Theory:Timeline - Nardole

This page lists appearances of Nardole in the order in which he 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 that for each novel, comic, audio or television series, their published, broadcast or numbered order is the order they occur in.

Employed by River Song

 * TV: The Husbands of River Song
 * Working with River Song, Nardole meets the Twelfth Doctor before being beheaded by Hydroflax.


 * Nardole is later reassembled by the Doctor.


 * TV: Extremis
 * Nardole follows the Doctor from Darillium under instruction from River Song. The Doctor swears an oath to guard for a thousand years while she is in a vault.

Employed by the Doctor

 * TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio 
 * The Doctor is still haunted by saying goodbye to River. He reencounters Grant, who has become known to New York City as "the Ghost". Nardole now travels with the Doctor to help him overcome his grief at his final parting from River Song, implying that the two have not yet settled at St Luke's University and Nardole has not promised to keep the Doctor earthbound.


 * Through unknown circumstances, the Doctor and Nardole take Missy and the Vault to 20th century St Luke's University, and both get employed by the university. (TV: The Pilot)


 * PROSE: Girl Power!
 * The Doctor and Nardole are keeping Missy locked in the Vault. Missy alludes to the events of The Return of Doctor Mysterio.


 * TV: The Pilot
 * In 2016, the Doctor becomes a personal tutor to Bill Potts at St Luke's University. In early 2017, the Doctor is forced to reveal the TARDIS to Bill to save her after her crush, Heather, is taken over by a sentient oil puddle. Despite initially wanting to wipe her mind, the Doctor instead invites Bill to join him aboard the TARDIS.


 * TV: Smile
 * Follows on from The Pilot, with Nardole advising against the Doctor traveling with Bill when he should be guarding the Vault.


 * TV: Thin Ice
 * Upon returning to St Luke's University, the Doctor tricks Nardole into letting him and Bill travel together.


 * PROSE: Diamond Dogs
 * The Doctor and Bill sneak out without Nardole noticing, setting this before Oxygen.


 * TV: Knock Knock


 * PROSE: I Am the Doctor


 * COMIC: The Lost Dimension


 * COMIC: Loose in the Lane
 * Nardole refuses to let the Doctor and Bill leave in the TARDIS, setting this before Oxygen.


 * TV: Oxygen
 * According to Nardole, the Doctor has not been in outer space for a long time. Deciding to answer a distress call from a space station, Chasm Forge, with Bill and Nardole, the Doctor is rendered permanently blind when Bill's spacesuit malfunctions in the vacuum and he gives her his helmet.


 * TV:  The Pyramid at the End of the World
 * After he thwarts the Monks attempt to enslave the world by saving it from a virus, the Doctor finds himself trapped with the virus, and only escapes when Bill negotiates with the Monks to restore his sight, saving the Doctor at the cost of the Earth, leading directly into The Lie of the Land.


 * TV: The Lie of the Land
 * The Doctor, Nardole and Bill lead a resistance against the Monks, and Bill is able to force them off the planet. During the resisting, Bill is introduced to inside the Vault and it is implied she knows about regeneration, as she does not question it when she sees the Doctor fake a regeneration.


 * PROSE: Plague City
 * Nardole is joining the Doctor and Bill on an adventure and the Doctor has his eyesight, setting this after The Lie of the Land.


 * TV: Empress of Mars
 * Taking Bill and Nardole on a daytrip to NASA, the Doctor finds the words "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN" written on the surface of Mars, and heads to 1881 Mars to find out why. After the TARDIS leaves with Nardole, the Doctor introduces Bill to the Ice Warriors, and sets up their relationship with Alpha Centauri. When Nardole returns, he reveals it was Missy who flew the TARDIS for him.


 * COMIC: The Great Shopping Bill
 * The Doctor has not yet allowed Missy back into the TARDIS, setting this before The Eaters of Light.


 * COMIC: A Confusion of Angels
 * Follows on from The Great Shopping Bill.


 * COMIC: Tulpa
 * Set after A Confusion of Angels, though Nardole continues to disapprove of the Doctor and Bill leaving the Vault unguarded.


 * TV: The Eaters of Light
 * After finding out the cause of the Ninth Legion's disappearance, the Doctor reveals to Bill and Nardole that he has allowed Missy certain freedoms in the TARDIS since Empress of Mars to further her rehabilitation.


 * TV: World Enough and Time
 * Deciding to give Missy a test to see her progress, the Doctor, Bill and Nardole take Missy to a colony ship escaping a black hole, where Bill is shot and taken by the Mondasians to be converted into one of the first Cybermen by, who seduces Missy into joining him, leading directly into The Doctor Falls.


 * COMIC: The Road To...
 * Set during World Enough and Time, when the Doctor, Nardole and Missy are taking the lift to Floor 1056.


 * TV: The Doctor Falls
 * While escaping the Cybermen with the Master and Missy, the Doctor is fatally electrocuted and saved by Bill, who has managed to retain her humanity. Two weeks after Nardole is able to rescue them, the Doctor is holding off his regeneration, and has Nardole lead the colonist on the ship to a safer area while he and Bill stay behind to face the Cybermen when Missy and the Master flee. Nardole ultimately stays behind to protect the ship as the Doctor and Bill leave seperately.

Life on the colony ship

 * PROSE: Twice Upon a Time
 * Nardole is revealed to have spent the rest of his life on the ship before finally dying at the age of 728.


 * TV: Twice Upon a Time
 * Nardole's memory is preserved by the Testimony, whom recreate him as a glass avatar who reunites with the Doctor and Bill.