Wikipedia:WikiProject Doctor Who/Episode citations

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This page describes suggested formats to be used when citing serials and episodes of the Doctor Who television programme and its spin-offs Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Class, and the one-off episode K-9 and Company. There is no need to fully understand the template syntax; pre-populated citation templates can be accessed via the navigation box below. Alternatively, the blank examples provided on this page can be copied and pasted into articles, and then completed with the relevant details as required.

Glossary

The following terms are used in citing Doctor Who related serials and episodes.

Series: The Doctor Who television programme or spin-off programmes.
Classic Series: The original broadcast run of Doctor Who, from 1963 to 1989.
New Series: The current broadcast run of Doctor Who, from 2005 to the present.
Serial: A group of episodes which together form a single story. Example: Logopolis.
Special: A serial or episode falling outside the normal production run. Examples: "The Waters of Mars", The End of Time.

Templates

Two different templates are used for the citations; "cite serial", and "cite episode".

Cite serial template

{{Cite serial}} should be used when citing a complete serial, or an individual episode from a serial. It automatically places the serial title in italics, and the episode title (if present) in quotation marks.

{{cite serial
 | title     = (For Classic Series serials, prefix the title with '"Season #."', with '#' being the season number)
 | series    =
 | episode   = (Use only when citing a single episode)
 | credits   =
 | network   =
 | station   =
 | airdate   =
 | minutes   = (Optional - omit parameter if unused)
}}

Examples:

Serial	Citation	Appears as
Revelation of the Daleks	{{cite serial \| title = ''Season 22.'' [[Revelation of the Daleks]] \| series = [[Doctor Who]] \| credits = [[Eric Saward]] (writer), [[Graeme Harper]] (director), [[John Nathan-Turner]] (producer) \| network = [[BBC]] \| station = [[BBC1]] \| airdate = 23–30 March 1985}}	Eric Saward (writer), Graeme Harper (director), John Nathan-Turner (producer) (23–30 March 1985). Season 22. Revelation of the Daleks. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
The Sensorites	{{cite serial \| title = ''Season 1.'' [[The Sensorites]] \| series = [[Doctor Who]] \| episode = Hidden Danger \| credits = [[Peter R. Newman]] (writer), [[Mervyn Pinfield]], [[Frank Cox (director)\|Frank Cox]] (directors), [[Verity Lambert]], Mervyn Pinfield (producers) \| network = [[BBC]] \| station = [[BBC1]] \| airdate = 11 July 1964 \| minutes = 12:05}}	Peter R. Newman (writer), Mervyn Pinfield, Frank Cox (directors), Verity Lambert, Mervyn Pinfield (producers) (11 July 1964). "Hidden Danger". Season 1. The Sensorites. Doctor Who. 12:05 minutes in. BBC. BBC1.

Cite episode template

{{Cite episode}} should be used when citing an episode from the New Series and spin-off programmes. It automatically places the episode title in quotation marks.

{{cite episode
 | title     =
 | series    =
 | series-no = (Omit parameter for "Specials" and the spin-off series "Class")
 | season    = (Use only when citing the Classic Series standalone episode "Mission to the Unknown")
 | number    =
 | credits   =
 | network   =
 | station   =
 | airdate   =
 | minutes   = (Optional - omit parameter if unused)
}}

Example:

Episode	Citation	Appears as
"The Idiot's Lantern"	{{cite episode \| title = [[The Idiot's Lantern]] \| series = [[Doctor Who]] \| series-no = 2 \| number = 7 \| credits = [[Mark Gatiss]] (writer), [[Euros Lyn]] (director), [[Phil Collinson]] (producer) \| network=[[BBC]] \| station = [[BBC One]] \| airdate = 27 May 2006 \| minutes = 15:23}}	Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros Lyn (director), Phil Collinson (producer) (27 May 2006). "The Idiot's Lantern". Doctor Who. Series 2. Episode 7. 15:23 minutes in. BBC. BBC One.

Parameter syntax

The contents of the template parameters should be wikilinked to existing Wikipedia articles where possible. Do not wikilink series-no, number, airdate or minutes. Unused parameters should be omitted from a template to reduce clutter, rather than being left blank.

title: The title of the serial or episode. For Classic Series serials, prefix the serial title with the season number (see season below).

series: Either "Doctor Who", "K-9 and Company", "Torchwood", "The Sarah Jane Adventures" or "Class".

season: A number signifying a single Classic Series production run, as classified by the BBC. The equivalent of the New Series series-no parameter, with seasons being identified using their own, separate numerical set. The season parameter does not function with the {{Cite serial}} template, however. To add season information to the {{Cite serial}} template, prefix the serial title in the title parameter with "Season #.", with "#" being the season number.

series-no: A number or descriptive signifying a single New Series or spin-off programme production run, as classified by the BBC. A production run may occasionally span two or more calendar years. See List of Doctor Who serials for further information. Use only with the {{Cite episode}} template. The parameter is omitted for "specials" (episodes not forming part of a standard production run), and for the spin-off series "Class", where only one series was produced.

number: Either the number of the episode by broadcast order in the production run stated in series-no, or details of a "special" episode not forming part of a standard production run. Use only with the {{Cite episode}} template. Do not use production order or code if different.

episode: Used with the {{Cite serial}} template for referencing a single episode from a serial.

credits: Usually restricted to the writer(s), directors(s) and producer(s) of a serial or episode. Enter as the individual’s name followed by the job title in parentheses.

network: The television network first broadcasting the serial or episode.

station: The television channel first broadcasting the serial or episode. As separate BBC channels did not come into existence until 20 April 1964, the station parameter should be omitted for all serials and episodes broadcast prior to that date. For episodes and serials broadcast between 20 April 1964 and 3 October 1997, enter station as "[BBC1]]". For serials and episodes broadcast from 4 October 1997 onward, enter as "[[BBC One]]" to reflect the corporate style adopted from that date. The wikilink will automatically take the reader to the correct article whichever version is used, however, rendering the use of the piped link [[BBC One|BBC1]] pointless. See Piped links: When not to use for further information.

airdate: For serials, the original transmission dates of the first and last episodes. For episodes, the original transmission date. See the section "Date formats" below for details of how airdate should be completed.

minutes: An optional parameter used to reference a specific moment in an episode. Enter as minutes and seconds, separated by a colon.

Date formats

The following date formats must be used with the parameter "airdate". Entering dates in other formats may produce a Check date values in: |date= ( help) error.

Enter single digit days without a preceding zero: 5 September 2015
Enter months as text, not a number: September
Dates in a range must be separated using the en dash (type Alt+0150): –
For date ranges falling within a single month, only enter the month and year for the date range end: 5–26 September 2015
For date ranges spanning more than one month within a single calendar year, only enter the year for the date range end: 26 September – 2 October 2015
For date ranges spanning more than one calendar year, enter the day, month and year for both the date range start and end: 21 December 2015 – 1 February 2016
Date ranges must be entered with a space preceding and following the en dash, except for date ranges falling within a single month where the spaces must be omitted.

Notable exceptions

"Mission to the Unknown" is a single, standalone episode from the Classic Series and not part of a serial. Consequently, the {{Cite episode}} template should be used with the season parameter entered as "3" and the series-no and number parameters omitted.

Shada, a Classic Series serial, was not completed or broadcast due to strike action by BBC technicians. To cite the incomplete production the {{Cite serial}} template should be used with the station and airdate parameters replaced by unformatted text stating "Untelevised. (planned airdate 19 January – 23 February 1980)".

The New Series features a number of two-part stories (example: "Daleks in Manhattan" / "Evolution of the Daleks") that are not categorised as serials because the BBC, in its production notes and programme listings, does not refer to them using an overarching story title. Consequently, to cite such a two-part story in its entirety, two immediately adjacent {{Cite episode}} templates should be used, one for each of the constituent episodes.

The BBC has produced some New Series episodes as "specials", outside of a standard production run (example: "Time Crash"). To cite them the {{Cite episode}} template should be used with the series-no parameter omitted and the number parameter completed with a hyphen followed by the broadcast year and the word "Special". E.g. " - 2007 Special". Where there is more than one non-seasonal Special in a year, each should be denoted numerically. E.g. " - 2022 Special 3".

A number of New Series episodes are categorised as seasonal specials (example: "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"). To cite them the {{Cite episode}} template should be used with the series-no parameter omitted and the number parameter completed with a hyphen followed by the broadcast year and the words "Christmas Special" or "New Year’s Day Special". E.g. " - 2011 Christmas Special", and " - 2019 New Year's Day Special".

For information, the two 1960’s Dr. Who films, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., should be cited using the {{Cite AV Media}} template. Both films are outside the scope of this article, however.