Doctor Who universe The " Doctor Who " universe , sometimes abbreviated " Whoniverse " or " DWU " , is a term used by fans and , increasingly , the mainstream press . Much like the related term of canon , its scope is somewhat debated by fans . Generally speaking , the " Doctor Who " universe is the shared in which " Doctor Who " and its related spin - offs take place . Fans disagree on whether some stories and spin - offs are considered part of the " Doctor Who " universe , and some dispute the concept ' s meaning or utility altogether . However , the concept potentially includes all the TV broadcast based spin - offs , video - only release spin - offs , prose , audio and comic based spin - offs . This wiki has established rules about what is and is not part of the " Doctor Who " universe for its own purposes ( see for more information ) , but this wiki has no authority beyond its borders . Much like canon , consumers of " Doctor Who " - related media are free to decide for themselves what stories are part of the " Doctor Who " universe , or indeed , whether the concept exists at all in a meaningful fashion . Concept . The BBC has never made a definitive pronouncement on the concept of " canon " for " Doctor Who " . This is notable because in order to build a " fictional universe " , you need to have an established list of stories that act as the building blocks for that universe . " Doctor Who " has had hundreds , likely thousands , of contributors to its mythos — its universe — with each new story being a new contribution to the universe ; the world of " Doctor Who " . The actual phrase " Doctor Who universe " and " Whoniverse " are terms that are used frequently throughout in BBC publications . In many BBC publications , they have phrased the continual development of the " Doctor Who " universe in terms of " continuing adventures " rather than a prescribed universe . However , when creating their episode guide on their website the BBC republished several analyses from " The Television Companion " , several of which mentioned the concept of a " Doctor Who universe " . In discussing " The Ribos Operation " , it is stated that the establishment of the Black and White Guardian s form important new characters within the " Doctor Who universe , " while in the episode guide for " The Celestial Toymaker " , " the Celestial Toymaker ' s greatest legacy to the Doctor Who universe " is mentioned . It is this term and the idea of " legacy " and " mythos " where much of the idea of a " Doctor Who universe " continues development . An event at its earliest development , " Doctor Who " was never limited to TV and never had a prescribed canon ; it is a broad universe of adventures . History . The term " Whoniverse " dates at least as far back as Peter Haining ' s 1983 reference book , " " . At that time , the Whoniverse had a very broad meaning , which included not just the setting of " Doctor Who " stories , but everything about the series , including behind - the - scenes information and fandom itself . " Whoniverse " gradually became a more specific term . Initially , it served to indicate that the " Doctor Who " stories told in other media were part of the same universe as those told on television . This came to have greater importance in the media and to new fans who were approaching " Doctor Who " through TV - based series such as " Torchwood " , " The Sarah Jane Adventures , K9 and Class " One shared universe . The " Doctor Who " universe is the shared universe created and collected from the stories that are told about it . With the return of " Doctor Who " on television in 2005 , it began to include references to past stories , tying together various series of various media together into a single universe . Series 1 of " Doctor Who " included references to the planet Lucifer , kronkburger s and Justicia , and series 5 revealed that Winston Churchill had met the Doctor before " Victory of the Daleks " , while the Slitheen - Blathereen family , descendants of the Blathereen , appeared in series 3 of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " , all hinting that non - televised " Doctor Who " stories might take place in the " official " " Doctor Who " universe . Martha Jones ' s employment by UNIT was first mentioned in the " Torchwood " episode " Reset " , in which she appeared , and " The Sontaran Stratagem " / " The Poison Sky " had a semi - sequel in the form of the " The Sarah Jane Adventures " story " The Last Sontaran " . " The Stolen Earth " / " Journey ' s End " brought together cast members of three series . A number of more casual mentions have also taken place , such as Sarah Jane suggesting " Harry " and " Alistair " as possible names for Luke in " Invasion of the Bane " . Likewise , Sarah ' s description of the origins of her coulrophobia in " The Day of the Clown " returns the viewer to the setting of " A Girl ' s Best Friend " . While the universe appeared to divert when the events of TV : " Torchwood : Miracle Day " were not referenced in the Series 6 episode TV : " The Impossible Astronaut " , further indications of it being a shared universe were enforced when the Twelfth Doctor noted that the Cybermen had risen naturally from Mondas ( AUDIO : " Spare Parts " , TV : " The Tenth Planet " ) Telos , ( PROSE : " Doctor Who and the Cybermen " ) Earth , ( TV : " Rise of the Cybermen " / " The Age of Steel " ) Planet 14 ( TV : " The Invasion " ) and Marinus , ( COMIC : " The World Shapers " ) effectively canonising all of these known instances of the Cybermen rising outside of the television stories . While such " crossovers " can be narratively insignificant , they nevertheless reinforce the notion of a single , shared universe . The Twelfth Doctor also appeared in the first episode of the spin off series , " Class " , confirming the series as part of the same " universe " as " Doctor Who " . Other fictional universes . There have been various deliberate attempts to create separate " fictional universes " that have elements of the " Doctor Who " universe , but are entirely separate entities . This is in an in - universe fictional sense , in a narrative sense and in a commercial sense . These other fictional universes " are not " alternate timeline s or parallel universe s . These two concepts exist within the " Doctor Who " universe as defined and contained concepts within the scope of that fictional universe , whilst these other fictional universes are separate , merely using familiar concepts and entities as the " Doctor Who " universe . The first example of this is the two Peter Cushing films of the 1960s , " Dr . Who and the Daleks " and " Daleks ' Invasion Earth 2150 A . D . " Both these films and any prose ( and other ) stories connected to them establish an entirely different , separate fictional universe in which their events take place . Different fictional universe rules apply to the characters and events that take place within the fictional universe . Other examples of other fictional universes are works that are , from their outset , or sometimes retroactively , stated to " not " be set in " the " " Doctor Who " universe through proclamation by the creators or publishers . Both " Scream of the Shalka " and " Death Comes to Time " were retroactively declared by their creators ( and in the case of " Shalka " , by the BBC ) as " not " being part of the " Doctor Who " universe . Big Finish Productions ' " Doctor Who Unbound " series from its outset was created to explore other fictional universes , where the elements of the " Doctor Who " universe existed but were not constrained by " the " " Doctor Who " universe .