“Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the Fourth Dimension? Have you? To be exiles? Susan and I are cut off from our own planet - without friends or protection. But one day we shall get back. Yes, one day.” – from 'An Unearthly Child'

“There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.” – from 'The Moonbase'

“He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm at the heart of the sun... He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe... And he's wonderful.” – from 'The Family of Blood'

“I’m the Doctor. Sorting out fair play throughout the universe..” – from 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth'

'Doctor Who' is the longest-running science fiction television series in the world. From its humble beginnings on BBC1 on Saturday November 23rd, 1963, the show has appeared on television, radio, cinema, stage, books, comics, records, CDs, games and the internet.

The series chronicles the adventures of the Doctor, an enigmatic Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who has two hearts, a brilliant, if somewhat eccentric, mind, and an insatiable curiosity to explore the universe (although some of that may not be true). Travelling in their TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space), a time-and-space machine that looks just like a battered old London Police Telephone Box, the Doctor and their host of loyal companions fight evil in all its monstrous shapes and forms – including the ruthless mutant Daleks in their armoured travel machines; the emotionless Cybermen from Earth's sister planet, Mondas; the Sontarans, a squat race of warrior clones; the deadly Ice Warriors from Mars; and the terrifying assassins known as the Weeping Angels...

The appeal of 'Doctor Who' is its almost limitless scope for stories, as the Doctor's amazing adventures cross all of space and time. Another innovative concept is the Time Lord's ability to regenerate into a completely different physical form when mortally injured, which enables the production team to recast the leading role with ease: to date, there have been fourteen television incarnations of the Doctor, played by William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker, along with John Hurt as a secret Doctor from the Time War.

(Plus: David Tennant as a '10A-Meta-Crisis' version of the Tenth Doctor, and then again as the Fourteenth Doctor; Jo Martin as a 'Fugitive' Doctor; Sacha Dawan as a 'Master-Doctor'; and a host of others who have played 'redacted' Doctors - yes, it's complicated! Then there's Peter Cushing, who played 'Dr Who' in two 1960s movies; Trevor Martin, who took on the title role in a 1970s stage play; and many, many other actors in countless spoofs and sketches shown over the years.)

The original ‘Classic' series of 'Doctor Who' ran for twenty-six seasons of highly entertaining adventures, before the Seventh Doctor's adventures finally ended in 1989. But the show's story didn't end there: the Doctor's travels continued in Virgin Books' 'New Adventures'; a TV Movie co-produced with America was shown in 1996, with Paul McGann taking over the title role as the Eighth Doctor; the BBC released the first of their 'Doctor Who' novels (which the Guinness Book of Records acknowledges as the longest running book series in the world) continuing the adventures of the Eighth Doctor; and Big Finish Productions began producing new audio adventures, which are still going strong to this day.

Then, in 2005, the BBC announced that 'Doctor Who' would return in a brand-new series, produced by one of television's most successful and proficient writers, Russell T Davies, and starring Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. This 'New' series was a massive success, and caused 'Doctor Who' to rocket back into the public's hearts to become one of the BBC's biggest flagship programmes. The show continued to go from strength to strength, and when actor David Tennant took over the title role: his portrayal of the Tenth Doctor was so popular that viewers voted him as the best Doctor ever! He was followed by the youngest actor to play the role, Matt Smith, who proved to more than capable of portraying a madman with a time-travelling box many years older than he looks, and Peter Capaldi, who brought back the alien and irascible nature of the Doctor for his twelfth incarnation, as well as a bit of rock star for good measure. After that, ‘Doctor Who’ demonstrated its strength at championing change by introducing Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor, who was every bit as amazing as her predecessors. The show then turned convention on its head by bringing back David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor (although, technically he's the Sixteenth Doctor).

As well as all that, 'Doctor Who' also produced a number of spin-off series which featured former companions of the Doctor: 'Torchwood', which saw Captain Jack Harkness and his team defending the Earth from their secret base in Cardiff; 'The Sarah Jane Adventures', which chronicled the exploits of reporter and former-companion Sarah Jane Smith, and her gang of young adventurers; 'Class', which followed the adventures of several pupils at Coal Hill Academy; and the non-canon series 'K-9', which starred an updated version of the Doctor's favourite pet robot dog. With Russell T Davies back at the helm, we can expect more spin-offs to come...

2023 saw a trio of 60th anniversary special episodes featuring David Tennant as the Doctor, and then Ncuti Gatwa took over the title role in a Christmas special, with two new series of adventures to follow. With Disney+ now owning the streaming rights across the world, the future certainly looks good for 'Doctor Who'!

The Doctors:

The Stories:

The 'Classic' Series (Doctors #1-8):

The First Doctor - Pre-Season 1 Stories
The First Doctor - Seasons 1-4
The Second Doctor - Seasons 4-6b
The Third Doctor - Seasons 7-11
The Fourth Doctor - Seasons 12-18
The Fifth Doctor - Seasons 19-21
The Sixth Doctor - Seasons 21-23a
The Seventh Doctor - Seasons 24-26a
The Seventh Doctor - Virgin 'New Adventures' Novels Seasons 1-8
The Eighth Doctor - The Television Movie / Early Stories
The Eighth Doctor - BBC Novels Seasons 1-9
The Eighth Doctor - Audio Adventures Seasons 1-15
The Eighth Doctor - The Time War

The 'New' Series (War Doctor / Doctors #9-15):

The War Doctor - The Time War
The Ninth Doctor - Series 1 [Season 27]
The Tenth Doctor - Series 2-4 & Specials[Seasons 28-30]
The Eleventh Doctor - Series 5-7 & Specials [Seasons 31-33]
The Twelfth Doctor - Series 8-10 & Specials [Seasons 34-36]
The Thirteenth Doctor - Series 11-13 & Specials [Seasons 37-39]
The Fourteenth Doctor - Specials
The Fifteenth Doctor - Series 1-2 & Specials [Seasons 40-41]

The Fugitive Doctor - Stories
The Valeyard - Stories
Future Doctor Stories

Miscellaneous Stories: Films, Stageplays, Companions and Associates, Alternate Doctors, etc.

Miscellaneous Stuff:

'Doctor Who' News Page


My visit to the BBC Cardiff 'Doctor Who' and 'Torchwood' sets in June 2007

Meeting the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith in 2010

'Doctor Who' locations in Central Park, New York - from my trip to NYC in August 2018

'Doctor Who: Edits of Evil' - a mini-episode I made for the BBC VT Christmas Tape in 1997

Releated Series Guides:

'Torchwood' Episode Guide
'The Sarah Jane Adventures' Episode Guide
'Class' Episode Guide
'K-9' Episode Guide

Back to the Databanks Main Page -
where you'll find guides to some of the best cult and classic science fiction and telefantasy programmes ever transmitted!


*(Key to Stories:)

Stories are grouped under each Doctor, and then listed in seasons. Stories that fall outside of established seasons have been grouped under separate season codes (eg 6a, 23a, etc.). Executive Producer / writer Russell T. Davies has stated that the 'New' series began with 'Season 1', as shown on BBC paperwork; my timelines use this numbering convention, and also continue the numbering from the original 'Classic' series to acknowledge the history of the show (so 'Season 1' = 'Season 27', etc.).

All televised stories were originally transmitted on BBC 1, and given a production story code for internal reference. The 'Classic' series (i.e. Seasons 1 to 26) comprised of 25 minute episodes, apart from 'The Five Doctors', 'Resurrection of the Daleks', all of season 22, and 'The Trial of a Time Lord' Part 14. The television movie is 85 minutes long. The 'New' series episodes are usually 45 minutes long, apart from the various specials and mini-episodes, which are noted.

'Eps' denotes the number of episodes in a television or audio story.

'Format' describes the medium in which the story was originally presented:

BBC TX (BBC Television transmission - 'HD' for High Definition) BBC Radio TX (BBC Radio transmission) BBC Webcast (Downloadable episode from the offical BBC website) BBC Online (Content on the offical BBC website) BBC Interactive Game (Downloadable from the offical BBC website) BBC Red Button (Provided on the BBC interactive television service) BBC DVD / Blu-Ray (Extras on BBC releases) BBC Records / Audiobooks (Released on CD and cassette) 'Big Finish Audio' (Plays released by Big Finish Productions on CD and download) Target Books (Novelisations of broadcast stories, and original novels released by Target Books) 'New Adventures' / 'Missing Adventures' (Novels released by Virgin Books) 'Decalog' (Anthologies released by Virgin Books) 'Past Doctor Adventures' (Novels released by BBC Books) BBC Graphic Novel (Released by BBC Books) xxth 'Doctor Adventures' (Novels released by BBC Books) 'Out of the Darkness' / 'Earth and Beyond' (BBC audio anthologies released on CD and cassette) 'Radio Times' (Comic strips featured in 'The Radio Times' BBC Publication) 'Short Stories...' (Anthologies released by BBC Books) 'Short Trips...' (Anthologies released by Big Finish) Stage Play (Theatrical production)

(Notes on Canon:)

I have mainly regarded BBC-produced / approved stories as canon. Variations that I also cover include: the webcast of 'Death Comes to Time' (even though it doesn't fit into continuity!); 'A Fix With Sontarans' (although viewed as non-canon, it is referred to in the 'Fixing a Hole' short story, which is canon); 'The Pescatons' released by Argo Records; the 'Radio Times' comic strips (because they were published in a BBC publication); the BBC Novel 'Mission Impractical' and the Big Finish Audios 'The Holy Terror', and 'The Maltese Penguin' (which all feature Frobisher - a character from the 'Doctor Who Monthly' comic strips which, despite not being canon, are still regarded as an important part of 'Doctor Who' mythos); the Big Finish Audio 'The Ratings War' (featuring Beep the Meep from the 'Doctor Who Weekly' comic strip 'Star Beast'); both 1960s Dalek movies; the stageplays 'Curse of the Daleks', 'Seven Keys to Doomsday', 'Recall U.N.I.T.'; and 'The Ultimate Adventure'; 'Disney Time' (which fits in between seasons 12 and 13); 'Search Out Science'; the Comic Relief parody 'The Curse of Fatal Death' (not canon, but noted anyway 'cos it's fun!); the 'Doctor Who' games released by the BBC website and Nintendo (with the voices of Matt Smith and other members of the BBC cast); the many short scenes, stories and television appearances that feature the Eleventh Doctor; and anything else that takes my fancy.

Not included are unofficial or obviously non-canon stories, such as: comic strips published in 'TV21', 'TV Comic', 'Countdown', 'Doctor Who Weekly', 'Doctor Who Monthly', 'The Doctor Who Magazine', 'Doctor Who Adventures', 'The Incredible Hulk Presents', comic books published by IDW and Titan, plus the multitude of comic strips published in various annuals, yearbooks, storybooks and specials; charity publications such as 'Missing Pieces', 'Perfect Timing', etc.; 'Decalogs' 4-5; the first six 'Bernice Summerfield' Big Finish Audio releases (which are apocryphal in relation to the original books they dramatise); the Script Books that present BBC-rejected scripts; the many, many fan-produced videos ('Wartime', 'P.R.o.B.e.', etc.); all non-BBC / fan-produced novels, such as 'Faction Paradox' and 'Lethbridge Stewart'; the 'Downtime' and 'Shakedown' video releases, which are instead represented by the Virgin novels; 'The Ultimate Adventure' stage-play (which, despite featuring the Third and Sixth Doctors - as well as a future incarnation - can't be called canon either!); 'The Doctor Who Experience' interactive adventure; interactive plays and escape rooms; and the Puffin eBooks (because they are awful!)

Canon is always a hotly-debated subject, and these distinctions are my own opinion - as are any comments I make on my site!

Legal Bit: 'Doctor Who' is a registered trademark of BBC Worldwide. The 'Doctor Who' logo and all images from the television series are copyright BBC unless otherwise stated; no copyright infringement is intended. All specially created images and text are copyright © Clive Banks; please do not use these without my permission. All rights reserved. No profit is made from this website, and any revenue made from using the banner-links featured goes straight back into the costs of maintaining it, which comes out of my own pocket in the first place. No profit advertising is accepted. This website was created purely to entertain and amuse, and any references to persons living, dead, comatose, in suspended animation, regenerated, not born yet, or a figment of someone's imagination is purely coincidental. All opinions expressed are my own, so there...

You can buy DVDs, books, toys and much more on 'Doctor Who', 'Torchwood', 'The Sarah-Jane adventures', 'Class' and other classic shows at:

Other cool sites out there include:

The BBC's Official 'Doctor Who' website
'The Doctor Who News Page'
doctorwhotoys.net

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