Theory:Timeline - Liz Shaw

This page lists appearances of Liz Shaw in the order in which she 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 or 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 Lance Parkin's AHistory and other sources that allow us to make observations, such as DocOhoReviews, The History of Doctor Who, The Discontinuity Guide, Clive Banks Databank, 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 many 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.

UNIT career begins

 * TV: Spearhead from Space
 * Dr. Liz Shaw joins UNIT as assistant to the Third Doctor.


 * PROSE: The Mind Extractors


 * PROSE: The Ghouls of Grestonspey


 * PROSE: Caught in the Web
 * Liz is examining the leftovers of the Auton invasion, setting this shortly after Spearhead from Space.


 * PROSE: Invaders Invisible
 * The Doctor has not yet had an adventure on Earth without the Brigadier since his exile began.


 * PROSE: The Dark Planet


 * PROSE: Caverns of Horror


 * PROSE: A Universe Called Fred


 * ( REFERENCE )
 * The Doctor and Liz go to Stegmoor to investigate reports of a crashed Voord spaceship, but find nothing. (AUDIO: Beachhead)


 * TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians
 * The Doctor finishes tinkering with Bessie and takes the car for its first test drive. He then encounters the Silurians for the first time, but, to his dismay, they are killed and their city destroyed on the Brigadier's orders.

After the Wenley Moor massacre

 * AUDIO: Shadow of the Past
 * Set between The Silurians and Ambassadors of Death. The Doctor is still unhappy about the outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians. Liz mentions Captain Yates, setting this after Vengeance of the Stones.


 * AUDIO: Old Soldiers
 * Set a few weeks after Doctor Who and the Silurians.


 * TV: The Ambassadors of Death
 * The Doctor has yet to forgive the Brigadier for the outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians. Corporal John Benton has only recently been promoted to Sergeant.


 * COMIC: The Metal Eaters
 * The Doctor drives Bessie, setting this after Doctor Who and the Silurians.


 * COMIC: The Fishmen of Carpantha


 * AUDIO: Blue Boxes
 * The events of The Ambassadors of Death are referred to.


 * AUDIO: The Unzal Incursion
 * The Doctor and Liz recall the recent events of Doctor Who and the Silurians, which the Doctor is still resentful towards the Brigadier for. Sergeant Nicola Attah is seconded into UNIT to replace the recently promoted Sergeant Benton. The Doctor moves the TARDIS console from the lab to the garage, setting this between The Ambassadors of Death and Inferno.


 * PROSE: UNIT Christmas Parties: First Christmas
 * Liz has been working with UNIT for "a few months", and her complaints about her job here are similar to those that the Brigadier cites in Terror of the Autons as her reason for leaving. The TARDIS console has also been removed from within the ship, as it was in The Ambassadors of Death.


 * AUDIO: The Christmas Dimension
 * Set on Christmas Day.


 * AUDIO: Walls of Confinement
 * This is the second time the Doctor has visited a zoo, setting this after The Arkwood Experiments.


 * AUDIO: The Last Post
 * Concludes shortly before Inferno.


 * TV: Inferno
 * In an attempt to get his TARDIS working, the Doctor is transported to a different dimension, where the Earth is destroyed as a result of the Inferno Project. Returning to his own dimension before the destruction, the Doctor is able to prevent the Inferno Project from destroying his Earth.


 * PROSE: Still Lives
 * Set immediately after Inferno.


 * PROSE: The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back
 * The outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians is still fresh on the Doctor's mind. He has been working with UNIT for "months" and the Brigadier has warned Liz about her tone before, suggesting a setting after Inferno. The TARDIS console is still disconnected from the control room.


 * COMIC: Doctor Who and the Rocks from Venus


 * AUDIO: The Blame Game
 * It has been "months" since Spearhead from Space, and also mentions the events of Doctor Who and the Silurians. Liz has heard the Doctor's TARDIS materialise before, setting this after Inferno.


 * AUDIO: A Home From Home
 * Six months have passed since Spearhead from Space.


 * PROSE: Soldiers from Zolta
 * It is summer.


 * PROSE: The Science of Magic


 * PROSE: The Eye of the Giant
 * Sergeant Mike Yates sees inside the TARDIS for the first time, and the Doctor mentions visiting the parallel universe from Inferno. The TARDIS console is still disconnected, setting this before Rivers of Light.


 * AUDIO: The Annihilators
 * The Doctor manages to reinstall the TARDIS console into the control room, however after fighting off an alien invasion with his previous incarnation, the timeline is reset and the Doctor is unsuccessful in reinstalling the console, setting this before Rivers of Light.


 * AUDIO: Rivers of Light
 * The Doctor returns to UNIT after hunting for Sensorites across Europe for several months. River Song has been acting as UNIT's scientific advisor in the meantime and has reinstalled the TARDIS console, setting this between Inferno and Terror of the Autons.


 * PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune
 * Set between Inferno and Terror of the Autons, according to the back cover. Liz volunteers for a mission to Cambridge for a few days, as an opportunity to catch up with old friends. She claims that she is "always on the verge of leaving UNIT".


 * AUDIO: The Blue Tooth
 * An older Liz recalls that the experience with the Cybermen was one of many factors that lead to her decision to leave UNIT.


 * AUDIO: Binary
 * Liz openly states her intention to eventually leave UNIT.

Liz resigns

 * PROSE: The Scales of Injustice
 * Liz officially leaves UNIT, Yates is promoted to from sergeant to captain, and the Doctor is in a new laboratory.


 * PROSE: Country of the Blind
 * According to this account, Liz is offered a position working at CERN and decides to tell the Doctor about the opportunity. However, after he reacts badly to the news, she decides that she must put her career first, and immediately leaves UNIT without saying goodbye to him.


 * PROSE: Reconnaissance
 * hypnotises Liz into wanting to leave UNIT and return to Cambridge University.


 * PROSE: Prisoners of the Sun
 * Set one month after the events of Inferno and immediately after Liz's farewell party. The Doctor is aware that Liz is leaving UNIT, which she believes he found out from the Brigadier. The Time Lords send the Doctor on a mission to stop Liz from becoming a dictator in the future, and then decide to release the Master from Shada in order to keep the Doctor busy.


 * PROSE: Hiccup in Time
 * One of the Doctor's attempts to repair the TARDIS sends Liz back in time to 1539. She is rescued and returned by the Doctor's future self, but is forced to return to Cambridge a day earlier than planned and avoid saying goodbye to the Doctor in order to fulfil the destiny trap.

Post-UNIT

 * AUDIO: The Sentinels of the New Dawn
 * Months have passed for Liz since she left UNIT, and the Doctor now has a new assistant, setting this shortly after Terror of the Autons.


 * AUDIO: Primord
 * Jo recalls the events of The Sea Devils. Jo and Liz meet for the first time, and the Doctor and Liz last saw each other in The Sentinels of the New Dawn.


 * COMIC: Change of Mind
 * The Doctor and Liz spend some time together and reference her departure from UNIT, setting this after Primord. Supposedly set in January 1971.


 * PROSE: The Wages of Sin
 * The Doctor goes on his first test flight into the past since his time travel knowledge was returned in The Three Doctors, taking Liz and Jo with him.


 * PROSE: Dr. Third
 * Jo knows the Ice Warriors, setting this after The Curse of Peledon. Liz is in the same area as the UNIT HQ, and is acquainted with Jo, setting this after The Wages of Sin.


 * COMIC: In With the Tide
 * The Doctor is driving the "Whomobile", setting this after Invasion of the Dinosaurs. The Doctor and Sarah have been absent from UNIT long enough for it to have been infiltrated by the Remoraxians. Liz, Sarah Jane and the Brigadier are kidnapped Adam Mitchell, leading directly into Endgame.


 * COMIC: Endgame


 * PROSE: Flashpoint
 * Liz doesn't know about regeneration.


 * PROSE: Down to Earth
 * The Fourth Doctor tracks down Liz to give her a proper goodbye.


 * PROSE: Girls' Night In


 * PROSE: Faithful Friends: Part 3
 * Liz meets the Eighth Doctor.

Working for P.R.O.B.E

 * HOMEVID: The Zero Imperative
 * Liz is working for P.R.O.B.E during the 90's.


 * HOMEVID: The Devil of Winterborne


 * HOMEVID: Unnatural Selection


 * HOMEVID: Ghosts of Winterborne


 * PROSE: Eternity Weeps
 * According to this account, Liz dies in 2003 while working for UNIT on the Moon.


 * AUDIO: Shadow of the Past
 * Thirty years after she worked for UNIT, Liz returns to a UNIT Base to help deal with the consequences of an old mission. She mentions her "preternatural research".


 * In 2010, Liz can't attend the Doctor's funeral because she's stranded on a UNIT Moonbase and can't get back until afterwards. (TV: Death of the Doctor)


 * HOMEVID: When to Die
 * Liz is still working for P.R.O.B.E. in 2015.


 * WC: Farewell, Sarah Jane
 * Liz attends the funeral of Sarah Jane Smith.