Rip Van Winkle was a fictional character known for sleeping for a long time.
In 2070, when the Second Doctor guessed that the year was 2050, Jack Hobson commented to the rest of the Moonbase crew that "we've got a proper Rip Van Winkle here." (TV: The Moonbase [+]Kit Pedler, Doctor Who season 4 (BBC1, 1967).)
In 2096, Mrs Craig called the Doctor "Doctor Rip Van Winkle". (PROSE: The Indestructible Man [+]Simon Messingham, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).)
In the 22nd century, Fitz Kreiner, seeing how quickly Robertson and Caroline Arquette had become friends, felt like Rip Van Winkle waking from a long sleep. (PROSE: Fear Itself [+]Nick Wallace, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2005).)
Van Winkle worlds were Earth colonies inhabited by humans who had been frozen for the interstellar journeys. (PROSE: The Highest Science [+]Gareth Roberts, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1993).)