Canon Canon is a fan - based idea that exists in a unique way within " Doctor Who " fandom . In " theory " , it means a body of work that an established body of literature that can draw upon , but it is more commonly thought as what a fan considers what forms part of the " Doctor Who " universe , or what " really happened " . This is often a personal choice , one which is " endlessly " discussed and argued about in just about every " Doctor Who " - related forum or message board that has existed on the internet . Unlike the " Star Trek " and " Star Wars " universes , the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) has never made a pronouncement about what is or is not canon for " Doctor Who " . In August 2010 however , the BBC did make a fleeting reference to canon , in relation to their " " , stating in their press release that " Players will encounter new and original monsters , in stories which form part of the overall Doctor Who canon " . A large issue when attempting to construct a definition of canon for " Doctor Who " is that it is never finished ; " Doctor Who " has been in more or less constant production in one way or another since 1963 , what with TV stories , novelisations , novels , radio dramas , audio stories , toys , comic stories and so much more . Some fans want a complete narrative , but " Doctor Who " can never be complete . Narrative history . Canon can be defined as the cultural / narrative history of " Doctor Who , " in that everything " Doctor Who " , from the annuals to the audio stories , including their ideas and their histories , becomes part of the larger " Doctor Who " universe . Writers frequently reference or are influenced by this body of works while creating new stories . This can also be seen as continuity , which is , roughly speaking , the interconnectedness of stories and how they are referenced in each story . As a narrative history , the fact that it exists is enough to consider it canon , and elements might make their way into future productions . The Dalek spacecraft of " The Dalek Chronicles " were worked into CGI replacement shots on the DVD of " The Dalek Invasion of Earth " , and then further into television stories such as " The Parting of the Ways " . Again , this in an example of continuity within the show rather than as an established canon . Competing narratives . Throughout " Doctor Who ' s " production there have always been " competing narratives " : stories produced across several mediums that used the TV - created characters . In the 1960s and ' 70s , these took the form of short stories and comic stories produced in annuals and comic strips . In the 1980s , " Doctor Who Magazine " joined the fray with their own comic strip based stories , and , in the annuals , short fiction is also produced for the magazine . During the 1990s , " Doctor Who " as a brand shifted and fragmented with the end of television production , with multiple " Doctor Who " spin - offs produced by fans and novel series published by Virgin Books continuing the Doctor ' s travels beyond its TV realm . Concurrently , the TV series was analysed in detail , with academics unearthing long undiscovered materials about the genesis of the show . Official history of the " Doctor Who " series was greatly expanded upon within a postmodern context . In 482 , Steven Moffat made one of the first references from someone involved in the BBC Wales series on the contradictions of other media , describing the stories of Loom s and the Time Lord s of " Lungbarrow " as " a separate ( and equally valid ) continuity " . Other universes . There have been deliberate moves to create separate canons of " Doctor Who " , the earliest examples of which are the two movies of the 1960s starring Peter Cushing . " Dr . Who and the Daleks " and " Daleks ' Invasion Earth 2150 A . D . " make no effort to be a part of the " established canon " , with none of the " Doctor Who " elements , aside from the police box and the Daleks , appearing in their accepted form . These stories , however , still " exist " and have not been ignored by even the BBC , with a short story appearing in the BBC Books short story anthology " Short Trips and Side Steps " featuring Dr Who . Other examples are evidenced with an official shift in definition ; 2003 ' s " Scream of the Shalka " " was " to have been the continuation of " Doctor Who " , with Richard E Grant promoted as the " new " Ninth Doctor . The BBC ' s first edition of " " even has several pages which details the " Ninth Doctor " . But this detail was changed , and the " Shalka Doctor " shifted away from " canon " with the arrival of the new BBC Wales series in 2005 .