User:Dr Von Wer/Historical sandbox

In an in-universe point of view, as stated by the rules of this Wikia, stories are set in a time period which is not the present, past or future but for the beings living in it. For example, the Doctor neither considers 1930 to be the past, nor 2300 to be the future, because he travels in time.

But ever since Doctor Who was first transmitted, both the viewers and the crew have referred to certain stories as being historical or pseudo-historical.

The historical genre was devised by Sydney Newman, Doctor Who's creator, as a way to make the show more educational. (REF: The Second Doctor Handbook, TEDW 8)

The distinction between the two is based on the setting of such story: If it's situated on Earth and in a time period prior to the its release and with no science fiction elements (save the Doctor and the Tardis), it should be, by nature, historical. But if it does contain said elements, it's pseudo-historical, as it does not depict events exactly as we know them on the real world. For example, as The Aztecs is set on our past, and didn't show any anachronistic components, only the Aztec society itself, it's commonly catalogued as a historical story. On the other hand, Vincent and the Doctor does contain certain sci-fi elements, such as the Krafayis, so it's known to be pseudo-historical.

Note that a story is not historical/pseudo-historical if its setting is prior to its time of release. It can also be such if it is situated on the present day of each Doctor's era. For example, most Third Doctor stories are located on present day at its time of broadcast, because of his exile; but a story released now with the Third Doctor in that condition is not to be considered historical, because, in a way, is set in the present of said era.