So I’ve been discussing with @Jamie about doing this thread for a while, we just wanted to have a safe space for those with a similar mindset to us to discuss EU canonicity without any negativity.
For me and I think some others, being autistic can be a factor as to why we struggle with TV retcons, and people dismissing EU stuff, especially Big Finish. The Night of the Doctor is probably the most explicit EU reference we’ve had, but there are others, such as in The Doctor Falls – there’s a reference to a comic where the Voord become the cybermen, as Moffat tried to account for all different cybermen origin stories, which was amazing.
Anyway, we’d like this to be a safe place for us to discuss our thoughts and feelings towards the canonicity of the EU. I’d like to ask anyone thinking of commenting with “Doctor Who has no canon” and “The TV show can’t reference purchasable material” etc to not, as we’ve all heard it many times before, hence the appreciation thread! This is more a space to both celebrate the times when EU continuity is referenced by the TV show, and discuss/analyse occasions where it could have done so but didn’t.
Totally agree with everything you’ve said and it’ll be lovely to have a safe space for us likeminded people! For me, Night of the Doctor really alerted me to the EU, and it took 2 years before I finally delved into it aged 15 with Doom Coalition 1. Ever since I’ve been hooked! I think like what you said, being autistic has impacted my viewpoint on the matter. Personally, I take any critiques of BF to heart, and BF canon retconning etc just really gets to me!
I find NotD incredibly funny because 8 doesn’t reference his longest serving companion as Liv hadn’t been introduced yet, but forgetting things is very 8
Oh I knowww it’s a shame that she literally entered the Eight-verse not long after, as she’s my fave. Still, that reference to his BF companions is one of the biggest factors in me getting into them in the first place!
I think what you’ve said here is something really important that lots of people don’t consider; I remember watching TNOTD and thinking ‘Charley? C’rizz? More Doctor Who characters I have yet to meet?’ and it was because of that that I began my EU journey with 8. So while some might argue that the EU is too obscure to be referenced, there will likely be a correlation between how much it is referenced, and how well-known it becomes, going some way to resolve the problem that prevents it form being referenced in the first place. All we need is for the TV show to keep acknowledging it and the respect for it might increase exponentially!
Love to have this thread! One of the things that made me so interested in DW in the first place was exactly its EU. I remember reading on Wikipedia about how ‘this episode refers to this book when Rose mentions planet blahblah’ and thinking that was so cool. Because I first spend at least a year only reading Wikipedia pages and not even watching the show, so I got to discover a lot of stupid obscure trivia and Bernice Summerfield alongside omg secret War Doctor incarnation.
And the same way the EU lured me in, it’s also what kept me coming back to it. I had heard of BF before I’d seen a full season, and I’d nervously downloaded some free stories from the site before even getting to Tennant’s first season. Cause you heard so much of ‘the audios’ and they sounded so intimidating but also so wonderful. And (allow me the dramatization) after listening to the Lycherwick Abomination, suddenly Doctor Who wasn’t just another interesting looking TV show anymore, but something greater. Finding out that The Power of the Doctor was followed by a comic strip, which was then followed by a charity minisode. DW didn’t seem like a TV series, but like one infinitely continuing, incredible story, spanning every medium you could think of.
So I really don’t think I would’ve loved DW as much as I do if it hadn’t been for the EU. (and the Morbius movie, but that’s another story)
Considering the 60th, and all anniversaries, are there to celebrate Doctor Who, its a shame that they celebrated the Beep the Meep comics and then casted the same actor who plays Hebe, as a different character. Imagine if we had Mel and Hebe working at UNIT together!!!
I mentioned this the other day in a thread, but to the average viewer they wouldn’t have bat an eyelid. The amount of Whotubers like Blindwave for example, were just like “okay slay previous companion” at Mel, could’ve done the same for Hebe! Even just a reference would’ve been nice, like “oh my Aunt travelled with you!”
If we ever get an onscreen Evelyn reference, i will cry. I’m anticipating a potential EU reference in Interstellar Song Contest, like you can definitely get a DW and the Pirates reference in there
I appreciate the EU giving an infinity of more Doctor Who to experience. I think it’s cool that Doctor Who can exist in any form that someone wants, and can use different forms of media to be free of the restrictions that exist in TV as a medium. Lots of great new characters, I’ve liked Erimem, Evelyn, and Hex to name a few. One can never say they’re out of Doctor Who, there’s always more, which is fun.
I know some may think I don’t care about the EU, or look down on it, but I really don’t. I think it has so much to offer, so many good stories, and I’m glad it exists.
I was quite disappointed last year by the restriction of how many times the Doctor has met Sutekh! There was no need for RTD to do that, and he did it anyway. Likewise I’m rather nervous for any S2 retcons
Ever since I got into Doctor Who (I think introduction might have been an Eleventh Doctor comic actually), I’ve always been intrigued by the show’s enormous EU.
It was (and still is) like nothing I had ever encountered before.
As soon as I got into DW, I bought the latest issue of DWM. It was the issue with the Sixth Doctor on the cover to promote the brand new story Mind of the Hodiac. I was very intrigued. That issue introduced me to something called Big Finish Productions. I found the concept of Doctor Who audio dramas really interesting, and I wanted to find out more.
When I discovered TARDIS Wiki, I was amazed. I would spend ages clicking random things on the site and discovering new information. I discovered secret companions and missing adventures; the fates of my favourite characters, and the fact that everything was connected.
Now, my main focus in the EU is the books, short stories, and comics, but the audios have always felt so magical to me.
And that’s my big goal for this year.
To listen to more audios!
I want to spend more time with my favourite characters, experience those stories I’ve heard so much about, and have fun!
The EU expands and adds to Doctor Who’s lore in so many ways. It is extremely important.
