Theory:Timeline - Sarah Jane Smith

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

Fan sources like the Doctor Who Reference Guide should not be used solely as a source or considered a "true" timeline for stories.

Limitations
Due to the nature of most of its stories, Season 12 leaves little room for anything in between.

Any story with her and the Third Doctor travelling together must be before DW: Planet of the Spiders. Any story with the Fourth Doctor and Harry Sullivan must be after DW: Robot and before DW: Terror of the Zygons. Any story with just Sarah Jane and the Fourth Doctor must be after DW: Terror of the Zygons and before DW: The Hand of Fear. Any story featuring K9 Mark III must be after KAC: A Girl's Best Friend and before DW: School Reunion.

Any story with Maria, Luke and Clyde on her team must be after SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen and before SJA: The Last Sontaran. Any story with Clyde and Rani must be after SJA: The Last Sontaran. Any story with K9 Mark IV defending the black hole must be between SJA: Invasion of the Bane and SJA: The Mad Woman in the Attic. Any story with K9 freely around in Bannerman Road must be after SJA: The Mad Woman in the Attic and before SJA: The Nightmare Man. Any story with Luke at Oxford with K9 must be after SJA: The Nightmare Man. Any story with Sky must be after SJA: Sky.

Series basics
Sarah Jane's adventures can be broadly be divided into these various eras;


 * Her travels with the Doctor (original to television)


 * Her investigations during the two series of Big Finish Productions' Sarah Jane Smith audio series and any related stories to this series.
 * Her defence of the Earth from Bannerman Road in the early 21st century (original to television)
 * Any other solo stories that take place post-The Hand of Fear and/or A Girl's Best Friend.

Her setup of allies can be further divided into:


 * The Third Doctor
 * The Fourth Doctor and Harry Sullivan
 * The Fourth Doctor
 * Josh Townsend and Natalie Redfern
 * Maria Jackson, Luke Smith and Clyde Langer
 * Luke, Clyde and Rani Chandra
 * Clyde and Rani
 * Clyde, Rani and Sky Smith

Timeline

 * SJA: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith
 * As a baby.


 * SJA: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (1964)
 * DW: The Time Warrior
 * DW: Invasion of the Dinosaurs
 * DW: Death to the Daleks
 * DW: The Monster of Peladon
 * EDA: Alien Bodies
 * Sarah and the Doctor have just left Peladon.


 * AG: Glorious Goodwood
 * Sarah Jane has been to Peladon at least once.


 * DW: Planet of the Spiders
 * DW: Robot
 * DW: The Ark in Space
 * DW: The Sontaran Experiment
 * DW: Genesis of the Daleks
 * MA: A Device of Death
 * The Doctor, Sarah and Harry have just left Skaro.


 * DW: Revenge of the Cybermen
 * DW: Terror of the Zygons
 * DW: Planet of Evil
 * DW: Pyramids of Mars
 * DW: The Android Invasion
 * DW: The Brain of Morbius
 * MA: Evolution
 * Sarah mentions Karn and other events from The Brain of Morbius.


 * DW: The Seeds of Doom
 * DW: The Masque of Mandragora
 * DW: The Hand of Fear
 * Sarah Jane is left on Earth.


 * KAC: A Girl's Best Friend
 * DW: The Five Doctors
 * ST: Suitors, Inc.
 * Set in 1979.


 * VD: Housewarming
 * Sarah remembers meeting the Master in The Five Doctors.


 * RP: Downtime
 * Set in 1995.


 * EDA: Interference - Book One / Interference - Book Two
 * Set in 1996.


 * PDA: Bullet Time
 * Set in 1997. Sarah's death here is undone during the events of EDA: Sometime Never....


 * VD: Moving On
 * K9 is beginning to break down.


 * BFSJS: Comeback
 * BFSJS: The Tao Connection
 * BFSJS: Test of Nerve
 * BFSJS: Ghost Town
 * BFSJS: Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre
 * BFSJS: Buried Secrets
 * BFSJS: Snow Blind
 * BFSJS: Fatal Consequences
 * BFSJS: Dreamland


 * DW: School Reunion
 * SJA: Invasion of the Bane
 * SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen
 * Takes place shortly after Invasion of the Bane.


 * SJA: Eye of the Gorgon
 * SJA: Warriors of Kudlak
 * SJA: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (2008)
 * SJA: The Lost Boy
 * Continues from Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?'s cliffhanger.


 * DW: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End
 * Maria is still in England and Rani is not mentioned, likely placing it before The Last Sontaran.


 * SJA: The Last Sontaran
 * SJA: The Day of the Clown
 * SJA: Secrets of the Stars
 * SJA: The Mark of the Berserker
 * SJA: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith
 * SJA: Enemy of the Bane
 * SJA: From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love
 * SJA: Prisoner of the Judoon
 * SJA: The Mad Woman in the Attic
 * The black hole K9 Mark IV guarded is swallowed up.


 * SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
 * SJA: The Eternity Trap
 * SJA: Mona Lisa's Revenge
 * SJA: The Gift
 * DW: The End of Time
 * This is the last time Sarah Jane sees the Doctor before he returns in his eleventh incarnation in Death of the Doctor. Luke is still living on Bannerman Road.


 * SJA: The Nightmare Man
 * Luke leaves for Oxford with K9.


 * SJA: The Vault of Secrets
 * SJA: Death of the Doctor
 * SJA: The Empty Planet
 * SJA: Lost in Time
 * SJA: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
 * SJA: Sky
 * SJA: The Curse of Clyde Langer
 * SJA: The Man Who Never Was

Unplaced

 * PHS: Doomcloud
 * PHS: Perils of Paris
 * PHS: Who's Who?
 * DWAN: The Time Thief
 * DWAN: Before the Legend
 * DWAN: Scorched Earth
 * DWAN: A New Life (1976)
 * DWAN: The Hospitality on Hankus
 * DWAN: The Psychic Jungle
 * DWAN: The Sinister Sponge
 * DWAN: Neuronic Nightmare
 * DWAN: Avast There!
 * DWAN: The Mission
 * DWAN: War on Aquatica
 * DWAN: Cyclone Terror
 * DWAN: The Time Snatch
 * DWAN: The Body Snatcher
 * DWAN: The Eye-Spiders of Pergross
 * DWAN: Detour to Diamedes
 * DWAN: Double Trouble
 * DWAN: Menace on Metalupiter
 * DWAN: Secret of the Bald Planet
 * DWAN: The Sleeping Beast
 * DWAN: The Sands of Tymus
 * DWAN: The Rival Robots
 * DWAN: A New Life (1978)
 * DWAN: The Traitor
 * DWAN: The Sea of Faces
 * TVC: Signal S.O.S.
 * TVC: The Magic Box
 * TVC: Which Way Out?
 * TVC: Death Flower
 * TVC: Return of the Daleks
 * TVC: The Wreckers
 * TVC: The Emperor's Spy
 * TVC: The Sinister Sea
 * TVC: Woden's Warriors
 * TVC: The Space Ghost
 * TVC: The Dalek Revenge
 * TVC: Virus
 * TVC: Treasure Trail
 * TVC: Hubert's Folly
 * TVC: Counter-Rotation
 * TVC: Mind Snatch
 * TVC: The Hoaxers
 * TVC: The Tansbury Experiment
 * TVC: The Mutant Strain
 * TVC: Double Trouble
 * TVC: Jackals of Space
 * TVC: Dredger
 * BBCR: Exploration Earth
 * BBCR: The Paradise of Death
 * BBCR: The Ghosts of N-Space
 * The Vampires of Crellium
 * On the Slippery Trail
 * K9AN: Powerstone
 * K9AN: The Shroud of Azaroth
 * K9AN: Hound of Hell
 * K9AN: The Monster of Loch Crag
 * K9AN: Horror Hotel
 * K9AN: The Curse of Kanbo-Ala
 * TC: Harry Sullivan's War
 * DWM: The Heat-Seekers
 * DWM: Train-Flight
 * DWM: Black Destiny
 * DWM: Ground Zero
 * BE: Ships
 * BE: Girls' Night In
 * BE: Playtime
 * BE: Fond Memories
 * BE: Farewells
 * DWMS: City of Devils
 * DWY: The Hungry Bomb
 * DWY: The Naked Flame


 * MA: System Shock
 * MA: Managra


 * VD: The Duke of Dominoes
 * VD: Scarab of Death


 * ST: Old Flames
 * ST: Rights
 * ST: The Sow in Rut
 * ST: The Android Maker of Calderon IV
 * ST: Balloon Debate
 * ST: The Discourse of Flies
 * ST: An Overture Too Early
 * ST: Eternity
 * ST: All Done with Mirrors
 * ST: To Kill a Nandi Bear
 * ST: Primitives
 * ST: The Republican's Story
 * ST: Categorical Imperative
 * ST: Observer Effect
 * ST: Lily
 * ST: UNIT Christmas Parties: Ships That Pass
 * ST: The Last Broadcast
 * ST: Neptune
 * ST: The Lampblack Wars
 * ST: Separation Day
 * ST: Nanomorphosis
 * ST: The Dragons of Prague
 * ST: Numb
 * ST: Generation Gap
 * ST: Link
 * ST: The Last Thing You Ever See
 * ST: A Visit from Saint Nicholas
 * ST: Autaia Pipipi Pia
 * ST: Interesting Times
 * ST: Conscription
 * ST: Hello Goodbye
 * ST: Blessed Are the Peacemakers
 * PDA: Amorality Tale
 * PDA: Wolfsbane
 * PDA: Island of Death
 * DWF: A Dog's Life
 * SJAA: The Glittering Stone
 * SJAA: The Thirteenth Stone
 * SJAA: The Time Capsule
 * SJAA: The Ghost House
 * SJAA: The Shadow People
 * SJAA: The White Wolf
 * SJAA: Deadly Download
 * SJAA: Wraith World
 * SJAA: Children of Steel
 * SJAA: Judgement Day
 * WC: Monster Hunt