Paul Cornell - The Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide

Some of our arms may have fallen into Xeron hands, but we are absolutely sane.

We make this point at the outset because any new Doctor Whobook needs to justify its existence in a crowded market. Doctor Who The Discontinuity Guideis a work of reference, but we dont list every actor or feature plot descriptions. If youre interested in Doctor Whothen you will know such things already.

Our concern is Doctor Whoas it appeared on screen, and what follows is a fiction, a game, that evolves from the stated facts.

Doctor Whowas made by lots of people, most of whom didnt know or care about continuity. Its writers were television professionals. Superb hacks in many cases, but still, ultimately, only interested in writing their four episodes. They werent normally bothered about how their ideas fitted in with something that was written 20 years previously, nor should they have been. Continuity often spoils creativity, as Robert Holmes proved, time and time again, ignoring things that he himself created if they got in the way.

It is the job of the fan to worry about such things, to ponder the three entirely separate explanations for the sinking of Atlantis.

The task we have set ourselves is to knit together what we see on screen into one big story. We make no apologies for this. As a matter of course any book on the fictional worlds of Doctor Whohas to expand upon what is stated or implied on screen.

Sometimes references gel with a kind of beautiful serendipity, as if they were designed that way all along. Sometimes continuity has to be beaten into place with a sledgehammer. Whether you nod your head in agreement or throw the book across a crowded train bellowing Unworthy of the diamond logo! its all the same to us. This is one of the reasons why we say to you: the game isnt over. It continues with you. All approaches are valid. Dissent is good. Write and tell us your version and perhaps well be able to use it if theres a revised edition.

We do not want this book to act as a straitjacket, confining future authors.