Canon (fiction)

In the context of fiction, the canon of a fictional universe comprises those novels, stories, films, etc. that are considered to be genuine (or "official"), and those events, characters, settings, etc. that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe. Usually items that are considered canon come from the original source of the fictional universe while non-canon material comes from adaptations or unofficial items. Generally, Expanded Universes are not considered canon, though there are exceptions which are considered near-canon.

Examples of fictional canons

Babylon 5

The canon consists of the television series Babylon 5 and its later TV movies, the TV series Crusade, the Babylon 5 novels and the Babylon 5 comic book published by DC Comics. This was decided by J. Michael Straczynski, who maintained a tight control on the expanded universe to ensure everything was canonical.

Related Topics:
Babylon 5 - Crusade - DC Comics - J. Michael Straczynski

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DC Universe

Most, but not all, comic books published by DC Comics take place in a shared world known as the DC Universe. The canon of this world comprises all the post-Crisis comics not stated to be set in an alternate universe, except those specifically contradicted by later stories following Zero Hour (most notably, ', ' and the Action Comics Weekly strip featuring Captain Marvel). The events may not have occurred exactly as shown, however, owing to the floating timeline.

Related Topics:
Comic book - DC Comics - DC Universe - Post-Crisis - Alternate universe - Zero Hour - Action Comics - Captain Marvel - Floating timeline

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Appearances of the DC Comics characters in other media are not considered canon.

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DC Animated Universe

Many of the DC animated television series of the 1990s and 2000s comprise their own canon, distinct from that of the comic books that spawned them. This "DC Animated Universe" includes '; '; Batman Beyond; Justice League (animated series); and Justice League Unlimited, as well as the animated movies '; World's Finest; '; '; and '.

Related Topics:
Animated television series - 1990s - 2000s - DC Animated Universe - Batman Beyond - Justice League (animated series) - Justice League Unlimited - World's Finest

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The comic books based on the animated series are not considered part of the animated canon.

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Doctor Who

There has never been an "official" statement on what is canonical Doctor Who. Doctor Who has never had a single author or authority and it is apparent that the BBC, which owns the series, has generally not cared about the matter. The many creators of Doctor Who have always treated the concept of continuity loosely. Fans run a spectrum between those who consider only the television series canonical and those who consider all Doctor Who canonical. Within that spectrum many view the licensed novels and audio plays as at least near-canonical, and some of those would also include the Doctor Who Magazine comic strips. It is generally assumed that all televised Doctor Who episodes from 1963 to 1989, plus the 1996 telemovie, are canonical, including a 1965 episode in which the First Doctor breaks the fourth wall to wish viewers a Merry Christmas ("The Feast of Steven", episode 7 of The Daleks' Master Plan).

Related Topics:
Doctor Who - BBC - Novels - Audio plays - Doctor Who Magazine - 1963 - 1989 - 1996 telemovie - 1965 - First Doctor - Fourth wall - Christmas - The Daleks' Master Plan

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A small faction of Doctor Who fans considers the 1996 television film, and the Eighth Doctor portrayed therein, to be non-canonical. The new Doctor Who series, which started in 2005, is a continuation of the earlier series, and also seems to be widely considered canonical. The new series itself seems to treat the original series and the television film as canonical, and has made subtle references to some novels and in one case the comic strip, but like all Doctor Who it is unlikely to be bound by anything that has gone before.

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Generally, the canonical status of all Doctor Who spin-off media outside of what has been presented on screen (bar obvious spoofs) is debatable, including the BBC radio dramas and webcasts based upon the show. The two theatrical films based upon the series in the 1960s, starring Peter Cushing, are not generally considered canonical, nor is the considerable background information contained in the role-playing game produced by FASA in the 1980s.

Related Topics:
Doctor Who spin-off - BBC radio - Webcast - 1960s - Peter Cushing - Role-playing game - 1980s

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Many of the short stories in the BBC anthology Short Trips and Side Steps have settings generally considered non-canonical; for instance, one story features the Cushing Doctor, while another is set between the Children in Need EastEnders crossover Dimensions in Time and the Doctor's appearance in the schools' programme Search Out Science.

Related Topics:
Cushing Doctor - Children in Need - EastEnders - Dimensions in Time - Search Out Science

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The comic strips (Ground Zero, DWM #238-242), Eighth Doctor Adventures (Sometime Never... by Justin Richards) and the Big Finish Productions audio plays (Zagreus) have all attempted to provide an in-continuity explanation for discrepancies by suggesting that their respective continuities take place in separate parallel universes.

Related Topics:
Eighth Doctor Adventures - Justin Richards - Big Finish Productions - Zagreus - Parallel universe

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Firefly/Serenity

The canon of Firefly and its cinematic follow-up Serenity is the fourteen episodes of Firefly, the film Serenity, and the three-issue Dark Horse Comics series, also titled Serenity, that bridges the television series and the film.

Related Topics:
Firefly - Serenity - Dark Horse Comics - Serenity

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James Bond

Fans of Ian Fleming's superspy are divided over what is considered official canon. There is little argument that all of Fleming's original short stories and novels are canon, and some include the Kingsley Amis Bond novel, Colonel Sun in this canon as well. The status of the John Gardner and Raymond Benson Bond novels in canon is less certain, since both book series have been updated and feature elements and characters created for the movie series. Benson's novels are particularly controversial as they appear to be based upon the Bond movie universe, rather than the literary Bond. The various Bond film novelizations are generally considered apocryphal, as is a 1970s "authorized biography" of Bond by John Pearson.

Related Topics:
Ian Fleming - Kingsley Amis - Colonel Sun - John Gardner - Raymond Benson - Apocryphal - John Pearson

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A new series of novels featuring a teenaged Bond written by Charlie Higson was released in the beginning of 2005. It remains to be seen if this series will be considered official canon. The TV series James Bond Jr., while officially licensed, is not considered canonical.

Related Topics:
Teenaged Bond - Charlie Higson - 2005 - James Bond Jr.

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The Bond movies, meanwhile, appear to exist somewhat outside of any canon. Although there is some between-films continuity (e.g. references to the death of Bond's wife), the ever-changing cast has rendered any sort of canon determination virtually impossible.

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Macross

The Macross canon consists of two animated TV series (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross and its distant sequel, Macross Seven), a movie which is treated as a historical drama produced in the "Macross universe" (') and two Original Animation Videos (Macross Plus, a sequel and Macross Zero, a prequel). Not included is ', a sequel hurriedly produced by Big West for the 10th Anniversary of Macross in 1992.

Related Topics:
Macross - The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Macross Seven - Macross Plus - Macross Zero - Big West - 1992

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Marvel Universe

Most, but not all, comic books publised by Marvel Comics are set in a shared world known as the Marvel Universe. The canon for this world comprises all the comics not stated to be set in an alternate universe, except those specifically contradicted by later stories. The events may not have occurred exactly as shown, however, owing to the floating timeline.

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - Marvel Universe - Alternate universe - Floating timeline

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Appearances of the Marvel Comics characters in other media are not considered canon.

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Middle-earth

Defining the Middle-earth canon is difficult, because many key writings were not published by J. R. R. Tolkien before his death. A considerable number of Tolkien fans do not believe that a canon can be defined at all, preferring to observe the evolution of Tolkien's stories in the many versions and drafts published posthumously in the History of Middle-earth series. Most, however, agree that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are canon, and also include a substantial amount of material published in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and other posthumous books, as well as information from Tolkien's letters. Works outside of canon include art books (except for the collections of Tolkien's own art) and video games; the Lord of the Rings movies by Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson are generally considered non-canonical as well.

Related Topics:
Middle-earth - J. R. R. Tolkien - Tolkien fan - History of Middle-earth - The Hobbit - The Lord of the Rings - The Silmarillion - Unfinished Tales - Letters - Ralph Bakshi - Peter Jackson

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Mortal Kombat

The Mortal Kombat series has an especially interesting (and confusing) plot canon. Every game in the series features a different ending for each character. Often, the endings in a single game will contradict each other. Fans tend to speculate about which endings are canon from whatever game has most recently been released, however the "true" endings are never officially known until the plot of the next game is revealed. Because not every ending from a game can be true, the majority of the endings from each game are non-canon. Additionally, portions of some endings may be considered canon while the rest of the ending is ignored.

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An interesting trend associated with this line of canon plot is that nearly every game assumes the "good guys" (typically, the Earthrealm kombatants) prevailed over the "bad guys." In fact, this trend has only recently been broken, with the release of 2004's ', which assumes that Earthrealm's warriors lost and died at the hands of the Deadly Alliance.

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Sherlock Holmes

The Sherlock Holmes canon consists of the stories and novels written by Arthur Conan Doyle. This was decided by the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of Holmes enthusiasts, to distinguish the original stories from the pastiches that followed Holmes' retirement, and is probably the first use of the word in this context.

Related Topics:
Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle - The Baker Street Irregulars - Pastiche

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The Simpsons

In The Simpsons, most episodes are considered to be canon, though some may not be able to match others exactly. There is one episode that parodies this: Ned Flanders gives Homer a football ticket and they become friends by the end of the episode. http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/episodeguide/season5/1f14.shtml

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Lisa: Don't worry, Bart. It seems like every week

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something odd happens to the Simpsons.

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My advice is to ride it out, make the occasional smart-aleck quip,

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and by next week we'll be back to where we started from,

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ready for another wacky adventure.

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Bart: Ay, caramba!

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Lisa: That's the spirit.

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In the very last scene, however, it is like none of it ever happened.

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There are references to other episodes in some, such as the fact that the Simpson family travelled to all of the continents in the world, save Antarctica. However, the location of Springfield is a big issue, and most clues to finding Springfield in the United States contradicts many other hints in previous episodes.

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Some special episodes, such as the Treehouse of Horror specials, clip shows, and "Behind the Laughter," are not considered to be canon.

Related Topics:
Treehouse of Horror - Behind the Laughter

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The original Shorts, appearing as filler in The Tracey Ullman Show, featuring what could be considered prototypes of the characters that have appeared in the half-hour episodes are not considered canonical, though there have been occasional references to events from the earlier episodes.

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Star Trek

The Star Trek canon consists of the television series ', ', ', ', ', and ' and its sequels. The non-canonical status of the various novels, comic books and ' was decided by Gene Roddenberry, who also claimed that the Trek film ' was "slightly apocryphal".

Related Topics:
Star Trek - Novel - Comic book - Gene Roddenberry

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The canon/non-canon status of the various reference books such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia and various companions acompanying the series is still debated. Many consider such reference works to be canon, while others do not; there is currently no clear answer solving this problem. A similar problem exists with trading cards cataloging information from the series.

Related Topics:
Star Trek Encyclopedia - Trading card

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South Park

Another notable animation series in this context is South Park. It follows the misbehavings of a group of four friends. At the end of most early episodes, the character of Kenny dies, but at the start of each new episode, he's found to be alive again. Whilst this was originally explained by his fading into existence at the begining of the second episode of the "Who Is Cartman's Father?" two-parter, it was later revealed that Kenny's mother gives birth to a new 'Kenny' immediately after the passing of the old one. The 'Kenny' born when this explanation was made was the 52nd.

Related Topics:
South Park - Kenny

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