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{{retitle|''The Power of Three'' dating controversy}} | {{retitle|''The Power of Three'' dating controversy}} | ||
{{real world}} | {{real world}} | ||
'''''The Power of Three'' dating controversy''' stems from a narrative confusion beginning in [[series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)|series seven]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', noticeable particularly with the [[2012 (releases)|2012]] television story ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three]]'' by [[Chris Chibnall]]. Unlike his predecessor [[Russell T Davies]], as [[head writer]], [[Steven Moffat]] was vaguer on what was considered "present day", particularly after [[series 6 (Doctor Who 2005)|series six]]. | |||
In the [[DWM 447|October 2014 issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', reader Mike Bond submitted a question to Moffat about this discrepency: specifically, how [[Kate Stewart]] could meet the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald|Clara]] in ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'' in [[2013]] if she had first met the Doctor in ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three]]'', which could be deduced to be set in [[July]] [[2016]]. Moffat replied, | In the [[DWM 447|October 2014 issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', reader Mike Bond submitted a question to Moffat about this discrepency: specifically, how [[Kate Stewart]] could meet the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald|Clara]] in ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'' in [[2013]] if she had first met the Doctor in ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three]]'', which could be deduced to be set in [[July]] [[2016]]. Moffat replied, | ||
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=== Amy and Rory === | === Amy and Rory === | ||
==== Television ==== | ==== Television ==== | ||
In [[series 5 (Doctor Who)|series | [[File:Amy Pond age.jpg|thumb|Computer screens giving Amy Pond's age as 1308. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'')]] | ||
In [[series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|series five]] and [[series 6 (Doctor Who 2005)|series six]], present day episodes are consistently presented as being set in the year in which they were aired: | |||
* In ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' (2010), 21-year-old [[Amy Pond]] joins the [[Eleventh Doctor]] in the TARDIS after waiting for him for fourteen years. Later references would have her leaving in [[2010]], which would put her meeting as a 7-year-old in [[1996]], and the [[Atraxi]] incident in [[2008]]. However, despite [[Rory Williams]] being consistently presented as Amy's age, in an apparent prop mistake his identification badge for the [[Royal Leadworth Hospital]] was issued on [[30 November]] [[1990]]. | * In ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' (2010), 21-year-old [[Amy Pond]] joins the [[Eleventh Doctor]] in the TARDIS after waiting for him for fourteen years. Later references would have her leaving in [[2010]], which would put her meeting as a 7-year-old in [[1996]], and the [[Atraxi]] incident in [[2008]]. However, despite [[Rory Williams]] being consistently presented as Amy's age, in an apparent prop mistake his identification badge for the [[Royal Leadworth Hospital]] was issued on [[30 November]] [[1990]]. | ||
* In ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'' (2010), Amy's age is | * In ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'' (2010), Amy's age is spoken aloud by a [[Starship UK]] [[computer]] as being 1306 in [[3295]]. On-screen, however, her age is given as being [[1308 (number)|1308]], placing her year of birth as [[1987]], and would have made her 9-years-old in [[1996]]. | ||
* In ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]]'' (2010), the Doctor refers to [[26 June]] [[2010]] as "Amy's time". | * In ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]]'' (2010), the Doctor refers to [[26 June]] [[2010]] as "Amy's time". | ||
* In ''[[The Vampires of Venice (TV story)|The Vampires of Venice]]'' (2010), Rory claims that he will marry Amy "four-hundred-and-thirty years" after [[1580]], placing the year of their wedding in [[2010]]. | * In ''[[The Vampires of Venice (TV story)|The Vampires of Venice]]'' (2010), Rory claims that he will marry Amy "four-hundred-and-thirty years" after [[1580]], placing the year of their wedding in [[2010]]. | ||
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* In ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'' (broadcast 23 April 2011), Amy and Rory are invited to [[Lake Silencio]], where they witness the Doctor's apparent assassination. Later references date the assassination to 5:02 PM on [[22 April]] [[2011]]. | * In ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'' (broadcast 23 April 2011), Amy and Rory are invited to [[Lake Silencio]], where they witness the Doctor's apparent assassination. Later references date the assassination to 5:02 PM on [[22 April]] [[2011]]. | ||
* In ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'' (broadcast 27 August 2011), the Doctor returns to Amy and Rory after having been away "all summer" looking for [[Melody Pond]]. | * In ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'' (broadcast 27 August 2011), the Doctor returns to Amy and Rory after having been away "all summer" looking for [[Melody Pond]]. | ||
* In ''[[The God Complex (TV story)|The God Complex]]'' (2011), the Doctor leaves Amy and Rory on contemporary Earth. In the next episode, ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'' (2011), the Doctor sees Amy and Rory, apparently after he had left them on Earth, while at a shopping centre on [[19 April]] [[2011]].<ref>A newspaper the Doctor was reading displays that as the date.</ref> | * In ''[[The God Complex (TV story)|The God Complex]]'' (2011), the Doctor leaves Amy and Rory on contemporary Earth. In the next episode, ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'' (2011), the Doctor sees Amy and Rory, apparently after he had left them on Earth, while at a shopping centre on [[19 April]] [[2011]].<ref>A newspaper the Doctor was reading displays that as the date.</ref> How much time has passed for them, and therefore when exactly the Doctor dropped them off, is unclear. | ||
**One possibility is Amy and Rory lived through most of 2011 twice. However, Amy has become a famous [[model]] for the perfume [[Petrichor (perfume)|Petrichor]], leaving it difficult to believe two Amys could be living in the same year without being noticed. | |||
Beginning with [[series 7 (Doctor Who)|series | Beginning with [[series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)|series seven]], long gaps mentioned in the TV stories pushed its events further and further into the future. | ||
* In ''[[The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)|The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe]]'' (2011), the Doctor visits Amy and Rory for Christmas. Amy claims that it has been two years since they last saw the Doctor in ''The God Complex''. Depending on how the prior stories are interpreted, this comment could have several meanings: | * In ''[[The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)|The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe]]'' (2011), the Doctor visits Amy and Rory for Christmas. Amy claims that it has been two years since they last saw the Doctor in ''The God Complex''. Depending on how the prior stories are interpreted, this comment could have several meanings: | ||
** If ''Closing Time'' is taken to indicate that the Doctor left them in early 2011, and if Amy is assumed to be rounding up, ''The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe'' might be set in December [[2012]]. This reading is used to construct dates for the remainder of this article. | ** If ''Closing Time'' is taken to indicate that the Doctor left them in early 2011, and if Amy is assumed to be rounding up, ''The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe'' might be set in December [[2012]]. This reading is used to construct dates for the remainder of this article. | ||
** Alternately, if Amy's comment is taken totally literally, the story could be set in December 2013. This interpretation seems to be what Mike Bond followed with his question in [[DWM 447]]. | ** Alternately, if Amy's comment is taken totally literally, the story could be set in December 2013. This interpretation seems to be what Mike Bond followed with his question in [[DWM 447]]. | ||
** If much more time is assumed to have passed for Amy and Rory by ''Closing Time'' – for instance, if the Doctor left Amy and Rory as early as mid-2010 – it could be December 2011. | ** If much more time is assumed to have passed for Amy and Rory by ''Closing Time'' – for instance, if the Doctor left Amy and Rory as early as mid-2010 – it could be December 2011. | ||
* In ''[[Pond Life (TV story)|Pond Life]]'' (released August 2012), the Doctor remains in contact with Amy and Rory throughout [[April]], [[May]], [[June]], and [[July]] of the year following ''The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe''. Following the first interpretation of that story's dating described above, this would be the year [[2013]]. | * In ''[[Pond Life (TV story)|Pond Life]]'' (released August 2012), the Doctor remains in contact with Amy and Rory throughout [[April]], [[May]], [[June]], and [[July]] of the year following ''The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe''. Following the first interpretation of that story's dating described above, this would be the year [[2013]]. That [[August]], Amy and Rory almost divorce after an argument, but the Doctor helps reunite them in ''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]]'' (2012). | ||
* During ''[[Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)|Dinosaurs on a Spaceship]]'' (2012), Amy mentions that she hasn't seen the Doctor for 10 months. If ''Asylum of the Daleks'' is set at its earliest possible date, in August 2013, this would place ''Dinosaurs'' in [[June]] [[2014]]. | * During ''[[Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)|Dinosaurs on a Spaceship]]'' (2012), Amy mentions that she hasn't seen the Doctor for 10 months. If ''Asylum of the Daleks'' is set at its earliest possible date, in August 2013, this would place ''Dinosaurs'' in [[June]] [[2014]]. | ||
* In ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three]]'' (2012), the [[Shakri cube]]s arrive in [[July]] and remain dormant for a whole year | * However, also in ''Dinosaurs'', Rory mentions to his father that he is 31 years old. If one believes Rory being born in [[1989]], as mentioned in such sources as [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Broken Man (comic story)|The Broken Man]]'', then this would set this story in circa [[2020]]. If the story was set contemporary to broadcast, Rory should have been 22 or 23. Given that [[Arthur Darvill]] would have been 29 while filming the episode, it's likely that [[Chris Chibnall]] briefly forgot that Rory was younger than Darvill - thus he simply added two years to Darvill's age to imply it being set slightly into the future. | ||
** Given later information would confirm that Amy and Rory have aged while traveling in the TARDIS while their lives at home stay still, one could interpret that Rory was 31 without the story being 31 years from his birth. However, this seems to contradict it being a statement he makes to his father. | |||
* In ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three]]'' (2012), the [[Shakri cube]]s arrive in [[July]] and remain dormant for a whole year. Based on the idea that ''Dinosaurs'' takes place in 2014, [[the Year of the Slow Invasion]] would start in [[2014]] and end in [[2015]]. Based on the idea that the story takes place in 2020, the in-universe "pandemic" would instead take place in 2020 and 2021. [[Kate Stewart]] meets the Doctor for the first time during this year, identifying him only by his [[binary vascular system]] rather than his face, and she is surprised when he knows her father is [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]]. However, in ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'' (2013), which is set in [[2013]], Kate is already familiar with the Doctor. | |||
* In ''The Power of Three'', Amy tells the Doctor "We think it's been ten years. Not for you or Earth, but for us. Ten years older. Ten years of you, on and off." This implies that while Amy and Rory have aged ten years since meeting the Doctor, the Doctor has not had ten years of adventures with them and the "current year" is less than ten years from when Amy first left in the TARDIS. | |||
==== Prose ==== | |||
* [[The Whoniverse (novel)|''The Whoniverse'']] places [[the Year of the Slow Invasion]] in [[2012]]-[[2013]], shortly after the start of the [[2012 Olympics]]. | |||
=== Clara === | === Clara === | ||
==== Television ==== | ==== Television ==== | ||
Beginning with the second half of [[series 7 (Doctor Who)|series | Beginning with the second half of [[series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)|series seven]], the show returned to the present day: | ||
* In ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]'' (2013), [[Clara Oswald]] joins the Doctor while working as a nanny. In ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'' (2014) [[Strax]] states that Clara is 27-years-old during a medical examination, which, as her date of birth is given as [[23 November]] [[1986]] in ''Death in Heaven'' (2014), would set her travels with the Doctor starting in [[2013]], and ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'' (2013) as happening during [[Christmas]] 2013. | * In ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]'' (2013), [[Clara Oswald]] joins the Doctor while working as a nanny. In ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'' (2014) [[Strax]] states that Clara is 27-years-old during a medical examination, which, as her date of birth is given as [[23 November]] [[1986]] in ''Death in Heaven'' (2014), would set her travels with the Doctor starting in [[2013]], and ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'' (2013) as happening during [[Christmas]] 2013. | ||
* In ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'' (broadcast 18 May 2013), Clara receives a letter from Madame [[Vastra]], who calculated the date of the letter's arrival to be [[10 April]] [[2013]]. | * In ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'' (broadcast 18 May 2013), Clara receives a letter from Madame [[Vastra]], who calculated the date of the letter's arrival to be [[10 April]] [[2013]]. | ||
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==== Comics ==== | ==== Comics ==== | ||
* ''[[The Fractures (comic story)|The Fractures]]'' (2015), which takes place between ''The Caretaker'' and ''Dark Water'', gives the year as [[2014]]. | * ''[[The Fractures (comic story)|The Fractures]]'' (2015), which takes place between ''The Caretaker'' and ''Dark Water'', gives the year as [[2014]]. | ||
* [[The Hyperion Empire (comic story)| | * ''[[The Hyperion Empire (comic story)|The Hyperion Empire]]'' (2015), which takes place between ''Last Christmas'' and ''The Magician's Apprentice'', gives the date as summer [[2015]]. | ||
* ''[[Clara Oswald and the School of Death (comic story)|Clara Oswald and the School of Death]]'' (2016), which takes place between ''The Witch's Familiar'' and ''Face the Raven'', gives the date as [[September]] [[2015]]. | * ''[[Clara Oswald and the School of Death (comic story)|Clara Oswald and the School of Death]]'' (2016), which takes place between ''The Witch's Familiar'' and ''Face the Raven'', gives the date as [[September]] [[2015]]. | ||
* ''[[Witch Hunt (comic story)|Witch Hunt]]'' (2016), which takes place after Danny's death in ''Death in Heaven'', gives the date as [[October]] of an unspecified year, with Clara being alive to see the opening of the new IT suite in Danny’s memory, a few months later. | * ''[[Witch Hunt (comic story)|Witch Hunt]]'' (2016), which takes place after Danny's death in ''Death in Heaven'', gives the date as [[October]] of an unspecified year, with Clara being alive to see the opening of the new IT suite in Danny’s memory, a few months later. | ||
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==== Prose ==== | ==== Prose ==== | ||
* In ''[[The Persistence of Memory (short story)|The Persistence of Memory]]'', the Twelfth Doctor mentions that Clara is absent from the TARDIS due to attending an end-of-term Christmas party. Since the two were not traveling together in ''Last Christmas'', this would logically be the Christmas after. | * In ''[[The Persistence of Memory (short story)|The Persistence of Memory]]'', the Twelfth Doctor mentions that Clara is absent from the TARDIS due to attending an end-of-term Christmas party. Since the two were not traveling together in ''Last Christmas'', this would logically be the Christmas after. | ||
* ''[[A History of Humankind (novel)|A History of Humankind]]'' places ''[[The Caretaker (TV story)|The Caretaker]]'' in 2014. | |||
* ''[[Time Traveller's Diary (novel)|Time Traveller's Diary]]'' places the present day events of ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'' on [[23 November]] [[2013]], ''[[Last Christmas (TV story)|Last Christmas]]'' in [[2014]], and ''[[The Return of Doctor Mysterio (TV story)|The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]'' in [[2016]]. | |||
* ''[[Cybermen (feature)|Cybermen]]'' (2021) places the [[3W Institute Affair]] in 2014. | |||
== Footnotes == | == Footnotes == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
{{TitleSort}} | |||
[[Category:Fandom]] | [[Category:Fandom]] | ||
[[Category:Dating controversies]] |