I just say that Atkinson was actually McGann's incarnation--he just got a grazing hit from The Master's tissue compression gun.
Here's a page all about it. Where did you hear that from? And also, I remember the Master saying that it was the ninth doctor.
What? The word just has multiple meanings. Like when everybody refers to the Western literary canon. That use wouldn't fit in with either of your definitions.
^Of course the word has many definitions -- as I said, it's originally from the church. But that's its primary meaning as applied to franchise fiction, as originated by Sherlock Holmes fandom -- as a term for the core material itself as distinct from its tie-ins, adaptations, and fan fiction.
The meaning of words change over time, that's how language has always evolved. You're seriously pissing in to the wind if you think it's in anyway incorrect to use the word canon in the way people in this thread have. Personally, I don't care either way as I choose my own canon. No way am I including End of Time but not numerous novels and audios of great quality.
You should take a look at Doctor Who Magazine #462, which has a big rundown of almost every "non-canonical" Doctor.
Pointing out that a definition exists is not the same as endorsing it to the exclusion of all others. You seemed to be unfamiliar with the usage I was explaining (you asked "What?" as if you'd never heard it before), so I was attempting to offer clarification. (Perhaps a usage that's well-known in Star Trek circles is less familiar to Doctor Who fandom for the reasons discussed above?) The last thing I want is to get dragged into another tedious online debate about the meaning of canon.
Don't be so patronising man, Christ. I am familiar with its usage in that way as I engage with the literary community. I've also seen it in other ways, and it's primarily used in the sci-fi/fantasy community as a way of referring to official continuity. Nobody is making a mistake here.
^Well, you asked "What?" That sounded to me like unfamiliarity, so I was just trying to help. I'm not accusing anyone of making a mistake, so I don't know why you're being so defensive. In point of fact, I was having a perfectly civil and productive conversation with Andrew Kearley on the subject, and then you took it upon yourself to barge in and address me in this confrontational manner, which frankly I find rather rude.
James Bow's Trenchcoat was the pioneering work in the genre. I believe the first issue of that fanzine came out in 1991. Trenchcoat presented itself as the Target novelizations of Edward Peel-Smith's (and later John Thaw's) seasons as the Doctor, along with fake Radio Times listings and newspaper articles. The Doctor Who Project is following in Bow's footsteps.
In the same vein the Bullseye Books series, with Robert Hardy as the Doctor, came out around the same time. Can't remember who did that now. In fact, James and me had a sort of friendly rivalry going about the whole thing, when we discovered we were covering the same sort of ground. (And indeed he even introduced me to one of his artists, Martin Proctor.) I always admire James for persevering with the project far more than I ever managed to!