The Whoniverse is a British media franchise and shared universe centring on the BBC television series Doctor Who , its spin-offs [1] and other associated media. [2] [3] The shared universe nature was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters, usually deriving from the main programme. [4]
Doctor Who depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being with a human appearance. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. With various companions, they combat foes, work to save civilisations, and help people in need. Doctor Who was first broadcast in 1963 and ran for 26 seasons until 1989, returning briefly in the form of a TV film in 1996. It was later revived in 2005, when the show's newfound success led to the commissioning of several spin-offs – Torchwood (2006–11), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11) and Class (2016). Other spin-offs include the pilot K-9 and Company (1981) and non-BBC produced series K9 (2009–10).
The franchise name, a portmanteau of the words "who" and "universe", was originally used to describe Doctor Who's production and fanbase. [5] In 2023, the year of the show's sixtieth anniversary, the BBC adopted the name in an official capacity, making the Whoniverse the umbrella brand for all programmes connected to Doctor Who, including documentaries.
The majority of the Whoniverse's programmes have been commercially successful and generally received positive reviews. They have also inspired an extensive collection of book, comic and magazine publications, audio plays, films, video games, exhibitions, and stage plays.
The earliest official usage of "Whoniverse" was in the introduction to the appendices of The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 2 by Jean-Marc Lofficier published May 1981 in its hardcover edition. [6] The publicitity blurb on the back of The Second Doctor Who Quiz Book by Nigel Robinson published in December 1982 also used the term. [7] In his 1983 book Doctor Who: A Celebration; Two Decades Through Time and Space, Peter Haining called his final chapter "The Whoniverse". [5] The section assembled factual information about all the episodes to date, but also gave information about fan clubs and ancillary entertainments related to the programme. Thus, the term Whoniverse referred to everything connected with the programme behind-the-scenes. In this meaning, standing exhibitions, discussions about the filming of episodes and even the fandom itself were considered part of the "Whoniverse". The term Whoniverse is still used with this definition today, [8] [9] [10] [11] including as the name of a Doctor Who convention in Australia. [12] [13]
The term began to appear in mainstream press coverage, placing greater emphasis on it as a fictional universe, following the popular success of the 2005 Doctor Who revival and the establishment of its returning spin-offs, Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11). [14] [15]
In October 2022, it was reported that Bad Wolf Studios had filed for a new subsidiary company, run by former Doctor Who executive producer Julie Gardner and former BBC head of drama Jane Tranter, called "Whoniverse1 LTD". [16] On 17 January 2023, outlets reported that a new sign at Bad Wolf Studios possessed the tagline "Home of the Whoniverse". [17] [18]
On 30 October 2023, the BBC announced it would be using the term "Whoniverse" in an official capacity to describe all shows within the orbit of Doctor Who , and specifically their home on BBC iPlayer, including documentary programming. [19] It had previously been announced that over eight hundred previous episodes would be available to stream on BBC iPlayer. [20] A Whoniverse ident was also adopted to unify content within the Whoniverse collection. [19]
Marketed as the first Whoniverse exclusive release, Tales of the TARDIS, was released on BBC iPlayer on 1 November 2023, coinciding with the Whoniverse's launch. The six-part series features omnibus versions of classic Doctor Who stories bookended with new scenes featuring classic era Doctors and companions remembering the adventure. [21]
A new episode is expected to be released on iPlayer and broadcast on BBC Four on 20 June 2024, two days before the series 14 finale "Empire of Death", and will feature Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. [22]
No. | Title | New material directed by | New material written by | Featuring | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Earthshock | Joshua M.G. Thomas | Russell T Davies | Fifth Doctor and Tegan | 1 November 2023 |
2 | The Mind Robber | Joshua M.G. Thomas | Pete McTighe | Jamie and Zoe | 1 November 2023 |
3 | Vengeance on Varos | Joshua M.G. Thomas | Phil Ford | Sixth Doctor and Peri | 1 November 2023 |
4 | The Three Doctors | Joshua M.G. Thomas | Phil Ford | Jo and Clyde | 1 November 2023 |
5 | The Time Meddler | Joshua M.G. Thomas | Phil Ford | Vicki and Steven | 1 November 2023 |
6 | The Curse of Fenric | Joshua M.G. Thomas | Pete McTighe | Seventh Doctor and Ace | 1 November 2023 |
7 [22] | TBA | TBA | TBA | Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby | 20 June 2024 |
The Whoniverse version of Earth is referred to as Earth-5556 in the Marvel Multiverse. [23]
References to the Whoniverse appear in The Inheritance Cycle fantasy novels by Christopher Paolini. [24]
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies cast John MacKay as John Logie Baird for the episode "The Giggle" (2023), reprising the role he played in Davies' ITV series Nolly earlier in 2023. Davies joked that this casting meant that all the television series he has written are set in the same universe. [25]
There have been various Doctor Who–related exhibitions in the United Kingdom, including the now-closed exhibitions at:[ citation needed ]
Since its beginnings, Doctor Who has generated hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to collectible picture cards and postage stamps. These include board games, card games, gamebooks, computer games, roleplaying games, action figures and a pinball game. Many games have been released that feature the Daleks, including Dalek computer games.[ citation needed ]
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.
The TARDIS is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs. While a TARDIS is capable of disguising itself, the exterior appearance of the Doctor's TARDIS typically mimics a police box, an obsolete type of telephone kiosk that was once commonly seen on streets in Britain in the 1950s. Paradoxically, its interior is shown as being much larger than its exterior, commonly described as being "bigger on the inside".
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series Doctor Who and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien time traveller the Doctor while trying to break a story on a top secret research facility, and subsequently becomes his travelling companion on a series of adventures spanning the breadth of space and time. After travelling with The Doctor in four seasons of the show they suddenly part ways, and after this she continues to investigate strange goings-on back on Earth. Over time, Sarah Jane establishes herself as a committed defender of Earth from alien invasions and other threats, occasionally reuniting with The Doctor in the course of her own adventures, all the while continuing to work as a freelance investigative journalist.
Sara Kingdom is a fictional character played by Jean Marsh in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A security officer for Mavic Chen from the 40th century, she later joined the First Doctor and Steven to work against Chen's interests. She is sometimes classed as a companion of the First Doctor but the BBC's official Doctor Who website does not include her in their list of companions. Her status as a companion is commented upon in its Episode Guide.
Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Rose was introduced as a new travelling companion of the series protagonist, the Doctor, in his ninth and tenth incarnations. The companion character, intended to act as an audience surrogate, was key in the first series to introduce new viewers to the mythos of Doctor Who, which had not aired regularly since 1989. Rose became the viewers' eyes into the new world of the series, from the companion's perspective. Piper received top billing alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant for the duration of her time as a regular cast member. The character was a series regular for all of Series 1 (2005) and 2 (2006). Piper later reprised the role in a supporting capacity in Series 4 (2008) and the New Year's special "The End of Time" (2010). Piper further played a sentient weapon called the Moment, which utilises Rose's image, in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013).
The long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has since its beginnings in 1963 generated many hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to picture cards and postage stamps. This article is not an exhaustive list of merchandise but attempts to present a flavour of the type of material that has been produced. This entry mainly concentrates on "official" spin-offs, that is to say, material sanctioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation, which produces the series.
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. The character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs.
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the BBC One science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by British actor Noel Clarke and was the show's first televised black companion. The character is introduced as the ordinary, working class boyfriend of Rose Tyler, a London shopgirl who becomes a travelling companion to the Ninth and Tenth incarnations of an alien Time Lord known as the Doctor. Mickey first appears in the first episode of the 2005 revival, "Rose". Initially someone who struggles in the face of danger, Mickey nevertheless acts as an Earth-based ally to the Doctor and Rose. In the second series he joins the pair as a second companion of the Doctor's, though he leaves during the 2006 series to pursue his own adventures. He returns to aid the Doctor and Rose in the series finale later that year, and then again for the 2008 finale "Journey's End," as well as fleetingly in 2010 in the Tenth Doctor send-off "The End of Time".
"The Parting of the Ways" is the thirteenth episode and the season finale of the revived first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story. The first part, "Bad Wolf", was broadcast on 11 June.
"Army of Ghosts" is the twelfth and penultimate episode in the second series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who which was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 July 2006. It is the first episode of a two-part story; the concluding episode, "Doomsday", was first broadcast on 8 July.
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006. The two-part story features the Daleks, presumed extinct after the events of the 2005 series' finale, and the Cybermen, who appeared in a parallel universe in the 2006 episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel". Both species unexpectedly arrive on Earth at the conclusion of "Army of Ghosts".
The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doctor, the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs.
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. The show's first female black companion, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, after Rose Tyler but before Donna Noble. According to the character's creator Russell T Davies in his non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, Martha was developed from the beginning with the intention of appearing for the whole of the 2007 series, and to later make guest appearances in subsequent series and crossover appearances in the show's two spin-offs; Martha subsequently made guest appearances in Torchwood series two and in Doctor Who series four in 2008 and special episode "The End of Time" in 2010. Martha was also intended to make guest appearances in the 2009 series of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, but could not due to the actress's other work commitments.
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, or shares adventures with, the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as an audience surrogate by providing the lens through which the viewer is introduced to the story, and often, the series itself.
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, preceded by "The Stolen Earth", which aired on 28 June. At 65 minutes in length, it was approximately 20 minutes longer than a standard fourth-series episode. It marked the final regular appearances of every companion introduced in the Russell T Davies era, including Catherine Tate as Donna Noble.
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2008. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story with spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures; the concluding episode is "Journey's End", the finale of the fourth series, broadcast on 5 July.
Since the first broadcast of the British science-fiction television serial Doctor Who in 1963, there have been a number of exhibitions of props, costumes and sets relating to the show throughout the United Kingdom. Some have been intended to be permanent, and others seasonal; most have been staged at existing tourist locations. None are currently open to the public.
Also, for those who understood the reference to a 'lonely god' when Eragon and Arya are sitting around the campfire, my only excuse is that the Doctor can travel everywhere, even alternate realities. Hey, I'm a fan too!