25 thoughts on “The Second Doctor’s Timeline”

1. Okiku Saji December 18, 2016 at 7:16 am

   I would add in Devious, simultaneous with Timewyrm: Apocalypse and after The Night Walkers.

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2. Tim Bradley Post authorDecember 18, 2016 at 8:31 am

   Hi Okiku.

   I’ve added ‘Devious’ to the timeline.

   Tim. 🙂

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   1. Okiku Saji December 18, 2016 at 8:44 am

      Thanks!

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   2. Samuel Kremer August 14, 2017 at 1:44 pm

      What about the Early Adevntures that have been annouced? The Night Witches, The Outliers, The Morton Legacy, and The Wreck Of The World?

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      1. Tim Bradley Post authorAugust 14, 2017 at 8:51 pm

         Hi Samuel.

         The new Early Adventures with the Second Doctor haven’t been released yet. I’ll wait until these four stories are out before deciding where they should be placed in the timeline.

         If you can suggest where the stories should go in the timeline, that’ll be great.

         Tim. 🙂

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      2. Samuel Kremer August 14, 2017 at 10:19 pm

         Alright. I asked since you added “The Behemoth” “The Middle Men” and “Static” to the Sixth Doctor timeline, and “Time In Office” to the Fifth Doctor timelines even though they weren’t released, so I was wondering if you were doing the same to the Early Adventures or just the normal range from Big Finish.

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      3. Tim Bradley Post authorAugust 14, 2017 at 10:55 pm

         Okay. I’ll add temporary placements of these stories to the timelines for now. These can change later on after they’re released.
         Tim. 🙂

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3. Okiku Saji December 18, 2016 at 8:47 am

   Also, I’d rearrange things so World Game is before John and Gillian – otherwise, how did the Doctor get out of his sentencing?

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4. Daniel Body September 4, 2018 at 4:11 am

   How come you placed the Three Doctors where you did? I know it had to have occurred after The Invasion, since the Doctor recognises Benton, but why not later on in the timeline?

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   1. Tim Bradley Post authorSeptember 9, 2018 at 8:51 am

      Hi Daniel.

      Thanks for dropping a line.

      Eyespider have placed ‘The Three Doctors’ sometime earlier in their version of the Second Doctor’s timeline after ‘The Invasion’. I think my placing of the story for the Second Doctor was when I was following the ‘The History of the Doctor’ website which is sadly non-existent today.

      Like you said, I based it on placing it after ‘The Invasion’ because he recognised Sergeant Benton and I assumed it must have been a recent occasion. If you have another suggestion on where to place ‘The Three Doctors’ much later after ‘The Invasion’, I’d like to hear it.

      Many thanks.

      Tim. 🙂

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      1. Daniel Body November 25, 2018 at 3:46 am

         Hey Tim, sorry for the late response, I completely forgot I posted this and then got a surprise when I was reading these comments just now 🙂

         When I posted that I was new to the timeline game, so wasn’t sure about the process of placing stories. Now that I’m more familiar with it, I understand your placement, so it makes perfect sense to me now.

         Thanks, Daniel.

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5. Samuel Kremer February 22, 2021 at 5:28 pm

   Hey Tim, I noticed the stories from Second Doctor Compainion Chronicles Volume 2 (“The Curator’s Egg”, “Dumb Waiter”, “The Iron Maid”, and “The Tactics Of Defeat”) are missing from the timeline.

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   1. Tim Bradley Post authorFebruary 22, 2021 at 7:23 pm

      Hi Samuel.

      Thanks for letting me know. I’ve added the four stories to the Second Doctor’s timeline as well as certain stories to Ben, Polly, Jamie, Victoria, Zoe, the Fourth Doctor and Leela’s timelines from this Companion Chronicles box set. 😀

      Tim. 🙂

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6. Connor November 28, 2022 at 10:46 pm

   Hi Tim,

   Just wanted to ask about the placement of the relatively recent second doctor adventures from July this year?

   Thanks,

   Connor

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   1. Tim Bradley Post authorNovember 29, 2022 at 12:07 am

      Hi Connor,

      I’ve added the stories from the ‘Beyond War Games’ box set to the Second Doctor’s, the Brigadier’s, the Daleks’ and the Ice Warriors’ timelines respectively.

      Tim 🙂

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7. Thomas Hague-Curtis October 15, 2024 at 10:09 pm

   there is a novelisation of the Evil Of the Daleks set after the wheel in space with the doctor and Jamie telling Zoe about the dangers she may face

   there was also apparently a TV repeat of the Evil Of the Daleks in 1968 set at this time

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   1. Tim Bradley Post authorOctober 16, 2024 at 7:03 pm

      Hi Thomas,

      Thanks for letting me know about ‘The Evil of the Daleks’ BBC Books novelization by Frazer Hines. I’ve added it to the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe’s timelines.

      Best wishes,

      Tim 🙂

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8. Thomas Hague-Curtis January 22, 2025 at 10:01 pm

   Season ‘6b’ doesn’t exist if you believe The War Games in colour is canon as it has no gaps where it could take place

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   1. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 23, 2025 at 8:13 am

      Hi Thomas,

      I wouldn’t necessarily acknowledge the possibility that the Season 6B stories didn’t take place at all following ‘The War Games’ according to its latest colourisation. I’d like to think that ‘Devious’ did happen but just occurred in an alternative continuity. It depends on how you look at it, but then again, the placement of the Season 6B stories is confusing enough, as there was a time I thought ‘The Two Doctors’ for the Second Doctor and Jamie took place in Season 6B before Big Finish decided to have it take place during Season 5, according to ‘The Black Hole’. I’ve not heard that story yet and there are stories that seem to indicate that Season 6B did happen, according to the ‘World Game’ book and the ‘Save Yourself’ short story from ‘The Target Collection’, both by Terrance Dicks. I’d hold back on regarding the Season 6B stories as non-canon, as it’s possible the stories did occur after ‘The War Games’, both in its original black-and-white 10-part structure and its 90-minute colourisation. There needs to be a stretch of imagination, even if things are told differently in the colourisation compared to the original 10-part story.

      Many thanks,

      Tim 🙂

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      1. Wolfie January 24, 2025 at 4:28 am

         The whole thing is a bit of a mess, these days. Although, quite an interesting one to unpack:

         I think Season 6B was first mentioned in the Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide as a probable explanation for the inconsistencies explicit in The Two Doctors and The Five Doctors.

         It’s The Five Doctors that actually provides the most evidence for such a season. The Second Doctor knows that Jamie and Zoe’s memories have been erased, which is information he can’t have pre-The War Games.

         Terrance Dicks (who co-wrote The War Games) took the suggested theory onboard and made it canon in Players and World Game, which both feature the Second Doctor visiting the aftermath of The War Games. In Players, the Sixth Doctor actually provides an explicit explanation for the Second Doctor that makes The Two Doctors feel much more natural in hindsight.

         The Two Doctors was implied to take place during The Black Hole for those who weren’t keen on Season 6B, but then… The Two Doctors mentions that the Doctor has visited Space Station Camera before. “Bearing fraternal greetings from Gallifrey,” as Dastari says. Before he became, as the Doctor puts it, “a bit of an exile.”

         Of course, that was before Big Finish decided to make Beyond the War Games which explicitly confirmed Season 6B. Including The Annihilators, a Third Doctor story, which would later reinforce it.

         Beyond the War Games clashes with World Game on the exact nature of how the Second Doctor was recruited. We know that he was, but whether it was to solve a problem involving the Players (World Game) or by Raven (Beyond the War Games), is up to the discretion of the reader/listener.

         There’s also an implication now, after Conspiracy of Raven, that some stories involving the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe might take place during Season 6B. Their events being clandestine missions for the Time Lords. It would put an interesting spin on the Lost Stories involving these three.

         I’m actually tempted to go through a build a probable timeline for Season 6B now… I’ll have to check some of my old notes…

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      2. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 24, 2025 at 6:59 am

         Hi Wolfie,

         Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Season 6B and whether it takes place after ‘The War Games’ or not. I forgot about ‘Beyond the War Games’ by Big Finish and have yet to check out stories like ‘The Annihilators’ and ‘Conspiracy of Raven’. Since Big Finish seem to have reinforced the notion that Season 6B did occur after ‘The War Games’, it’s interesting how we’ve come across stories that say it did happen and didn’t happen.

         As you said, the whole thing is a bit of a mess, but considering continuity in ‘Doctor Who’ is all over the place, including how things have happened with ‘At Childhood’s End’ and ‘Farewell, Sarah Jane’ as well as the current ‘Doctor Who’ TV series seeming to ignore continuity elements established in the Big Finish audios, I wouldn’t be surprised if this keep on bouncing back and forth with one author saying, “It did happen” and another author saying, “No, it didn’t happen at all”. I’m willing to let Season 6B stand as existing in the ‘Doctor Who’ continuity and it’s amazing there’s more to unpack with the latest Big Finish stories you’ve mentioned.

         Many thanks,

         Tim 🙂

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      3. Wolfie January 24, 2025 at 7:58 am

         Cheers, Tim. I’m willing to put certain inconsistencies down to temporal relativity. Some stories being “truer” than others depending on which Doctor we’re speaking about.

         The classic is Shada. It happened for the Fourth Doctor until The Five Doctors removed it from Time. It didn’t happen for the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. Then, Shada happened again (for the “first” time) with the Eighth Doctor, who went back with Romana and K9 to plug the gap.

         To my mind, Season 6B was essentially The Prisoner with a few extra steps:

         “Where am I?”

         In the Capitol…

         “What do you want?”

         Cooperation.

         “Who’s side are you on?”

         Time will tell. We want cooperation. Cooperation. Cooperation…

         “You won’t get it.”

         By Time or by tide, we will.

         “Who are you?”

         The Celestial Intervention Agency.

         “What are your names?”

         You are the Doctor.

         “I will be free of you! I will!”

         *uncontrolled laugher*

         I’ve found Big Finish’s 2DA entries a bit wonky so far (an ongoing problem with the strangled running times), but the concept of an overarching plot is a sound one.

         Although, I think I’d have preferred it to be about the aftermath of The Three Doctors, instead.

         There’s untapped potential in exploring what an underpowered (or genuinely vulnerable) Gallifrey looks and acts like. Omega’s black hole nearly wiped them out. A more aggressive foreign policy in response to that insecurity being the reason why the Second Doctor is sent out on so many missions.

         It would make an interesting approach. Whether the Doctor cuts and runs for his own sake (and that of his companions) or sticks around to help the Time Lords.

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      4. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 25, 2025 at 10:40 am

         Thanks Wolfie,

         The fact that before ‘The War Games’ colourisation, there was an opportunity to establish a part of the Second Doctor era where he was in limbo and doing missions for the Time Lords i.e., the Celestial Intervention Agency, is something that’s been going on for years and it’s intriguing how writers like Terrance Dick and Robert Holmes seem to welcome it and do their own take on it. I admit, the waters are murky regarding how it’s all presented in a concise manner and I don’t think my timeline makes it clearer, but I find it amazing how stories are told within that gap between ‘The War Games’ and ‘Spearhead From Space’, especially when no regeneration was provided from Patrick Troughton into Jon Pertwee in the orginal 10-part story.

         I’m willing to accept ‘Shada’ did happen for the Fourth Doctor before it was got erased by the Time Lords in ‘The Five Doctors’ before it actually happened for the Eighth Doctor in the 2003 version of ‘Shada’. The same can be said for the Eighth Doctor meeting Mary Shelley in ‘The Company of Friends’ in that it did happen before it was erased by some temporal event, whether because of the Time Lords or the Time War or not, and it eventually happened for the Thirteenth Doctor meeting Mary Shelley in ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’. It depends on how you look at it.

         Best wishes,

         Tim 🙂

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      5. Wolfie January 25, 2025 at 1:15 pm

         Indeed, I don’t think we were ever going to get anything concise. Not this late in the game. There is a possible path, but it requires a bit of legwork.

         Let’s start with one set of stories — the TV Comic ones:

         Conundrum and Head Games treat TV Comics’s John and Gillian as a work of fiction centred around “Dr Who”. A morally black-and-white, fictionalised iteration of the Doctor who can’t function in the real universe without causing serious harm.

         The Land of Happy Endings confirms that John and Gillian are, specifically, a product of the Doctor’s dreams. A chance for him to escape the ugliness of travels where there sometimes is no right answer.

         That implies that the TV Comic stories do happen, but in their own “fiction-within-a-fiction” continuity. Separate from main canon.

         However… Millennial Rites makes mention to the Quarks and their Giant Wasps, which are definitely TV Comic creations, but the Sixth Doctor and Mel have both encountered them in the real world.

         Therefore, the implication is that these TV Comic stories might be real, after all, but exist in a “soft canon” space like Star Trek: Lower Decks (i.e. it happened, but not precisely like that).

         But, who can really say?

         Now, let’s look at BBC Books…

         Now, BBC Books wins the virtue of being the first to publish and from the original author, to boot. Terrance Dicks wrote Players, which in turn spawned World Game. Let’s focus on World Game, particularly.

         World Game borrows the introduction from Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion (word-for-word) in its depiction of the Doctor’s trial. Here, however, instead of being sentenced to exile — he’s sentenced to death.

         Bother.

         As the Second Doctor awaits his death, he’s approached by Sardon. A CIA agent with a proposal. Assist them in a matter requiring plausible deniability and they’ll have his sentence commuted to exile, instead of execution. The Doctor accepts.

         He performs a mission for them, returns willingly to Gallifrey and leverages the hushed-up death of his colleague for better conditions. He asks for Jamie, explicitly, and is assigned the mission seen in The Two Doctors.

         Now, beyond that… We have no idea what happens. Only that the Second Doctor must travel alone and must end up exiled. We don’t even see the Doctor reunite with Jamie in person.

         There is a story — The Glorious Revolution — which depicts an older Jamie recruited by the CIA for what feels like a solo test mission that could fit between World Game and The Two Doctors. The rest, however, is up for speculation.

         But what does that mean for Big Finish?

         Decades later, Big Finish comes along and offers an alternative account — but not really. Their version of Season 6B allegedly picks up right after the Doctor’s sentencing to exile.

         What that actually depicts, though, is the Doctor tumbling through eternity remembering the events of his sentencing to exile. That doesn’t necessarily mean it links straight to The War Games. The CIA have every reason to lie to him.

         What makes it different is that the Second Doctor is actually aware of his future self. Something which doesn’t occur in World Game.

         The ending isn’t in sight, as yet, but we’re further along than BBC Books managed before their licence expired. There’s the addition of Jamie and Zoe to the line-up and the implication of several adventures between depicted stories for the Second Doctor and Jamie. Not just the one or two.

         It’s all still pretty messy.

         Right, and the solution may be to sandwich Save Yourself between the two different Season 6B eras. It reveals that the Second Doctor has been:

         a) Doing this for a while, as there’s considerable wear-and-tear on the console, and;

         b) The Time Lords are now erasing his memory after each mission, as happens again.

         That implies to me that the Second Doctor has probably done a runner (or tried) and the Time Lords are keeping him on an incredibly tight leash to compensate. Raven’s appearance and her decision to use him for her purposes may have changed that.

         What about Action in Exile?

         Action in Exile are a series of stories that feature the Second Doctor exiled on Earth. He’s been punished, but he hasn’t regenerated. It’s an oddity, to be sure. His regeneration comes when he’s tricked into an investigation that puts him in the hands of the Time Lords. Implying his CIA work may have caught up with him.

         If included, Action in Exile to The Night Walkers must come last.

         So the path?

         It’s likely (and this is an approximation):

         World Game, first;

         TV Comic (The Extortioner – The Jokers);

         The Glorious Revolution (Jamie solo);

         Invasion of the Quarks (Jamie and the Doctor reunite);

         The Two Doctors;

         TV Comic (The Killer Wasps – Operation Wurlitzer);

         Save Yourself;

         Beyond the War Games;

         James Robert McCrimmon (there are also gaps between these stories here);

         The Conspiracy of Raven, and;

         TV Comic (Action in Exile – The Night Walkers).

         There may be an option to blend these stories together even further, at a later date. Currently, while the 2DAs are running, there’s no way to be sure.

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      6. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 25, 2025 at 4:29 pm

         Hi Wolfie,

         Thanks again for your insight on where the stories in Season 6B should be placed. I’ve amended the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe’s timelines accordingly. I’ve also added the stories from the ‘Conspiracy of Raven’ box set. There’s bound to be stories positioned incorrectly as a result of my amendments. Please feel free to point out any inconsistencies in the updated versions of these timelines.

         Best wishes,

         Tim 🙂

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