in conjunction with the Hell Bent Guideline, places events relating to The Timeless Child in “The Timeless Children” (Doctor Who (2005), S12E10) about 3.5 billion years in our future.

XXII. The Night on Darillium Guideline

At the end of “The Husbands of River Song” (Doctor Who (2005), 2015 Christmas Special), the Twelfth Doctor tells River Song that one night on Darillium lasts 24 years. (Thus, a full “day” from an astronomical perspective—one day and one night—would last 48 years.)

After the night that the Harmony and Redemption crashes on Darillium, the Doctor hops forward in the TARDIS to the next morning, where the fuselage is still burning, and Alphonse is looking for survivors.

I would estimate that the difference between those lighting conditions on Earth would take a minimum of 2 hours or so (to go from pitch black night to well-illuminated morning). Extrapolating that to the Doctor’s explanation of a Darillium day, it would be at least 4 years.

Given that (a) the fuselage should not still be burning 4 years after the crash, and (b) no sane person would return to a crash site 4 years later to search for survivors, I interpret this to mean that the Doctor is not telling River the literal truth about the day/night cycle of the planet, but rather it’s his way of telling her “We have as much time as we want.”

This is why I’ve dated the crash on Darillium and the Doctor’s scene with Alphonse in the same year, rather than 4 years apart.

XXIII. The World Enough and Time Guideline

Because of the time distortion aboard the colony ship in “World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls” (Doctor Who (2005), S10E11-12), the adventure actually spans several years (as measured by an outside observer).

The problem is that we are given a handful of wildly different data points from which to estimate the amount of time dilation. (For simplicity’s sake—and also because I’ve spent a few days trying to make the math work out using what we know about gravitational time dilation but can’t seem to do it—I’m assuming that the time passing on Floor 1056 is roughly equal to the time passing in the rest of the universe.)

There are five different time dilation ratios we are given by the episode between Floor 1056 and Floor 0.

a. Verbal Estimation

Nardole says Bill has been gone for 10 minutes. The Master and Bill both say she has been on Floor 1056 for 10 years. 10 minutes divided by 10 years is 1/525,600, as any “Rent” fan knows.

b. Clock (1)

A pair of monitors shows us the time that has passed on Floor 0 and the time that has passed on Floor 1056. The first time we see it, it shows us that 2 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 17 seconds have passed on Floor 0; and that 365,034 days, 12 hours, 31 minutes and 3 seconds have passed on Floor 1056.

This works out to about 1/149,109.

c. Clock (2)

The second time we’re shown those same monitors, they have a different story to tell (probably one of somebody in the art/graphics/post department screwing up). Now we see that only 2 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 0 seconds have passed on Floor 0; while 365,433 days, 10 hours, 2 minutes and 21 seconds have passed on Floor 1056.

Despite Floor 0 apparently having gone back in time (which must be a production mistake because it’s never addressed), we can still use this as another data point. It works out to about 1/149,283.

d. Counting Frames

If we count, in the video, how much time has elapsed on Floor 0 in between the times we see the clock monitors, we can look at the ratio of video footage to the difference in the readouts for Floor 1056.

For this, we get about 2 minutes, 11 seconds and 6 frames (in 24 fps because I’m American and that’s my export setting) on Floor 0; and 398 days, 21 hours, 31 minutes and 18 seconds have elapsed on Floor 1056.

This ratio works out to about 1/262,588.

e. Verbal Estimation and Frame Counting

If we count the video footage between when Bill has departed Floor 0 and when the Doctor, Nardole and Missy depart Floor 0, and believe Bill and the Master’s estimation that 10 years has passed for them, we get another ratio.

In the video, about 2 minutes, 35 seconds and 2 frames elapse on Floor 0.

This gives us the ratio of 1/2,033,487.

f. Average

If we average the ratios in methods a through e, we get about 1/624,013, which is what I will use.

This means that 1 year passes in the outside universe for every 50.54 seconds that pass on Floor 0. Discrepancies in the monitor readouts on the ship can be explained by the fact that it’s probably really hard to keep accurate time when you’re not on an actual planet I guess.

Because of the exponential nature of gravitational time dilation, time passing on Floor 506 doesn’t pass significantly faster than it does on Floor 1056.

XXIV. The Relative Time Rule

An event is considered to take place in the “present” if it takes place within +/-5 years of the year in which the episode was originally released (or in the case of unaired serial “Shada,” planned to release).

Otherwise it will be considered the “past” or the “future,” based on the relationship between the setting and the air date.

WHERE and WHEREN’T

XXV. The Location Rule

An event takes place at the location of the camera. The specificity of the location is given as follows:

Inside [character]’s mind (if the action is a vision or dream being experienced by one character)
Inside [list of character]’s shared vision (if the action is a vision or dream being experienced by multiple characters)
Inside [virtual reality] (if the action is within a digital or otherwise virtual environment, such as the Time Lord Matrix)
Aboard [craft] (if aircraft or spacecraft is in flight, not landed or docked. If a smaller vessel has docked aboard a larger vessel, the event takes place aboard the larger vessel. For example, if the TARDIS lands on a space station, the location will be listed as the space station, not the TARDIS, even if the action is inside the TARDIS.)
Aboard [craft], in [body of water] (if main action takes place aboard a large sea vessel)
[Country or State] (if location is within the United Kingdom, country will specify England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland; if location is within the United States, location will be given as the state or as Washington DC, or as “United States” if a specific state cannot be determined)
[Continent] (if a continent can be specified but not a particular country)
Earth (if on Earth but a particular country or continent cannot be specified)
The sky above [country, continent, body of water or planet] (if location is significantly high above the planet’s surface, but also significantly within the atmosphere)
The [celestial body] [name] (if location is on a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body other than Earth)
Unknown planet (if on a non-Earth planet that is never named by the show)
Outer space, near [celestial body] (if an identifiable planet, star, asteroid, or other celestial body is close by)
Outer space (if no identifiable celestial bodies are nearby)
Unknown (this one’s pretty self-explanatory)

a. The “You Guys, the Moon is Near the Earth” Addendum

On the relevant size scales, the Earth and Moon are near each other.

Therefore, events will still be described as “Outer space, near Earth” even if the camera is demonstrably closer to the Moon than the Earth.

This will also apply to other planets with their own moons.

b. The Underground Addendum

Events that take place under a planet’s surface (e.g. cave systems, underground rail systems, etc.) will have the location listed the same way as if the action were taking place on the planet’s surface, as even deep underground, the surface is relatively close above such locations.

c. The Hallucinations Classification

If a character’s hallucinations are visible on screen, the location will only be listed as “Inside [their] mind” if the setting for their hallucination is not the same as their actual surroundings.

For example, the War Doctor’s visions of the Bad Wolf entity in “The Day of the Doctor” (Doctor Who (2005), 50th Anniversary Special) take place on “Gallifrey” because he is (in reality) physically in the barn, which he is also still seeing.

But Tegan’s visions in “Kinda” (Doctor Who (1963), S19E09-12) are “Inside [her] mind” since the setting is a black void that she is not literally in.

d. The Holograms Classification

However, when holograms take up the entire setting, such as when Amy puts Kazran “in” the ship by expanding the hologram field in “A Christmas Carol” (Doctor Who (2005), 2010 Christmas Special), the setting is still considered to be Kazran’s home since he is still physically there.

e. The Metaphysical Engine Rule

In “The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did” (Class, S01E07), Quill uses a metaphysical engine to travel to hypothetical places. Not much information is provided about what is really physically happening to those who travel in a metaphysical engine, so I am considering the metaphysical spaces to be outside of three-dimensional space and therefore not including it in the chronology.

XXVI. The Playback Rule

A segment is considered to be “playback” via a screen if the screen or some other effect is visible as an overlay between the action of the actors/props/scenery and the viewer (e.g. a news broadcast in which the TV screen pixels are visible is considered to be taking place in the room with the television set, not in the news studio).

a. The Video File Addendum

A segment is considered a “video file” if there are no screen effects to suggest playback, but it is still heavily implied to be a video that has been edited together.

Since files are objects and not events, segments considered to be video files do not “take place” at any point in time.

b. The Found Footage Addendum

If a segment is implied to be a video file, but depicts events that are canon in-universe—such as the entirety of “Sleep No More” (Doctor Who (2005), S09E09)—then the footage is to be treated like a normal, dated event.

XXVII. The Universe/Timeline Distinction

Often, the Doctor will travel to other universes, such as Pete’s World in “Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel” (Doctor Who (2005), S02E05-06).

These are alternate or parallel universes or dimensions, which continue to exist even after the Doctor and friends return to the “normal” universe (Universe 1).

An alternate timeline takes place within the same universe, but it is an alternate version of events caused by a time traveler going back and changing something in the past, creating a new set of events.

a. The Deleted Timeline Addendum

Often, these alternate timelines result in something catastrophic and the adventure revolves around reversing its effects, such as the Master taking over the world in “Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords” (Doctor Who (2005), S03E11-13).

In these cases, the timeline is deleted when the events are successfully averted and the timeline returns to normalcy.

b. The Indirectly Deleted Timeline Addendum

When a timeline is in the normal universe but it is not deleted over the course of the adventure, it is not acknowledged as an alternate or deleted timeline (even if it clearly should be), since it was never explicitly altered or averted in the events of the show itself.

An example of this is “The Enemy of the World” (Doctor Who (1963), S05E17-22), in which the Doctor is caught up in world events in a 60’s imagining of what 2018 might look like.

Since other episodes have since taken place in what we now know to be a much more realistic version of 2018, that timeline must have been deleted at some point over the course of the show’s history.

However, since the show never actually addresses the different timeline, it is not labeled as such, but can still be considered an indirectly deleted timeline.

I justify this by knowing that the Doctor’s actions have many ripples throughout causality, many of which are never known to the Doctor, or to the writers of the show.

WHO and WHOMN’T

XXVIII. The Multiple Doctors Rule

The Doctors involved in a multiple-Doctor story must have a significant (in both screen time and story relevance) role to play in the events of the story in order to be considered part of the story (this really only matters for episode descriptions and those cute little themed progress bars I made).

For this reason, the Fourth Doctor is not one of “The Five Doctors” (Doctor Who (1963), 20th Anniversary Special), “The Day of the Doctor” (Doctor Who (2005), 50th Anniversary Special) is a 3-Doctor story rather than a 14-Doctor story, etc.

XXIX. The Multiple Tenth Doctors Rule

The Tenth Doctor is considered to be the incarnation whose regeneration lasts from the end of “The Parting of the Ways” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S01E13) through the end of “The Stolen Earth” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S04E12).

The incarnation of the Doctor from the beginning of “Journey’s End” (“Doctor Who” 2005, S04E13) through the end of “The End of Time” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 2009 Christmas Special/2010 New Year’s Day Special) is considered to be a separate regeneration altogether—cited by the Eleventh Doctor as a regeneration that counted toward his twelve-regeneration limit in “The Time of the Doctor” (“Doctor Who” 2005, 2013 Christmas Special).

In order to keep within the scope of convention, that incarnation will be listed as the Second Tenth Doctor.

XXX. The K9 Distinction

Each version of K9 is a distinct companion.

Each time he is rebuilt by the Doctor, he is a distinctly new being (K9 Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, and Mk IV).

The exception to this is in the K9 (2009) TV series, in which he is a self-regenerated version of K9 Mk I.

Since there is already a K9 Mk II, this regenerated version is referred to as K9 Mk 2.

WHY and WHYN’T

XXXI. The Why Didn’t You Include My Favorite Thing? Clause

This chronology only includes stories that were released as videos, TV, flash animation, etc. (anything that has both an audio and visual component).

I am also not including anything I personally deem to be non-canonical. In general, starting with Doctor Who (1963), I introduce elements to canon only if (a) they contain an actor from existing canon, and (b) that actor portrays the same role as they played in existing canon.

For example, Elisabeth Sladen plays Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who (1963), K9 & Company, Doctor Who (2005), and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Therefore all of those shows are also canonical. Then, John Barrowman plays Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who (2005) (now established as canon) and Torchwood (2006). Therefore Torchwood is also canonical. And so on.

List of things that are canon in this project, and their linking actors:

Doctor Who (1963) (lost or missing episodes replaced with official animations if possible, or, as in the case of “Mission to the Unknown” (Doctor Who (1963), S03E05), a remake, otherwise replaced with reconstructions from still images)
Doctor Who (1996) - Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor (Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who (2005) - Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, John Leeson as the voice of K9 (Doctor Who (1963))
K9 & Company (1981) - Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, John Leeson as the voice of K9 (Doctor Who (1963))
Torchwood (2006) - John Barrowman as Jack Harkness, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Naoko Mori as Tosh Sato, Burn Gorman as Owen Harper, Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones (Doctor Who (2005))
The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007) - Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, John Leeson as the voice of K9, Katy Manning as Jo Grant, Nicholas Courtney as Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Doctor Who (1963)); Tommy Knight as Luke Smith, Alexander Armstrong as Mr. Smith, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
K9 (2009) - John Leeson as the voice of K9 (Doctor Who (1963))
Class (2016) - Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, Nigel Betts as Frank Armitage (Doctor Who (2005))
Wartime (1987 home video) - John Leven as John Benton (Doctor Who (1963))
P.R.O.B.E. (1984-1986 home video series, not including “When to Die”) - Caroline John as Liz Shaw (Doctor Who (1963))
Downtime (1995 home video) - Nicholas Courtney as Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield, Jack Watling as Professor Travers (Doctor Who (1963))
Daemos Rising (2004 home video) - Beverley Cressman as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Miles Richardson as Douglas Cavendish (Downtime)
The White Witch of Devil’s End (2017 home video series) - Damaris Hayman as Olive Hawthorne (Doctor Who (1963))
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor (2019 home video series) - Nabil Shaban as Sil, Christopher Ryan as Kiv (Doctor Who (1963))
Shada (Doctor Who 1963 unaired serial, animated reconstruction) - Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana II (Doctor Who (1963))
Dimensions in Time (1993 Children in Need special, excluding the live segment with the studio audience) - Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield, Caroline John as Liz Shaw, John Leeson as the voice of K9, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Lalla Ward as Romana II, Louise Jameson as Leela, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown, Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush, Sophie Aldred as Ace McShane, Nicholas Courtney as Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Kate O’Mara as the Rani (Doctor Who (1963))
Death Comes to Time (2001 animated webcast) - Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace McShane (Doctor Who (1963))
Real Time (2002 animated webcast) - Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor (Doctor Who (1963))
Introduction to Marco Polo (Loose Cannon featurette) - Mark Eden as Marco Polo (Doctor Who (1963))
Born Again (2005 Children in Need special, does not appear in this chronology, see the Time Travel Rule) - David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler (Doctor Who (2005))
Tardisodes (Series 2 Prequels) - Anna Hope as Novice Hame, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Noel Clarke as Rickey Smith, Dean Harris as Victor Kennedy (Doctor Who (2005))
The Infinite Quest (2007 Totally Doctor Who animated special) - David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones (Doctor Who (2005))
Time Crash (2007 Children in Need special) - Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor (Doctor Who (1963)); David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
Doctor Who: Monster Files (2008) (many of these do not appear in this chronology, see the Video File Addendum) - John Barrowman as Jack Harkness, Alex Kingston as River Song (Doctor Who (2005)
The Sarah Jane Adventures: From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love (2009 Comic Relief special) - Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, John Leeson as the voice of K9 (Doctor Who (1963)); Tommy Knight as Luke Smith, Alexander Armstrong as the voice of Mr. Smith (Doctor Who (2005)); Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer, Anjli Mohindra as Rani Chandra (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Alien Files (2009 webisode series) - Alexander Armstrong as the voice of Mr. Smtih (Doctor Who (2005)); Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer, Anjli Mohindra as Rani Chandra (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
The Sarah Jane Adventures: Sarah Jane’s Alien Files (2010) - Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, John Leeson as the voice of K9 (Doctor Who (1963)); Tommy Knight as Luke Smith, Alexander Armstrong as the voice of Mr. Smith (Doctor Who (2005)); Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer, Anjli Mohindra as Rani Chandra (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Doctor Who: Case Files (2018 webisode series) (these do not appear in this chronology, see the Video File Addendum) - Mandip Gill as Yaz Khan (Doctor Who (2005))
Dreamland (2009 animated special) - David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
Meanwhile in the TARDIS (Series 5 DVD Extra) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond (Doctor Who (2005))
Space/Time (2011 Comic Relief special) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darrell as Rory Williams (Doctor Who (2005))
Series 6 Prequels - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Alex Kingston as River song, Stuart Milligan as Richard Nixon, Sydney Wade as Melody Pond, Hugh Bonneville as Henry Avery, Simon Fisher Becker as Dorium Maldovar (Doctor Who (2005))
Death is the Only Answer (2011 Script-to-Screen competition winner) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
Night and the Doctor (Series 6 DVD Extras) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darrell as Rory Williams, Alex Kingston as River Song, James Corden as Craig Owens, Daisy Haggard as Sophie (Doctor Who (2005))
Series 7 Prequels - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Neve McIntosh as Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint, Dan Starkey as Strax, Sophie Downham as Clara Oswald, Nicola Sian as Ellie Oswald, Adrian Scarborough as Kahler-Jex (Doctor Who (2005))
Strax Field Reports (Prequels to “The Time of the Doctor,” “The Day of the Doctor,” “The Time of the Doctor,” and Series 8) - Neve McIntosh as Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint, Dan Starkey as Strax (Doctor Who (2005))
P.S. (animated reconstruction) (Series 7 DVD extra) - Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams (Doctor Who (2005))
Clarence and the Whispermen (Series 7 DVD extra) - Michael Jenna as Clarence DeMarco (Doctor Who (2005))
Clara and the TARDIS (Series 7 DVD extra) - Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald (Doctor Who (2005))
The Inforarium (Series 7 DVD extra) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
Rain Gods (Series 7 DVD extra) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Alex Kingston as River Song (Doctor Who (2005))
Good as Gold (2012 Script-to-Screen competition winner) - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond (Doctor Who (2005))
The Night of the Doctor (Prequel to The Day of the Doctor) - Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, Clare Higgins as Ohila (Doctor Who (2005))
The Last Day (Prequel to The Day of the Doctor) - Chris Finch as Time Lord Soldier (Doctor Who (2005))
Series 8 Prequel - Neve McIntosh as Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint, Dan Starkey as Strax (Doctor Who (2005))
Series 9 Prequels - Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, Clare Higgins as Ohila, Daniel Hoffman-Gill as Bors (Doctor Who (2005))
Series 10 Prequel - Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts (Doctor Who (2005))
Message from the Doctor (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
United We Stand, 2m Apart (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
The Raggedy Doctor by Amelia Pond (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - Caitlin Blackwood as Amelia Pond (Doctor Who (2005))
Rory’s Story (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams (Doctor Who (2005))
Pompadour (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - Sophia Myles as Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (Doctor Who (2005))
The Secret of Novice Hame (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Anna Hope as Novice Hame (Doctor Who (2005))
The Best of Days (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - Matt Lucas as Nardole, Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts (Doctor Who (2005))
Doctors Assemble (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN short) - David Bradley as the First Doctor (Doctor Who (2005))
The Flux Is Coming… (Prequel to Series 13) - Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Mandip Gill as Yaz Khan, John Bishop as Dan Lewis (Doctor Who (2005)) (does not appear in this chronology, see the Time Travel Rule)

Reasons I didn’t include something:

a. It doesn’t have a video element (e.g. Big Finish audio dramas, novelizations, graphic novels, etc)

b. The Doctor isn’t canonical in it (e.g. the Peter Cushing movies, “Scream of the Shalka”)

These Doctors never appeared in any other run of the show.

This is distinct from the First Doctor as played by Richard Hurndall in “The Five Doctors” (Doctor Who (1963), 20th Anniversary Special) or David Bradley in “Twice Upon a Time” (Doctor Who (2005), 2017 Christmas Special), who are playing versions of William Hartnell’s First Doctor in existing canon.

c. It features a character addressing the audience (e.g. “Destiny of the Doctors,” “Music of the Spheres”)

The viewer is not a character in the Doctor Who universe, therefore these cannot be canon. (Note: a character addressing the audience may be different than a character addressing the camera.)

d. It is (or contains) behind-the-scenes production footage (e.g. “Doctor Who Confidential,” some DVD extras)

Because, like, Russell T. Davies isn’t a person who exists in the universe of Doctor Who.

e. There are no Doctor Who characters in it (e.g. “The Wizard of Oz,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” “I Love Lucy,” most things)

This also applies to stories that could take place in the universe of Doctor Who, but does not feature a Doctor Who character played by an actor from canon. And Doctor Who alien races aren’t characters. (As in, don’t expect to be a part of this chronology just because you made a fan film with a Dalek in it.)

XXXII. Spelling

I’m American, so I spell a lot of things the American way. I’m sorry if it throws you off, but I’m sure you realixe how much unnecessary laboir it would be for me to change it now. I certainly mean no offenze.