Theory:Timeline - Ian & Barbara

This page lists appearances of Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright in the order in which they 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, comic story and 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 information in Lance Parkin's AHistory which allow us to make observations on placement of stories, such as Doctor Who Reviews, The History of Doctor Who, The Discontinuity Guide, Clive Banks Databank, the Big Finnish 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 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.

Discovering the TARDIS
The Splintered Gate (short story)
 * COMIC: The Splintered Gate
 * TV: An Unearthly Child
 * On 22 November 1963, Ian and Barbara, intrigued by student Susan Foreman, follow her home and force themselves into the TARDIS, and the First Doctor flies the ship in a panic, bringing the teachers with him and Susan to 100,000 BC. Ending leads directly into The Daleks.


 * TV: The Daleks
 * The travellers encounters the Daleks for the first time. He also explains that he can't properly fly the TARDIS and can't return to 76 Totter's Lane. Ending leads directly into The Edge of Destruction.


 * TV: The Edge of Destruction
 * Ending leads directly into Marco Polo.


 * COMIC: The Secrets of the Tardis
 * The Doctor explains how the TARDIS works to Ian and Barbara, setting this during The Edge of Destruction: The Brink of Disaster .

Adventures with the Doctor and Susan

 * TV: Marco Polo


 * PROSE: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
 * The TARDIS crew have just left China, setting this immediately after Marco Polo.


 * PROSE: Who Discovered America?


 * PROSE: The Ruins of Time
 * Ian and Barbara are still trying to grasp some of the more alien concepts in their travels, and the Doctor is not yet on a first name basis with them.


 * TV: The Keys of Marinus


 * COMIC: The Forgotten
 * The Doctor is using the cane he received from Kublai Khan in Marco Polo. Ian has changed out of his Chinese gown.


 * AUDIO: The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance


 * AUDIO: Farewell, Great Macedon
 * Set before The Aztecs, as the idea of changing history is new to Ian and Barbara.


 * AUDIO: The Masters of Luxor
 * Set directly after Farewell, Great Macedon, with the events from The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance being mentioned.


 * TV: The Aztecs
 * The Doctor warns Barbara about the consequences of altering the course of history.


 * TV: The Sensorites
 * Susan unlocks a deeper telepathic ability than the Doctor thought she had. Barbara has fully recovered from her ordeal from The Aztecs.


 * AUDIO: The Transit of Venus
 * Set explicitly between The Sensorites and The Reign of Terror.


 * TV: The Reign of Terror
 * Starts from where The Sensorites left off, with the Doctor still arguing with Ian and Barbara.


 * AUDIO: Rise and Fall
 * Ian refers to the events from The Reign of Terror as the travellers' latest trip.


 * AUDIO: The Wanderer
 * Ian remembers the Doctor saying that the travellers' "destiny is in the stars", which he said in The Reign of Terror. Barbara and Ian still believe that history can't be changed.


 * PROSE: The Mother Road
 * Susan knows of Barbara's familiarity with Cortez and the Mexican civilisations, setting this after The Aztecs.


 * PROSE: The Duke's Folly
 * Barbara refers to the Doctor's warning about interfering with history from The Aztecs.


 * AUDIO: The Alchemists
 * Susan is writing a letter for Ian and Barbara to read after she's gone. She mentions the Doctor's warning of the immutability of history from The Aztecs, but feels the need to explain that it's wrong, presumably setting this before The Library of Alexandria and The Flames of Cadiz.


 * PROSE: Tell Me You Love Me


 * AUDIO: The Library of Alexandria
 * Ian refers to the events from The Transit of Venus. He and Barbara begin to think that the Doctor has been deceitful with them about changing history.


 * AUDIO: A Star is Born


 * AUDIO: The Flames of Cadiz
 * Ian refers to his encounter with Captain James Cook from The Transit of Venus. He and Barbara aren't surprised when the Doctor thinks that history can be changed.


 * PROSE: Rennigan's Record


 * PROSE: The Last Days
 * Barbara refers to her attempts to save the Aztecs.


 * AUDIO: The Light at the End


 * PROSE: Mire and Clay


 * PROSE: Room for Improvement
 * Barbara and Susan are mentioned, setting this before The Dalek Invasion of Earth.


 * PROSE: The Reign Makers
 * Set shortly before Planet of Giants.


 * AUDIO: Domain of the Voord
 * Sequel story to The Keys of Marinus.


 * AUDIO: The Age of Endurance


 * AUDIO: Flywheel Revolution
 * Though he is currently separated from them, the Doctor is travelling with Susan, Ian, and Barbara.


 * PROSE: City at World's End
 * Susan mentions the human-colonised planet from The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The removal of the life pod from the TARDIS begins to affect its dimensional stability, setting this shortly before Planet of Giants.


 * PROSE: The Witch Hunters
 * Susan is still troubled with the telepathic powers she demonstrated in The Sensorites, and Ian and Barbara's experiences during The Reign of Terror are mentioned.


 * AUDIO: Here There Be Monsters
 * Susan is beginning to realise she will need to leave the Doctor soon and make her own life.


 * PROSE: The Thief of Sherwood
 * The TARDIS begins suffering from space pressure, leading directly into Planet of Giants.


 * TV: Planet of Giants


 * PROSE: The Time Travellers
 * Set immediately after Planet of Giants.

Leaving Susan behind

 * TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
 * The Doctor encounters the Daleks for the first time since "The Daleks". Susan falls in love with rebel David Campbell, and the Doctor decides to leave her behind so she can grow into her own person.


 * PROSE: Venusian Lullaby
 * The TARDIS crew have just left 22nd century Earth, and the Doctor still adapting to life without Susan.


 * PROSE: The Book of Shadows
 * The Doctor is still thinking about gold for a wedding ring for Susan, as he was in Venusian Lullaby.


 * COMIC: Dr Who in "Lilliput"


 * PROSE: The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram's Skull


 * COMIC: On the Planet Vortis
 * Ending leads directly into The Zarbi Are Destroyed.


 * COMIC: The Zarbi Are Destroyed


 * PROSE: A Long Night
 * It has been roughly a year since Ian and Barbara were abducted by the Doctor.


 * COMIC: Dr. Who in the Spider's Web


 * COMIC: Dr. Who on the Aqua Planet


 * COMIC: The Ice-Age Monster


 * COMIC: Dr. Who Meets the Watermen


 * COMIC: The Daleks Destroy the Zomites


 * COMIC: Escape from the Aquafien


 * COMIC: Where Diamonds Are Worthless


 * COMIC: The Prehistoric Monster


 * COMIC: Dr. Who and the Nerve Machine


 * COMIC: The Daleks Are Foiled


 * COMIC: Rescued from the Daleks


 * COMIC: The Defeat of the Daleks


 * AUDIO: The Revenants
 * Ian's first trip to Scotland, therefore set before Set in Stone. According to him, Susan left "a while ago".


 * PROSE: Set in Stone


 * PROSE: The Nine-Day Queen

More companions

 * TV: The Rescue
 * The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are joined by Vicki. After leaving Dido, the TARDIS falls from a cliff, leading directly into The Romans.


 * PROSE: Byzantium!


 * PROSE: Romans Cutaway
 * Romans Cutaway and Byzantium! are both set after the TARDIS materialises and falls off the cliff at the end of The Rescue, and before the travellers settle down in Rome at the start of The Romans.


 * TV: The Romans


 * AUDIO: Starborn
 * According to Vicki, the travellers have just left Rome, and are still wearing their Roman clothes when they arrive in London.


 * PROSE: The Eleventh Tiger
 * The Doctor is trying to make the shortest journey possible away from Rome, setting this directly after The Romans.


 * TV: The Web Planet


 * AUDIO: The Fifth Traveller
 * Ian mentions the recent travels to Vortis, Rome, Byzantium, and China.


 * PROSE: White Man's Burden
 * The Doctor is mentioned as being in the TARDIS with a fever.


 * AUDIO: The Dark Planet


 * AUDIO: 1963


 * AUDIO: The Rocket Men


 * COMIC: Unnatural Selection
 * Serves as a sequel to The Web Planet. After assisting Thomas Huxley fight off the Animus and the Zarbi, Ian, Barbara and Vicki are kidnapped Adam Mitchell, leading directly into Endgame.


 * COMIC: The Choice


 * COMIC: Endgame
 * The Doctor joins with his other incarnations to rescue Ian, Barbara and Vicki from Adam and, and assists the other Doctors in saving their companions as well.


 * TV: The Crusade
 * Ending leads directly into The Space Museum.


 * TV: The Space Museum


 * PROSE: Every Day
 * The Doctor is still working on the Time-Space Visualiser he picked up in  The Space Museum.


 * COMIC: A Religious Experience
 * Ian refers to his encounter with the Saracens from The Crusade.


 * PROSE: The Plotters
 * The Doctor refers to the Menoptera from The Web Planet.


 * PROSE: All I Want for Christmas
 * Barbara has a feeling she and Ian will find a way home soon.


 * AUDIO: The Sleeping City
 * Ian mentions being knighted by Richard the Lionheart, setting this after The Crusade.


 * AUDIO: The Unwinding World


 * AUDIO: The Doctor's Tale
 * Ian used his himself as "Sir Ian of Jaffa", setting this story after The Crusade.


 * TV: The Chase
 * The Doctor meets and frees spaceship pilot Steven Taylor from the Mechanoids. Ian and Barbara use a Dalek time machine to return to their home time period, and the Doctor and Vicki find Steven in the TARDIS immediately afterwards.

After the Doctor

 * PROSE: Distance
 * COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone
 * Shortly after returning home, Ian and Barbara are wed following an encounter with the Eleventh Doctor.


 * PROSE: The Face of the Enemy
 * COMIC: The Meeting
 * Barbara talks with other companions after leaving the TARDIS.

Ian meets the Seventh Doctor.
 * PROSE: Untitled (DWM 169)
 * HOMEVID: Ian Chesterton: An Introduction
 * An older Ian recounts the events of The Crusade.


 * AUDIO: The Time Museum
 * Ian has no knowledge of the doctor's fate after his departure from the TARDIS, setting this before The Five Companions


 * AUDIO: The Five Companions
 * Ian reunites with Steven Taylor among other companions meeting the Fifth Doctor.

Alternate universes

 * COMIC: The Meeting
 * Ian and Barbara are following Susan during an alternate version of the events of An Unearthly Child. This timeline is negated in Supremacy of the Cybermen.


 * PROSE: Matrix
 * PROSE: Nothing at the End of the Lane