This is a list of Doctor Who episodes in the chronological order they occur in. The Doctor Who universe comprises many television stories in related series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. The main series, Doctor Who, features a primary element of time travel, with many stories taking place on disparate dates across a wide-spanning fictional timeline.
The majority of these stories feature a renegade Time Lord, the Doctor, and various travels in the TARDIS, his time machine and spaceship. Spin-off series Torchwood occasionally delves into time travel and flashbacks, usually centred around former Doctor Who character Captain Jack Harkness, a time travelling companion of the Doctor originally from the 51st century. The Sarah Jane Adventures features Sarah Jane Smith, another of the Doctor's companions in stories taking place in a contemporary setting. The list also encompasses the singular pilot episode of K-9 and Company, a 1981 spin-off centring on robot companion K-9.
Not all of these stories have a definite date. A number of adventures in Doctor Who pertaining to the fictional UNIT organisation contain hints to various settings between the 1960s to the 1980s, with different writers suggesting different dates, and as such there is some noted controversy over their placement, testament to the significance of the series' continuity and chronology within its fandom. Other stories take place on the timeless fictional planet of Gallifrey; stories set there occur in a distinctly chronological order but may take place at any time within the universe's history. Similarly, stories set on other alien worlds, such as the fictional planet Skaro, have no distinctly recognisable chronological place within the series' timeline.
At the earlier points in the history of the universe - known as "The Dark Times", it was a smaller, more chaotic place of "blood and magic"[1]. At this time, it was home to races such the Racnoss, Nestenes, Great Vampires, Weeping Angels and Carrionites as well as beings left over from the previous universe "before time" such as The Beast.[2] Beings outside of or with control of time such as the Time Lords and Eternals also make appearances in this era.
This era sees the formation, in 1879, of the Torchwood Institute by Queen Victoria, perhaps the earliest instance of a government response to extraterrestrial and paranormal threats and to the Doctor himself. During the following years, Queen Victoria expands her organisation.[21]
The adventures that revolve around UNIT have been a highly discussed issue for decades. There is no clear evidence as to when all of these adventures took place, apart from the late 20th century (see also UNIT dating controversy). Below is a list, in order of transmission, of those adventures:
Most of the episodes in this era are set approximately a year after their airdate. The early 21st century is described by the Doctor and Jack Harkness as when the course of humanity changes.
Early March 2005[58]; The Ninth Doctor arrives in London and meets Rose Tyler. After they defeat the Nestene Consciousness and the Autons, she becomes his companion. (Rose) Elton Pope is also present at the events. (Love & Monsters)
6 September 2006[59]; The Ninth Doctor and Rose arrive in Cardiff to refuel, and prevent a Slitheen from using a nuclear power station to destroy the city. (Boom Town)
Autumn 2006[60] ; Rose is sent back to 21st century London by the Ninth Doctor for a brief period during the events on Satellite 5 in the year 200,100. (The Parting of the Ways)
24-25 December 2006[61] ; The newly-regenerated Tenth Doctor and Rose arrive back on Earth for Christmas; A Sycorax invasion ship appears over London and the doctor defeats its leader in a duel. The ship is later destroyed by Harriet Jones using a Torchwood weapon, which leads to the Doctor to sow the seeds of her demise. (The Christmas Invasion) Elton Pope is also present at the events. (Love & Monsters)
Shortly afterwards[62]; The Tenth Doctor and Rose leave Earth. (New Earth)
January 2007[63]; The Tenth Doctor and Rose meet up with Sarah Jane Smith at a school and they team up to prevent the Krillitanes from using the school to gain complete control over time and space. Mickey Smith joins the Doctor. (School Reunion)
1 February 2007 (alternate timeline)[64]; The Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey crash-land on a parallel version of Earth, meeting Rose's parallel family and foiling a plot by John Lumic to convert the world into Cybermen. Mickey stays behind. (Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel)
1 February 2007; The Tenth Doctor and Rose return to Earth to inform Jackie of Mickey's departure. (The Age of Steel)
March-April 2007[65]; After an encounter with a Hoix where he is saved by the Doctor, Elton Pope joins a group of people called LINDA obsessed with finding him. When it is taken over by a man who later reveals himself as the Abzorbaloff, the Doctor and Rose turn up to defeat it. (Love & Monsters)
Summer 2007[65]; A Dalek void ship appears in the Torchwood Institute in London, causing a breach that allows Cybermen to pass through from the parallel Earth. The Daleks and Cybermen end up fighting in a battle that destroys the Torchwood headquarters and traps Rose on the parallel Earth away from the Tenth Doctor. (Army of Ghosts and Doomsday)
Afterwards[57]; Ianto Jones is inducted into Torchwood Three, now the organisation's primary base of operations. (Fragments)
September-November 2007[65]; Gwen Cooper is inducted into Torchwood Three, and joins them in the first eight major encounters, involving a resurrection gauntlet, a sex-addicted alien, a machine that gives visions of the past, a half-Cyberwoman, malevolent fairies, cannibalistic villagers, a telepathic pendant and the resurrection of a serial killer. (Everything Changes to They Keep Killing Suzie)
The Doctor Who series gives consistent speculation into the future of the universe. By the late 21st century, humankind is able to colonize nearby planets and satellites - for example, The Wheel in Space, set near 2100, is set entirely on a scientific base in deep space. Development is implied to be continuous - Terror of the Vervoids is set in the year 2986 on the interstellar ship Hyperion III, and the events of "42" are described by the Tenth Doctor to be "half a universe [from Earth]".
Of the episodes that are set hundreds of thousands of years in the future, several are grouped together in story arcs - the arc spanning "The Long Game", "Bad Wolf", and "The Parting of the Ways" is of a strategic Dalek infiltration of Earth in the 2001st century, while "The End of the World", "New Earth", and "Gridlock" explore a dying Earth and the effects of humanity dispersing and interbreeding across the universe.
Even among episodes that do not share a common story arc, there are general trends in each time period. Episodes ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years in the future reveal at least four successive "Great and Bountiful Human Empires" which span multiple galaxies. Episodes taking place millions of years in the future all show that humanity has abandoned a dying Earth for other planets.
According to the Doctor, no Time Lord has ever travelled this far in time. It is during this time period that the current universe comes to an end; all the stars have burnt out and humanity slowly evolves onward to a cannibalistic species. The Doctor says that humans pass through many forms in their long evolution, frequently returning to the form of contemporary humanity, which exists once again in this time period. Reference is made to the existence of a post-stellar cosmology that involves "dark matter reefs". Finally, reality is "collapsing", although what that implies is never made clear.
Many of the stories and episodes do not give sufficient information to determine at what date they were set, though they can often be seen to be set at some period in the future.
The TARDIS' nature as a time travel machine makes it impossible to definitively date such adventures set solely in the ship to a certain date and locale - however, all three adventures occur while the ship is in transit between two specifically mentioned locations.
The time period in which these adventures is not specifically stated in dialogue. The television movie suggests that the fictional planet Gallifrey is set in the "Rassilon Era", while Earth is set in the "Humanian Era". Additionally, tie-in audio series suggest that the Laws of Time forbid Time Lords from travelling into either Gallifrey's past or future; however, the canonicity of these series is disputed.
Miles, Lawrence & Tat Wood, About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who — 1970–1974, Seasons 7 to 11 (New Orleans, LA: Mad Norwegian Press, 2004), ISBN0-9725959-2-9
^The dialogue description of Earth's environment is accurate not for that but for c. 4 billion BC; we may infer a decimal error occurred during the writing.
^There are a number of references in dialogue to Eldrad becoming dormant and his hand becoming embedded in Jurassic limestone 150 million years earlier.
^The date is taken from the alternative title to this story. However, according to the Out of Africa theory, humans would not be present in areas with the kind of climate shown until approximately 30,000 BC.
^The storyline is set around the Fall of Troy, which ancient Greek historians variously date happening between 1335 and 1134 BC.
^ abcdeThe year is specifically given in a caption.
^Vicki mentions that they had been in Rome for a month. The Great Fire of Rome, which started on July 18 64, is depicted at the end of this episode.
^The Doctor mentions they arrive the day before Vesuvius erupts; they leave shortly after it does so. A caption gives the final scene as "6 months later".
^The army carried by the Viking invasion fleet referred to, had its first engagement at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066.
^ abThe Time Warrior takes place during the reign of England's King Richard I. The Crusade takes place when the King was in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade (he arrived 8 June 1191), but before the settlement between Richard and Saladin, which was reached on 2 September 1192.
^The Doctor deduces that the purported King John is an imposter as the real king was in London on 4 March 1215 taking the Crusader's Oath.
^The Doctor says that Inspector McKenzie was sent to the area in 1881, to which Ace exclaims that that was two years ago.
^The storyline is set in the reign of the UK's Queen Victoria, which ended 22 January 1901. Casey wonders if the missing women mean that 'Jolly Jack' - i.e. Jack the Ripper - is back, the first killings for which the newspapers used that name for the killer occurring in late 1888.
^On Jack's first meeting with the then Torchwood he is aware of his immortality that he told the Doctor (in Utopia) he discovered in 1892. The girl who cast Jack's fortune told him that the century would turn twice before he'd meet the Doctor again, implying it was no later than 1900. The episode is probably set nearer the end of this time period as Jack asks what he would do for 100 years and Alex in 1999 spoke of Jack having 100 years of service as a field agent.
^The storyline is set in the reign of the UK's King Edward VII, which commenced 22 January 1901, and Colonel Skinsale refers to his feeling uneasy in the presence of Lord Salisbury, who died on 22 August 1903.
^Martha gives John Smith a paper with the date November 10 1913. The episodes comprise a two-part storyline taking place over at least three days (other than flashbacks and visions of the future).
^The scene is set (as a voiceover states) on the Western Front in World War I.
^In The Web of Fear, Anne Travers, Professor Traver's daughter, states her father's expedition was in 1935. The Monk Thomni states that the Holy Ghana was taken in 1630, which was 300 years earlier. The Doctor later gives the same lapse of time.
^The episodes comprise a two-part storyline. In Everything Changes it is stated that Jack disappeared on 21 January.
^Seeing the women wearing headphones in the deciphering room, Ace remarks that she didn't know they had personal stereos in 1943.
^The episode takes place on the eve and on the day of the coronation of Elizabeth II.
^Remembrance of the Daleks, which is set shortly after the events of An Unearthly Child, has a calendar visible showing the month as November 1963. (An in-joke reference is made to the premiere of a BBC TV programme which, from context, may be inferred to be Doctor Who itself, which first aired on 23 November 1963.)
^ abcdefghijkNo date stated in the storyline. However, from general appearance it was apparently intended to be contemporaneous and therefore year given is that of initial transmission.
^Ben states in The Faceless Ones that the date of that storyline is the same date as when he and Polly joined the Tardis.
^The storyline starts directly after the events of The Faceless Ones.
^The episode takes place when gas is being supplied to England from the North Sea, which commenced in 1967, but before decimalisation in the UK.
^Polly shows the Doctor a faux Aztec piece that reads "Mexico Olympiad" on it. Zaroff was reported kidnapped and killed 20 years earlier, causing the West and East to blame each other - the Cold War ended in the early 1990s.
^Mrs Tyler refers to it being Lammas Eve, the festival of Lammas being celebrated on 1 August.
^ The Doctor momentarily takes Sarah Jane specifically to an alternate 1980 (which he states is her "present" year) Earth, an Earth which Sutekh became free to destroy beginning in 1911
^No date stated in the storyline. However, the Gaztaks - who do not appear to have time travel capabilities - kidnap an ordinary Earth man who appears to be contemporaneous, and therefore year given is that of initial transmission.
^The storline begins on Tegan's first day at work as an airline hostess. In Four to Doomsday, the Doctor is attempting to get her to that day on time and sets temporal coordinates for 28 February 1981.
^The storyline ends on Christmas Day. K-9 gives the date at one point as 22 December, and the story starts three days earlier. K-9 also stated that the Doctor left him on Earth for Sarah Jane in 1978, and Aune Lavinia says that she has been keeping the crate for Sarah-Jane to open for three years.
^ abThe contemporary events of Time-Flight must take place before those of Arc of Infinity, as in the latter Tegan references the Doctor leaving her behind at the end of the former.
^The Doctor checks the transmat capsule's controls and confirms it had just arrived from Earth, 1983.
^The Doctor shows Polly a calendar in the Tracking Room that shows it is December 1986.
^ abcdThe flashbacks showing Tosh, Ianto and Owen's inductions into Torchwood are preceded by captions giving the length of time from those events to those in Fragments. Ianto's is '21 months earlier', during which he refers to the events of Doomsday. Also, he must have joined before Everything Changes. This places Fragments in Spring 2009. Tosh and Owen's inductions are 5 and 4 years earlier, respectively. Tosh and Owen state that he had been in Torchwood for 2 weeks when the 'space pig' incident occured, which was in Aliens of London. The events of Exit Wounds follow immediately on those of Fragments, and together both episodes take place over two days. Note that Jack tells the 1901 Torchwood to set the timer to keep him frozen for 107 years, implying he awoke no later than 31 December 2008. However, we can posit approximation, misappreciation of the then date or poor arithmetic due to his ordeal.
^ abThe 'have you seen this girl' posters in Aliens of London say that Rose went missing 6 March 2005. Both the Doctor and Mickey say that she has been gone a whole year. Each storyline takes place over a few days. Elton has a flashback to both stories' events in Love & Monsters.
^Six months after "World War Three", as stated in a caption at the beginning of the episode, which is set over a day.
^The contemporary scenes take place after the events of "Boom Town" - Rose says to Mickey "the last time I saw you, with the Slitheen, this middle bit opened" - but before those of "The Christmas Invasion", as Jackie (on hearing the Tardis) says 'she's alive, Mickey! I said so, didn't I? She's alive!' And the Doctor has regenerated.
^ abcThe Christmas Invasion is after Aliens of London, as Jackie knows about the Doctor whom she first met in the latter episode. Wilf, in Voyage of the Damned, which is set at Christmas, states that the events of the Christmas Invasion happened 'the Christmas before last', and that the events of The Runaway Bride happened 'last year'. The events of To the Last Man and of Adrift both take place before March 2009, and the events of both episodes are after The Sound of Drums, which itself is after Runaway Bride. Therefore the latter must be set at either Christmas 2007 or Christmas 2008. However, if it is the latter, then Christmas Invasion would be set at Christmas 2007, and as the events of Sound of Drums are at least 18 months later, the latter episode would be set after May 2009, which is incompatible with it being set before March of that year. Therefore Runaway Bride is set at Christmas 2007 (specifically Christmas Eve, as stated in dialogue), with Christmas Invasion being a year earlier and Voyage of the Damned a year later (both specifically 24-25 December, as stated in dialogue) . Elton has a flashback to the events of Christmas Invasion in Love & Monsters.
^Rose says goodbye to Jackie and Mickey, presumably shortly after Christmas, as when on New Earth, Rose says "you're so different", the Doctor responding "new, new Doctor".
^In School Reunion, Sarah Jane refers to the events of "The Christmas Invasion" as taking place at the Christmas just gone. Children are back at school, so in the New Year. Mickey is present, so before his relocation to the alternative universe in Age of Steel. That happened prior to Love & Monsters as Jackie tells Elton that Mickey had 'gone now. Bless him.' When the Doctor returns Rose to Jackie's flat in The Age of Steel she asks 'where's Mickey', not 'do you know where Mickey is', implying she knows he has started travelling with them, which was in School Reunion.
^"The episodes comprise a two-part storyline set on 1 February (stated a number of times in dialogue) and Mickey says the date of the newspaper he found is 'this year'. (Note: the story is set on the alternate Jackie Tyler's supposed 39th (actually 40th) birthday. Her official biography states that she was born on the same day as Cuba Gooding, Jr., though the real-life individual was actually born on 2 January 1968.)
^ abcdIn Love & Monsters, Elton specifically states Kennedy's arrival to a "Tuesday night in March". He met Ursula after The Christmas Invasion, and the presence of Jackie makes this before her relocation to the alternative universe in Doomsday. The latter episode events are referenced by the Doctor in The Runaway Bride. So both are in 2007. (Army of Ghosts and Doomsday takes place over a day. Love & Monsters over several weeks, and the flashbacks to the Hoix are in this period.) In Everything Changes, Jack references the events of Doomsday. In They Keep Killing Suzie he tells Suzie she's been dead 3 months. All episodes take place before Out of Time. Diane flew into the rift at the end of that episode, which Owen says (in End of Days) happened on 24 December (and Ianto tells Owen that he only knew Diane for a week). The episode takes place before The Sound of Drums, so this is Christmas 2007. (Note: Although Diane gives the date 18 December 1953 as 'today's date' at the beginning of the episode, there is nothing that implies a whole number of years has passed.) So Doomsday must be over three months prior to Christmas, but after March, placing it in the summer.
^Flashbacks to when Donna meets Lance (which she states was 6 months before the episode), joking with him on stairs and asking him to marry her (three times).
^The episode's final scene was introduced by a "One Year Later" caption on broadcast, but not on the DVD release.
^ abBoth PC Andy and various posters said that Jonah was born on 15 February 1993. Gwen twice said he was 15 when he disappeared. According to PC Andy, Jonah had been missing 7 months and 11 days. Therefore the teaser would be no earlier than 15 February 2008 and the main part of the episode would be on or after 26 September 2008. Gwen said she was looking for a 15-year old when going into the adult Jonah's room, which dates that event to no later than 14 February 2009. (Subsequent to that scene there was a 'One Week Later' caption, making the end of the episode no later than 21 February 2009.) A poster states that the first Searchlight meeting was on Mon 27, so that event is no later than 27 January 2009, which means the teaser can be no later than 16 June 2008. Note: the only Mon 27 within the period in real life is in October. However, days fall on different dates in the Doctor Who universe (see Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness for examples).
^According to PC Andy, Jack appeared at the scene one hour after Jonah went missing in the Adrift teaser, which itself is before The Sound of Drums, in which episode Jack returns. Therefore the teaser must be before Jack goes missing in End of Days, which episode follows directly on from Captain Jack Harkness. Note A "MISSING" poster on the Torchwood website states Jack was last seen in "Early February", but this is incompatible with dating information given in the program itself.
^ abcdIn The Sound of Drums (SoD), Vivienne Rook says that Saxon became real 18 months ago just after the downfall of Harriett Jones, which would be shortly after The Christmas Invasion. Therefore SoD is no earlier than 25 June 2008. Martha says that it is the day after the election, which is four days after she met the Doctor. In The Lazarus Experiment, the Doctor says it is the morning after they left. In 42, Francine states it is Election Day. SoD (and Last of the Timelords (LotT), after time is reset) is set over 2 days. There is no information in LotT as to the length of time between the final Valiant scenes, Jack’s departure and Martha’s departure, though Tom Milligan takes Martha's phone call standing in front of a whiteboard recording monthly achievements against targets, which is completed up to October. SoD is before To the Last Man. That episode spans two days, starting on the 20th, as given by both Jack and Tosh’s calendars. Owen says Tommy is awoken every 12 months or so, but this is the first time since Gwen joined Torchwood in Everything Changes, which was no later than 17 September 2007. Note: The calendars say Friday the 20th, the only one of which in 2008 in real-life is in June. However, days fall on different dates in the Doctor Who universe (see Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness for examples).
^The episodes are set before the main part of "Adrift", which itself must be before 14 February 2009.
^Sarah Jane gives the date of "Invasion of the Bane" to at least eighteen months after "School Reunion". Maria's alarm clock says January 11 in Invasion of the Bane. "Jay and Heidi" say that "Ashley" (Luke) has been missing for 5 months, and Luke was "born" in IotB.
^Donna refers to the events of "Voyage of the Damned".
^Undated, but placed after The Poison Sky on the basis that character appearances are in timeline order unless otherwise stated (and we can assume the Doctor would minise the risk of time paradoxes).
^A caption on screen gives this as one year later. At the end, the paradox is broken, negating the timeline in which the episode is set.
^Pete Tyler says that it took the Cybermen three years to infiltrate the parallel Torchwood and traverse the void.
^At the end of the episode, the Doctor expels Adam Mitchell from the TARDIS into his own time.
^ The episode depicts the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, currently planned for 27 July 2012.
^The alternate future timeline is negated by the events of the storyline.
^The Doctor says that Paradise Towers "won all sorts of awards back in the 21st century".
^ abRose initially asks to go forward 100 years, but when they arrive the Doctor says that it is boring and moves to 10,000 years in the future, when he says the New Roman Empire is outside the doors.
^The Doctor claims to be from Galactic Salvage, but Rigg points out that that was liquidated twenty years earlier in 2096.
^The Doctor finds a 2164 calendar in an abandoned warehouse.
^Romana says the Argolin-Foamasi war was in 2250. Brock says there have been forty years of tachyonics science, the development of which Pangol says was a direct result of the war.
^The Doctor says it is 400 years since the last landing (in The Stones of Blood).
^The Valyard gives the date as "twenty-fourth century, last quarter, fourth
year, seventh month, third day". The 24th Century will start in 2301, so the last quarter's first year will be 2376.
^Jane Leeson tears off the top sheet of a day-by-day calendar, which showed the day before was 2 March 2472.
^Vicky says that she and her father left Earth in 2493.
^ abThe Doctor and Taron both refer to the events of The Daleks, which Vaber says happened generations ago. However, the Doctor also refers to the Daleks' activities as part of the same plan they were conducting in the immediately preceding storyline, Frontier in Space.
^The Cyber Controller and the Doctor reference the events of The Moonbase and the latter says the Cybermen have been frozen for five centuries.
^The episodes form a two-part storyline. The Ood, according to Halpen in Planet of the Ood were enslaved 200 years before that episode, in which they were freed.
^Jack Harkness' childhood. We know as an adult he served for the Time Agency in the year 5094.
^In The Dalek Invasion of Earth Ian refers to the events of this episode, which the Doctor says is "a million years ahead of us in the future".
^The desciption of the colonists etc match those in The Ark, though at least 40 years must have passed (Range says the colonists spent ten years filling the wreck of their ship with food followed by thirty years bombardment).
^The events of this storyline must have occurred before those of Logopolis, as Nyssa's home planet of Traken was destroyed in the latter storyline. How much before is unclear.
^Bogon was from ancient Athens and said he'd been on the ship for 2,000 years.
^ abMonster of Peladon is a sequel to Curse, and there are various references to it taking place 50 years later.
^Although Donna recognised '60120724' as the date, the Doctor said that it was the New Byzantine calendar. The equivalent date in the Gregorian calendar is unknown.
^ abThis refers to the tenth doctor placement. Fifth doctor placement is unknown.
