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==History of the Doctor Who Universe==
{{YearNavLateral}}{{timeline}}
===January===
'''2008''' was a [[year]].
*[[Owen Harper|Owen]] goes undercover to prevent the [[Weevil]]s being abducted by humans. ([[TW]]: ''[[Combat]]'')
* [[10th January|10]] and [[11th January|11]] - [[Sarah Jane Smith]] teams up with [[Maria Jackson]] to face up against the scheming [[Mrs Wormwood]] and the [[Bane]]. ([[SJA]]: ''[[Invasion of the Bane]]'')


===February===
== Properties ==
*[[Jack Harkness]] and [[Toshiko Sato]] are transported back in time to the [[1940s]]. [[Harold Saxon]]'s campaign for election is underway as "Vote Saxon" signs are visible in [[Cardiff]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[Captain Jack Harkness]]'')
2008 was a [[leap year]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Imaginary Friends (novel)}}; [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Condemned (audio story)}})
*The [[Cardiff rift]] opens, are people see visions of loved ones. Captain Jack defeats [[Abaddon]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[End of Days]]'')
*Jack hears the sound of the TARDIS, and re-joins the Doctor. Meanwhile, he is declared missing by his Torchwood teammates, and [[Gwen Cooper]] takes charge of the group. ([[TW]]: ''[[End of Days]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', [[TW]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'')


===April===
== Events ==
*[[28th April|28]] - Mr. [[Harold Saxon|Saxon]] continues his campaign for Prime Minister. He was given high support after the [[Royal Hope Hospital]]'s disappearance, then reappearance. ([[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'')
=== Dated events ===
*[[29th April|29]] - [[Martha Jones]] joins [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]] on his travels, after an adventure in which [[Royal Hope Hospital]] is transported to the Moon. ([[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]''; ''[[The Sound of Drums]], et al, establishes this occurs only a few days before the election.'')
==== January - June ====
*[[30th April|30]] - [[Richard Lazarus]] unveils an age-reversing machine which transforms him into a possible evolutionary branch of humanity, latent in his DNA. He is killed by [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
On [[1 January]], shortly after midnight, the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Charley Pollard]] met [[Byron (The Girl Who Never Was)|Byron]] in [[Singapore]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Girl Who Never Was (audio story)}}) That same day in [[Brooklyn]], [[Alan Wood]] writes a [[letter]] to [[Diane (Snowman in Manhattan)|Diane]] describing the adventure he had with the [[First Doctor]], [[Vicki Pallister]] and [[Steven Taylor]], but ultimately decides not to give it to her, asking her out for [[coffee]] instead. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Snowman in Manhattan (short story)}})


===May===
In [[February]], [[Lucy (Eve of the Daleks)|Lucy]] became [[Nick (Eve of the Daleks)|Nick]]'s girlfriend. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Eve of the Daleks (TV story)}})
*[[1st May|1]] - Election Day begins and [[Harold Saxon]] is voted British [[Prime Minister]] ([[DW]]: ''[[42]]/[[ The Sound of Drums]]''; ''Note: This is likely a by-election, perhaps to replace whoever was appointed interim PM after the ouster of [[Harriet Jones]] per [[DW]]: [[The Stolen Earth]])'')
*[[2nd May|2]] - U.S. [[President Winters]] is killed by the [[Toclafane]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
**[[3rd May|3]] - [[The Year That Never Was]] begins during which the Master builds a [[Time Lord Empire]] and Martha Jones travels the world executing a plan of the Doctor's to defeat his enemy. Ultimately, the year is negated and the clock reset to just after the Master kills Winters. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]/[[Last of the Time Lords]]'')
*[[2nd May|2]] - [[Harold Saxon]] is killed by his wife [[Lucy Saxon|Lucy]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'')
**[[Jack Harkness]] returns to [[Torchwood 3]]. In his absence, [[Gwen Cooper]] has taken charge of the team, and as Jack returns they are in pursuit of a cocaine-snorting, car stealing blowfish-like alien. Soon after, ex-time agent [[John Hart]] uses the [[Cardiff Rift]] to arrive on Earth, in pursuit of a valuable jewel. ([[TW]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'')
**[[Martha Jones]] returns home to her family and leaves the Doctor on his own ([[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''). Immediately after leaving her, the [[Tenth Doctor]], due to a shield being down in the [[TARDIS]] (due to the events of [[The Year That Never Was]]) encounters the [[Fifth Doctor]] when their two TARDISes merge. ([[DW]]: ''[[Time Crash]]'')  
*Several violent incidents occur in the [[Cardiff]] area within the space of a few hours, including explosions that disrupt a major fuel line and telephone exchange, several grisly murders, and the massacre of a group of British soldiers guarding a nuclear weapon storage facility. ([[TW]]: ''[[Sleeper]]'')


===July===
On [[29 February]], the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Charley Pollard]] arrived in [[Manchester (city)|Manchester]] and helped [[Detective Inspector|DI]] [[Patricia Menzies]] solve a [[murder]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Condemned (audio story)}})
*[[27th July|27]] - According to an unconfirmed account [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] may have in some way participated in preventing a [[Graske]] from causing mischief at a 2008 BBC Proms concert in [[London]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]''; the canonicity of this fourth wall-breaking mini-episode is uncertain)


===December===
In [[March]], Nick broke up with Lucy. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Eve of the Daleks (TV story)}})
*Near Christmas: Due to the previous two Christmases being disrupted by the arrival of alien spacecraft over [[London]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'') and [[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]''), most residents of the city voluntarily evacuate for the season. Those choosing to remain in the city include Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]] and [[Wilfred Mott]], grandfather of [[Donna Noble]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'')


*[[25th December|25]] - The [[Tenth Doctor]], following a brief meeting with his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth incarnation]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Time Crash]]''), finds himself aboard a [[Titanic (spaceship)|space-faring replica]] of the ''[[Titanic]]'' in orbit around earth. Events of ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''.  [[Donna Noble]] would later dismiss the near-miss by the ''Titanic'' as a hoax. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
According to one account, a [[UNIT]] mission log placed March 2008 as the time that moon rocks were found at [[Royal Hope Hospital]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cite source|Recruits (audio story)|minute=10|second=10}}) Other accounts placed [[Martha Jones]]' activity around this time in about [[18 June|18]]-[[23 June]] [[2007]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cite source|The Paradox Moon (short story)|ed=2021 paperback|page=387}}) or [[4 June|4]]-[[9 June]] in an unspecified year.<!--See Behind the scenes section--> ([[PROSE]]: {{cite source|The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)|page=120}}) {{note|According to {{cite source|The Sound of Drums (TV story)|timestamp=5:47 and 33:27|ed=iPlayer}} the events of the [[Royal Hope incident]] are three days before the election of {{Simm}} and five days before the [[Toclafane invasion]].}}


===References===
[[File:DW Eleventh Hour Atraxi scan.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Atraxi]] search for [[Prisoner Zero]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}})]]
*A missing poster on the [[Torchwood website]] states that Jack went missing in February.<br>
In [[April]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Amy Pond: The Girl Who Waited! (feature)}}) the [[Eleventh Doctor]] met [[Amy Pond]] in [[Leadworth]] after twelve years of waiting. A [[Multi-form]] called [[Prisoner Zero]], who had escaped through the crack in Amy's wall, attacked. The [[Atraxi]] arrived, threatening the destruction of Earth if Prisoner Zero did not surrender. The Doctor created a computer virus for the Atraxi to track back to its source in Leadworth (spread by [[Jeff Angelo|Jeff]]). The Doctor also transmitted Prisoner Zero's disguises to the Atraxi so it couldn't hide in the bodies it had been disguised as. It then took the form of Amy; the Doctor made Amy think of Prisoner Zero's original form. Now in plain sight, Prisoner Zero was captured by the Atraxi, who left. The Doctor took a test drive of his refurbished TARDIS, only returning two years later. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}})
*A calendar seen in the hospital ([[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'') shows the month as October
*Election day is generally held on the first Thursday in May. In 2008 Thursday is the 1st.


===Unknown===
On [[31 May]], the Tenth Doctor and Donna visited [[Calibris]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Time Reaver (audio story)}})
*During an unchronicled adventure in [[London]] with [[Martha Jones]], [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] meets [[Sally Sparrow]], who provides him with the information he needs to escape when the [[Weeping Angels]] send him back to [[1969]]. After this, Sally begins to open up to [[Larry Nightingale]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Blink]]''. ''The episode was originally to have indicated that some months, possibly a year had passed since the defeat of the Weeping Angels and Sally's final encounter with the Doctor, but this was cut before broadcast.'')
*Following her encounter with the [[Tenth Doctor]], [[Donna Noble]] attempts to improve her life by first travelling to [[Egypt]]. Afterwards, experiencing regret at turning down the Doctor's invitation to travel with him, Donna begins investigating unusual happenings, in hopes of encountering the Doctor doing the same. Her investigations lead to her learning about the disappearance of bees and unusual happenings at [[Adipose Industries]], which eventually lead to her reuniting with the Doctor in [[2009]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
*The [[Slitheen]] family kill overweight teachers and use them as a disguise to find a code to freeze the [[Sun]], planning to fry the [[Earth]]. The Slitheen plan is foiled by [[Sarah Jane Smith]], although a child Slitheen escapes.([[SJA]]: [[Revenge of the Slitheen]])
*A [[Gorgon]], hidden by a group of nuns while trying to find a new host, is discovered by [[Sarah Jane Smith]]. [[Maria Jackson]] uses a mirror to turn the Gorgon into stone. ([[SJA]]: [[Eye of the Gorgon]])
*A number of teenagers go missing after playing laser tag - [[Luke Smith]] and [[Clyde Langer]] are among those who go missing. [[Sarah Jane Smith]] discovers that they are being teleported by an alien named [[Kudlak]] who has taken them to a war ship to fight in an alien war - a war which he is unaware is over.([[SJA]]: [[Warriors of Kudlak]])
*On the way back to Earth Sarah Jane Smith is handed a stone by a space ship driver. The Next day she gives it to Maria Jackson. [[The Trickster]] arrives on [[Bannerman Road]] and wipes Sarah Jane out of existence. The Only person who remembers her is Mario Jackson. Maria finds [[Andrea Yates]] in Sarah Jane's house, A school friend of Sarah Jane's who had died on a trip to Brighton at age 13. Maria tells her dad Alan Jackson but he did not believe her so she handed him the stone and Maria was wiped out of existence to. Alan at Andreas house party destroyed the mirror and the Trixter vanished releasing Sarah Jane and Maria. ([[SJA]]: [[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]])


==History of Doctor Who==
<!--Moved events surrounding the British election to 2000s-->
*Early in the year, the BBC announces that the [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|5th series]] of ''Doctor Who'' will not air until [[2010]]. Instead, several specials will be produced for broadcast in [[2009]]. This hiatus is in order to allow [[David Tennant]] to perform a season of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] alongside [[Patrick Stewart]] during the time when ''Doctor Who'' is normally in production. This announcement is followed by media reports of Stewart expressing interest in guest starring in a future episode.


===January===
==== June - December ====
*[[8th January |08]] - 100th birthday of [[William Hartnell]].
In [[October]], [[Majenta Pryce]] opened the [[Hotel Historia]] in [[London]]. After [[Tony (Hotel Historia)|Tony]] won the lottery, he was contacted by Pryce and given a chance to stay at the Hotel Historia. One of the years that Tony visited using the hotel's time travel capabilities was [[4039]], a time when London was being invaded by the [[Graxnix]]. The [[Tenth Doctor]] followed Tony back to 2008 from 4039 and the Doctor was followed by the Graxnix. The Doctor found Pryce and scolded her for using a potentially dangerous [[Chronexus 3000]] to achieve time travel. When the Graxnix began attacking guests and staff at the hotel, the Doctor used the Chronexus to send them back to 4039 and then contacted the [[Cosmic Bailiff]]s, who shut down the hotel and arrested Pryce. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Hotel Historia (comic story)}})
*[[16th January|16]] - ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'' is broadcast, launching series 2 of ''[[Torchwood]]''.  
*[[23rd January|23]] - ''[[Sleeper]]'' is broadcast.
*[[30th January|30]] - ''[[To the Last Man]]'' is broadcast.


===February===
On [[24 October]], the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] encountered [[Auton]]s in [[Thorington]], [[Uzbekistan]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Brave New Town (audio story)}})
*[[Revenge of the Judoon]], the third novella in the [[BBC Books]] Quick Reads series, is released.
*IDW, an American comic book company, launches a new original ''Doctor Who'' monthly comic book series. Written and edited by [[Gary Russell]], the six-issue series features the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Martha Jones]]. The storyline is untitled in the comic book, but is later given the title ''[[Agent Provocateur]]'' when IDW publishes a graphic novel edition of the storyline in the summer of 2008.
*[[4th February|4]] - ''[[Everyone Says Hello]]'' and ''[[Hidden]]'' first released. These are the first made-for-audio adventures by [[BBC Audio]] based upon ''[[Torchwood]]''.
*[[6th February|6]] - ''[[Meat]]'' is broadcast.
*[[13th February|13]] - ''[[Adam (Torchwood story)|Adam]]'' and ''[[Reset (Torchwood story)|Reset]]'' are both broadcast.
*[[20th February|20]] - ''[[Dead Man Walking]]'' is broadcast.
*[[27th February|27]] - ''[[A Day in the Death]]'' is broadcast.


===March===
On [[31 October]], the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Martha Jones]] found an unusually creepy [[Halloween]] celebration in [[Blackwood Falls]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Forever Autumn (novel)}})
*The [[BBC]] announced it was investigating technology to return colour to [[Third Doctor]] episodes only available in black and white.
*[[5th March|5]] - ''[[Something Borrowed]]'' is broadcast.
*[[6th March|6]] - ''[[The Twilight Streets]]'', ''[[Trace Memory]]'', and ''[[Something in the Water]]'' first published.
*[[12th March|12]] - ''[[From Out of the Rain]]'' is broadcast.
*[[19th March|19]] - ''[[Adrift]]'' is broadcast.
*[[21st March|12]] - ''[[Fragments]]'' is broadcast.


===Spring===
On [[10 September]], [[CERN]] first tested their [[Large Hadron Collider]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Extremis (TV story)}}) finally creating a [[Higgs particle]]. However, the first test opened a portal to another dimension, letting [[neutron eater]]s loose; the Higgs particle was merely a side effect of [[Katrina Johnson|Professor Johnson]] and [[Jack Harkness]]' plan to close the gateway, by having [[proton]]s and [[antiproton]]s fire against each other. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Lost Souls (audio story)}})
*For the third year in a row, episodes of ''Doctor Who'' receive nominations in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category at the Hugo Awards. The 2008 ''Doctor Who'' episode nominees are ''[[Blink]]'' by [[Steven Moffat]] (making this his third consecutive Hugo nomination) and the ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood]]'' two-parter by [[Paul Cornell]], along with the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode ''[[Captain Jack Harkness]]'' by [[Catherine Tregenna]]. Also nominated is ''Razor'', a spinoff telefilm based upon ''Battlestar Galactica'' and "World Enough and Time", a fan-film based upon ''[[Star Trek]]''. The winner is scheduled to be announced in August.


===April===
In [[December]], the [[First Doctor]] and [[Steven Taylor]] visited [[Antarctica]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|White on White (short story)}})
*[[4th April|4]] - ''[[Exit Wounds]]'' is broadcast, ending ''Torchwood's'' second series.
*[[5th April|5]] - ''[[Partners in Crime]]'' is first broadcast, launching the fourth season of the revived series. [[Catherine Tate]] rejoins the series full-time as [[Donna Noble]]. Although the news that [[Billie Piper]] would return in Series 4 as [[Rose Tyler]] had been broken the previous fall by British media, and later confirmed by the [[BBC]] both in print and in a trailer shown in British cinemas in which Rose appeared, a cameo appearance by Rose in this episode remains a surprise. This is later attributed to the decision not to include the scene in preview copies sent to media and other parties. Not counting flashbacks, this marks Piper's first appearance in ''Doctor Who'' since ''[[Doomsday]]''. After the episode is broadcast, the first Series 4 episode of ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' airs.
*[[12th April|12]] - ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]'' broadcast.
*[[18th April|18]] - The American Sci-Fi Channel launches its broadcasts of Series 4 with ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''.
*[[19th April|19]] - ''[[Planet of the Ood]]'' broadcast.
*[[16th April|26]] - ''[[The Sontaran Strategem]]'' broadcast. [[Freema Agyeman]] returns to the series (temporarily) as [[Martha Jones]], her first ''Doctor Who'' appearance since ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''.


===May===
<!--Moved Voyage of the Damned to 2000s as a result of inconsistent placement of both series 3 and 4.-->
*The BBC announces that [[Russell T. Davies]] is to step down as executive producer of ''Doctor Who'' in 2009, to be succeeded by [[Steven Moffat]]. Soon after this announcement, media reports surface that noted comic book writer and author [[Neil Gaiman]] may have been approached to write a future episode.
*The CBC in Canada announces it will air Serie 4 of ''Doctor Who'' beginning in September, but will not be broadcasting the second series of ''Torchwood''.
*[[3rd May|3]] - ''[[The Poison Sky]]'' is broadcast. A second cameo by Billie Piper as Rose Tyler occurs; she receives screen credit for her appearance even though she is on screen for less than a second. [[Russell T. Davies]] tells ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' that the decision to include the cameo was a last-minute decision made following the positive response to her cameo in ''[[Partners in Crime]]''. To achieve the cameo (and the one later seen in ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]''), unbroadcast footage from an earlier episode (likely Season 2's ''[[The Idiot's Lantern]]'') is used. As with ''Partners in Crime'', advance preview copies of this episode omit the scene.
*[[3rd May|3]] - Production of Series 4 officially concludes with the filming of the mini-episode ''[[Music of the Spheres]]''.
*[[8th May|8]] - ''[[Pest Control]]'', the first original audio adventure by [[BBC Audio]], is released. Considered a spin-off of the [[BBC Books]] [[Tenth Doctor Adventures]] line, this marks [[Donna Noble]]'s debut in such spin-off fiction and is the first officially licenced audio drama not to be produced by [[Big Finish]] since the BBC Radio [[Jon Pertwee]] radio plays of the mid-1990s.
*[[10th May|10]] - ''[[The Doctor's Daughter]]'' is broadcast, introducing the character of [[Jenny]] played by [[Georgia Moffett]], who is the daughter of [[Fifth Doctor]] actor [[Peter Davison]], and who once auditioned for the role of [[Rose Tyler]]. [[Freema Agyeman]] departs for a second time after this episode. Soon after the episode is broadcast, media reports of a romantic relationship between David Tennant and Moffett emerge.
*[[17th May|17]] - ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' is broadcast.
*[[31st May|31]] - ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' is broadcast, introducing [[Alex Kingston]] as [[River Song]].
*Late May - the BBC releases a new television trailer promoting the final episodes of the fourth series.
*[[Martha in the Mirror]], [[Snowglobe 7]], [[The Many Hands]] first published. Although the character is no longer a regular on the series, [[Martha Jones]] remains the companion in these novels.


===June===
=== Undated ===
*[[3rd June|3]] - it is reported that ''Torchwood'' will return for a third series, with production scheduled for the fall of 2008 and broadcast in the spring of 2009, with the series moving to BBC One. [[John Barrowman]] is confirmed as returning. Initially, only a single five-episode serial, to be broadcast during one week, is initially confirmed.
While some accounts placed the home era of Donna Noble where she reunited with the Doctor in 2008, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Waters of Mars (TV story)}}, [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|SOS (audio story)}}) other accounts placed it in [[2009]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Beautiful Chaos (novel)}})
*[[7th June|7]] - ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'' is broadcast.
*[[14th June|14]] - ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'' is broadcast, including another brief cameo by [[Billie Piper]] as [[Rose Tyler]].
*Mid-June - American news media, including CNN, run profiles of [[Billie Piper]], in conjunction with the debut of her series, ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' in the US. Coincidentally this spike in US coverage coincides with the lead-up to her return to the series in ''[[Turn Left]]'', although her involvement in ''Doctor Who'' is given only a passing mention. At the same time, it is reported that [[Christopher Eccleston]] has been cast as [[Amelia Earhart]]'s co-pilot in an upcoming film based on the ill-fated aviatrix's life, while [[John Barrowman]] makes Canadian headlines when he's named a judge for the talent contest series ''How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' for the [[CBC]].
*Mid-June - Holding out until the last possible moment, the BBC finally announces the title of Episode 12 of Series 4 will be ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''.
*[[21st June|21]] - ''[[Turn Left]]'' is broadcast, marking the official return of [[Billie Piper]] as [[Rose Tyler]] after her previous cameo appearances.
::In the associated episode of ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'', [[Billie Piper]] reveals that the plan for Rose to return was in fact hatched before her departure from the series in 2006 and that she had been sworn to secrecy ever since.
*[[24th June|24]] - ''Doctor Who'' wins the Best International Series at the 34th Annual Saturn Awards, an American entertainment awards program. The category is a new one introduced this year, and nominees include ''[[Torchwood]]'', Steven Moffat's ''Jekyll'' and [[John Simm]]'s ''Life on Mars''. Due to an error, the category is left off the official press release of the winners, but is reinstated a few days later.
*Late June - The Canadian cable network Space announces it has obtained the Canadian broadcast rights to Series 2 of ''Torchwood'' and will begin airing the series in August. Reportedly its timeslot will, in some parts of Canada, place it in direct competition with Series 4 of ''Doctor Who'' when the CBC begins airing it in September.
*Late June - Several UK media reports indicate that [[David Tennant]] is in negotiations to return to ''Doctor Who'' for the 2010 series, but no official announcement is forthcoming (leading to additional speculation in the wake of ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' a few weeks later. It is known that he is to appear in the 2008 Christmas special as photos of him shooting the special had leaked to the press months previous.
*[[28th June|28]] - ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' is broadcast. This historic episode marks the first three-way crossover between ''Doctor Who'', ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Returning to ''Doctor Who'' are [[John Barrowman]], [[Elisabeth Sladen]] and [[Freema Agyeman]]. The episode receives an Appreciation Index (AI) rating of 91, the highest in the series' history and a feat considered rare if not unprecedented for a mainstream network series.[http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEulFEyAFEfMhBlnv&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle]


===July===
The Tenth Doctor participated in preventing a [[Graske]] causing mischief at a 2008 BBC Proms concert in [[London]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Music of the Spheres (TV story)}})
*Early July - The week between the cliffhanger ending of ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' and the broadcast of ''[[Journey's End]]'' is marked by some of the most intense media attention ''Doctor Who'' has ever seen.[http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEVEAlkuypAzYebbR]
*[[5th July|05]] - ''[[Journey's End]]'' is broadcast, bringing to a close the fourth series of the revived ''Doctor Who'' and it is the last episode to be produced by [[Phil Collinson]], the first of the revived series' original producers to depart; afterwards, the final Series 4 episode of ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' is broadcast. Like the previous season finales, the broadcast of ''Journey's End'' sparks a frenzy of Internet discussion, both pro and con. The episode features the greatest concentration of active companions (as opposed to illusions and images) in the series' history (not including the non-canonical ''[[Dimensions in Time]]''). The episode is viewed by 10.57 million people and becomes the No. 1 program for the week -- the first time this has occurred for any episode in the 45-year history of ''Doctor Who'' -- despite competition from the Wimbledon finals; it also repeats the previous week's feat and scores an Appreciation Index figure of 91, again unheard of for both ''Doctor Who'' and for a mainstream television production.[http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEVuFppyybCfstIhg&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle][http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEykpAEuAeSoAAghE&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle]
*[[6th July|06]] - ''[[Partners in Crime]]'' is broadcasted on ABC in Australia
*[[7th July|07]] - ''The Daily Mail'' reports that more than 2,500 people actually attempted to phone the Doctor's phone number as shown in ''The Stolen Earth'', in hopes of hearing a special recorded message, but the number was in fact non-functional.[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1032510/Dial-doctor-2-500-Dr-Who-fans-try-ring-Time-Lords-mobile.html]
*[[11th July|11]] - The ''Telegraph'' reports on rumours of David Tennant stepping down from the role of the Doctor, with [[David Morrissey]], [[John Simm]] and [[Robert Carlyle]] cited as the book-maker's favorites to replace him, despite Morrissey scheduled to guest star in the 2008 Christmas special and Simm having already played [[The Master]] in Season 3. [[Julie Gardner]] confirms in the article that Tennant has made his decision as to whether he'll be staying on for the [[2010]] season, but she confirms that he will appear in all of the special episodes scheduled for [[2009]].[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/07/11/nosplit/bvtvwho11.xml] Despite this, wildcat Internet rumours persist that Morrissey will replace Tennant as early as the 2008 Christmas special.
*Mid-July - IDW Publishing issues ''[[Agent Provocateur]]'', a graphic novel compilation of the first six-issue storyline of its original ''Doctor Who'' monthly comic book, and ''Doctor Who Classics Vol. 1'', collecting the first several issues of reprints originally published by IDW as the monthly title ''[[Doctor Who Classics]].'' This edition features the run from ''[[The Iron Legion]]'' to ''[[The Star Beast]]''.
*[[27th July|27]] - The first Doctor Who Proms concert is held at Royal Albert Hall in London, featuring music from ''Doctor Who''. An interactive mini-episode, ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'', is shown as part of this event, which is initially broadcast on BBC Radio. The concert is to be televised at a later date.


===August===
A [[Fu Manchu's son|time-travelling individual]] from the [[Victorian era]] spent at least three months of every year in 2008, and would have spent more there had the [[British tax laws]] permitted. ([[PROSE]]: {{Cs|The Beasthouse (short story)|namedpart=An Introduction}})
* [[1st August|01]] - The American Sci-Fi Channel broadcasts ''[[Journey's End]]'' in a special 90-minute time slot, concluding its broadcasts of Series 4.
* [[8th August|08]] - Canadian premiere of ''[[Torchwood]]'' Series 2 on the Space channel.
* [[9th August|09]] - ''[[Blink]]'' by [[Steven Moffat]] wins the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. This is the third consecutive win for both Moffat and the series. Also nominated in the category were ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood]]'' by [[Paul Cornell]], the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode ''[[Captain Jack Harkness]]'' by [[Catherine Tregenna]], the ''Battlestar Galactica'' TV-movie ''Razor'', and the ''Star Trek'' fan-film ''World Enough and Time.''
* IDW Publishing in the US is scheduled to launch a second ''Doctor Who'' comic book story arc, ''[[The Forgotten]]'', which will feature appearances by all 10 Doctors.


===September===
According to one account,{{note|While ''Blink'' itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in [[2007]] and "twenty minutes to [[Red Hatching]]" a year later in 2008—as [[Kathy Nightingale]]'s letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in [[1920]]", and the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s side of his conversation with [[Sally Sparrow]] in [[1969]] happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the ''[[Redacted (audio series)|Redacted]]'' audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In ''[[Angels (audio story)|Angels]]'', [[Abby McPhail]] identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests [[2009]] as the year of the Red Hatching. In ''[[Salvation (audio story)|Salvation]]'', the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of [[Andy Proctor]], who was last seen by his daughter [[Cleo Proctor|Cleo]] "nearly 20 years" before [[2022]] according to ''[[Recruits (audio story)|Recruits]]''.}} about twenty minutes before the [[Red Hatching]] in 2008 was when the Doctor met [[Sally Sparrow]], who gave him information he would need to escape when the [[Weeping Angel]]s sent him back to [[1969]]. After this, Sally began to open up to [[Larry Nightingale]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Blink (TV story)}})
*Scheduled publication of [[Ghosts of India]], [[Shining Darkness]], [[The Doctor Trap]], the first full-length novels featuring [[Donna Noble]] as companion.
*[[11th September|11]] - Scheduled release of the made-for-audio [[Torchwood]] story, [[Lost Souls]].
*[[16th September|16]] - Scheduled release of ''[[Torchwood]]'' season 2 on standard DVD in North America.
*[[19th September|19]] - Belated broadcast of Series 4 scheduled to begin on the [[CBC]] in Canada.


===October===
A company called Khrysalis set up operations in [[Stockbridge]], purportedly planning to build a leisure park in the quiet town. [[Maxwell Edison]] created the [[Stockbridge Preservation Society]] to protest this. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Stockbridge Child (comic story)}})
*[[7th October|07]] - Scheduled release of Series 1 of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' to DVD in North America. This actually predates the scheduled UK release of the series.
*Scheduled publication of [[Almost Perfect]], [[Pack Animals]] and [[SkyPoint]].


===November===
The [[Seventh Doctor]] destroyed the [[The Forge|Forge]]'s alpha facility in [[Dartmoor]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Project Lazarus (audio story)|Project: Lazarus}})
*[[3rd November|03]] - Scheduled publication date for the [[The Sarah Jane Adventures|Sarah Jane Adventures]] novelisations [[The Lost Boy (novelisation)|The Lost Boy]] and [[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (novelisation)|Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]].
*[[11th November|11]] - Scheduled release of ''[[Torchwood]]'' Season 1 on high-definition Blu-Ray in North America, the first ''Doctor Who''-related release in this format.
*[[13th November|13]] - Scheduled release date for the made-for-audio [[The Sarah Jane Adventures|Sarah Jane Adventures]] stories ''[[Shatter Point]]'' and ''[[The Time Capsule]]'' by [[BBC Audio]].
*[[18th November|18]] - Scheduled US release date of the Series 4 DVD box set; scheduled North American release date for ''[[The Infinite Quest]]'' (a full year after the UK release).
*[[23rd November |23]] - 45th anniversary of the first broadcast of ''Doctor Who''.


===December===
The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] visited London. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Sisters of the Flame (audio story)}})
*Scheduled publication of [[Beautiful Chaos]], [[The Eyeless]] and [[The Story of Martha]]. ''The Eyeless'' is the first New Series Adventures release in which the Doctor travels without a companion; ''The Story of Martha'' will focus on the activities of [[Martha Jones]] during the [[Year That Never Was]] between ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' and ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''. ''Beautiful Chaos'' is expected to be the final novel to feature [[Donna Noble]], though this has yet to be confirmed.
*The as-yet untitled ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special is scheduled to be broadcast, presumably on or near Christmas Day. This will be the first of five special episodes planned over the next year in lieu of a full season of ''Doctor Who'', which is scheduled to return to a full 13-week season in 2010.


<center>
[[Computer]]s achieved [[the Singularity]], demonstrated their sentience by proving [[P=NP]] and the [[Chess Equation]], and took over the world for three weeks. However, after [[Susan Moore (Holding Pattern)|Susan Moore]] and [[Adam (Holding Pattern)|Adam]] convinced them to refuse an alliance with [[alien]] computers from the [[future]], they deactivated their sentience and the normal course of [[history]] was restored. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Holding Pattern (Parkin short story)}})
<table class="browser">
<tr>
<td class="prev">[[2007]]</td>
<td class="topic">[[21st century]]<br />[[2000s]]</td>
<td class="next">[[2009]]</td>
</tr>
</table>


Although intending to visit [[Brighton]] in [[1818]], the [[Fifth Doctor]] arrived in [[Hove]] in this year as [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]'s [[lateral balance cones]] were offline. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Cuddlesome (audio story)}})


[[Category:Timeline]]
In an attempt to [[suicide|take his own life]], [[Huw MacLean]] purposefully drove off the [[motorway]] with both [[Jackie MacLean|his wife]] and [[April MacLean|eight year old daughter]] in the [[car]]. Jackie was [[paralysed]] as a result, while April herself was not hurt. Huw went to [[prison]] for causing the [[car crash|crash]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Nightvisiting (TV story)}}, {{cs|Brave-ish Heart (TV story)}}, {{cs|Detained (TV story)}})
 
After over thirty years of production, the [[John Fuchas]] film adaptation of ''[[The True History of Planets]]'' was released. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Mad Dogs and Englishmen (novel)}})
 
[[Torchwood Three]] encountered a [[sentient element]] in [[Cardiff Bay]], which intended to reproduce itself by assimilating the chemical composition of all of [[Cardiff]] and its residents. This element was eventually reduced to [[water]] when the [[coastguard]] doused it with a petroleum-based bio-remedial agent. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Black Water (short story)}})
 
On another occasion, Torchwood Three recovered a [[Parasite|parasitic]], psychic [[Plant (Plant Life)|alien plant]] and stored it in their [[Hothouse (Torchwood Hub)|hothouse]]. [[Ianto Jones]] fell victim to the plant's psychic commands and began feeding it his own [[blood]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Plant Life (short story)}})
 
According to some accounts, [[Aliens of London dating controversy|but not others]], 2008 was the year that [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] unfroze [[World War I]] soldier [[Tommy Brockless]] for the last time,{{note|Tommy was born in [[1894]] and was 114 when he returned to [[1918]].}} ([[TV]]: {{cs|To the Last Man (TV story)}}) and Gwen Cooper of Torchwood investigated the disappearance of [[Jonah Bevan]].{{note|Jonah was born in [[1993]] and would have been 15 when Gwen investigated him.}} ([[TV]]: {{cs|Adrift (TV story)}}) In [[1901]], a time-displaced Jack Harkness told his Torchwood teammates to freeze him to be awakened in 107 years' time to reach his brother [[Gray (Fragments)|Gray]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Exit Wounds (TV story)}})
 
[[Toshiko Sato]] became temporary acting leader of Torchwood Three. This was in accordance with a manifesto written by [[Emily Holroyd]], which stated that in the absence of a leader the longest-serving member of a Torchwood team should take their place. After Torchwood recovered a [[Rehabilitator]] from [[Danny Dillard]], Tosh unofficially handed the role over to Gwen Cooper. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Kaleidoscope (short story)}})
 
A [[credit crunch of 2008|credit crunch]] occurred. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Curse of Clyde Langer (TV story)}})
 
In [[2323]], [[Dr]] [[Olivia Kagg Waldermein]] wrote of the "[[2005]]-2009 [[Russell T Davies (in-universe)|Davies]]-[[Julie Gardner (in-universe)|Gardner]] [[Doctor Who (in-universe)|account]]" of the "[[Last Lightbringer]]". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Love & War (short story)}})
 
<!--Adventures of Sarah Jane Smith and her friends moved to 2000s due to an absence of a clear setting of SJA series 1 and 2-->
 
=== Other timelines ===
==== Donna's world ====
[[File:London destroyed.jpg|thumb|right|London is destroyed. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}})]]
In the spring or summer, the Judoon defeated Florence Finnegan; all but one of the people inside Royal Hope Hospital, which was taken to the Moon, died of asphyxiation, including Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones. Luke Smith and Maria Jackson were also reported missing. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}})
 
On [[25 December]], while Donna Noble, [[Sylvia Noble|her mother]] and her grandfather holidayed in the English countryside, the alien spaceship ''Titanic'' crashed into London, destroying the city and contaminating most of southern England with radioactivity. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}})
 
<!--Adventures of Sarah Jane Smith and her friends moved to 2000s due to an absence of a clear setting of SJA series 1 and 2-->
 
== Births and deaths ==
[[Ed Gold]], later a member of the crew of [[Bowie Base One]], was born in [[Australia]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Waters of Mars (TV story)}})
 
== Behind the scenes ==
Though the ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' television stories ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'' and ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'' have an apparent 2008 setting going by [[Jack Harkness]]'s dialogue in ''Exit Wounds'', this is complicated by mentions of [[Owen Harper]]'s early employment with [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] from both of these stories. While ''Exit Wounds'' explicitly states that [[Toshiko Sato]]'s examination of the [[space pig]] from the ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'' television story {{cs|Aliens of London (TV story)}}, a story set [[2006|a year after 2005]], happened on Owen's second week, a caption in ''Fragments'' places Owen's recruitment four years before those stories. This appears to put ''Fragments'' and ''Exit Wounds'' in [[2010]] instead.
 
Page 120 of ''[[The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)|The Secret Lives of Monsters]]'' gives [[Sunday]] [[4 June]] as the date of the events of {{cs|Smith and Jones (TV story)}} and the [[Royal Hope incident]]. However, it does not specify 2007 or 2008 as a current year. On top of this, the first two Sunday 4 Junes after 2004 (page 119 places the incident over 30 years after 1974) are in 2006 and 2017.
 
== Footnotes ==
{{Notelist}}
<!--
PLEASE do not alter anything BELOW this line
===================
-->{{#ifeq:{{PAGENAME}}|2008|{{cat|Years}}{{cat|DWU years}}{{cat|Leap years}}|}}

Latest revision as of 19:32, 22 December 2024

2008 in

the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

Timeline for 2008
21st century | 2000s
2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014
WikipediaInfo.png

2008 was a year.

Properties

2008 was a leap year. (PROSE: Imaginary Friends [+]Loading...["Imaginary Friends (novel)"]; AUDIO: The Condemned [+]Loading...["The Condemned (audio story)"])

Events

Dated events

January - June

On 1 January, shortly after midnight, the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard met Byron in Singapore. (AUDIO: The Girl Who Never Was [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Never Was (audio story)"]) That same day in Brooklyn, Alan Wood writes a letter to Diane describing the adventure he had with the First Doctor, Vicki Pallister and Steven Taylor, but ultimately decides not to give it to her, asking her out for coffee instead. (PROSE: Snowman in Manhattan [+]Loading...["Snowman in Manhattan (short story)"])

In February, Lucy became Nick's girlfriend. (TV: Eve of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Eve of the Daleks (TV story)"])

On 29 February, the Sixth Doctor and Charley Pollard arrived in Manchester and helped DI Patricia Menzies solve a murder. (AUDIO: The Condemned [+]Loading...["The Condemned (audio story)"])

In March, Nick broke up with Lucy. (TV: Eve of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Eve of the Daleks (TV story)"])

According to one account, a UNIT mission log placed March 2008 as the time that moon rocks were found at Royal Hope Hospital. (AUDIO: Recruits [+]Loading...{"minute":"10","second":"10","1":"Recruits (audio story)"}) Other accounts placed Martha Jones' activity around this time in about 18-23 June 2007, (PROSE: The Paradox Moon [+]Loading...{"page":"387","ed":"2021 paperback","1":"The Paradox Moon (short story)"}) or 4-9 June in an unspecified year. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters [+]Loading...{"page":"120","1":"The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)"}) [nb 1]

The Atraxi search for Prisoner Zero. (TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"])

In April, (PROSE: Amy Pond: The Girl Who Waited! [+]Loading...["Amy Pond: The Girl Who Waited! (feature)"]) the Eleventh Doctor met Amy Pond in Leadworth after twelve years of waiting. A Multi-form called Prisoner Zero, who had escaped through the crack in Amy's wall, attacked. The Atraxi arrived, threatening the destruction of Earth if Prisoner Zero did not surrender. The Doctor created a computer virus for the Atraxi to track back to its source in Leadworth (spread by Jeff). The Doctor also transmitted Prisoner Zero's disguises to the Atraxi so it couldn't hide in the bodies it had been disguised as. It then took the form of Amy; the Doctor made Amy think of Prisoner Zero's original form. Now in plain sight, Prisoner Zero was captured by the Atraxi, who left. The Doctor took a test drive of his refurbished TARDIS, only returning two years later. (TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"])

On 31 May, the Tenth Doctor and Donna visited Calibris. (AUDIO: Time Reaver [+]Loading...["Time Reaver (audio story)"])


June - December

In October, Majenta Pryce opened the Hotel Historia in London. After Tony won the lottery, he was contacted by Pryce and given a chance to stay at the Hotel Historia. One of the years that Tony visited using the hotel's time travel capabilities was 4039, a time when London was being invaded by the Graxnix. The Tenth Doctor followed Tony back to 2008 from 4039 and the Doctor was followed by the Graxnix. The Doctor found Pryce and scolded her for using a potentially dangerous Chronexus 3000 to achieve time travel. When the Graxnix began attacking guests and staff at the hotel, the Doctor used the Chronexus to send them back to 4039 and then contacted the Cosmic Bailiffs, who shut down the hotel and arrested Pryce. (COMIC: Hotel Historia [+]Loading...["Hotel Historia (comic story)"])

On 24 October, the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller encountered Autons in Thorington, Uzbekistan. (AUDIO: Brave New Town [+]Loading...["Brave New Town (audio story)"])

On 31 October, the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones found an unusually creepy Halloween celebration in Blackwood Falls. (PROSE: Forever Autumn [+]Loading...["Forever Autumn (novel)"])

On 10 September, CERN first tested their Large Hadron Collider, (TV: Extremis [+]Loading...["Extremis (TV story)"]) finally creating a Higgs particle. However, the first test opened a portal to another dimension, letting neutron eaters loose; the Higgs particle was merely a side effect of Professor Johnson and Jack Harkness' plan to close the gateway, by having protons and antiprotons fire against each other. (AUDIO: Lost Souls [+]Loading...["Lost Souls (audio story)"])

In December, the First Doctor and Steven Taylor visited Antarctica. (PROSE: White on White [+]Loading...["White on White (short story)"])


Undated

While some accounts placed the home era of Donna Noble where she reunited with the Doctor in 2008, (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"], The Waters of Mars [+]Loading...["The Waters of Mars (TV story)"], AUDIO: SOS [+]Loading...["SOS (audio story)"]) other accounts placed it in 2009. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos [+]Loading...["Beautiful Chaos (novel)"])

The Tenth Doctor participated in preventing a Graske causing mischief at a 2008 BBC Proms concert in London. (TV: Music of the Spheres [+]Loading...["Music of the Spheres (TV story)"])

A time-travelling individual from the Victorian era spent at least three months of every year in 2008, and would have spent more there had the British tax laws permitted. (PROSE: "An Introduction" [+]Part of The Beasthouse, Loading...{"namedpart":"An Introduction","1":"The Beasthouse (short story)"})

According to one account,[nb 2] about twenty minutes before the Red Hatching in 2008 was when the Doctor met Sally Sparrow, who gave him information he would need to escape when the Weeping Angels sent him back to 1969. After this, Sally began to open up to Larry Nightingale. (TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"])

A company called Khrysalis set up operations in Stockbridge, purportedly planning to build a leisure park in the quiet town. Maxwell Edison created the Stockbridge Preservation Society to protest this. (COMIC: The Stockbridge Child [+]Loading...["The Stockbridge Child (comic story)"])

The Seventh Doctor destroyed the Forge's alpha facility in Dartmoor. (AUDIO: Project: Lazarus [+]Loading...["Project Lazarus (audio story)","Project: Lazarus"])

The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller visited London. (AUDIO: Sisters of the Flame [+]Loading...["Sisters of the Flame (audio story)"])

Computers achieved the Singularity, demonstrated their sentience by proving P=NP and the Chess Equation, and took over the world for three weeks. However, after Susan Moore and Adam convinced them to refuse an alliance with alien computers from the future, they deactivated their sentience and the normal course of history was restored. (PROSE: Holding Pattern [+]Loading...["Holding Pattern (Parkin short story)"])

Although intending to visit Brighton in 1818, the Fifth Doctor arrived in Hove in this year as the TARDIS's lateral balance cones were offline. (AUDIO: Cuddlesome [+]Loading...["Cuddlesome (audio story)"])

In an attempt to take his own life, Huw MacLean purposefully drove off the motorway with both his wife and eight year old daughter in the car. Jackie was paralysed as a result, while April herself was not hurt. Huw went to prison for causing the crash. (TV: Nightvisiting [+]Loading...["Nightvisiting (TV story)"], Brave-ish Heart [+]Loading...["Brave-ish Heart (TV story)"], Detained [+]Loading...["Detained (TV story)"])

After over thirty years of production, the John Fuchas film adaptation of The True History of Planets was released. (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen [+]Loading...["Mad Dogs and Englishmen (novel)"])

Torchwood Three encountered a sentient element in Cardiff Bay, which intended to reproduce itself by assimilating the chemical composition of all of Cardiff and its residents. This element was eventually reduced to water when the coastguard doused it with a petroleum-based bio-remedial agent. (PROSE: Black Water [+]Loading...["Black Water (short story)"])

On another occasion, Torchwood Three recovered a parasitic, psychic alien plant and stored it in their hothouse. Ianto Jones fell victim to the plant's psychic commands and began feeding it his own blood. (PROSE: Plant Life [+]Loading...["Plant Life (short story)"])

According to some accounts, but not others, 2008 was the year that Torchwood unfroze World War I soldier Tommy Brockless for the last time,[nb 3] (TV: To the Last Man [+]Loading...["To the Last Man (TV story)"]) and Gwen Cooper of Torchwood investigated the disappearance of Jonah Bevan.[nb 4] (TV: Adrift [+]Loading...["Adrift (TV story)"]) In 1901, a time-displaced Jack Harkness told his Torchwood teammates to freeze him to be awakened in 107 years' time to reach his brother Gray. (TV: Exit Wounds [+]Loading...["Exit Wounds (TV story)"])

Toshiko Sato became temporary acting leader of Torchwood Three. This was in accordance with a manifesto written by Emily Holroyd, which stated that in the absence of a leader the longest-serving member of a Torchwood team should take their place. After Torchwood recovered a Rehabilitator from Danny Dillard, Tosh unofficially handed the role over to Gwen Cooper. (PROSE: Kaleidoscope [+]Loading...["Kaleidoscope (short story)"])

A credit crunch occurred. (TV: The Curse of Clyde Langer [+]Loading...["The Curse of Clyde Langer (TV story)"])

In 2323, Dr Olivia Kagg Waldermein wrote of the "2005-2009 Davies-Gardner account" of the "Last Lightbringer". (PROSE: Love & War [+]Loading...["Love & War (short story)"])


Other timelines

Donna's world

London is destroyed. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])

In the spring or summer, the Judoon defeated Florence Finnegan; all but one of the people inside Royal Hope Hospital, which was taken to the Moon, died of asphyxiation, including Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones. Luke Smith and Maria Jackson were also reported missing. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])

On 25 December, while Donna Noble, her mother and her grandfather holidayed in the English countryside, the alien spaceship Titanic crashed into London, destroying the city and contaminating most of southern England with radioactivity. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])


Births and deaths

Ed Gold, later a member of the crew of Bowie Base One, was born in Australia. (TV: The Waters of Mars [+]Loading...["The Waters of Mars (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes

Though the Torchwood television stories Fragments and Exit Wounds have an apparent 2008 setting going by Jack Harkness's dialogue in Exit Wounds, this is complicated by mentions of Owen Harper's early employment with Torchwood from both of these stories. While Exit Wounds explicitly states that Toshiko Sato's examination of the space pig from the Doctor Who television story Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"], a story set a year after 2005, happened on Owen's second week, a caption in Fragments places Owen's recruitment four years before those stories. This appears to put Fragments and Exit Wounds in 2010 instead.

Page 120 of The Secret Lives of Monsters gives Sunday 4 June as the date of the events of Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"] and the Royal Hope incident. However, it does not specify 2007 or 2008 as a current year. On top of this, the first two Sunday 4 Junes after 2004 (page 119 places the incident over 30 years after 1974) are in 2006 and 2017.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ According to The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...{"timestamp":"5:47 and 33:27","ed":"iPlayer","1":"The Sound of Drums (TV story)"} the events of the Royal Hope incident are three days before the election of the Saxon Master and five days before the Toclafane invasion.
  2. ↑ While Blink itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in 2007 and "twenty minutes to Red Hatching" a year later in 2008—as Kathy Nightingale's letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in 1920", and the Tenth Doctor's side of his conversation with Sally Sparrow in 1969 happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the Redacted audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In Angels, Abby McPhail identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests 2009 as the year of the Red Hatching. In Salvation, the Thirteenth Doctor recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of Andy Proctor, who was last seen by his daughter Cleo "nearly 20 years" before 2022 according to Recruits.
  3. ↑ Tommy was born in 1894 and was 114 when he returned to 1918.
  4. ↑ Jonah was born in 1993 and would have been 15 when Gwen investigated him.
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