Theory:Timeline - Fifth Doctor

This page lists appearances of the Fifth Doctor in the order in which he experienced them. This timeline is based on observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events in each of these stories. From these observations we have attempted to build a concise timeline. It is assumed, much like their TV story counterparts, that each novel or audio series their published/numbered order is the order they occur in. There are also many gaps between stories.

The layout of this timeline is based in part on the observations on Doctor Who Reference Guide and Doctor Who - The Complete Adventures, Lance Parkin's AHistory and other sources that allow us to make observations. None of these sources should be used solely as a source or considered a "true" timeline for stories.

Companions
Any story with Adric must take place before TV: Earthshock. Any story with Nyssa and Tegan Jovanka must take place before TV: Time-Flight, after TV: Arc of Infinity and before TV: Terminus, or after AUDIO: Cobwebs. Any story with just Nyssa must be after TV: Time-Flight and before TV: Arc of Infinity. Any story with Tegan and Turlough must take place after TV: Mawdryn Undead and before TV: Resurrection of the Daleks. Any story with just Turlough must take place after TV: Resurrection of the Daleks and before TV: Planet of Fire. Any story with Peri Brown must take place after TV: Planet of Fire. Any story where the Doctor is travelling alone must be set during Renaissance of the Daleks.

Series basics
The Fifth Doctor's stories can be sorted roughly by which companions he travels with and also the medium in which the companions first appeared together.

TV created

 * Adric, Nyssa, Tegan Jovanka
 * Nyssa, Tegan
 * Nyssa
 * Nyssa, Tegan
 * Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough
 * Tegan, Turlough
 * Turlough
 * Peri Brown

Audio created

 * Nyssa, Thomas Brewster
 * Nyssa, Hannah Bartholemew
 * Peri, Erimem
 * Amy

Early adventures

 * TV: Logopolis / PROSE: Logopolis
 * The Doctor regenerates from his previous incarnation.


 * TV: Castrovalva / PROSE: Castrovalva
 * PROSE: The Comet's Tail
 * Set during Castrovalva.


 * AUDIO: Psychodrome
 * Set immediately after Castrovalva.


 * PROSE: Cold Fusion
 * The Doctor is still recovering from the effects of his recent regeneration.

Attempts to return to Heathrow

 * TV: Four to Doomsday / PROSE: Four to Doomsday
 * TV: Kinda / PROSE: Kinda
 * TV: The Visitation / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Visitation
 * PROSE: Divided Loyalties
 * The Doctor has recently met the Terileptils from The Visitation.


 * AUDIO: Smoke and Mirrors
 * The Doctor has recently lost his sonic screwdriver.


 * TV: Black Orchid / PROSE: Black Orchid
 * COMIC: Time & Time Again
 * Set during the Doctors Cricket match


 * AUDIO: Iterations of I
 * Takes place shortly after Black Orchid.


 * AUDIO: The Darkening Eye
 * The Dar Traders predict Adrics death


 * TV: Earthshock / PROSE: Earthshock

Nyssa and Tegan

 * PROSE: Wake
 * The crew of the TARDIS are mourning the death of Adric.


 * PROSE: Danger Down Below
 * PROSE: The God Machine
 * PROSE: The Armageddon Chrysalis
 * PROSE: The Haven
 * PROSE: The Penalty
 * PROSE: Night Flight to Nowhere
 * Night Flight to Nowhere leads into Time-Flight with the TARDIS arriving at Heathrow.


 * TV: Time-Flight / PROSE: Time-Flight

Two's company

 * PROSE: Empire of Death
 * Adric and Tegan have recently left


 * PROSE: Tip of the Tongue
 * The Doctor has recently lost two friends of his


 * AUDIO: The Land of the Dead
 * AUDIO: Winter for the Adept
 * AUDIO: The Mutant Phase
 * AUDIO: 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men
 * Nyssa believes it would be impossible for her to travel back into Traken's past, placing this before Primeval.


 * AUDIO: Primeval
 * AUDIO: Spare Parts
 * AUDIO: Creatures of Beauty
 * AUDIO: The Game
 * AUDIO: Spring
 * AUDIO: Summer
 * AUDIO: Autumn

Stockbridge

 * COMIC: The Tides of Time
 * The Doctor already knows Shayde when he meets him in No Place Like Home, so these comic strips must take place before that story. Renaissance of the Daleks shows a period where the Doctor travels alone while Nyssa goes on a solo expedition to Rhodes.


 * COMIC: Stars Fell on Stockbridge
 * PROSE: Catalogue of Events
 * COMIC: The Stockbridge Horror

Temporary companions

 * COMIC: Lunar Lagoon
 * COMIC: 4-Dimensional Vistas
 * COMIC: The Moderator
 * TV: The Day of the Doctor
 * PROSE: Time on a Vine

Troubles with Thomas Brewster

 * AUDIO: Renaissance of the Daleks
 * The Doctor continues to travel with Nyssa.


 * AUDIO: Return to the Web Planet
 * AUDIO: The Haunting of Thomas Brewster
 * AUDIO: The Boy That Time Forgot
 * AUDIO: Time Reef
 * AUDIO: A Perfect World

Further travels with Nyssa

 * AUDIO: Castle of Fear
 * AUDIO: The Eternal Summer
 * AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks
 * AUDIO: The Demons of Red Lodge
 * AUDIO: The Entropy Composition
 * AUDIO: Doing Time
 * AUDIO: Special Features
 * AUDIO: 1001 Nights
 * AUDIO: My Brother's Keeper
 * AUDIO: The Interplanetarian
 * AUDIO: Smuggling Tales
 * PROSE: Long Term
 * PROSE: Artificial Intelligence
 * The Doctor mentions his visit to the school in Long Term.


 * AUDIO: The Light at the End
 * AUDIO: Moonflesh
 * AUDIO: Tomb Ship
 * AUDIO: Masquerade

Old foes return

 * TV: Arc of Infinity / PROSE: Arc of Infinity
 * AUDIO: The Waters of Amsterdam
 * Set directly after Arc of Infinity.
 * AUDIO: Omega
 * The Doctor is clearing up after the events of Arc of Infinity.
 * AUDIO: Sock Pig
 * AUDIO: The Burning Prince
 * The Doctor is attempting to Amsterdam to pick up Nyssa and Tegan.
 * AUDIO: The Secret History


 * AUDIO: The Elite
 * The Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa have just left Amsterdam.


 * PROSE: Fear of the Dark
 * AUDIO: Hexagora
 * AUDIO: The Children of Seth
 * PROSE: The Sands of Time
 * PROSE: Zeta Major
 * TV: Snakedance / PROSE: Snakedance
 * TV: Time Crash
 * The Tenth Doctor recalls being embroiled in adventures involving Nyssa and Tegan, the Time Lords at the Mara at this point.


 * PROSE: Goth Opera
 * Tegan is still recovering from her possession


 * TV: Mawdryn Undead / PROSE: Mawdryn Undead
 * AUDIO: Gardens of the Dead
 * TV: Terminus / PROSE: Terminus
 * TV: Enlightenment / PROSE: Enlightenment
 * AUDIO: Freakshow
 * Set just after Enlightenment.

Nyssa returns

 * AUDIO: Cobwebs
 * Set two days after Nyssa initially left the TARDIS.


 * AUDIO: The Whispering Forest
 * AUDIO: The Cradle of the Snake
 * AUDIO: Heroes of Sontar
 * AUDIO: Kiss of Death
 * AUDIO: Rat Trap
 * AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger
 * AUDIO: The Jupiter Conjunction
 * AUDIO: The Butcher of Brisbane
 * AUDIO: Eldrad Must Die!
 * AUDIO: The Lady of Mercia
 * AUDIO: Prisoners of Fate
 * AUDIO: Mistfall
 * AUDIO: Equilibrium
 * AUDIO: The Entropy Plague

Tegan and Turlough

 * TV: The King's Demons / PROSE: The King's Demons
 * PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus
 * Kamelion is aboard the TARDIS, which is heavily damaged, leading to the new console in Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: The Bird of Fire
 * The Doctor is trying to reach the Eye of Orion.


 * TV: The Five Doctors / PROSE: The Five Doctors
 * AUDIO: The Five Companions


 * PROSE: The Eight Doctors
 * The Eight Doctors takes place just after The Five Doctors


 * PROSE: Last Minute Shopping
 * At the end of this story the cloister bell starts ringing.


 * PROSE: The Assassin's Story
 * The web of time is threatened when Margaret Thatcher is assassinated during her first year as Prime Minister, explaining why the TARDIS cloister bell was ringing.


 * AUDIO: Ringpullworld
 * AUDIO: The Sirens of Time

Violent times

 * TV: Warriors of the Deep / PROSE: Warriors of the Deep
 * PROSE: Deep Blue
 * TV: The Awakening / PROSE: The Awakening
 * PROSE: The King of Terror
 * TV: Frontios / PROSE: Frontios
 * PROSE: Life After Queth
 * AUDIO: Excelis Dawns
 * Takes place during Frontios while the Doctor is transporting the Gravis from Frontios to Kolkokron.


 * PROSE: Perfect Day
 * The Gravis is finally dropped on Kolkokron, and the Doctor and Tegan share a brief adventure before returning to collect Turlough.


 * TV: Resurrection of the Daleks

Changed ways

 * PROSE: Lords of the Storm
 * PROSE: Imperial Moon
 * AUDIO: Phantasmagoria
 * AUDIO: Loups-Garoux
 * AUDIO: Singularity
 * TV: Planet of Fire / PROSE: Planet of Fire
 * PROSE: Light at the End of the Tunnel
 * This is Peri's first trip in the TARDIS


 * PROSE: The Ultimate Treasure
 * AUDIO: Red Dawn
 * PROSE: Superior Beings
 * PROSE: Warmonger

Second quest for the Key to Time

 * AUDIO: The Judgement of Isskar
 * The Doctor is separated from Peri until he finds the Key to Time.


 * AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights
 * AUDIO: The Chaos Pool
 * The Doctor has recently visited Mars

Adventures with Peri and Erimem

 * AUDIO: Exotron
 * AUDIO: Urban Myths
 * PROSE: Never Seen Cairo
 * The Doctor expresses a desire to visit Egypt.


 * AUDIO: The Eye of the Scorpion
 * Erimem joins the TARDIS crew.


 * AUDIO: The Church and the Crown
 * AUDIO: No Place Like Home
 * Erimem is new to the TARDIS.


 * AUDIO: Nekromanteia
 * PROSE: The Gangster's Story
 * AUDIO: The Axis of Insanity
 * AUDIO: The Roof of the World
 * AUDIO: Three's a Crowd
 * AUDIO: The Council of Nicaea
 * AUDIO: The Kingmaker
 * AUDIO: The Gathering
 * This adventure occurs while Erimem and Peri are involved in The Veiled Leopard.


 * AUDIO: Cuddlesome
 * The Doctor is still travelling alone.


 * AUDIO: The Four Doctors
 * AUDIO: Son of the Dragon
 * The Doctor is again travelling with Peri and Erimem.


 * AUDIO: The Mind's Eye
 * AUDIO: The Bride of Peladon
 * Erimem leaves the Doctor.

Final travels

 * AUDIO: Mission of the Viyrans
 * AUDIO: Peri and the Piscon Paradox
 * The final lines indicate that this story is set directly prior to Androzani.


 * TV: The Caves of Androzani / PROSE: The Caves of Androzani
 * The Doctor regenerates into his next incarnation.
 * AUDIO: Winter
 * Set during the Doctor's regeneration.

Unplaced

 * PROSE: Blood and Hope
 * PROSE: The Key of Vaga
 * PROSE: Planet of Fear
 * PROSE: The Oxaqua Incident
 * PROSE: Winter on Mesique
 * PROSE: The Creation of Camelot
 * PROSE: Class 4 Renegade
 * PROSE: The Volcanis Deal
 * PROSE: The Nemertines
 * PROSE: Fungus
 * PROSE: Birth of a Renegade
 * PROSE: A Victorian Interlude
 * PROSE: Encounter on Burnt Snake Flat
 * PROSE: One Last Try
 * PROSE: Fascination
 * PROSE: Lackaday Express
 * PROSE: Lonely Days
 * PROSE: Past Reckoning
 * PROSE: Zeitgeist
 * PROSE: The Parliament of Rats
 * PROSE: The Eternity Contract
 * PROSE: Hot Ice
 * PROSE: A Town Called Eternity
 * PROSE: Five Card Draw
 * PROSE: Hearts of Stone
 * PROSE: Qualia
 * PROSE: The Canvey Angels
 * PROSE: Soul Mate
 * PROSE: Confabula
 * PROSE: The Glass Princess
 * PROSE: No Exit
 * PROSE: Greenaway
 * PROSE: The Immortals
 * PROSE: Graham Dilley Saves the World
 * PROSE: White Man's Burden
 * PROSE: Observation
 * PROSE: Lant Land
 * PROSE: The Juror's Story
 * PROSE: Flashpoint
 * PROSE: Categorical Imperative
 * PROSE: Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life
 * PROSE: In the TARDIS: Christmas Day
 * PROSE: Lily
 * PROSE: The 57th
 * PROSE: A Life in the Day
 * PROSE: One Wednesday Afternoon
 * PROSE: Saturn
 * PROSE: Rome
 * PROSE: The Church of Saint Sebastian
 * PROSE: Comforts of Home
 * PROSE: The Velvet Dark
 * PROSE: Black and White
 * PROSE: Falling from Xi'an
 * PROSE: The Church of Football
 * PROSE: First Born
 * PROSE: Resonance
 * PROSE: Suspension and Disbelief
 * PROSE: Leap Second
 * PROSE: Men of the Earth
 * PROSE: The Misadventure of Mark Thorne
 * PROSE: There's Something About Mary
 * PROSE: Piecemeal
 * PROSE: Do You Believe in the Krampus?
 * PROSE: Far Away in a Manger
 * PROSE: Keeping It Real
 * PROSE: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
 * PROSE: Goths and Robbers
 * PROSE: God Send Me Well to Keep
 * PROSE: Gudok
 * PROSE: Tweaker
 * PROSE: Methuselah
 * PROSE: Curiosity
 * PROSE: The Man on the Phone
 * PROSE: Do You Smell Carrots?
 * PROSE: The Fall of the Druids
 * AUDIO: The Deep
 * AUDIO: Seven to One
 * AUDIO: Wet Walls
 * AUDIO: The Lions of Trafalgar
 * AUDIO: The Three Companions
 * GAME: Destiny of the Doctors
 * The Doctor is in his first outfit, and events from The King's Demons are alluded too.


 * COMIC: On the Planet Isopterus
 * COMIC: The Lunar Strangers
 * COMIC: The Curse of the Scarab
 * COMIC: The Stockbridge Child (flashback)
 * COMIC: Blood Invocation
 * COMIC: The Forgotten (flashback)
 * COMIC: Prisoners of Time