Then: Before Hominid Life on Earth
Approximately
the first aeon before the Common Era
The Hunters of Zerox Comic
story, published 1966 Doctor:
1
featuring
Gillian, John
Written by Roger Noel Cook.
Arbitrary
placement Takes place on
Zerox, a planet inhabited by humanoids.
Man Friday Illustrated
short story, published 1968
Doctor: 2
featuring
Jamie, Zoe
Written by the World Distributors Annual 1969 crew.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on Delffo,
inhabited by amphibious Creels and apparently silicon-based sentient creatures.
Culture Shock Comic
story, published 1988 Doctor: 7
Written by
Grant Morrison.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on an unnamed planet, with sentient
microscopic inhabitants.
He’s Behind You Illustrated
short story, published 2020 Doctor: 10
Featuring Faction Paradox, the Nestene Consciousness,
Rose, with the Draconians, the Judoon (glimpse), and theTime Lords, the Daleks,
Braxiatel (informative mention)
Written by Dave Rudden.
Informed guess Takes place at the Masque Magestrix. By the
Humanian Era, the Nestene Consciousness had been invading planets for “a
thousand million” years, which I would guess is most of the time since
Shub-Niggurath birthed it on Polymos (All-Consuming Fire). I’m placing its Time Lord trap at the Masque Magestrix near the
beginning of its career.
World Without Night Comic
story, published 1967 Doctor:
2
featuring
Polly, Ben
Written by the World Distributors Annual 1968 crew.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on a planet
inhabited by humanoids and trapped in the plot of Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short
story, Nightfall.
Surfshock Comic story, published 2016 Doctor: 12
Featuring the Macra, the Earth Reptiles, Clara
Written by Colin Bell.
Informed guess Takes place on Beachelgeuse; the Doctor dates
the earlier section as “the dawn of time”. What with geology and so on, beaches
don’t last indefinitely, so I think he is speaking figuratively. In any case, I
think this is quite early enough.
The Final Quest Comic
story, published 1979 Doctor:
4
featuring
the Sontarans
Written by Steve Moore.
Informative guess
Takes place on
Aleph-777, a planet inhabited by humanoids. I’m assuming it’s another episode
from Sontaran pre-human history, a long time before Conflict of Interests.
Race Against Time Game
book, published 1986 Doctor: 6
featuring
the Rani, Peri
Written by Pip and Jane
Baker.
Arbitrary placement
Takes place on
Pyro Shika, a planet inhabited by the cyclopean biped Shikari.
The Invention of Death Audio drama, released in 2018 Doctor: 1
Featuring Susan, Barbara, Ian
Written by John Dorney.
Arbitrary placement
Takes place on Ashtallah, a
planet inhabited by amoeba-like bipeds.
The Choice Audio
drama, released in 1999 Doctor:
0
featuring
K9 II, Romana
Written by Nigel Fairs.
Arbitrary placement Takes place in a humanoid
interstellar empire, in E-space.
Voyage to the Edge of the Universe Comic
story, published 1981 Doctor: 0
featuring
the Daemons
Written by Paul Neary.
Informed guess The Daemons had a
sophisticated civilisation when life on Earth emerged from the sea (The Daemons), say 550 million years
BCE. I suppose this story, taking place on Damos, the edge of the universe and
points between, happens a bit later.
Kiss of Life Illustrated
short story, published 2007 Doctor: 10
Featuring Martha
Written by Justin Richards.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on Geravalon, a planet inhabited
by humanoids, and, it would appear, sentient chameleonoids.
The Beginning Audio drama, released in 2013 Doctor: 1
Featuring Susan, the Time Lords
Written by Marc Platt.
Takes place on the Moon, the earlier sections some
450,000,000 years before the Common Era. Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters
establishes that the Moon is captured by the Earth’s gravitational field in the
early first deciaeon BCE, suggesting that, like Mondas, it was at some time in
the ensuing three hundred million years knocked out of orbit and, after the
Earth Reptiles had evolved, fell back into it again.
Doctor Who and The Time Witch Comic story, published 1980 Doctor: 4
featuring
K9 II, Sharon
Written by Steve Moore.
Informed guess Begins “before the Earth
was formed”, which was about 4 x 109 BCE, and ends “aeons” later,
inside a black hole.
The Boy That Time Forgot Audio drama, released in 2008 Doctor:
5
featuring
Adric, Nyssa, with Thomas (glimpse)
Written by Paul Magrs.
Takes place mostly in an isolated causality,
self-dated approximately 420,000,000 BCE. Though also in London.
The Kingdom of the Blind Illustrated
short story, published 2017 Doctor: 0
Featuring the Jagaroth
Written by Richard Dinnick.
Takes place in Jagaroth space, ending immediately before the earlier
section of City of
Death.
City of Death TV
story, broadcast 1979 Doctor: 4
Featuring Romana, the Jagaroth with Braxiatel, K9 II (informative mention)
Written by Douglas Adams and Graham
Williams, from an idea by David Fisher.
Florence was a city of northern Italy.
The Galaxy Games Comic story, published 1966 Doctor:
1
featuring
Gillian, John
Written by Roger Noel Cook.
Informed guess Takes place before Earth
qualifies for the Galaxy Games.
The Lords of Misrule Synopsis of an unmade TV story, published 1995 Doctor:
Unbound 4
featuring
Unbound K9II
Adapted by Adrian Riglesford from a story by Ted
Willis.
Arbitrary placement
Takes place on
Tetran.
Dino World Comic
story, published 2011 Doctor: 11
Featuring Amy, Rory, Professor Saurian
Written by Steve Lyons.
Takes place on Earth; partly self-dated 200,000,000 BCE. Also, briefly,
in Leadworth. One might think building an asteroid-defence system 135,000,000
years before it is needed was a bit overoptimistic, but, all credit to
Professor Saurian, in at least one version of history, it works.
Hearts of Stone Short
story, published 2003 Doctor:
5
featuring
Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Written by Steve Lyons.
arbitrary placement A Tereleptil, or a
tereleptoid creature, is, or was, present on the nameless planet where this
takes place.
Iris and the Caliphate Short
story, published 2013 Doctor: 0
Featuring Iris Wildthyme
Written by Eric Brown.
Takes place on Earth, pivotally self-dated in the Jurassic Era, and
during the existence of Brachiosaurus, which modern scholarship would place
between 155,000,000 and 150,000,000 BCE.
The Vardon Horse Illustrated
short story, published 2017 Doctor: 1
Featuring the Time Lords
Written by Richard Dinnick.
Takes place on Xeriphas, not long before Time-Flight.
Time-Flight TV
story, broadcast 1982 Doctor: 5
featuring
the Master, Nyssa, Tegan
Written by Peter Grimwade, script edited by Eric
Saward.
The earlier sections take place on Earth; dated by
the Doctor as 140,000,000 BCE. Also at London Heathrow airport.
Exploration Earth Audio drama, broadcast in 1976 Doctor:
4
featuring
Sarah Jane
Written by Bernard Venables.
Informed guess The last materialisation of
the TARDIS in this story takes place on Earth in the Cretaceous Period.
A Glitch in Time Comic
story, published 1991 Doctor: 7
featuring
Ace
Written by John Freeman.
Informed guess Takes place on Earth;
self-dated the Cretaceous Period, presumably long before Earth Reptiles
domesticated the anthropoid ancestors of Homo Sapiens.
Doctor Who and the Hell Planet Illustrated
short story, published 1976 Doctor:
4
Written
by Terrance Dicks.
Informed guess Takes place on Earth in
the reign of the dinosaurs.
The Sword of Forever Novel, published 1998 Doctor: 0
featuring
Benny
Written by Jim Mortimore.
Takes place partly on the Pangaian supercontinent
of Earth; self-dated 80,000,000 BCE. Also takes place in London, regional
England, Scotland, Paris, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kampuchea, Antioch, Antarctica and
Mars. If I follow this complex plot
correctly, the hominids appearing here are descendants of those created by the
Saviour-Benny to live backwards through time. This implies that the human race
is actually 160,000,000 years old, having lived backwards for the first half,
changed direction with the death of the last Saviour-Benny avatar, then
degenerated into arboreal mammals for almost seventy million years, before
being taken up by the Fendahl.
Ethiopia was landlocked country of
northeastern Africa, lying north of Kenya.
Antioch was a city of Syria.
Kampuchea is another name for
Cambodia.
The Doctor’s Journal Entry 2481/B-3 Illustrated vignette, published
1979 Doctor: 4
Possibly
written by Dez Skinn.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on a Vorgan Space Platform.
Twilight of the Silurians Comic
story, published 1980 Doctor: 4
featuring
the Earth Reptiles, with the Moon
(informative mention)
Written by Steve Moore.
Informed guess Takes place on Earth, just
before
The Little Planet.
Blood Heat: Prelude Illustrated
short story, published 1993 Doctor:
0
featuring
the Earth Reptiles
Written by Jim Mortimore.
Takes place on Earth, immediately before Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters..
The Little Planet Illustrated
short story, published 2010 Doctor: 0
Featuring the Earth Reptiles, with the Moon (informative mention)
Written by David Llewellyn.
Informed guess Takes place on Earth, ending during Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters.
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters Novelisation of a TV story, published 1974 Doctor: 3
featuring
Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT, Liz, the Earth
Reptiles, with the Moon, continental Europe.
Adapted by Malcolm Hulke from his own script, edited
by Terrance Dicks.
Starts on Earth, dated 100,000,000 BC. This is a
very round figure: I think it is reasonable to place it a million or so years
after NA78, on the assumption that the Earth Reptiles are descendants, or at
least successors, of the sentient velociraptors there seen. The bulk of it takes
place in Derbyshire; London is glimpsed.
The Dragons of Kekokro Illustrated
short story, published 1969 Doctor:
2
featuring
Jamie, Zoe
Written by the World Distributors Annual 1970 crew.
Informed guess Takes place on Earth. The
hominids of the Cretaceous Period, using advanced technology they seem
incapable of having developed, are probably escaped Earth Reptile livestock,
employing equipment left behind by their hibernating masters.
Finders Keepers Comic
story, published 2012 Doctor: 11
Featuring Amy or an Amy ganger, Rory (informative
mention)
Written by Eddie Robson.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on an unnamed planet inhabited by
humanoid bipeds.
Living in the Past Illustrated short story,
published 1990 Doctor:
7
featuring
Ace
Written by Andy Lane.
Takes place in Mongolia; self-dated c.75,000,000
BCE
Health & Safety Comic
story, published 2009 Doctor: 10
Written by
Christopher Cooper.
Takes place on Earth; the presence of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dates it to
67 to 66 million years BCE.
The
Adolescence of Time Audio drama, released in 2008 Doctor: 0
Featuring the Killorans, Benny
Written by Lawrence Miles.
Takes place on Earth, about 65,000,000 BCE, comparatively not long
after the impact of the space freighter from Earthshock has filled its
atmosphere with clouds of debris, causing many species to become extinct. A
species of sentient pterosaurs has evolved, independently, we may suppose, of
the Earth Reptiles, who have already been hibernating for millions of years.
Something released from the Earth’s interior turns individuals of this species
into creatures analogous to the Primords.
The Golden Hendecahedron Short
story, published 2013 Doctor: 0
Featuring Iris Wildthyme
Written by Cody Quijano-Schell.
Arbitrary placement Takes place at a temporal technology lecture,
clearly a long time before Meglos.
The Ultimate Evil Novelisation
of an unproduced TV story, published 1989
Doctor:
6
featuring
Peri, the Time Lords (informative
mention)
Adapted by Wally K Daly from his own script.
Informed guess Takes place on the planet
of Tranquela and Ameliera. The book’s opening is set when light has travelled “a
billion lifetimes”: at least 70,000,000,000 CE? The planet on which the
continents of Tranquela and Ameliera are, is on the other side of the universe;
I’ve taken the liberty of assuming that this refers to the fourth dimension as
well (and that the observable universe is meant). I am also assuming that
Tranquela/Ameliera, never actually named in itself, is Dulkis. The pacifism and
benevolent climate are similar. and the Dulcian culture as shown in TT combines
elements of Tranquelan and Amelieran culture. It is established that the Doctor
visited Dulkis before his first regeneration, with Polly and Ben (in Dream a Little Dream For Me), and I speculate that he
then met his two Tranquelan scientist friends. Of course, why should they
recognise him after his fifth regeneration? but Peri, who has never met them,
has been with him since his fifth regeneration anyway, so the problem is made
no worse in this hypothesis.
The Dominators TV
story, broadcast 1968
Doctor: 2
featuring
Jamie, Zoe, the Quarks and Dominators
Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, script
edited by Derrick Sherwin, with Terrance Dicks.
Arbitrary placement Takes place on Dulkis. It
just seems nice to make the Dominators/Quarks another very long-lived
interstellar civilisation.
Rebel Rebel
Illustrated short story,
published 2020 Doctor: 0
Featuring the Master, Chris, with the Cyberons
(glimpse)
Written by Charles Witt and Dillon O’Hara.
Arbitrary placement Takes place at the Tower.
Vignettes of an Uprising
Narrative anthology, published
2020 Doctor: 0
Featuring PROBE, Chris, with Faction Paradox
(glimpse), and Italy (informative mention)
Written by Hunter O’Connell, Gerard Power, Charles Witt and James Wylder.
Arbitrary placement Takes place variously, after Rebel, Rebel.
Lords of the
Red Planet Audio dramatization of an unproduced TV story, released 2013 Doctor: 2
Featuring Jamie, the Ice Warriors, Zoe
Adapted by John Dorney from a story by Brian Hayles.
Informed guess Takes place on Mars, long before How Do You Kill Death?.
The Space Garden Comic
story, published 1978 Doctor: 4
Written
by John Canning.
Arbitrary placement
Takes place on
a Dovan migratory space ship.
Exodus Charity short
story, published 2000 Doctor: 7
Featuring the Fendahl, Benny, with the Time Lords
(informative mention)
Written by John S Drew.
Takes place on the Fifth Planet of the Solar system during the events
leading up to its disintegration into the Asteroid Belt.
How Do You Kill Death? Charity drabble, published 1993 Doctor:
0
featuring
the Ice Warriors, the Fendahl
Written by David Tulley.
Takes place during the Fendahl’s attack on Mars
(The Ice Warriors are already sentient (descendents of Earth Reptile
colonists?) and using sonic guns), dated 12,000,000 BCE in Image of the Fendahl. When the Fendahl skull
arrives on Earth, it presumably acts on descendants of the Earth Reptiles’
hominids, now evolved back to small quadrapeds, to start restructuring them
back to humanoids.
Total Stories Considered 2977
Proportion Written By Women 11%
Top Docs
3 272 stories
4 271 stories
7 234 stories
8 208 stories
10 207 stories
11 187 stories
5 175 stories
6 164 stories
2 158 stories
1 146 stories
12 94 stories
Unbound 77 stories
9 54 stories
13 47 stories
War 45 stories
Top Twenty Recurring Elements
London 636 stories
Regional England 492 stories
UNIT 399
stories
Alastair, Kate, Kadiatu, Lucy Weston and the Lethbridge-Stewart
family 389 stories
The Time Lords 379 stories
Wales 244
stories
North America 239 stories
Torchwood 233
stories
Sarah Jane 203
stories
The Daleks and Davros 202
stories
The Master, including Missy 191
stories
Captain Jack 187
stories
The K9s 157
stories
Romana 148
stories
Ace 142
stories
Continental Europe 137 stories
Christmas 129 stories
Jo 128
stories
Benton 115
stories
Iris Wildthyme 110
stories
Top Decades
The Teens 1250 stories
The Noughties 737 stories
The Nineties 292 stories
The Twenties 269
stories
The Seventies 188
stories
The Eighties 181
stories
The Sixties 60 stories
And Top Twenty Years
2016 187 stories
2018 165 stories
2020 155 stories
2017 151
stories
2008 141
stories
2015 139
stories
2021 133
stories
2019 128
stories
2011 122 stories
2013 115 stories
2009 108
stories
2010 104
stories
2001 96 stories
2007 89
stories
2006 72
stories
2012 70 stories
1993 69
stories Climber!
2014 68
stories
2004 64
stories
2005 63 stories
Total Writers (including showrunners, script editors, anthology
linking material writers) 862
Proportion of Female Writers 16%
Top Twenty Writers
Terrance Dicks 114
stories
Russell T Davies 104
stories
James Goss 82
stories
Paul Magrs 66
stories
Steven Moffat 57
stories
Justin Richards 50 stories
Robert Holmes 45
stories
John Dorney 43 stories
Matt Fitton 42
stories
Eric Saward 42
stories Climber!
Gareth Roberts 41
stories
Eddie Robson 41 stories Climber!
Gary Russell 39
stories
Jonathan Morris 36 stories
Andrew Cartmel 35 stories
? John Canning 34
stories Climber!
Guy Adams 33
stories
David Llewellyn 32
stories Climber!
Steve Lyons 32
stories Re-entry!
Paul Cornell 31
stories =
James Hornby 31
stories =
Joseph Lidster 31
stories =
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