Chronology of the Doctor Who universe

This is a list of the televised stories and episodes of "Doctor Who" and its spin-offs in the chronological order of dates which can be attributed to them.

The fact that a story or episode has a date attributed to it in the list is not intended to imply that it is indeed set on that date. Nor is the list itself intended as a timeline.

The majority of these stories are part of the main series, "Doctor Who", which features a renegade Time Lord, the Doctor, and various travels in the TARDIS, his time machine and spaceship. It features a primary element of time travel, with many stories taking place on disparate attributable dates across a wide span of time in the Whoniverse, the fictional "Doctor Who" universe.

The spin-off series "Torchwood" occasionally delves into time travel and flashbacks, usually centred around former "Doctor Who" character Captain Jack Harkness, a time travelling companion of the Doctor originally from the 51st century. "The Sarah Jane Adventures" features Sarah Jane Smith, another of the Doctor's companions in stories appearing to predominately take place in a contemporary setting. The list also encompasses the singular pilot episode of "K-9 and Company", a 1981 spin-off centring on robot companion K-9.

Not all of these stories can have a date attributed to them. Some have none; some have more than one, and some have contradictory dating. For example, most of the adventures in "Doctor Who" pertaining to the fictional UNIT organisation contain information that would attribute various, often contradictory dates between the 1960s to the 1980s to them. Over the long period of production, different writers have suggested different dates on which the stories are set, resulting in some noted controversy over their placement in any timeline, testament to the significance of the series' continuity and chronology within its fandom. Other stories take place on the timeless fictional planet of Gallifrey; stories set there can be attributed to a distinct chronological order but cannot be attributed to any specific date. Similarly, with stories set on other alien worlds, there is often no information enabling any date to be attributed to them.

Early First Doctor stories had titles given to individual episodes (see "List of titled Doctor Who episodes"). Only the story titles are included here.

Specific dating

The Whoniverse, in its early days ("The Dark Times"), is described as a smaller, more chaotic place of "blood and magic".Name and descriptions given by the Doctor in The Infinite Quest and The Shakespeare Code.] Races mentioned as existing then include the Racnoss, Nestenes, Great Vampires, Weeping Angels and Carrionites as well as beings left over from a previous universe "before time" such as The Beast. [In "The Satan Pit", The Beast stated that the Disciples of Light sealed him away "before time", and he had existed, imprisoned ever since.] Beings outside or with control of time, such as the Time Lords and Eternals, also make appearances in this era.

BC

20th Century (pre 1960s)

1980s

21st Century (post 2000s)

Tens and Hundreds of Thousands

Parallel Universes

Some stories depict events occurring in what is specifically stated to be a different, parallel universe.

Unknown date

References and notes

;General
*Howarth, Chris & Steve Lyons, "Doctor Who: The Completely Useless Encyclopedia" (London: Virgin Books, 1996), ISBN 0-426-20485-9
*Lofficier, Jean-Marc, "Doctor Who: The Terrestrial Index" (London: Virgin Books, 1991), ISBN 0-426-20361-5
*Miles, Lawrence & Tat Wood, "About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who — 1970–1974, Seasons 7 to 11" (New Orleans, LA: Mad Norwegian Press, 2004), ISBN 0-9725959-2-9
*Parkin, Lance and Lars Pearson, "A History: An Unauthorised History of the Doctor Who Universe" (Des Moines, Iowa: Mad Norwegian Press, 2006), ISBN 0-9725959-9-6
*Richards, Justin & Andrew Martin, "Doctor Who: The Book of Lists" (London: BBC Books, 1997), ISBN 0-563-40569-4
*cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/|title=Episode Guide|work=Doctor Who Classic series|publisher=BBC
*cite web|url=http://gallifreyone.com/guides-canon.php|title=The Canon Keeper's Guide to "Doctor Who"|author=Shaun Lyon, David Hancock, et al|publisher=Outpost Gallifrey
*cite web|url=http://www.drwhoguide.com/who.htm|title=The Doctor Who Reference Guide

;Specific

ee also

*List of fictional timelines