Theory:Timeline - First Doctor

This page lists appearances of the First Doctor 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, 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, Doc Oho's Book Reviews, The History of Doctor Who, The Discontinuity Guide, Clive Banks Databank, Whopix, 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.

Before An Unearthly Child
Any stories featuring only the First Doctor and Susan travelling or otherwise are generally set before An Unearthly Child where it's established that the TARDIS isn't functioning correctly and where they pick up Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.

Story placement
Due to how the early-60s stories were told, with one story leading into another there are fewer "gaps" between which stories can be placed. It is often easier to say when television stories do not have a cliffhanger that directly continues into another than when they do.

Many novels and short stories, are therefore set between in the gap between stories at the end and start of seasons;

Season 1 and Season 2
 * Between TV: The Reign of Terror and Planet of Giants

Season 2 and Season 3
 * Between TV: The Time Meddler and Galaxy 4

Season 3 and Season 4
 * Between TV: The War Machines and The Smugglers

Additionally some stories, in particular The Companion Chronicles, are set in the middle of particularly long stories such as The Daleks' Master Plan.

There are several other smaller gaps between stories, such as between The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Rescue, where the next serial does not start where the other left off, but it is implied on-screen that only a small amount of time has passed.

TV Comics placement
The First Doctor's travels with John and Gillian are very problematic to place in the Doctor's timeline, as between The Experimenters and The Extortioner, the Doctor is inexplicitly replaced by his second incarnation.

The stories Conundrum and The Land of Happy Endings hypothesise that these adventures are either stories created by The Master of the Land of Fiction or the Doctor's dreams.

Life on Gallifrey

 * PROSE: Lungbarrow
 * The Doctor is born from the Loom of the House of Lungbarrow on Gallifrey.


 * As a Time Tot, the Doctor plays hide and seek with the Rani for forty-two years. (COMIC: Weapons of Past Destruction)


 * The Doctor is told the story of Grandfather Paradox by his mother, (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles) and sees flies swarm around the corpse of an elderly lady who had been covered in veils, giving him nightmares for years . (TV: Heaven Sent)


 * TV: Listen
 * The Doctor hasn't joined the Academy yet. He is weeping in a barn located in the Drylands.


 * Facing "the blackest day of his life," the Doctor visits the hermit on the side of the mountain from his family's house, who assists the Doctor with an epiphany by pointing at "the daisiest daisy". (TV: The Time Monster)


 * PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords
 * At the age of eight, the Doctor is taken from his caretakers for the selection process into the Academy. The Doctor reacts by running away.


 * The Doctor attends the Time Lord Academy as a member of the Prydonian Chapter, befriending the likes of the Master, the War Chief, and the Rani. He is personally taught by Borusa.


 * TV: Hell Bent
 * The Doctor spends four days trapped in the Cloisters, where he talks to the Cloister Wraiths, who tell him of the prophecy of "the Hybrid," and show him a secret passage out. According to his twelfth incarnation, the experience drove him "completely mad," and he was "never right in the head again" afterwards.


 * PROSE: The Three Paths
 * At the age of thirty, the Doctor asks K'anpo Rimpoche the name of the mountain on which he dwells. He is attending the Academy, and has made several friends by this point.


 * At the age of forty-five, the Doctor leaves the Gallifreyan equivalent of primary school. (PROSE: Shroud of Sorrow) At the age of fifty-eight, the Doctor ruins Valyes' summer project. (AUDIO: The Next Life) At the age of ninety, he visits the Medusa Cascade. (TV: The Stolen Earth)


 * COMIC: Vortex Butterflies
 * The Doctor is scolded by Borusa for his lack of respect, but is also taught how to appear to respect the traditions he loathes.


 * AUDIO: Planet of the Rani
 * The Doctor conducts an experiment that creates a bacteria known as the Ablative, with the ensuing scandal nearly getting him expelled until it is covered up by the Academy.


 * The Doctor skips his time-travel proficiency lesson, and rejects an offer to retake the lesson, leaving him unqualified to operate a TARDIS. (PROSE: Festival of Death)


 * AUDIO: Master
 * Having been forced to kill their bully to protect the Master, the Doctor makes a deal with Death to have the memory transferred to the Master.


 * PROSE: Tomb of Valdemar
 * The Doctor and the Master travel into Gallifrey's past in search of Valdemar.


 * PROSE: Divided Loyalties
 * While studying at the Academy, the Doctor crosses wits with the Celestial Toymaker for the first time, but his friends Rallon and Millennia are apparently killed. The Doctor is expelled from the Academy as punishment.


 * The Doctor is eventually reaccepted back into the Academy.


 * PROSE: Harvest of Time
 * The Doctor and the Master work on the Consolidator together.


 * The Doctor leaves the Academy with the lowest possible pass mark on his second attempt.


 * PROSE: Lungbarrow
 * The Doctor is disinherited from his ancestral House.


 * The Doctor works as a Scrutationary Archivist in the Bureau of Possible Events, (PROSE: Lungbarrow) and slowly rises high in the ranks of the Time Lords. (PROSE: The Eight Doctors) When he learns about the miniscopes, he successfully campaigns to have them banned from the galaxy. (TV: Carnival of Monsters)


 * COMIC: Flashback
 * The Doctor saves a glowing life form from being killed by the War Chief, but ruins his friendship with him as a result. The Doctor still has superior ranking on Gallifrey.


 * PROSE: Cold Fusion
 * Traveling back in time, the Doctor rescues Patience and her granddaughter from a danger on Ancient Gallifrey. The Doctor later marries Patience, and they two have thirteen children together.


 * The Doctor fights in a war. (AUDIO: The Sontarans)


 * AUDIO: The Toy
 * The Doctor brings Susan to watch him and a group of Prydonians performed a ritual in Arcadia.


 * PROSE: The Longest Story in the World
 * The Doctor is living in a small house on a mountain with his "adopted granddaughter", who tells him tales of him "building" the TARDIS and leaving Gallifrey. When the High Council hear of her tales, and after "an incident" takes place outside the Capitol, they send armed guards after the Doctor.

Leaving Gallifrey

 * Due to conflicting accounts, each telling of the Doctor's fateful escape have been listed in order of release.


 * PROSE: Birth of a Renegade
 * In a story told by, the Doctor decides to leave Gallifrey in the midst of a civil war. He enters a TARDIS alone, and finds a young lady inside, who he adopts as his granddaughter.


 * COMIC: Time & Time Again
 * The Doctor and Susan escape from an explosion on Gallifrey, determent to keep the Hand of Omega safe.


 * PROSE: Nightshade
 * A flashback shows a lone Doctor discarding his Prydonian robes as he is departing Gallifrey after a meeting with likewise hooded elderly men.


 * PROSE: Lungbarrow
 * After an argument with his cousin, Glospin, the Doctor leaves Gallifrey with the Hand of Omega, and travels back to the Old Time, where he adopts Susan, the granddaughter of the Other.


 * TV: The Name of the Doctor
 * Set during The Beginning: The First Flight, after Susan step inside the first TARDIS, and before the Doctor takes her into a second one.


 * AUDIO: The Beginning
 * The Doctor, already with Susan and wearing Victorian era clothing, is being pursued by the Chancellery Guard whilst fleeing Gallifrey with a flying trunk containing the Hand of Omega.

First flight

 * PROSE: The Exiles
 * The Doctor has just escaped Gallifrey. Susan is exploring the TARDIS for the first time.


 * PROSE: Frayed
 * This is the Doctor and Susan's first experience with humanity. Controversially, it even sees them take the names of "the Doctor" and "Susan".


 * AUDIO: The Beginning
 * Already going by "the Doctor" and "Susan", the wanderers have their first experience with humanity during their first trip to the Solar system.

Wanderers in the fourth dimension

 * PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet
 * Wanting to learn more of Earth and the human race, the Doctor and Susan visit the French Revolution in 1791.


 * Shortly after leaving the French Revolution, the Doctor meets another renegade time traveler named Iris Wildthyme. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress)


 * PROSE: First Meetings
 * "El Jefe" has quickly become disillusioned after leaving the "Lords Temporal", but after "Alison" steals Iris Wildthyme's diaries, he is inspired.


 * PROSE: The Duke's Folly
 * The Doctor and Susan visit India during the Indian Mutiny, where the Doctor becomes the guardian to David Warblington after having his life saved by David's father.


 * PROSE: The Gift
 * The Doctor attends the funeral of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.


 * PROSE: The Five O'Clock Shadow
 * The Doctor is telling a bedtime story to Susan.


 * AUDIO: The Sleeping Blood
 * Susan feels enough familiarity with the TARDIS to begin calling it home.


 * AUDIO: Seven to One


 * COMIC: Time Trick


 * PROSE: The Arboreals
 * The chameleon circuit is operational.


 * PROSE: Dr. First
 * The Doctor and Susan land in London, much to the Doctor's chagrin. The Doctor recognises the Cybermen.


 * PROSE: Indian Summer


 * PROSE: All-Consuming Fire
 * The Doctor and Susan visit Jabalhabad in 1843, and meet Siger Holmes.


 * PROSE: Childhood Living
 * The Doctor and Susan are familiar enough with Earth to debate whether or not the Great Wall of China is visible from space.


 * PROSE: Categorical Imperative
 * Learning that a dictator would cause Earth's destruction, the Doctor and Susan go back in time to kill the dictator as a baby. However, the Doctor drops his weapon and is forced to flee before he even sees the baby.


 * PROSE: Life from Lifelessness
 * The chameleon circuit is operational.


 * PROSE: The Price of Conviction
 * The chameleon circuit is operational. The Doctor and Susan have been on Earth several times by now.


 * PROSE: The Gift


 * PROSE: A Big Hand for the Doctor
 * The Doctor is familiar enough with human pop culture to reference Harry Potter, Blake's 7 and Artemis Fowl.


 * PROSE: Bide-a-Wee
 * The Doctor is relatively familiar and comfortable with humanity, but he and Susan have not yet settled in 1960s London.


 * PROSE: Losing the Audience


 * COMIC: Where's the Doctor?
 * The Doctor and Susan attend the coronation of Elizabeth II.


 * AUDIO: Quinnis
 * Set "4 or 5 journeys" before The Edge of Destruction. The chameleon circuit is operational. The Doctor believes Susan needs friends her own age, stability and teachers.


 * PROSE: Urrozdinee
 * The chameleon circuit is operational. At the end of the story, the Doctor says that he and Susan will "put down some roots" for a while, implying that the next stop may be 1963.


 * AUDIO: The Alchemists
 * The Doctor and Susan have already had many adventures in the 20th century, but have not seen much of the latter half of the century. The Doctor is looking for a place for him and Susan to settle down for a while.


 * PROSE:  The Little Things
 * The Doctor takes a brief trip to 1997 to check if the United Kingdom will remain a safe place to stay in the times to come.

Hiding on Earth

 * PROSE: The Rag & Bone Man's Story
 * The TARDIS arrives in 1963 London after being damaged by the Blessing Star. The Doctor takes up residence in 76 Totter's Lane, and Susan begins attending Coal Hill School.


 * PROSE: Echoes of Future Past
 * The Doctor has only recently arrived in London 1963, and Susan is already in education.


 * PROSE: Time and Relative
 * Set on 1 April 1963. The Doctor and Susan have been on Earth for some time, Susan is attending school and something breaks when the Doctor journeys in the TARDIS, forcing him to fix it using 20th century parts. The Doctor begins to take an interest in protecting the human race.


 * In Time and Relative, the Doctor takes the Cold away from Earth, and then logically spends several adventures trying to get back to Susan.


 * PROSE: The Sons of the Crab
 * The Crab Nebula is the farthest the TARDIS has travelled up to this point, making this one of the Doctor's earliest adventures. Susan is absent, and the TARDIS is in police box form, setting this after Time and Relative.


 * PROSE: The Lost Ones
 * Set before The Web Planet, since this is the Doctor's first visit to Vortis, and he does not recognise the Zarbi. Susan is absent, and the Doctor claims that he is from the planet Earth.


 * PROSE: The Monsters from Earth
 * Set before The Sensorites, since the Doctor does not recognize the Sensorites. Susan is absent, and the TARDIS is in police box form, setting this after Time and Relative.


 * PROSE: Doctor Who and the Invasion from Space
 * The Doctor is alone and unable to control the TARDIS's navigation systems. He also claims that he's from Earth.


 * COMIC: Time & Time Again
 * As the Doctor walks through Shoreditch, he thinks of where to hide the Hand of Omega, setting this before he buried it during late October.


 * PROSE: The Juror's Story
 * The Doctor begins calling himself "Dr. Foreman".


 * PROSE: Ash


 * COMIC: Operation Proteus
 * Set on 22 October 1963.


 * AUDIO: Hunters of Earth
 * The Doctor and Susan have been on Earth for four months, setting this one month prior to the events of An Unearthly Child.


 * PROSE: Doctor Who and the Horror of Coal Hill
 * After her adventure with the Doctor, Shivani Bajwa asks for a policeman to check 76 Totter's Lane, setting this shortly before An Unearthly Child.

Meeting Ian and Barbara

 * COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen Prologue: The First Doctor
 * In an alternate timeline created by Rassilon and the Cybermen, the Doctor is captured by the Cybermen immediately before the events of An Unearthly Child.


 * TV: An Unearthly Child
 * On 22 November 1963, Susan's curious teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, follow her home and force themselves into the TARDIS, and the Doctor flies the ship in a panic, bringing the teachers with him and Susan to 100,000 BC. Ending leads directly into The Daleks.


 * PROSE: The Eight Doctors
 * Set during An Unearthly Child: The Forest of Fear, just after Ian prevents the Doctor from stoning Za to death. He is talked out of trying it again by the Eighth Doctor in a time bubble.


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


 * TV: The Edge of Destruction
 * The TARDIS' sentience is brought up for the first time. After realising that his paranoia got the best of him, the Doctor makes amends to better himself in the future. Ending leads directly into Marco Polo.

The great spirit of adventure

 * TV: Marco Polo
 * The TARDIS crew venture on a trek through China with Marco Polo in 1289. The Doctor receives a cane from Kublai Khan.


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


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


 * 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.


 * COMIC: The Path of Skulls
 * The Doctor is still unfamiliar with the layout of the TARDIS interior, and is still learning about most of the universe.


 * AUDIO: A Small Semblance of Home
 * Barbara recalls the recent events of The Daleks.


 * PROSE: Who Discovered America?


 * TV: The Keys of Marinus
 * The TARDIS lands on Marinus, and the crew are forced by Arbitan to locate the keys to the Conscience of Marinus before the Voord can.


 * TV: The Aztecs
 * The Doctor warns Barbara about the consequences of altering the course of history when she tries to educate the Aztecs against using human sacrifices. The Doctor has a brief affair with Cameca, and is gifted with a brooch from her when he leaves.


 * 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. When Ian makes a snide comment about the Doctor's piloting, the enraged Doctor claims he will leave Ian at the next stop, leading into The Reign of Terror.


 * AUDIO: The Transit of Venus
 * Set between The Sensorites and The Reign of Terror, with the Doctor preparing to throw Ian and Barbara out of the TARDIS.


 * TV: The Reign of Terror
 * Follows on from The Sensorites, with the Doctor still arguing with Ian and Barbara, until an adventure during the French Revolution calms him down enough to forgive them.


 * AUDIO: Rise and Fall
 * The Doctor refers to the events from The Reign of Terror as the crew's previous trip.


 * AUDIO: The Destination Wars
 * Authorial intent places this during Season 1. The crew are a close unit, and Ian wonders if they are still on Earth, indicating this takes place after The Reign of Terror. The Doctor spends two years on Destination fixing the damage caused by the Master. Ending leads directly into The Great White Hurricane.


 * AUDIO: The Great White Hurricane
 * This is Ian's first time in New York City. Susan admits that she sees Ian and Barbara as family. After their adventure in New York City, the Doctor claims to have found a way to return Ian and Barbara home.


 * AUDIO: The Invention of Death
 * Follows directly on from The Great White Hurricane, with the Doctor failing to return the TARDIS to 1963. The Doctor refers to the recent events of The Reign of Terror.


 * AUDIO: The Barbarians and the Samurai


 * AUDIO: The Phoenicians
 * Follows directly on from The Barbarians and the Samurai, with Ian, Barbara, and Susan wondering where the TARDIS will take them next. Ian and Barbara learn that the TARDIS has a library. Ian and Barbara believe it should be around Spring 1964 in their own time.


 * AUDIO: Tick-Tock World
 * Follows directly on from The Phoenicians. Susan mentions that she is a little bit telepathic. The Doctor realised that he needs to give Susan more independence.


 * COMIC: In-Between Times
 * Ian and Barbara are given their first proper tour of the TARDIS, including the library, setting this after The Phoenicians, where they first learn about the TARDIS library.


 * AUDIO: The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance


 * AUDIO: Farewell, Great Macedon
 * Authorial intent places this between The Reign of Terror and Here There Be Monsters. Barbara knows that history cannot be changed, but Ian isn't convinced.


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


 * PROSE: The Last Days
 * Barbara refers to the events of The Aztecs.


 * PROSE: Mire and Clay


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


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


 * PROSE: Tell Me You Love Me


 * PROSE: The Reign Makers
 * Barbara believes that history cannot be changed, setting this after The Aztecs.


 * AUDIO: A Star is Born


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


 * 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.


 * 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: The Flames of Cadiz
 * Ian refers to the events of The Transit of Venus. He and Barbara aren't surprised when the Doctor thinks that history can be changed.


 * PROSE: Rennigan's Record


 * AUDIO: The Light at the End


 * PROSE: Room for Improvement
 * Barbara and Susan are mentioned to have stayed behind in the TARDIS, setting this before The Dalek Invasion of Earth.


 * 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.


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


 * 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, Barbara is still regretful for the events of The Aztecs, and she and Ian recall the events of The Reign of Terror. After leaving 1692, the Doctor pilots the TARDIS to 1742, and makes further plans to jump from the 18th century to the 20th century, leading into Planet of Giants.


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


 * TV: Planet of Giants
 * The TARDIS has just left the late 18th century, with the Doctor attempting to travel forward to the mid 20th century when the TARDIS shrinks due to a malfunction.


 * 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 a rebel of the 22nd century Dalek invasion named David Campbell, and the Doctor decides to leave her behind so she can grow into her own person after the crew help defeat the Daleks on Earth.


 * 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 in An Unearthly Child.


 * 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 Secrets of the Tardis
 * The Doctor explains how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside to Ian and Barbara.


 * 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, setting this 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
 * On Dido, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara rescue a young girl named Vicki from the clutches of Koquillion, and she is invited to join them aboard the TARDIS. After leaving Dido, the TARDIS falls from the cliff it landed on, leading 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 crew settle down in Rome at the start of The Romans.


 * TV: The Romans
 * While awaiting the TARDIS's recovery, the Doctor accidently inspires Nero to burn down Rome.


 * AUDIO: Starborn
 * According to Vicki, the TARDIS crew 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 helping Thomas Huxley fight off the Animus and the Zarbi, Ian, Barbara and Vicki are kidnapped Adam Mitchell, leading directly into Endgame.


 * 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 during The Space Museum.


 * COMIC: A Religious Experience
 * Ian recalls the events of The Crusade.


 * PROSE: The Plotters
 * The Doctor refers to the events of The Web Planet.


 * PROSE: All I Want for Christmas
 * Barbara has a feeling she and Ian will find a way home soon, setting this shortly before The Chase.


 * AUDIO: The Sleeping City
 * Ian recalls the events of The Crusade.


 * AUDIO: The Unwinding World


 * AUDIO: The Doctor's Tale
 * Ian introduces himself as "Sir Ian of Jaffa", setting this 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.


 * TV: The Time Meddler
 * Set immediately after The Chase, with the Doctor and Vicki finding Steven in the TARDIS. The Doctor invites Steven to remain aboard, and the trio battles with for the first time in 1066 Northumbria.


 * COMIC: Are You Listening?
 * Vicki and Steven are still wearing their outfits from The Time Meddler.


 * AUDIO: The Suffering
 * Steven mutters that his last meal was in 1066, setting this shortly after The Time Meddler.


 * AUDIO: Frostfire
 * Vicki mentions that Steven has only recently joined the TARDIS crew.


 * AUDIO: Upstairs
 * The Doctor mentions that everywhere the TARDIS arrives can't be a fun fair, alluding to the events of Frostfire.


 * AUDIO: The Bounty of Ceres
 * The Doctor is experimenting with the component he stole from the Monk's TARDIS in The Time Meddler.


 * AUDIO: The Dalek Occupation of Winter
 * Steven has only recently started traveling with the Doctor and Vicki, setting this shortly after The Time Meddler.


 * AUDIO: An Ideal World
 * Authorial intent places this directly after The Dalek Occupation of Winter. (Source)


 * AUDIO: Entanglement
 * Authorial intent places this directly after An Ideal World. (Source)


 * AUDIO: The Crash of the UK-201
 * Authorial intent places this directly after Entanglement. (Source)


 * AUDIO: The Ravelli Conspiracy


 * AUDIO: Fields of Terror
 * Time briefly becomes distorted.


 * AUDIO: The Light at the End
 * The Doctor, Steven and Vicki briefly encounter an apparition of a Charley Pollard from an alternate timeline.


 * AUDIO: The Founding Fathers


 * AUDIO:  The Secret History
 * The Doctor is switched with his fifth incarnation by . Steven has not yet been given a TARDIS key, setting this before The Empire of Glass.


 * TV: The Three Doctors
 * The Doctor is summoned by the Time Lords to assist his second and third incarnations in their battle with Omega, but he becomes trapped in a time eddy.


 * PROSE: The Empire of Glass
 * Set immediately after The Three Doctors, with the Doctor being returned from the Omega crisis with his memory of the events wiped.


 * PROSE: Corridors of Power


 * PROSE: The Schoolboy's Story


 * AUDIO: Etheria


 * AUDIO: Across the Darkened City
 * Time briefly becomes distorted.


 * AUDIO: The Suffering
 * Vicki prepares to give Steven a haircut, setting up the opening scene of Galaxy 4: Four Hundred Dawns.


 * TV: Galaxy 4


 * PROSE: Planet of the Bunnoids
 * The Doctor tells the brain-creature that Vicki and Steven have faced Daleks, Vikings and Chumblies.


 * PROSE: Snowman in Manhattan


 * PROSE: Mars
 * Vicki thinks to herself that she's not a child anymore.


 * PROSE: The Power Supply


 * PROSE: The Long Step Backward


 * TV: The Myth Makers
 * Vicki leaves the TARDIS to stay in Ancient Greece with Troilus, and the Doctor and Steven are joined by Katarina. Ending leads directly into The Daleks' Master Plan.


 * PROSE: Scribbles in Chalk
 * Takes place directly between The Myth Makers and The Daleks Master Plan.

Fighting the Daleks

 * TV: The Daleks' Master Plan (The Nightmare Begins–The Feast of Steven)
 * Katarina loses her life in a hostage situation, and Sara Kingdom joins the TARDIS crew in her place.


 * AUDIO: The Anachronauts
 * The Doctor, Steven and Sara are still celebrating Christmas together in the TARDIS' control room, setting this immediately after The Feast of Steven. Sara has not yet been told about interfering with history, setting before The Little Drummer Boy.


 * PROSE: Katarina in the Underworld
 * After Katrina's death, the sleeping Doctor is summoned by Persephone to help Katrina in the afterlife.


 * PROSE: The Little Drummer Boy
 * Robert grabs the taranium that the Doctor stole in The Daleks' Master Plan: Day of Armageddon.


 * AUDIO: The Drowned World


 * AUDIO: The Guardian of the Solar System
 * Sara recalls Robert dying in her arms during The Little Drummer Boy.


 * AUDIO: Home Truths
 * Although this is the first story that was told to Robert, it is the last of the adventures that the House recalls from Sara's life, setting it after the previous two stories in the trilogy.


 * AUDIO: Men of War


 * AUDIO: An Ordinary Life
 * After their ordinary life is over, the Doctor decides to return to Kembel, leading the TARDIS crew back into the events of The Daleks' Master Plan.


 * AUDIO: The Sontarans
 * The Doctor battles the Sontarans for the first time, and learns about their war with the Rutan Host. Another time machine begins pursuing the TARDIS, leading directly into Volcano.


 * TV: The Daleks' Master Plan (Volcano–Destruction of Time)
 * Sara dies as a result of the Time Destructor.


 * PROSE: Ash
 * The Doctor and Steven are recovering from Sara and Katarina's deaths.

Oliver Harper

 * AUDIO: The Perpetual Bond
 * The Doctor returns to I.M. Foreman's junkyard for the first time since departing in An Unearthly Child. Steven recalls the recent deaths of Katarina, Bret Vyon, and Sara Kingdom from The Daleks' Master Plan.


 * AUDIO: The Cold Equations
 * This is Oliver's first trip in the TARDIS.


 * AUDIO: The First Wave
 * Oliver sacrifices his life to save the Doctor and Steven from the Vardans.

Time alone

 * PROSE: Roses
 * The Doctor and Steven are taking a break after the events of The Daleks' Master Plan. Roses leads directly into The Five Doctors.


 * TV: The Five Doctors
 * The Doctor is kidnapped from a garden by Borusa to play the Game of Rassilon in the Death Zone with his second, third and fifth incarnations. He is briefly reunited with Susan on Gallifrey. After Rassilon deals with Borusa at the First Doctor's urging, the Doctors are permitted to leave.


 * PROSE: The Witch Hunters
 * The Doctor has begun travelling on his own with the ability to pilot the TARDIS effectively, as a favour granted to him by Rassilon for his role in The Five Doctors, allowing him to tie up some loose ends before his first regeneration.


 * PROSE: Troilus and Cressida
 * The Doctor mentions his visited to Troy from The Myth Makers.


 * PROSE: The Vardon Horse


 * COMIC: The Lost Dimension
 * The Doctor is able to pilot and control the TARDIS within the Void, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: The Lair of Zarbi Supremo
 * The Doctor is able to pilot the TARDIS to Vortis, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: Peril in Mechanistria
 * There are references to the Daleks, and since the Doctor never heard of them prior to The Daleks, this adventure must takes place afterwards.


 * PROSE: The Fishmen of Kandalinga
 * Sequel story to The Keys of Marinus.


 * TV: The Day of the Doctor
 * The Doctor leads his other incarnations in the saving of Gallifrey on the last day of the Last Great Time War, and has a tea party with them in the Under-Gallery during the novelisation. He is able to pilot the TARDIS to Gallifrey, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * GAME: Destiny of the Doctors


 * COMIC: Day of the Tune


 * PROSE: The Cloud Exiles
 * The Doctor uses his jeweled ring to open the lock on the epitomiser cubicle, as he had done to the TARDIS lock in The Daleks' Master Plan.


 * PROSE: The Sons of Grekk


 * PROSE: Terror on Tiro
 * Follows directly on from The Sons of Grekk. The Doctor is able to pilot the TARDIS to Tiro, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * COMIC: Mission for Duh


 * PROSE: The Devil-Birds of Corbo


 * PROSE: The Playthings of Fo
 * Follows directly on from The Devil Birds of Corbo. The Doctor is able to pilot the TARDIS to Rhoos, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: Justice of the Glacians


 * PROSE: Ten Fathom Pirates


 * COMIC: Dr. Who on the Planet Zactus


 * PROSE: iNtRUsioNs
 * The Doctor is deliberately involved in this situation, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: The End
 * The Doctor has deliberately come to the end of the universe to meet his eighth incarnation, setting this after The Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: All Our Christmases
 * The Doctor is learning about a disturbance in the timeline. As he would need a deliberate effort to do this, this most likely takes place after The Five Doctors.


 * PROSE: Doctor Who and the Daleks
 * The Doctor is alone and seems to know the Voord, setting this after The Keys of Marinus. He is also able to pilot the TARDIS to Marinus, setting this after The Five Doctors.

John and Gillian

 * Returning to Earth, the Doctor bases himself in another junkyard in England, and makes arrangements to meet his other grandchildren, John and Gillian.


 * COMIC: The Klepton Parasites
 * John and Gillian find their grandfather's address, enter the TARDIS and join him on their travels when the TARDIS takes off with them. Presumably, John messing with the controls causes the navigation circuits to break again.


 * COMIC: The Therovian Quest


 * COMIC: The Hijackers of Thrax


 * COMIC: On the Web Planet
 * The Doctor recalls his visited to Vortis from The Web Planet


 * COMIC: Untitled
 * The Doctor fights with a police officer who will not allow him entrance into a police box he is guarding. If this box actually is the TARDIS is unclear.


 * COMIC: The Gyros Injustice


 * COMIC: Prisoners of Gritog


 * COMIC: Challenge of the Piper


 * COMIC: Moon Landing


 * COMIC: Time in Reverse


 * COMIC: Lizardworld


 * COMIC: Prisoners of the Kleptons


 * COMIC: The Caterpillar Men


 * COMIC: The Ordeals of Demeter


 * COMIC: Enter: The Go-Ray


 * COMIC: Shark Bait


 * COMIC: A Christmas Story


 * COMIC: Untitled
 * The Doctor almost walks into a police box, but is stopped by a police officer.


 * COMIC: The Didus Expedition


 * COMIC: Space Station Z-7


 * COMIC: Plague of the Black Scorpi


 * COMIC: The Trodos Tyranny


 * COMIC: Guests of King Neptune


 * COMIC: The Gaze of the Gorgon


 * COMIC: The Secret of Gemino


 * COMIC: The Haunted Planet


 * COMIC: The Hunters of Zerox


 * COMIC: The Underwater Robot


 * COMIC: Deadly Vessel


 * COMIC: Kingdom of the Animals


 * COMIC: Return of the Trods


 * COMIC: The Galaxy Games


 * COMIC: The Experimenters
 * It is unclear what circumstances caused the Doctor to leave John and Gillian, but they later began traveling with his second incarnation, whom they addressed as "Dr. Who" instead of "Grandfather".

Resumed travels with Steven

 * After some time alone, the Doctor returns to Steven and the two continue to travel together again.


 * AUDIO: Helmstone
 * Steven thinks of Sara, as well as Ian and Barbara, suggesting that this takes place not long after The Daleks' Master Plan.


 * PROSE: Making History


 * PROSE: Waiting for Jeremy
 * Steven mentions the Omwanadar, setting this after Making History.


 * PROSE: Greenaway
 * The Doctor and Steven stop an alien invader on a nearby beach with the help of Greenaway, who loses his legs and part of his skull and ends up in a coma.


 * PROSE: Do You Smell Carrots?


 * PROSE: White on White


 * AUDIO: O Tannenbaum


 * TV: The Massacre
 * After storming out of the TARDIS due to an argument with the Doctor, Steven returns immediately after Dodo Chaplet walks into the TARDIS, joining the two in their travels.

Steven and Dodo

 * PROSE: Salvation
 * Dodo takes her first trip in the TARDIS, setting this immediately after The Massacre.


 * TV: The Ark
 * Ending leads directly into The Celestial Toymaker.


 * TV: The Celestial Toymaker
 * Ending leads directly into The Gunfighters.


 * TV: The Gunfighters


 * AUDIO: Mother Russia
 * Steven voices his surprised that the Doctor wants another holiday so soon after The Gunfighters.


 * PROSE: Murder in the Dark
 * References are made to The Ark, The Celestial Toymaker and The Gunfighters.


 * PROSE: The Dream
 * The Doctor is travelling with Steven and Dodo, but becomes separated from them while on Vortis.


 * AUDIO: This Sporting Life


 * COMIC: Death to the Doctor!


 * PROSE: The Golden Door


 * AUDIO: Tales from the Vault
 * The Doctor investigates a crashed spaceship during the Boer Wars.


 * AUDIO: Return of the Rocket Men
 * Steven mentions the events of Mother Russia.


 * PROSE: 64 Carlysle Street
 * Steven mentions Tombstone, setting this after The Gunfighters.


 * PROSE: Bunker Soldiers


 * AUDIO: The War to End All Wars
 * Steven decides that the next place the TARDIS lands is where he wants to make a lasting impression, setting this immediately before The Savages.


 * TV: The Savages
 * Steven leaves to mediate a peace between the Elders and the Savages.

Exploits with Dodo

 * PROSE: Tarnished Image


 * AUDIO: The Horror at Bletchington Station
 * Steven's departure is a recent event, but the Doctor and Dodo have had several adventures since he left.


 * PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask


 * PROSE: There are Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden
 * Dodo is more wounded and mistrustful of the Doctor, setting this after The Man in the Velvet Mask.


 * TV: The War Machines
 * The Doctor and Dodo battle WOTAN and the War Machines with Polly Wright and Ben Jackson. The Doctor's battle with WOTAN causes Dodo to have a break down, and he sends her to the country to recuperate.


 * PROSE: The Rag & Bone Man's Story
 * Set during The War Machines: Episode 4, after the Doctor has defeated WOTAN. He thinks that Dodo will want to stay in London.

Alone again

 * According to The Rag & Bone Man's Story, the Doctor goes on to travel alone before returning to London.


 * PROSE: The Lost Diaries of Winston Spencer Churchill
 * The Doctor is "dressed for the cold" in a cloak and an astrakhan hat and traveling alone when he meets Winston Churchill for the first time, setting this shortly after The Rag & Bone Man's Story.


 * PROSE: The Massacre
 * It has been "eons" since the Doctor travelled with Ian, Barbara, and Susan, and "centuries" since he last spoke French. During an imposed "celestial retirement", the Doctor recounts the events of The Massacre to the Time Lords.


 * PROSE: The Glass Princess


 * PROSE: The Feast of Seven... Eight (and Nine)
 * The Doctor regrets not visiting Susan for Christmas.


 * PROSE: The Meeting
 * Mention is made of the Doctor's "retirement" by the Time Lords from The Massacre happening "ages ago".

Nearing the end

 * TV: The War Machines
 * After informing the Doctor of Dodo's decision to stay behind, Ben and Polly board the TARDIS while attempting to return the Doctor's spare key, leading directly into The Smugglers.


 * TV: The Smugglers
 * Ben and Polly take their first journey in the TARDIS, and the Doctor accepts their company.


 * AUDIO: The Bonfires of the Vanities
 * Set immediately after The Smugglers. Time briefly becomes distorted.


 * COMIC: Food for Thought
 * Ben is wearing his sailor outfit from The Smugglers.


 * PROSE: Ten Little Aliens
 * The Doctor comments that he shall soon feel a whole new person, referring to his upcoming regeneration.


 * PROSE: Five Card Draw
 * The Doctor feels he will regenerate soon.


 * PROSE: Cambridge Previsited
 * The Doctor is traveling with companions, but they remained in the TARDIS.


 * AUDIO: The Plague of Dreams
 * The time distortions are revealed to be caused by the Daleks trying to invade the First Doctor's timeline and prevent his regeneration at the South Pole. The Player is able to prevent the Daleks' victory, setting things up for The Tenth Planet.


 * AUDIO: Falling
 * An older Polly recalls how this was her last trip in the TARDIS before The Tenth Planet.


 * PROSE: The Three Paths
 * The Doctor is pulled back to Gallifrey and is aware that his next adventure will result in his regeneration.

Last stand at Snowcap base

 * TV: The Tenth Planet
 * The Doctor, Ben and Polly land at the South Pole. During an encounter with the Cybermen, the Doctor collapses. With much of his life force having been absorbed by the planet Mondas, the Doctor begins to regenerate.


 * AUDIO: The Locked Room
 * Set during The Tenth Planet: Episode 3, when the Doctor is bedridden.


 * AUDIO: The First Wave
 * Walking in the snow during The Tenth Planet: Episode 4, the Doctor catches a glimpse of his deceased companion, Oliver Harper.


 * TV: The Doctor Falls
 * Before entering the TARDIS during The Tenth Planet: Episode 4, the Doctor meets the Twelfth Doctor while trying to fight off the regeneration process.


 * TV: Twice Upon a Time
 * Set immediately after The Doctor Falls, with the Doctor being convinced to endure his regeneration after meeting his future self.


 * TV: The Tenth Planet: Epilogue
 * The Doctor regenerates into his next incarnation in the TARDIS with Ben and Polly.

Awaiting placement

 * These entries are placed here until evidence presents itself that provides a clue as to where they happen in relation to other entries. Some of these are part of ongoing storylines that could present evidence towards the end of the plot.