2009

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2009
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Doctor Who Universe

January- March

April

May

  • 15 - 18 - the Mandragora Helix attempts a takeover of Earth through the MorganTech computer systems (NSA: Beautiful Chaos).
  • The Earth is relocated to the Medusa Cascade by the Daleks under the control of the Supreme Dalek and Davros. Despite the relocation, the planet retains a full communications network. An invasion of Earth by the Daleks commences and a number of humans are taken to "the Crucible", the Dalek mothership, where they are killed in tests of the reality bomb. As part of a counter-insurgency against the Dalek invasion, former Prime Minister Harriet Jones brings together a number of the Doctor's former companions, including Captain Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, and Martha Jones in order to contact the Doctor, and before she herself is killed by the Daleks. Rose Tyler, meanwhile, contacts Donna Noble's family and is ultimately reunited with the Doctor. During this incident, The Doctor undergoes a partial regeneration in order to repair damage from a Dalek blast; as a result of this, the Doctor's severed hand later forms a mental link with Donna and grows into a second version of the Doctor, but one that's half-human without Time Lord biological abilities such as regeneration. During ths incident, Martha Jones, under orders from UNIT, reveals the existence of the Osterhagen Key, a weapon capable of destroying Earth. Due to her interaction with the second Doctor, Donna briefly gains the knowledge of a Time Lord, and with her help the two Doctors are able to defeat the Daleks. Afterwards, the Doctor and his companions are successful in restoring Earth to its original location using the TARDIS; this sparks worldwide celebrations around the planet. Afterwards, Mickey Smith chooses to remain on his original Earth instead of returning to Pete's World, Harkness offers Martha Jones a job with Torchwood Three, and the Doctor returns Rose and Jackie Tyler to Pete's World, along with his clone. Donna Noble is returned to her family, but with all memories of the Doctor wiped from her mind due to the danger to her survival posed by her transformation. (DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End) (Takes place within 6 weeks of Beautiful Chaos)

June

September

Newspaper Ianto Jones picks up. Date reads: Wednesday September 2009 (TW: Children of Earth: Day Two)
  • It is revealed in 1965, the British government paid 12 children to an alien race, the 456, for an antidote for a virus that threatened the human race. Children across the world begin saying "We are coming". The 456 Ambassador descends on Thames House and tells the government they want 10% of the child population or they will kill the entire human race. Torchwood Three Hub is blown up by the government, in an attempt to assassinate Jack Harkness, who knows of the government's deals with the 456 in 1965. In Thames House, the 456 lock down and release a deadly gas. This kills everyone (except Mr Dekker) in the building, including Ianto Jones. (TW: Children of Earth Date: seen on newspaper)

October

Unknown

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Alternate timelines

Real World

NOTE: This section includes announced and surmised events in the future; dates, events, and titles are subject to change. Some items listed below may also include spoilers.

January

  • 01 - BBC TV broadcasts an edited version of the July 2008 Doctor Who at the Proms concert, previously released on radio and the Internet. The broadcast includes the television debut of the audience-interactive mini-episode Music of the Spheres. An extended version of the broadcast, including the performance of "Song for Ten", is later made available for UK Digital viewers.
  • 02 - Who fandom is caught by surprise when the BBC announces that the actor to play the Eleventh Doctor is to be announced in a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential the next day,
  • 03 - During a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential, the BBC announces that Matt Smith has been cast as the Eleventh Doctor.
  • 04 - The announcement of Matt Smith as the new Doctor is front page news in many UK newspapers. Since these are Sunday publications, many receive international distribution.
  • 06 - John Scott Martin dies.
  • 14 - Production begins on Planet of the Dead with the first cast read-through of the script. David Tennant, as he did regularly during Series 2 and 3 and less regularly during Series 4, records the event for posterity for a series of video diaries (dubbed "The Tennant Tapes") later posted to the BBC's website.
  • 16 - The website of the UK newspaper The Guardian publishes a column condemning then-rumored plans to film one of the 2009 specials in Dubai, citing the United Arab Emirates' human rights record.[1]
  • 19 - Filming begins on Planet of the Dead, the first of four one-hour Doctor Who specials to air during 2009 and early 2010 in lieu of a full season. These specials will mark the end of David Tennant's era as the Tenth Doctor, and also conclude Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner's tenures as producers. Concurrent with the start of production are rumours that Michelle Ryan and Lee Evans had been cast in the special. The rumours are later confirmed by the BBC, which releases publicity photographs of Ryan with David Tennant. According to Doctor Who Magazine #405, Planet of the Dead is the first Doctor Who episode to be produced in high-definition.
  • 22 - David Tennant's first day of shooting on Planet of the Dead ("The Tennant Tapes 2").
  • 28 - Media in the UK and United Arab Emirates report that a transportation mishap has resulted in a double-decker bus intended for filming scenes for the Easter 2009 special Planet of the Dead on location in Dubai, being heavily damaged, forcing writers Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts to revise part of their script. The resulting BBC News report serves as confirmation to earlier rumours that Doctor Who is in fact filming at least part of Planet of the Dead in the Middle Eastern country. This marks the first full-scale production of a Doctor Who installment outside Europe since the 1996 telefilm was shot in Canada and only the second regular TV episode to film major scenes outside Europe since Planet of Fire was partially filmed in the Canary Islands in 1984.
  • 29 - BBC Books launches the first in a planned series of 10 shorter novels forming the story arc The Darksmith Legacy, with the publication of The Dust of Ages and The Graves of Mordane.
  • Late January - The weekly magazine Doctor Who Adventures publishes its 100th issue.
  • 31 - Release of The Key 2 Time - The Judgement of Isskar.

February

March

  • The BBC series Tonight's the Night (hosted by John Barrowman) launches a contest for viewers to create their own Doctor Who monster. Following the 28 March deadline finalists will be chosen to take part in further competition on the series. The winner gets to appear in a specially written Doctor Who scene (which is similar to A Fix with Sontarans, as David Tennant appears as himself, and it also breaks the fourth wall)
  • 3 - The BBC announces that outgoing Doctor Who executive producer Julie Gardner will be joining the Los Angeles branch of BBC Worldwide in June 2009, serving as executive producer of American-market projects.
  • 13 - From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love, a special mini-episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, airs in the UK as part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day. This is the first mini-episode to be based upon a spinoff of Doctor Who. David Tennant co-hosts the main BBC broadcast of of Red Nose Day with Davina McCall, introducing the SJA mini-episode and also taking part in a Doctor Who-themed round of the quiz show Mastermind. The SJA mini-adventure is originally given the title Funny for Money in pre-broadcast publicity, but so-writer Clayton Hickman later confirmed the official title on the Doctor Who Forum.[2]
  • 14 - Canadian premiere of The Next Doctor. The cable network Space is airing the special rather than the CBC, marking a possible major shift in how future episodes of the revived series will be broadcast in that country.
  • 16 - A quarter century after their use was phased out across the UK, Edinburgh's police department announces plans to reintroduce "TARDIS-style" police boxes.[3]
  • Mid-March - For the fourth consecutive year, episodes of Doctor Who written by Steven Moffat are nominated for the annual Hugo Award: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. Also nominated: Russell T. Davies' episode Turn Left (resulting in some controversy among fans who expected his Midnight to be nominated. Competition for the award includes episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Lost.
  • 18 - In a speech to members of BAFTA, Russell T. Davies reveals that production of Series 3 of The Sarah Jane Adventures had been impacted by BBC budget cuts and had nearly been cancelled on three occasions.[4]
  • 26 - The BBC Book series The Darksmith Legacy continues with the publication of The Colour of Darkness and The Depths of Despair.
  • 30 - Release of The Key 2 Time - The Chaos Pool

April

  • Release of The Magic Mousetrap
  • Publication of Doctor Who: The Forgotten, a graphic novel-style release reprinting the The Forgotten story arc from IDW Publishing's Doctor Who comic book series.
  • Mid-April - In the weeks following its broadcast of DW: The Next Doctor, the Canadian television network Space confirms that it has obtained the Canadian broadcast rights to the 2009 specials and Series 5, and announces it will air Planet of the Dead in June. This ends speculation over the future of Doctor Who on the CBC, although it's not yet known whether the CBC or related networks will retain broadcast rights to the first four seasons. Up to at least the end of Series 4, the CBC had been a (sometimes-credited) co-producer of the series; presumably this announcement means that arrangement has ended.
  • 11 - Broadcast of Planet of the Dead, the first of four one-hour special episodes of Doctor Who scheduled for broadcast during 2009 and early 2010 in lieu of a regular season in 2009. Co-written by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts, it is the first episode on which Davies shares writing credit, is the first episode of the revived series to credit two writers, and is the first story to credit two writers since 1993's Dimensions in Time. It is also the first episode (as opposed to telemovie) of the series to be filmed in part outside Europe since 1984. The BBC did not officially announce the broadcast date until 1 April, leading to some erroneous reports that it would air on Easter Sunday itself, 12 April. The special, the first to be filmed in high-definition, was simulcast on BBC HD. An instalment of Doctor Who Confidential followed on BBC Three.
  • 16 - Publication of Judgement of the Judoon, Prisoner of the Daleks and The Slitheen Excursion. All three novels feature the Tenth Doctor without a companion, continuing the format established by The Eyeless. Notably, all three releases in this cycle (as well as the preceding Quick Reads release) feature returning monsters.
  • 30 - The BBC Books series The Darksmith Legacy continues with the publication of The Vampire of Paris.

May

June

  • Former Doctor Who executive producer Julie Gardner is scheduled to take her post at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles branch.
  • The Canadian cable network Space officially confirms that it has obtained the broadcasting rights to Doctor Who from the CBC, and will air the remaining 2009 specials along with Series 5 in 2010; in addition, it will obtain Canadian broadcast rights to the first four seasons and the never-aired-in-Canada Voyage of the Damned in the spring of 2010.
  • David Tennant, fresh from concluding his final episodes as the Doctor, begins filming a motion picture version of Hamlet, which is scheduled for broadcast on BBC Two in late 2009, on PBS in the US in 2010, and also is planned for limited theatrical release in the US in the fall of 2009.
  • 02 - Shaun Lyon announces that the Outpost Gallifrey website, the Doctor Who News website, and the Doctor Who Forum will all close as of 31st July. A detailed reason for closing the sites is not provided.[8]
  • 09 - Titan Books publishes the graphic novel Torchwood: Rift War, an omnibus of the multi-part Rift War! comic strip from Torchwood Magazine.
  • 10 - Publication of the one-shot comic Autopia by IDW Publishing.
  • 12 - Preview showing of episode one of Torchwood: Children of Earth at the British Film Institute (BFI) in London.
  • 16 - Michael Summerton dies. Appeared in The Daleks as one of the first Daleks to appear in Doctor Who.
  • 23 - BBC Radio 4 broadcasts On the Outside it Looked Like an Old Fashioned Police Box, a documentary on the history of the Target Books novelisations hosted by Mark Gatiss. The documentary is posted online for the following week.
  • 25 - Publication of The Darksmith Legacy: The Planet of Oblivion.
  • 27 - US broadcast debut of The Next Doctor on the show's new US broadcaster, BBC America.[9]

July

  • Big Finish marks the 10th anniversary of its line of Doctor Who audio productions.
  • IDW Publishing launches Doctor Who Ongoing, a new comic series featuring the adventures of the Tenth Doctor.
  • 01 - Audio drama Torchwood: Asylum broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the first of a trilogy of dramas featuring the TV cast aired in the days prior to Children of Earth. The three plays are also made available for streaming listening worldwide (and for MP3 download within the UK) for one week after broadcast. All three plays are also scheduled for CD release in the fall of 2009.
  • 02 - Audio drama Torchwood: Golden Age broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
  • 03 - Audio drama Torchwood: The Dead Line broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
  • 06-10 - Broadcast of the five-episode miniseries Torchwood: Children of Earth on BBC One. At one point earlier in 2009 it had been suggested that the UK and US broadcasts of Children of Earth would coincide, but this turned out not to be the case.
    • UK DVD release of The War Games. This release also includes the first wide release of Devious, a fan-made Doctor Who story featuring the final performance of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Although BBC Video has included the occasional fan-made production on DVDs previously (most notably in the The Beginning box set), this is the first time a major fan production has been included on an official BBC release. North American release is scheduled for later in the year.
  • 07 - Release of the soundtrack album for Torchwood: Children of Earth.
  • Week of 19th July - Production begins on Series 5, with the BBC formally announcing the Doctor's new companion as Amy Pond and unveiling the first photographs of the Eleventh Doctor's costume. Media coverage of the first day's filming also reveals that a major guest star from Series 4 will be returning.
  • Late July - To commemmorate the 40th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing, the BBC's official website, over the course of four days, uploads the exclusive Tenth Doctor short story Blue Moon.
  • 20-24 - Broadcasts of Torchwood: Children of Earth on both BBC America in the US and Space in Canada. As in the UK, the miniseries runs for five consecutive nights.
  • 22 - IDW Publishing releases the standalone Doctor Who comic Room with a Deja View in North America.
  • 23 - According to media reports, John Barrowman is involved in an 80 mph race car crash while filming a segment of the series Top Gear. He escapes with minor injuries.[10] The exact date of the accident is unclear, as only a couple of days after this date Barrowman attends the San Diego ComicCon.
  • 24 - Harry Towb dies. He appeared in The Seeds of Death and Terror of the Autons; in the latter, he experienced one of the most iconic of all Doctor Who deaths by being "eaten" by a living plastic chair.
  • 25 - Broadcast of Planet of the Dead on the Canadian network Space (originally announced for 20 June).
  • 26 - Broadcast of Planet of the Dead on BBC America.
    • Doctor Who is officially named the single most successful science fiction TV series by Guinness World Records. The honour is announced at the 2009 San Diego ComicCon.[11] The same event also unveiled the first trailer for the David Tennant finale specials, confirming the return appearance of a longtime villain.
  • 28 - North American DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Torchwood: Children of Earth. and Planet of the Dead. Planet of the Dead is the first Doctor Who story to be released in the high-def Blu-Ray format.
  • 30 - Publication of The Darksmith Legacy: The Pictures of Emptiness.
  • 31 - The Internet's largest Doctor Who discussion board, the Doctor Who Forum, along with the original Doctor Who News Page (formerly known as Outpost Gallifrey), closes. A replacement discussion board, Gallifrey Base, is established some weeks earlier (although the archives of the 13-year-old forum are deleted), while other parties have taken over the Doctor Who News Page.

August

September

Autumn

October

November

Late 2009

  • According to Russell T. Davies in SFX Magazine, the second of the 2009 Specials, The Waters of Mars, is scheduled to air around Christmas 2009 (though whether this means December 25 has yet to be confirmed as of March 2009), followed possibly by one or both of the remaining specials leading to David Tennant's regeneration into Matt Smith.[14] In early April 2009, however, Davies indicated that a "November-ish" broadcast was being considered for The Waters of Mars. As of May 2009 the only official word from the BBC, coming from the trailer featured at the end of Planet of the Dead is "later this year".
  • In his column in Doctor Who Magazine #409, Russell T. Davies hinted at the possibility of one final Tenth Doctor mini-episode before the end of the Tennant era. Exactly when, if, and what form such an episode would take remains unconfirmed as of July 2009.
  • Announced publication window for The Panda Book of Horror, a followup to the anthology Iris Wildthyme and the Celestial Omnibus.

December

  • 03 - Scheduled release of the final two chapters of the Hornets' Nest audio drama arc from BBC Audio: A Sting in the Tail and Hive of Horror, both starring Tom Baker.
  • 06 - 20th anniversary of the broadcast of Survival Episode 3, the final episode of the original 1963-1989 series.
  • Christmas? - the third of the four 2009 specials is expected to air around Christmas 2009; it is not yet known whether the fourth and last special will also air about this time, or later (possibly New Year's Day).

Unannounced dates

  • The first season of the Australian-made spinoff series K-9 is expected to air in that country sometime in the second half of 2009, likely carrying over into 2010.[15] Broadcast of the series in other countries has yet to be confirmed.
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