These are a series of video shorts, short stories, and comics, which have appeared on various websites in 2020, as a way of passing time (and distracting ourselves) during the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine. (There have also been "watch-along" or "tweet-along" rebroadcasts of various episodes of Doctor Who. But as I'm not in the UK, I haven't watched those. Actually, I guess they're simulcast worldwide, but I've no idea where I could possibly watch them.) I'm not sure how canonical any of the things I list on this page actually are, but I'm guessing the answer would be: not very.
Strax Saves the Day (video; 2:04)
RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; Twitter; YouTube
Released on March 21, this was written by series 5-10 showrunner Steven Moffat. It features a toy figure of Strax (the Sontaran member of the Paternoster Gang) introducing the first watchalong, of The Day of the Doctor. It was rather amusing, at least if you typically find Strax amusing.
Things She Thought While Falling (short story)
BBC.co.uk; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core
Released on March 25, this is a short story that appears on the BBC website. It was written by current (series 11-?) showrunner Chris Chibnall, and is set directly between the 2017 Christmas special Twice Upon a Time and the start of series 11. At the end of the special, the newly regenerated 13th Doctor had just fallen out of the TARDIS, which was high up in the sky, which explains the title of the story. Before I even read it, I wondered if it would be reminiscent of the things a certain newly transformed whale thought as it fell, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and when I did read it, I found the style unmistakably an homage to that particular passage. Though of course the details are greatly different, because the whale started out knowing nothing and the Doctor started out knowing a very great deal. But I definitely thought it was the same style, and definitely very amusing.
Message from the Doctor (video; 1:21)
RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on March 25, this was written by Chibnall. The 13th Doctor is hiding from Sontarans, while delivering a message of hope to anyone who might be feeling distressed (for whatever reason; Covid-19 isn't specifically mentioned). It's a bit amusing, but mostly it's meant to be comforting. And I suppose it is, somewhat.
Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)
BBC.co.uk; DoctorWho.tv; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core
Released on March 26, as a prequel to the watch-along of "Rose" (the first episode of series 1), this was written by series 1-4 showrunner Russell T Davies. It's all about how the Time War ends, and the 8th Doctor dies what is supposed to be his final death (because reasons), and then... he regenerates, anyway. Of course this isn't really how it happened; it was written in 2013, but set aside because it didn't fit with Moffat's plans. So it was never published until 2020. Anyway, it's not bad.
Revenge of the Nestene (short story / video; 10:54)
Instagram; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on March 26, the story (written by Davies) is narrated Jacob Dudman. (The video is just him in a recording booth.) It's a sequel to "Rose," told from the perspective of a single Nestene that survived the encounter with Rose and the Doctor in that episode, unbeknownst to them. And now it has plans for the future, though I don't want to say more than that. It's a fairly amusing story, especially if you understand the implication of the ending (which is probably more obvious if you're from the UK). It is, incidentally, the first one of these "Lockdown" things that I saw, and probably the first time I became aware of the existence of any of this stuff.
Incoming Message (video; 0:34)
Tardis Data Core; Twitter
Released on March 26, written by Davies. The video features Yvonne Hartman, of Torchwood One, who delivers a message about self-isolation. This is the first time I've ever heard of the character, who previously only appeared in audio dramas, so I don't really know anything about her (or really, anything that's happened with Torchwood in any form other than the TV program). But it's an interesting short that goes from apparently caring to subtly threatening pretty quickly.
Vincent and the Doctor's Gallery (video; 4:35)
YouTube
Released on March 30, as a tie-in to the watchalong of the series 5 episode "Vincent and the Doctor". The video starts with a clip from that episode, then shows fan art from around the world that's related to the episode, mixed with inspirational quotes from various Doctors.
Press Play (short story)
BBC.co.uk; DoctorWho.tv; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core
Released on April 1, written by Pete McTighe. The 13th Doctor is alone and bored and rather melancholy. Then the TARDIS activates a message that had been left by her granddaughter, Susan, a very long time ago. I'll leave it to you to read the story, but suffice to say the message cheers her up.
Breaking Isolation (comic)
Instagram; Tardis Data Core
Released on April 2, illustrated by Davies. A one-panel comic, the moral of which seems to be: If you break isolation, you are as bad as a Dalek, at least the ones in this comic. (Which is kind of true.)
The Raggedy Doctor by Amelia Pond (video; 3:35)
IMDb; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on April 3, written by Moffat, as a tie-in to the watchalong of the series 5 premiere, "The Eleventh Hour". This video is a simple animation of young Amelia Pond's journal, the entries of which are narrated by Caitlin Blackwood (who played young Amelia starting with that episode; of course she's older now, but I think she does a great job of doing a young voice). Amelia writes about her best friend, the raggedy Doctor, who she's only seen once, but hopes to see again soon. She also writes about her other friends, Rory and Mels. Anyway, the whole thing is absolutely adorbs.
The Terror of the Umpty Ums (short story)
BBC.co.uk; DoctorWho.tv; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core
Released on April 7, written by Moffat. This is either about a DeathBorg 400 warrior named Karpagnon, who is currently projecting a hologram around himself in the form of a 12-year-old human boy named David; or it's about a boy named David who has a dissociative disorder and believes himself to be a DeathBorg 400 warrior named Karpagnon. I won't say which. What I will say is that the story is scary in a way that has nothing to do with monsters or aliens (or alien monsters), and that the 13th Doctor manages to, at least for now, allay the terror. I'll also say that it's a really good story, and Moffat really nails this Doctor's voice, despite her not being one of his Doctors.
United we stand, 2m apart (video; 0:33)
RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; Twitter; YouTube
Released on April 8, written by Chibnall. The 13th Doctor delivers a very brief set of instructions specifically about the Covid-19 pandemic.
Four tips from the Doctor to get you through self-isolation (video; 1:43)
Facebook; Twitter; YouTube
Released on April 9. This is the second "Lockdown" thing I ever saw, though at that point I still hadn't made the connection that there was an ongoing series of such things (aside from the watchalongs, which as I said, weren't something I could watch). It's similar to the video mentioned just above this one, and ends with the same title, but they're completely different messages. (I didn't discover the earlier one until later, when I was working on this page.) Anyway, I like both videos.
Rory's Story (video; 2:24)
IMDb; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on April 11, written by Neil Gaiman. This coincides with the watchalong of the series 6 episode "The Doctor's Wife" (which was also written by Gaiman). This is a message Rory Williams records on his smartphone, in 1946 (sometime after "The Angels Take Manhattan"), to be watched by his and Amy's soon-to-be adopted baby son, Anthony. It's really funny and sweet (I mean after all, it's Rory), though he doesn't actually get a chance to tell the next chapter of his story just yet. But he does mention being impressed by people's resilience, in reference to World War II, which recently ended. Which I think is a nice correlation to the current pandemic, which after all is the point of all... )))THIS(((
The Shadow Passes (short story)
BBC.co.uk; DoctorWho.tv; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core
Released on April 15, written by Paul Cornell. I think I should hold off on reading this until after I've seen series 12.
Farewell, Sarah Jane (video; 13:33)
Break Room of Geeks; Facebook; IMDb; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; Twitter; YouTube
Released on April 19, written by Davies. I think I should hold off on watching this until after I've seen all of The Sarah Jane Adventures. (Which is a shame because I'm really eager to watch this.)
The Simple Things (short story)
BBC.co.uk; DoctorWho.tv; Tardis Data Core
Released on April 22, written by Joy Wilkinson. Just a fun little story featuring the 13th Doctor, Graham, Yaz, and Ryan, about a football (aka soccer) practice, in 1896. Well, and an alien contracting a Terran ironworks to build a spaceship, but that's not really important.
Shadow of a Doubt (audio story w/picture; 2:56)
Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on April 24, written by Cornell. This is (sort of) the middle part of a (sort of) trilogy that started with "The Shadow Passes"; it, and the third part, were written to coincide with the watchalong of the two-part series 3 story "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" (also written by Cornell). Despite having decided not to read the first part yet, I decided I might as well watch this and the third part, as they're really just related to those series 3 episodes, and not to series 12. Anyway, this story is read by a character named Bernice "Benny" Summerfield, with whom I am not familiar, because she was never on the TV show, just in a ton of novels and short stories and comics and audio stories. (The extended Whoniverse is freaking huger than I have the courage to delve into, you know.) In this story, she finds a mirror in which is trapped a young girl (from the Family of Blood). She had been trapped there long ago by the 10th Doctor, and visited by various incarnations of the Doctor ever since. And that's all I want to say about that.
The Shadow in the Mirror (audio story w/picture; 5:36)
RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on April 24, written by Cornell. This story mentions the events of "The Shadow Passes" in, well, passing, but I don't think it really spoiled anything from that story, let alone series 12. In this story, the 13th Doctor comes to talk to the girl in the mirror and finally release her from her imprisonment. Not so much for the girl's sake as for the Doctor's, I guess. It's not a bad story.
The Castellan has returned and has brought a message from Gallifrey! (video; 0:51)
Tardis Data Core; Twitter
Released on April 25, as a tie-in to a watchalong of The Five Doctors. It's very brief and silly and inconsequential.
Sven and the Scarf (video; 2:57)
IMDb; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on April 30, written by Andrew Ireland, as a prequel to the watchalong of the series 1 episode "Dalek". A researcher at GeoComTex named Sven examines the 4th Doctor's scarf, finding various tiny artifacts stuck to it, from various adventures. It's all pretty funny, if you're familiar with any of those adventures.
Dalek alternative script extract (short story)
Tardis Data Core; Twitter
Released on April 30, as a tie-in to the watchalong of "Dalek." It was written by Robert Shearman, who also wrote that episode. It's actually a series of excerpts from a nonexistent alternate script, with different monsters used instead of a Dalek. The whole thing is basically a redonkulous joke, which is fine (if you like redonkulous jokes).
Pompadour (video; 2:39)
IMDb; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 6, this is a sequel to the series 2 episode "The Girl in the Fireplace", coinciding with a watchalong of that episode. They were both written by Moffat. We hear Madame de Pompadour talking about... how she can't see the Doctor, and wishes he would come back to her. And how Versailles has grown silent, and she misses the chatter. And she talks of a dream she's had lately, and a fear... and, well, I don't want to reveal any more. It's all quite tragic and chilling, but an excellent story. (Incidentally, this is the third "Lockdown" thing I saw, and the one that finally made me decide to find out how many more such things there might be, and to start this page to list them.)
The Zygon Isolation (video; 3:24)
RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 10, written by Peter Harness, as a tie-in to a watchalong of the two-part series 9 story "The Zygon Invasion" and "The Zygon Inversion" (which were also written by Harness). The two Osgoods have a conversation on Zoom, mostly talking about how bored they are in self-isolation. (But as one of them says, sometimes you can save the world by being bored.) They also read some text messages from the 13th Doctor. The whole thing is fun because it's just so nice to see them again. I always quite liked Osgood(s).
How the Monk Got His Habit (short story)
Tardis Data Core; Twitter
Released on May 11, written by Harness. This is supposedly the opening scene of an unfinished novelization of an unproduced TV episode of the same name. It's about a renegade Time Lord with whom I'm unfamiliar, but he appeared in a couple of episodes during the First Doctor's time, as well as various other media featuring various Doctors, I guess. Anyway, it's just one page, and it's fairly silly. It doesn't get into anything about a monk's habit, which I'm sure would have (hypothetically) come later in the story, if the story had ever been completed. But this one little scene is kind of fun, for what it is.
The Descendants of Pompeii (video; 4:16)
Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 17, written by James Moran, as a tie-in to a watchalong of the series 4 episode "The Fires of Pompeii" (which Moran also wrote). A woman named Evie has a video chat with her mother (both of whom are played by actresses who appeared as their ancestors in "The Fires of Pompeii"). At one point, Evie speculates that someone may have been watching over their family for many generations, to make sure they're safe.
Listen (poem w/picture; 3:00)
Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 20, written by Moffat, as a tie-in to the series 8 episode "Listen" (also written by Moffat). Read by Jacob Dudman. So... someone is writing a poem (the opening lines of which were heard in the TV episode), which is basically about fear, and the 12th Doctor eventually shows up and asks him to get rid of the poem. But the author refuses. I'd say it's a decent poem, anyway.
Fear Is a Superpower (video comic; 3:13)
Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 20, written by James Peaty, as a tie-in to the watchalong of "Listen." Narrated by Richard Ashton. The comic ties together words spoken to Danny Pink by the 12th Doctor when Danny (aka Rupert) was a little boy, in "Listen," with events throughout Danny's life, culminating in the end of the episode "Death in Heaven."
Doctors Assemble! (video; 15:15)
IMDb; RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; TV Tropes; YouTube
Released on May 23, written by James Goss. So... there's a CGI tardis, but we don't see much of that exactly. Mostly it's a series of photos of each of the thirteen Doctors. Oh, plus the War Doctor. (None of them are voiced by actors who have played the Doctors on TV, though I thought they were mostly pretty good impressions. The First Doctor is voiced by David Bradley, who played William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time; this short served as a tie-in to a watchalong of that movie.) The Fourth Doctor is trapped in the tardis, so he uses its telepathic circuits to contact his former and future selves to help free him, and to stop an alien invasion of Earth. However, they mostly just squabble amongst themselves. It's all quite amusing.
Lockdown Long Song (video; 6:00)
Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 26, as a tie-in to a watchalong of the series 7 episode "The Rings of Akhaten." A choir of over 300 fans from around the world sang the "Long Song" from that episode. (There's a choir-only version, but I chose to link to a version that includes instrumentation.)
The Secret of Novice Hame (video; 11:17)
RadioTimes; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on May 30, as a tie-in to the watchalong of the series 2 episode "New Earth" and the series 3 episode "Gridlock." It was written by Davies, who wrote both those episodes. This video is lightly animated, and features Novice Hame, from those episodes, reflecting on her life, on the final day of her life. She is visited by the tenth Doctor (both characters are voiced by the actors who played them on TV, Anna Hope and David Tennant). That's all I really want to say, but it's a sweet story.
The Best of Days (video; 5:22)
IMDb; Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on June 7, written by Moffat, this was originally intended as a tie-in to the watchalong of the series 10 episodes "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls," but that watchalong didn't happen. Telepathic messages are sent from Nardole to Bill Potts (concerning events on the ship by the black hole) and from Bill to Nardole (concerning events in her life on Earth). There are allusions to both the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests, as well as ruminations about the Doctor. (Nardole and Bill are voiced by their TV actors, Matt Lucas and Pearl Mackie.)
Anyway, that is apparently the end of "Lockdown", and it's a very good ending. (At least until November.)
U.N.I.T. On Call (video; 10:10)
Tardis Data Core; YouTube
Released on November 14, written by Emily Cook and Jon Culshaw, as a tie-in to the watchalong of the series 4 episode "Turn Left". A present-day Doctor Who fan (Cook) calls UNIT, gets put on hold for awhile, but her call is eventually answered by the third Doctor, sometime in the 1970s. And after a little while the Brigadier and Jo Grant join the call. And they're all rather inspirational. I'm not sure what else to say, but it was nice to see a new Lockdown event, after all these months.
A Lockdown Carol (video; 6:49)
YouTube
Released on December 24, this video features a bunch of fans singing... I don't know what. I'm waiting to see a page about it on the Data Core, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen. But it's a lot like the "Long Song" that came out in May.
The Genuine Article (video; 5:53)
Tardis Data Core; TV Tropes; YouTube
Released on February 14, 2021. This was just weird.
Vale Lockdown (A capella version) (video; 5:31)
YouTube
Released on May 2, 2021. Once again, a bunch of people singing.