Doctor Who Spin-offs

Doctor Who Spin-offs

Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Both during the main run of the series from 1963 to 1989 and after its cancellation, numerous novels, comic strips, comic books and other material were generated based on the characters and situations introduced in the show. These spin-offs continued to be produced even without a television series to support them and helped keep the show alive in the minds of its fans and the public until the programme was revived in 2005.

This entry mainly concentrates on "official" spin-offs, that is to say, material sanctioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation, which produces the series, as well as material sanctioned by the copyright holders of characters from the series.

One aspect of Doctor Who spin-offs which makes them different from many spin-offs from other science fiction franchises is that many of the television writers and stars have been directly involved in the production of spin-offs. For example, it has become common for a former television actor to reprise their character for an audio play.

The degree to which the spin-offs are canon is a topic of much discussion by Doctor Who fans. Although the spin-offs generally do not intentionally contradict the television series, the various spin-off series do occasionally contradict each other, in chronology, in characters which are in one series and not the other, and in characterization, particularly of the Eighth Doctor. The Whoniverse article has more on fan debate regarding canon.