Newbies Guide to Doctor Who

Ever been lost by a Doctor Who story referencing other stories? Then this guide is here to help. It details all the background information you need in order to understand a story. It doesn't cover throwaway references to other stories, but we assume that you're smart enough to cope with those.

How does it work?

Each section tells you how to identify a story, and find its individual entry. We only cover material that is officially licensed by the relevant copyright holders, so won't be able to help you with fanfic.

What We Tell You

For each story we list the following information:

• Basic information - the title, writer, etc.
• Placement - roughly where this story fits into the Doctor's timeline.
• Links - tells you if this story is part of a story arc, is a sequel, has a sequel, or is standalone.
• Notes - Any other information (e.g. different versions or titles for the story)
• Doctor - which Doctor (or Doctors) appear in the story, with a brief description. This also notes if their appearance is only a cameo or flashback.
• Companions - which companion (or companions) appear in the story, with a brief summary of who they are.
• Recurring Characters - Other characters we've seen before with a brief biography. We also use this section for real-life historical characters, in case you don't know the relevant part of history. Appearances may be confined to a flashback or cameo.
• Recommended Viewing - Which TV stories would help you understand the plot better. Includes a brief summary of the relevant information, so you don't actually have to watch them.
• Recommended Reading - Which books or comic strips would help you understand the plot better. Includes a brief summary of the relevant information, so you don't actually have to read them.
• Recommended Listening - Which audio plays would help you understand the plot better. Includes a brief summary of the relevant information, so you don't actually have to listen to them.

The Newbies Guide assumes that you can handle throwaway references to previous adventures without having to know where they come from. After all, an awful lot of throwaway references refer to events that have yet to be chronicled. Therefore, if we don't explain a reference, then it's not important to the story. If you really want to track down every single reference, try looking at this site's Discontinuity Guide (for books, and the New Series), tetrap.com's DiscContinuity Guide (for audios) and the book The Discontinuity Guide (for Classic Series TV stories).

You visited the Whoniverse at 11:41 pm UTC on Wednesday 22nd February 2012