The DWAD alternate timeline. Clockwise from top: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Vincent Savage, David Segal, Jeffrey Coburn, Jym DeNatale, James K. Flynn, and R. Douglas Barbieri.
History
Originally formed in 1982, though some dates list it as 1981. Still producing in 2011.
In 2011, The Doctor Who Audio Dramas began its 30th continuous year of programming. This makes the DWADs the world's longest running, continuous production of Doctor Who, beating out the BBC's 26 years which ended in 1989. (Some would argue that the continuous run by the BBC actually ended in 1985 when the show went on hiatus for 18 months during the Colin Baker run.)
To date, the Doctor has been played by six actors: Vincent Savage, David Segal, Jeffrey Coburn, Jym DeNatale, James K. Flynn, and R. Douglas Barbieri.
In October 2010, the DWADs claimed 70,000 episode downloads per month.
Chronology
Pinning down exactly where the DWADs branch off from the BBC canon has been difficult. According to the people at DWAD, they have always stated that the DWADs take place "after the BBC", though a number of fans have surmised that different Doctors are actually alternates to the canonical BBC ones. This is evidenced by David Segal clearly being a copy of the Fourth Doctor and DeNatale bearing a striking resemblence in mannerism to the Sixth. Compairsons to other Doctors, however, become more difficult as Savage, Coburn, and Flynn can not be easily compared to other Doctors, while Barbieri is a reflection of the First Doctor. Speaking strongly to the idea that the DWADs follow the BBC is the regeneration scene in Might of the Starry Sea in which all BBC Doctors up to David Tenant were heard in a flashback as well as the story The Webs of Time which also included clips from every BBC Doctor that was canon up to the time the story was made.
Productions
The Doctor Who Audio Dramas have produced 172 stories spanning 35 seasons. Currently, 52 stories and two individual episodes have been made available for download.
- Vincent Savage Era Stories
- David Segal Era Stories
- Jeffrey Coburn Era Stories
- Jym DeNatale Era Stories
- James K Flynn Era Stories
- R. Douglas Barbieri Era Stories
E-Books
E-Books based on The Doctor Who Audio Dramas are written by fans without the input of the production team. These e-books are made publicly available on the DWAD message board for people to read, and at least one partial book is listed on the DWAD website proper. However, it has been made clear by the production that these books are not considered part of the canon.
For details of all the completed stories so far, read the DWAD E-Books article.