Then Again: The Thirtieth Century

 

Space War Two   Comic story, published 1967                                            Doctor: 2

featuring Gillian, John

Written by Roger Noel Cook

Informed guess Takes place on Verno; self-dated the Thirtieth century CE.

The Ward   Audio drama, released 2017                                                 Doctor: 0

Featuring Guardian technology

Written by Simon Guerrier.

Arbitrary placement Takes place in Space Dock

Caveat Emptor   Charity short story, published 1998                                Doctor: 7

featuring the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Ice Warriors, the Rutan (glimpse)

Written by Susannah Tiller.

Informed guess It seems unlikely that this takes place after the Earth’s final destruction at the beginning of the sixth aeon, given so many familiar faces in the audience. I’m guessing that the auctioneers have acquired the last human from the far future and are auctioning it at a time of strong anti-Tellurian sentiment throughout the galaxy, quite possibly at the height of the First Empire.                 

Room For Improvement   Short story, published 2007                          Doctor: 1

featuring Ian, and Susan, Barbara (informative mention)

Written by James A Moore.

Takes place in Prague; self-dated November 2908 CE. Presumably there is no Overcity above Prague.

Minor Trouble, Inhuman Sacrifice and Crimes and Punishment

Comic story, published 2007             Doctor: 10

Featuring Martha

Written by Claire Lister.

Informed guess Takes place on Dewyn. A theme park devoted to Earth’s mythology suggests the excesses of the First Empire, as does the vindictiveness of the Chiffala.

The Hungry Planet   Comic story, published 1973                                   Doctor: 3

Written by an anonymous Polystyle writer.

Informed guess Takes place in Tellurian space; self-dated the thirtieth century CE.

The Dust of Ages   Gamebook, published 2009                                  Doctor: 10

Written by Justin Richards.

Informed guess Takes place on the Moon and Karagula; pivotally self-dated the thirtieth century CE.

The Graves of Mordane   Gamebook, published 2009                   Doctor: 10

Written by Colin Brake.

Informed guess Takes place on the Moon, Mordane and Karagula, immediately after The Dust of Ages.

The Colour of Darkness   Gamebook, published 2009                   Doctor: 10

Written by Richard Dungworth.

Informed guess Takes place on Karagula, immediately after The Graves of Mordane.

The Depths of Despair   Gamebook, published 2009                     Doctor: 10

Written by Justin Richards.

Informed guess Takes place on Flydon Maxima, immediately after The Colour of Darkness.

Zygon Hunt   Audio drama, released 2014                                            Doctor: 4

Featuring Zygons,  Leela

Written by Nicholas Briggs.

Informed guess Takes place on Garros, “a thousand years” after Terror of the Zygons.

Ball-Pit Beast   Comic story, published 2014                                             Doctor: 11

Featuring Clara

Written by Glen Dakin.

Takes place on the Drop Zone Asteroid; self-dated 2936 CE.

The Planet of Oblivion   Gamebook, published 2009                     Doctor: 10

Written by Justin Richards.

Informed guess Takes place on Ursulonamex. The chronology of The Darksmith Legacy is not easy to construct, but this seems to take place soon after The Depths of Despair.

The End of Now   Short story, published 2007                                          Doctor: 4

featuring Romana

Written by Chris Roberson.

Informed guess Takes place in Prague; self-dated the thirtieth century CE.

The Klepton Parasites   Comic story, published 1965                             Doctor: 1

featuring the Kleptons, Gillian, John

Illustrated ?and written by Neville Main.

Informed guess Takes place on the planet of the Thains; self-dated the thirtieth century CE. Gillian and John leave linear time, being aboard the TARDIS when it dematerialises (apparently as a result of John pushing a random button on the console).

A Good Life    Short story, published 2003                                                Doctor: 8

featuring Charley

Written by Simon Guerrier.

Takes place on a vast Tellurian colony ship, many generations after it left the Solar System. Its inhabitants are seeking to keep well away from an interstellar war, the implication being that Tellurians are causing the war, so I have placed it during the Imperial Wars of Acquisition.

Independence Day   Novel, published 2000                               Doctor: 7

featuring Ace, and the Sontarans (informative mention)

Written by Peter Darvill-Evans.

Takes place in the Mendeb system; dated 2950 CE by Parkin in Ahistory.

Master   Audio drama, released 2003                                                    Doctor: 7

featuring the Time Lords, the Master, Death

Written by Joseph Lidster.

Takes place in Perfugium; dated 2950 CE by Parkin in Ahistory.

Daleks Invade Zaos   Illustrated short story, published 1967                  Doctor: 1

featuring the Daleks

Written anonymously.

Informed guess Takes place on Zaos; plausibly as the opening to the Tellurian-Dalek conflict described in We Are the Daleks!. This is normally described as a story of the second Doctor; but close examination of the illustrations in Doctor Who’s Space Adventure Book, in which it appeared, particularly that on page 3, surely demonstrates that this is the first Doctor before his hair went white. He wears 1’s Victorian neckware, and though he also wears 2’s Jacobean tall hat, 1 must have worn this at some stage for 2 to be able to find it on the TARDIS.

Sky Manor   Comic story, published 2016                                                   Doctor: 12

Written by Keiron Moore.

Informed guess Takes place on New Belgravia, a planet ruled by a Tellurian aristocrat, which is compatible with the first empire. By the system described in Original Sin, Lord Eskdale would be an Imperial Marquess.

War of the Robots   Gamebook, published 2007                                Doctor: 10

Featuring Martha

Written by Trevor Baxendale.

Informed guess Takes place on a planet populated by robots, which have been fighting for many centuries.

Dark Time   Charity short story, published 2001                                        Doctor: 7

featuring Ace

Written by John Smith.

Takes place in Tellurian space; self-dated 2957 CE.

Inter-Galactic CAT   Illustrated short story, published 1981                     Doctor: 4

featuring Adric, K9 III

Written by the World Distributors 1982 Annual crew.

Takes place in Earth orbit; self-dated 2957 CE.

If You Go Down To The Woods Today  Comic story, published 2011  Doctor: 11

Featuring Amy, Rory

Written by Christopher Cooper.

Informed guess Takes place on Floriosophon Fidestra, evidently on the fringes of Tellurian space.

The Guardians of Prophecy   Audio adaptation of an unproduced TV story, released 2012                                                                                              Doctor: 6

Featuring Peri

Adapted by Jonathan Morris from a story by Johnny Byrne.

Takes place on Serenity, “a thousand years” after the destruction of the Union of Traken. 

Toothache   Comic story, published 2013                                                  Doctor: 11

Featuring Decky Flamboon

Written by James Hill.

Informed guess Takes place at an interstellar medical facility; self-dated the thirtieth century CE.

The Kingdom Builders   Comic story, published 1971                             Doctor: 3

Written by Alan Fennell.

Takes place on Earth, in presumably the sub-Overcities, where the two kingdoms concerned presumably exist on the anarchic surface of the planet, in the shadow of the Overcities (though these are not shown in John Canning’s illustrations). Self-dated 2971 CE. Incidentally, this is the last we hear of Henderson’s time machine; it’s entirely possible that once the TARDIS is functional again, the Doctor has a quiet word with the Time Lords about it.

Grimm Reality, or, the Marvellous Adventures of Doctor Know-It-All

Novel, published 2001                                                                                   Doctor: 8

Featuring the remembered Fitz, Anji

Written by Simon Bucher-Jones and Kelly Hale.

Informed guess Takes place on Albert; self-dated some eighty years after the two hundred and ninetieth decade CE.

Original Sin   Novel, published 1995                                                 Doctor: 7

featuring Tobias Vaughan, Benny, Ros, Chris, with the Time Lords, the Zygons, Tegan (informative mention)

Written by Andy Lane.

Takes place in and under Spaceport Five; dated 2975 CE by Parkin in Ahistory. Chris leaves linear time, being aboard the TARDIS when it dematerialises. So is Roz, but left linear time as a younger woman in Oblivion, although she doesn’t remember it. Vaughan says the Zygons tried to flood the Earth in 2765 CE: it is unclear whether these were extraterrestrial Zygons, or Zygons concealed in the Tellurian population (The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion).

A Star is Reborn   Short story, published 2004                                         Doctor: 6

featuring Peri

Written by Richard Salter.

Informed guess Takes place on Bryce’s Asteroid (which actually seems to be a moon of Bryce); a reference to beppling suggests it is around the same time as Original Sin.

Making History   Short story, published 2005                                          Doctor: 1

featuring Steven

Written by Trevor Baxendale.

Takes place on a Tellurian diplomatic mission in space; self-dated 2978 CE.

Interstellar Overdrive   Comic story, published 2006                            Doctor: 10

Featuring Rose

Written by Jonathan Morris.

Informed guess Takes place in Tellurian space; self-dated 3000 AD-ish.

Interstitial   Audio drama, released 2019                                              Doctor: 5

Featuring Nyssa, Tegan, Marc

Written by Carl Rowens.

Informed guess Takes place on the space station Proxima, in the thirtieth century CE, some time after July 2978 CE.

So Vile a Sin   Novel, published 1997                                                 Doctor: 7

featuring Roz, Chris, the Forrester family, with the Earth Reptiles, the Ogrons, Allen Road, Benny, Kadiatu (glimpse), and the Time Lords, the Vampires, UNIT (informative mention)

Written by Ben Aaronovitch and Kate Orman.

Takes place in Tellurian space, including the outer Solar System; ends in September 2983 CE.

Genetics of the Daleks   Audio drama, released 2020                    Doctor: 4

Featuring the Daleks

Written by Jonathan Morris.

Takes place in Tellurian space; self-dated May 2985 CE. The Dalek is from the Restoration Empire, far in the future.

Doctor Who - Terror of the Vervoids   Novelisation of a TV story, published 1988                                                                                                    Doctor: 6        

featuring the Time Lords, the Valeyard, Mel

Adapted by Pip and Jane Baker from their own script, edited by Eric Saward.

Takes place in Tellurian space; self-dated April 2986 CE.

Dependence Day   Short story, published 1997                                        Doctor: 0

featuring the Forrester Family

Written by Andy Lane and Justin Richards.

Takes place on Earth; self-dated five years after the overthrow of Emperor Wahid in So Vile A Sin. Earth’s desperate state, as described, seems surprising: it seems likely that some settlements, with scientific leadership, as suggested in Men of the Earth and The Ice Warriors, had retained a higher levels of civilisation but were not drawing attention to themselves, given the anarchy elsewhere.

The Mutants   TV story, broadcast 1972                                            Doctor: 3

featuring Jo, and the Time Lords (informative mention)

Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, script edited by Terrance Dicks.

Takes place above and on Solos; dated as 2990 CE by Parkin in Ahistory.

The Fall of Yquatine   Novel, published 2000                            Doctor: 8

Featuring Compassion, the remembered Fitz, with the Daleks, the Krotons (informative mention)

Written by Nick Walters.

Takes place in the Minerva system; self-dated 2992 CE.

Black Dog   Audio short story, released 2015.                                            Doctor: 4

Featuring Leela

Written by Dale Smith.

Informed guess Takes place on Canus Alpha. The Earth Empire is granting it independence, suggesting a time near The Mutants.

Men of the Earth   Short story, published 2007                                       Doctor: 5

featuring Nyssa, Tegan and probably the Earth Inorganics

Written by Kevin Killiany.

Takes place beneath Prague; probably not long before The Ice Warriors.

 

Quintet (1979) offers a helpful glimpse of the evidently very brief Second Ice Age seen in The Ice Warriors.

 

By this time, there is plenty of evidence that Tellurian lifespans can be extended considerably, and that there are technologically enhanced reproduction options. Nonetheless, I would imagine that some Tellurian populations are existing with minimal technological support, and these follow the unmodified reproductive pattern of approximately four generations a century. On this basis, I suggest that the end of the third millennium CE is approximately forty generations into the future.

 

 

 

Total Stories Considered             5281

Proportion Written By Women  11%                                       

 

Top Docs

4                 436 stories                   

7                 425 stories 

8                 363 stories 

11               352 stories 

10               351 stories Climber!

3                 348 stories

5                 325 stories         

6                 316 stories    

1                 309 stories 

2                 271 stories         

12               157 stories

Unbound  116 stories

9                 86 stories  

13               67 stories           

War           47 stories                     

 

 

Top Twenty Recurring Elements

 

London                                                              1143 stories                

Regional England                                            805 stories

The Time Lords                                               488 stories

UNIT                                                                  466 stories  

Alastair, Kate, Kadiatu, Lucy Weston and the Lethbridge-Stewart family                                                                            460 stories  

Continental Europe                                         430 stories 

North America                                                 417 stories  

The Daleks and Davros                                  377 stories

Benny                                                                291 stories

The Master, including Missy                          269 stories

Wales                                                                261 stories

Sarah Jane                                                        252 stories 

Torchwood                                                        252 stories  

Ace                                                                      238 stories 

The K9s                                                              223 stories  Climber! 

At Sea                                                                 222 stories

Amy and Rory                                                  212 stories

Captain Jack                                                    203 stories

Christmas                                                          192 stories

Asia                                                                     190 stories

 

 

Top Decades

 

The Teens                                                          2157 stories

The Noughties                                                  1420 stories       

The Nineties                                                      554 stories

The Twenties                                                     421 stories

The Eighties                                                      252 stories

The Seventies                                                    250 stories

The Sixties                                                         157 stories

(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde and William Hope Hodgson)                                                                                      70 stories  

 

 

And Top Twenty Years

 

2016                                                          283 stories

2018                                                          265 stories 

2020                                                          247 stories  

2015                                                          236 stories 

2017                                                           231 stories       

2008                                                          225 stories  

2011                                                          212 stories 

2013                                                          211 stories 

2009                                                          207 stories  Climber! 

2010                                                          205 stories 

2019                                                          198 stories 

2007                                                          181 stories 

2021                                                          175 stories

2001                                                          166 stories 

2014                                                          164 stories 

2012                                                          157 stories  

2006                                                          143 stories

2004                                                          140 stories

2005                                                          131 stories

1993                                                          108 stories

                            

         

 

 

 

Total Writers (including showrunners, script editors, anthology linking material writers)                                     1112

Proportion of Female Writers                17%      

 

Top Twenty Writers

 

Terrance Dicks                                       141 stories

Justin Richards                                       140 stories 

James Goss                                              134 stories   

Russell T Davies                                     118 stories  

Paul Magrs                                              96 stories  

Jonathan Morris                                     94 stories  Climber!    

Eddie Robson                                          92 stories  

Steven Moffat                                         88 stories  

David Whitaker                                      81 stories  

Terry Nation                                           74 stories  

Matt Fitton                                              72 stories  

John Dorney                                            72 stories  

Steve Lyons                                             63 stories 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle                        60 stories           

Simon Guerrier                                       60 stories   Climber!

Gareth Roberts                                       60 stories  

Stephen Cole                                           57 stories  

Eric Saward                                            57 stories

Alan Barnes                                             56 stories  

Robert Holmes                                        56 stories