Annotated Second Doctor Chronology

This is a companion piece to my History of the Second Doctor and is part of my series of essays covering the In-Depth History of Doctor Who.

This is also a continuation from my First Doctor Chronology.

This is my own opinion of what fits into the mainstream continuity of Doctor Who. If you are a completist, you may want to check out the Doctor Who Reference Guide, which lists every single Doctor Who story ever done even if they contradict each other. 

"The Power of the Daleks" - TV adventure #30 by David Whitaker, final script edit by Dennis Spooner (6 episodes). Only a few clips of this adventure haven't been lost. Audio reconstruction CD is available. Continued from "The Tenth Planet." The Second Doctor wakes up on the TARDIS and explains that he has changed bodies, a process of he refers to as a "renewal." His memories are jumbled and he locates a 500 Year Diary to help him remember. The Doctor makes his first serious costume/dress-style change and puts away the blue ring he’s worn during his whole first incarnation. In this adventure, a Dalek recognizes the Doctor, despite his regeneration.

Invasion of the Cat-People - Novel by Gary Russel. The Doctor mentions that Homer’s “Illyad” was inaccurate, which he knows because he was there during the First Doctor adventure "The Myth Makers." The Time Vector is mentioned, which will appear again in the TV adventure "The Wheel In Space." The Doctor mentions the Cheetah People as a sub-species of the Cat-People. The Cheetah People and their Kitlings are seen in the Seventh Doctor adventure "Survival." Feline-humanoid nurses are seen in the TV adventure “New Earth” and it seems safe to assume they are also part of the Cat-People. There’s also a book that has time flow backwards around it, much like the book The Ancient and Worshipful Law of Gallifrey, seen in the adventure "Shada."

The Murder Game - Novel by Steve Lyons. The Doctor encounters the Selachians, who will appear again in the novel The Final Sanction. The Doctor ponders building a sonic device to use as a tool, which may be what leads him to make the sonic screwdriver. Ben speaks of his three TV adventures with the Doctor, whereas his new friend Terri speaks of events from "The Moonbase" and "The Ice Warriors."

Dying in the Sun - Novel by John de Burgh Miller.

"The Highlanders" - TV adventure #31 by Gerry Davis and Elwyn Jones (4 episodes). All episodes missing, but audio reconstructions are available. The TARDIS arrives in Culloden Moore in 1745. The TARDIS crew befriends Jamie McCrimmon, a Scottish highlander. The Doctor uses the alias "Doctor von Wer" (German equivalant of "Doctor Who"). At the end of the adventure, Jamie McCrimmon joins the TARDIS crew.

"The Underwater Menace" - TV adventure #32 by Geoffrey Orme (4 episodes). Episodes 1, 2 and 4 are missing, but audio reconstructions exist. We get a story about how Atlantis was destroyed. Two other explanations show up in the Third Doctor adventures "The Daemons" and "The Time Monster." The Doctor signs himself as "Doctor W." This adventure leads directly into "The Moonbase."

"The Moonbase" - TV adventure #33 by Kit Pedler (4 episodes). Episodes 1 and 3 are missing, but reconstructions exist. Continued from "The Underwater Menace." The Doctor and Jamie visit a lunar base in the year 2070.

"The Macra Terror" - TV adventure #34 by Ian Stuart Black (4 episodes). All episodes missing except for a few clips, reconstructions exist. The Doctor encounters the Macra while visiting a future Earth colony that seems to be one big party. He will encounter them again in his Tenth incarnation in the TV adventure "Gridlock", by which time the Macra will have devolved.

The Roundheads - Novel by Mark Gatiss. An adventure involving Oliver Cromwell.

"The Faceless Ones" - TV adventure #35 by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke (6 episodes). Episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6 are missing, reconstructions exist. The TARDIS lands in July 20, 1966, the very same day that Ben and Polly left their normal lives to join the First Doctor. Ben and Polly leave the TARDIS, realizing they may never get so close to their home time again and that this way there will be no gap in their lives due to their TARDIS adventures. The Doctor says good-bye and leaves with Jamie, only to realize the TARDIS is missing. This leads directly into "The Evil of the Daleks."

"The Evil of the Daleks" - TV adventure #36 by David Whitaker (7 episodes). Only episode 2 exists in its entirety still. Reconstructions are available for this story. Continued from "The Faceless Ones", the Doctor and Jamie see someone take away the TARDIS in a truck and go about tracking it down. They are later grabbed by time technology and taken to the year 1866, where they wind up fighting a Dalek force. First appearance of the original Dalek Emperor. The Doctor meets Victoria Waterfield, whose father is killed trying to save them all from the Daleks. As Jamie and the Doctor leave, Victoria Waterfield joins the TARDIS crew.

"The Tomb of the Cybermen" - TV adventure #37 by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler (4 episodes). In the future, the Cybermen have made a new home on the planet Telos. First appearance of a Cyber-Controller and the Cybermats. First time the Doctor says his age, which at this point is 450 years in Earth terms.

"The Age of Ambition" - Short story by Andrew Campbell from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #7: Life Science. Returning to 1866 to visit a friend of Victoria’s father, the Doctor discovers experiments in resurrecting the dead. Victoria decides she no longer belongs in her native era.

"The Last Emperor"- Short story by Jacqueline Rayner from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #10: 2040. Second Doctor’s life crossing paths with the Third, Sixth and Seventh Doctors.

Heart of TARDIS - Novel by Dave Stone. The Doctor tries to completely bypass the anti-thief controls that have prevented him from ever having full control of the TARDIS steering. His life crosses the path of the Fourth Doctor and Romana I. In the end, there is a story that mentions Dorothee McShane (the Seventh Doctor's apprentice "Ace") and an alien from the novel Burning Heart called Queegvogel. Romana contemplates regenerating into a more compact body.

"The Abominable Snowmen" - TV adventure #38 by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln (6 episodes). Episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are missing, reconstructions are available. The Doctor battles several Yeti and the being known as the Great Intelligence, who the novels say is one of the great Old Ones such as the Animus, the creature encountered in "The Web Planet."

"The Ice Warriors" - TV adventure #39 by Brian Hayles (6 episodes). Episodes 2 and 3 are missing, reconstructions are available. First appearance of the Ice Warriors of Mars.

Dreams of Empire - Novel by Justin Richards.

Combat Rock - Novel by Mick Lewis. The TARDIS crew battles mummies. There's a reference to Red Coats and the Daleks, citing Jamie's adventures in "The Highlanders" and "The Evil of the Daleks."

“Face-Painter” - Short story by Tara Samms from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #3: A Universe of Terrors.

“The Astronomer's Apprentice” - Short story by from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #4: Muses. The Second Doctor takes Jamie and Victoria to the peace planet Traken. In the adventure "The Keeper of Traken", The Fourth Doctor mentions that he may have visited Traken at some point in the past but can't quite remember (which isn't unheard of since this story would've taken place centuries earlier and the Fourth Doctor was a mite scatter-brained, after all).

"The Farmer's Story" - Short story by Todd Green from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #8: Repercussions.

"The Enemy of the World" - TV adventure #40 by David Whitaker (6 episodes). Episodes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 are gone, reconstructions exist. The Doctor fights the villain Salamander, who later becomes lost in the time/space vortex. This adventure leads directly into "The Web of Fear."

"The Web of Fear" - TV adventure #41 by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln (6 episodes). Episodes 2-6 are missing, reconstructions are available. Continued from "The Enemy of the World." The Doctor faces the Great Intelligence again. First Appearance of Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who at this time is a Colonel in the army.

“Bringer of Darkness” – Comic strip by W. Scott Gray from Doctor Who Magazine #224-226.

Twilight of the Gods - Novel by Christopher Bulis.

The Dark Path - Novel by David A. McIntee. The Doctor encounters his old friend Koschei, another Time Lord who left Gallifrey. Koschei has become corrupt and at the end of this, he becomes the villain known as the Master. More details of the Master's origins are revealed in McIntee’s book The Face of the Enemy. Koschei mentions he's met Chronovores, foreshadowing the Third Doctor TV adventure "The Time Monster."

“Screamager” - Short story by Jacqueline Rayner from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #9: Monsters.

"Fury from the Deep" - TV adventure #42 by Victor Pemberton (6 episodes). All episodes lost except for clips, reconstructions are available. First appearance of the sonic screwdriver. On a trip to modern-day England, the TARDIS crew meets the Harris family. Victoria leaves the TARDIS, deciding to stay with the Harris family.

“Twin Piques” - Short story by Tony Keetch from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #1: Zodiac. The Doctor and Jamie find themselves on a “doppelganger” world, where good and evil are reversed.

"The Wheel in Space" - TV adventure #43 by David Whitaker, based on a story by Kit Pedler (6 episodes). Episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 are lost, reconstructions exist. The TARDIS lands on a space-station under attack by Cybermen. The time vector generator is used for the first time in the TV series. The Doctor uses his alias of "Dr. John Smith" for the first time in the TV series. It becomes his standard alias when dealing with people. This is a common name in England and the U.S., so it's a suitable alias, but it may also be a reference to the fact that Susan's favorite band was "John Smith and the Con-Men" (as mentioned in "An Unearthly Child"). First appearance of Zoe, who joins Jamie and the Doctor on the TARDIS.

"The Dominators" - TV adventure #44 by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, who are both credited under the pseudonym “Norman Ashby” (5 episodes). The Doctor fights off against the Quarks. Story leads directly into "The Mind Robber."

"The Mind Robber" - TV adventure #45 by Derrick Sherwin (episode 1) and Peter Ling (episode 2-5) (5 episodes). Continued from "The Dominators." The TARDIS crew wind up in the Land of Fiction, a place where fictional characters walk about as living beings. In the book Conundrum, it is said this place was created by the gods of Rangarok, the same beings the Seventh Doctor faces in "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy."

"The Invasion" - TV adventure #46 by Derrick Sherwin, based on a story by Kit Pedler (8 episodes). Episodes 1 and 4 are lost, reconstructions exist. The Ministry of Defense helped the BBC on this story. First appearance of U.N.I.T. The TARDIS crew encounter Lethbridge-Stewart again, who has been promoted from colonel to brigadier and is in charge of the newly formed U.N.I.T., charged with protecting the earth from strange phenomena. The Cybermen and a man called Tobias Vaughan are fought.

"Aliens and Predators" - Short story by Colin Brake from Decalog #3.

"uPVC" - Short story by Paul Farnsworth from BBC SHORT TRIPS #2: More Short Trips. Although mostly a Seventh Doctor story, it features the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe during a time that would have occurred during this part of the timeline.

The Colony of Lies - Novel by Colin Brake. The Seventh Doctor looks over his diary and remembers this adventure from his second incarnation. Zoe speaks of the Cybermen and Daleks (although she hasn’t met a Dalek, the Doctor showed her images of them at the end of "The Wheel In Space"). The Second Doctor makes a comparison to the tombs of Telos from "The Tomb of the Cybermen" and compares a city to Tombstone, Arizona (which he visited in "The Gunfighters").

The Indestructible Man - Novel by Simon Messingham. The Doctor is asked if he remembers things from his previous “existence” and he remarks on adventures from his first life. Mini Z-bombs are mentioned (a Z-bomb was featured in "The Tenth Planet"). The character Storm reads classified documents concerning, events at the Post Office Tower in London ("The War Machines"), the Mondas "asteroid" ("The Tenth Planet"), the Electromatics from "The Invasion", the evacuation of London that will occur in the Third Doctor’s TV adventure "Invasion of the Dinosaurs", and a report from Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart about a hospital patient who had altered his physical appearance (which is when he met the Third Doctor in "Spearhead from Space"). During this story, the Doctor suffers injuries that nearly cause him to regenerate into his third body.

Foreign Devils - Novella by Andrew Cartmel. In England at the turn of the 20th century, the Doctor and a mystic expert named Carnacki seek out the truth behind several hauntings.

"The Krotons" - TV adventure #47 by Robert Holmes (4 episodes). First appearance of the Krotons.

"Land of the Blind" – Comic strip by W. Scott Gray from Doctor Who Magazine #224-226.

"One Small Step..." - Short story by Nicholas Briggs from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS: Past Tense. The Doctor breaks some laws of time as he crosses over his own timeline.

"The Seeds of Death" - TV adventure #48 by Brian Hayles (6 episodes). The Ice Warriors return on a future version of Earth dependent on T-Mat (transmission of matter) technology.

"Vortex of Fear" - Short story by Gareth Roberts from Decalog #2.

The Final Sanction - Novel by Steve Lyons. The Selachians (first seen in The Murder Game) return for a final confrontation.

"Please Shut the Gate" - Short story by Stephen Lock from BBC SHORT TRIPS #3: Short Trips and Side Steps.

"Constant Companion" - Short story by Simon A. Forward from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #1: Zodiac. The TARDIS crew visits a pocket universe.

"Goodwill Towards Men" - Short story by J. Shaun Lyon from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #11: A Christmas Treasury. After Zoe becomes concerned with impoverished people, the Doctor takes her and Jamie to a volunteer at the Los Angeles Midnight Mission in the 20th century.

"The Space Pirates" - TV adventure #49 by Robert Holmes (6 episodes). The Doctor fights space pirates in the far future. First appearance of the Issigri Mining Corporation (IMC). The IMC seen in the third Doctor adventure "Colony In Space."

The Menagerie - Novel. The Mecrim experiments in this story are funded by the IMC from "Colony In Space." The Butler Corporation is mentioned and appears in the Seventh Doctor novel Cat's Cradle: Warhead.

"Fallen Angel" - Short story by Andy Lane from DECALOG #1.

"The War Games" - TV adventure #50 by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke (10 episodes). First appearance of the War Chief (a Time Lord) and the War Lord. The book Divided Loyalties states that the War Chief’s name is Magnus. First appearance of Gallifrey (though it isn’t named) and the Time Lords. First appearance of the Time Lord Goth (he is not named here, but will appear again in "The Deadly Assassin"). Jamie and Zoe have their memories altered so they only remember their first adventures with the Doctor and no others. The Doctor is exiled to Earth by the Time Lords, with his TARDIS rendered unable to travel through time and his memory altered so he doesn’t remember how to properly repair it. He is told he will be forced to regenerate as part of the sentence. In the Fifth Doctor audio play Circular Time, the Doctor explains that it is the standard practice for a Time Lord to be forced to regenerate before beginning a period of exile. The Second Doctor vanishes from sight as the Time Lords send him off somewhere. Fade to black …

“War Crimes" - Short story by Simon Bucher-Jones from BBC SHORT TRIPS #1. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe try to evade the Time Lords before they are brought back to Gallifrey. This would take place during episode 10 of THE WAR GAMES.

* Although "THE WAR GAMES" is the last TV adventure of the Second Doctor, it was revealed later that he had several more adventures before actually regenerating into his third incarnation. These "Lost Years" (AKA "Season 6B") begin with the book World Game. *

World Game – Novel by Terrance Dicks. Takes place immediately after "The War Games." We find out the last few minutes of "The War Games" was the "official record" of how the Doctor’s trial ended. Here, we learn that the Doctor was originally sentenced to death but then agreed that in exchange for his life, he would do several missions for the Celestial Intervention Agency (as hinted at in "Genesis of the Daleks", "The Five Doctors" and "The Two Doctors"). He is joined by a young Time Lord named Lady Serena. During this adventure, the Doctor frequently uses the alias of "Dr. Jean Dupont" (the French equivalent of "John Smith") and also fights off a vampire and a Raston assassin robot for possibly the first time. The Raston robot made its first TV appearance in "The Five Doctors." During this adventure, Serena gives the Doctor "psychic paper" (first seen by TV fans in the 9th Doctor TV adventure "The End of the World"), which she explains is a CIA device for espionage. In the last chapter, it is revealed that the Doctor did not return immediately after his mission with Serena but went travelling on his own for a bit instead. By the time he returns, the Doctor has suffered enough stress from his other adventures that he is now getting gray hair and showing more signs of age. At the end of World Game, the Doctor is sent on another mission and reunited with Jamie, whose memory is altered to believe that he never left the Doctor's side and that Victoria is still part of the TARDIS crew. The ending leads directly into the Sixth Doctor TV adventure "The Two Doctors."

* It is during this time of the Doctor traveling on his own again, just before the last chapter takes place and he returns with mostly gray hair, that the events of "THE THREE DOCTORS" and "THE FIVE DOCTORS" most likely occurred. In the first story, the Second Doctor doesn't look to have aged much since "THE WAR GAMES", but he is also unsurprised at being forced into an adventure by the Time Lords, which indicates that he is no longer a fugitive from them. In "THE FIVE DOCTORS", the Second Doctor is noticeably older (though not yet fully gray-haired) and aware that Jamie and Victoria were taken from him, with their memories altered. He also has some control over the TARDIS steering. *

NOTE: The Sixth Doctor novel The Players indicates that the Sixth Doctor does not remember the events of World Game. An explanation for that is provided at the end of this post.

* This is when events from "THE TWO DOCTORS" would occur from the Second Doctor’s perspective. *

"That Time I Nearly Destroyed the World whilst Looking for a Dress" - Short story by Joseph Lidster BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #6: Past Tense. Polly gets into some trouble and finds herself rescued by the Second Doctor and Jamie, both of whom look older than the last time she saw them. Ben and Polly finally admit they love each other.

* At some point between this story and the next, Jamie McCrimmon either left the Doctor again or was sent back home by the Time Lords. It is possible that the Time Lords readjusted Jamie's memory yet again so that he wouldn’t recall the secret missions he did for the CIA with the Doctor. From this point on, it seems the Second Doctor travels alone until his next regeneration. *

"Mother's Little Helper" - Short story by Matthew Jones from BBC SHORT TRIPS #1. The Second Doctor is gray-haired, traveling alone.

"Scientific Adviser" - Short story by Ian Atkins from SHORT TRIPS #2: More Short Trips. The Second Doctor goes back to obscure the truth of the Cybermen attack from "The Invasion" and maintain U.N.I.T.’s general secrecy.

"Reunion" - Short story by Jason Loborik from BBC SHORT TRIPS #3: Short Trips and Side Steps. The Doctor investigates a time distortion (presumably for the Time Lords).

"Dust" - Short story by Paul Leonard from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #5: Steel Skies.

"The Steward's Story" - Short story by Mark Michalowski from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #8: Repercussions. Although it isn’t specified which Doctor this is, he seems closest to the Second in terms of personality.

"The Man Who (Nearly) Killed Christmas" - Short story Mark Michalowski from BIG FINISH SHORT TRIPS #11: A Christmas Treasury. "Miss Wright" tells a Christmas story about the Doctor. This is apparently Polly Wright, not Barbara Wright, since she is not identified as a fellow teacher and she knows about the Doctor’s abilitiy to regenerate. This story (which may be made up) makes reference to the TV comic strip "A Christmas Story", which I personally don’t think really fits into continuity.

* The Second Doctor’s final adventure is unknown to us. All we know is that the Time Lords decided to exile him to Earth finally and forced him to regenerate as the TARDIS made its landing. In his first adventure, the Third Doctor mentions various gaps and blocks in his memory and his adventure "THE CLAWS OF AXOS" later confirms that this was due to the Time Lords. Although it is said that the blocks were placed there to prevent him from remembering how to time travel, it is also possible that the Celestial Intervention Agency added some blocks of their own so that the Doctor would not remember certain missions he did for them. This would explain why the Sixth Doctor had no memory of the Players, whom he met in World Game, nor of the events of "THE TWO DOCTORS" from the Second Doctor's perspective.*

And that's it, folks!

Freel free to continue on to the Third Doctor Chronology!