2009

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Doctor Who Universe

January

• 16 - Captain Jack is reunited with the Torchwood 3 team and re-unites with John Hart. (TW:Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) (Date: WEB:torchwood.co.uk)
• 23 - The Torchwood 3 team discovers Cell 114 sleeper agents in Cardiff. (TW:Sleeper.) (Date: WEB:torchwood.co.uk)

February

• Annual de-frosting of Tommy Brockless, a young soldier first cryogenically frozen in 1918. Ultimately, this turns out to be the final defrosting. (TW:To the Last Man.) (Date: WEB:torchwood.co.uk)
• 20 - Dr. Martha Jones arrives in Cardiff on the trail of the Pharm and is temporarily assigned to Torchwood 3. (TW:Reset)
• 27 - Dr. Owen Harper is shot and killed. (TW:Reset), (Date: WEB:torchwood.co.uk)
• 28 - Before Martha Jones can conduct an autopsy on Owen Harper, Harper is revived by Jack Harkness using the second resurrection gauntlet. As a direct consequence, Harper continues to live past the standard 2.5 revival time, but is briefly possessed by Durac, the embodiment of Death. A number of deaths also occur at a Cardiff hospital as a result of Durac's manifestation. (TW: Dead Man Walking)

March

• 02 - Dr. Owen Harper, who continues to have difficulty accepting his new undead existence, is relieved of his duties with Torchwood 3 (though he continues to help out as their new tea boy) as Martha Jones agrees to stay on as medical officer. Ultimately, Harper begins to come to terms with his death and returns to active duty for a mission to retrieve an alien artifact from a dying millionare, Henry Parker, who reveals intimate knowledge about Torchwood and its personnel before his passes away. With Harper reinstated, Jones departs Torchwood to return to her duties at UNIT. Soon after, Harper successfully talks a young woman out of committing suicide. (TW: A Day in the Death).
• 19 - The Torchwood 3 team investigate the Night Travellers. Events of TW:From Out of the Rain. (Date: WEB:torchwood.co.uk)

April

• By this time conspiracy theorists have begun noting the disappearance of bees from the planet Earth, which is also noted by Donna Noble. (DW: Partners in Crime, et al). It is later learned that they have left earth in anticipation of its imminent relocation to the Medusa Cascade (DW: The Stolen Earth).
• Thousands of Adipose are born from peoples fat and walk around the streets. During this time, Donna Noble reunites with the Tenth Doctor and begins her travels with him. Before leaving with the Doctor, however, Donna briefly encounters Rose Tyler (although she is unaware of Rose's identity). (DW: Partners in Crime)
• The Sontarans invade Earth. During this event, Martha Jones is temporarily reunited with the Doctor and meets Donna Noble for the first time. Donna also narrowly misses witnessing a brief transmission from Rose Tyler in the TARDIS. As part of the Sontaran invasion plan, all ATMOS-equipped vehicles begin emitting a toxic gas intended to transform the world's atmosphere into a more hospitible one for Sontaran offspring; numerous fatalties are reported worldwide before the Doctor disables the devices. Afterwards, the ATMOS devices are removed from the planet's vehicles. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky; Date: NSA: Beautiful Chaos)

May

• 15 - 18 - the Mandragora Helix attempts a takeover of Earth through the MorganTech computer systems (NSA: Beautiful Chaos).

May - June

• 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 3, 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)

October

• The Doctor and Martha Jones visit Blackwood Falls. (NSA: Forever Autumn)

Unknown

• Shreela Govindia dies of an autoimmune disease. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Warhead)
• ATMOS, a combination GPS/emission control system for automobiles, becomes widespread in vehicles around the world.
• Rose Tyler temporarily returns from her parallel Earth, initially arriving in the normal universe (DW: Partners in Crime) but later ending up in an alternate timeline where she attains a position of authority with UNIT and works with them and Donna Noble to restore the timeline. (DW: Turn Left)
• Toshiko Sato died by gunshot wound when she was shot by Gray, whilst Owen Harper expired after being expose to nuclear waste following the actions of Gray and John Hart. (TW: Exit Wounds)

Alternate timelines

• 'The Year That Never Was: The Master rules the Earth with an iron fist, before Captain Jack destroys the Paradox machine, which reverses time back to 2008. (DW: Last of the Time Lords).
• 'Donna's World - After the Titanic fell to Earth on 25th December 2008, annihilating London and rendering most of southern England unlivable with nuclear radiation, Great Britain has become a police state. Londoners lucky enough to have survived are subject to forced relocations; Donna Noble's family is moved to Leeds. Rose Tyler works with the UNIT of this timeline to help Donna Noble restore the proper chain of events which, at one point, involves sending Donna back to 2007. (DW: Turn Left)

Real World

NOTE: This section includes announced and surmised events in the future; dates, events, and titles are subject to change.

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.
  • First issue of Doctor Who DVD Files, a fortnightly UK/Ireland-only magazine, is published, incorporating a DVD of the episodes Rose and The End of the World.
• 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.
  • Catherine Tate guest stars on The Sunday Night Project and take part in a skit in which she impersonates David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.
• 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

• To tie in with its broadcasts of Torchwood Series 2, the digital channel Watch publishes an exclusive comic strip, The Return of the Vostok, on its website.
• 05 - The official trailer for Torchwood: Children of Earth is unveiled at the New York Comic Con and online.
• 12 - Release of The Nemonite Invasion, an original made-for-BBC Audio story read by Catherine Tate.
• 13 - The BBC reports that filming is now officially under way in Dubai for DW: Planet of the Dead.
• 13 - 15 - The American "Gallifrey" Doctor Who and SF convention marks its 20th anniversary.
• 19 - The BBC announces that Lindsay Duncan has been cast as Adelaide, a character described as the companion of the Doctor's in the as-yet untitled second 2009 special. The BBC also announces that production of the special is scheduled to occur in the spring, although no confirmation of a broadcast date has yet been made.
• 25 - Publication of The Whispering Gallery, a one-shot comic book by IDW Publishing.
• 26 - Publication of The Sontaran Games, the fourth Quick Reads novella. Beginning with this book, the BBC New Series Adventures line begins a series of novels featuring returning monsters and races from both the classic and revival series; this is slated to continue throughout 2009.
• 28 - The Key 2 Time - The Destroyer of Delights released
• An online version of Doctor Who DVD Files is launched, allowing those who already own the DVDs, or who are unable to buy the magazine internationally due to licensing restrictions, access to the printed content of the magazine. The subscription-based site also makes the contents of the Doctor Who: Battles in Time series available to international fans.

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 (it's unclear whether this will be a standalone scene similar to A Fix with Sontarans or a scene in an upcoming episode.)
• 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

• Scheduled release of Enemy of the Daleks.
• Scheduled publication of the Torchwood novels Bay of the Dead, The House That Jack Built, and Into the Silence.
• 07 - Production of the first season of the spinoff series K-9 is scheduled to be completed.[5]
• 08 - Official release of the film Star Trek, a new take on the classic series. Simon Pegg, who guest starred in DW: The Long Game and narrated Doctor Who Confidential, appears as Scotty in the highest-profile example to date of a Doctor Who actor crossing over into the Star Trek franchise. Deep Roy, an alumni of DW: The Talons of Weng-Chiang, shares several scenes with Pegg in a small role as Scotty's alien sidekick.
• 12 - Proving some things just never change, a survey of parents of young children published in The Telegraph cites Doctor Who is a series blamed for giving children nightmares, with parents surveyed indicating they'd rather see it aired in post-watershed hours.[6]
• 20 - Publication of The Time Machination, a one-shot comic book by IDW Publishing, and the first comic in IDW's Doctor Who line to make reference to Torchwood.
• 23 - The John Barrowman-hosted talent series Tonight's the Night airs a specially written and filmed Doctor Who scene in which Barrowman, as Jack Harkness, encounters an alien (played by a contest winner) in the TARDIS. The scene is written by Russell T. Davies and includes a cameo David Tennant, out of character as himself. The scene breaks the fourth wall, showing the studio surrounding the TARDIS set, and the special also included a Doctor Who Confidential-style look behind the scenes of the filming.
• 26 - The BBC and Russell T. Davies announce that David Tennant will appear as the Tenth Doctor in an upcoming two-part episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
• 28 - BBC America announces that it has obtained the US broadcast rights to the 2009 specials of Doctor Who. The series had previously aired on the Sci Fi Channel.
  • The BBC Books series The Darksmith Legacy continues with the publication of The Game of Death.
• 29 - The BBC announces that Karen Gillan, who previously appeared in The Fires of Pompeii, will co-star with Matt Smith as the new Doctor Who companion for Series 5.[7]
  • Publication of Doctor Who Classics Vol. 3, a graphic novel-style release reprinting issues of Doctor Who Classics by IDW Publishing.

Late spring

• Paul Magrs and Stuart Douglas have announced plans to launch a new series of books featuring Iris Wildthyme in the "late spring" of 2009, beginning with Iris Wildthyme and the Celestial Omnibius, possibly to be followed by a second 2009 release. Exact dates and author information TBA.

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.
• 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]
• 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
• 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 is scheduled to launch Doctor Who Ongoing, a new comic series featuring the adventures of the Tenth Doctor.
• According to trailers broadcast in May 2009, BBC America is planning to air Torchwood: Children of Earth this month.[10]
• BBC America also plans to air Planet of the Dead this month.[11]
• 06-10 - Scheduled 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.
• 07 - Scheduled release of the soundtrack album for Torchwood: Children of Earth.
• 20-24 - Scheduled broadcasts of Torchwood: Children of Earth on both BBC America in the US and Space in Canada. The miniseries will run five consecutive nights.
• 25 - Scheduled broadcast of Planet of the Dead on the Canadian network Space (originally announced for 20 June).
• 26 - Scheduled broadcast of Planet of the Dead on BBC America.
• 29 - Scheduled North American DVD release of Torchwood: Children of Earth.
• 30 - Scheduled publication of The Darksmith Legacy: The Pictures of Emptiness.
• 31 - According to an announcement made by Steve Lyons on 2 June, 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), will close. An administrator on the Forum expects a replacement discussion board, dubbed Gallifrey Base, to be up and running by this date. Also, contributors to the Doctor Who News Page expect to continue that service.

August

• 27 - Scheduled publication of The Darksmith Legacy: The Art of War.

September

• 15 - Scheduled North American DVD release of DW: The Next Doctor. Like the UK version of the release, the 2008 Doctor Who at the Proms concert special will be included as a bonus feature, along with the mini-episode Music of the Spheres which has never been broadcast in North America.
• 24 - Scheduled publication of the final book in the BBC Books series The Darksmith Legacy: The End of Time.
• Scheduled publication of The Taking of Chelsea 426, The Krillitane Storm, and Autonomy. All novels feature the Tenth Doctor travelling on his own and, like previous BBC New Series Adventures releases this year, feature the return of classic monsters. As of January 2009 it's not known yet whether these will be the final Tenth Doctor novels.
• Scheduled publication of The Dalek Project, the first graphic novel to be published by BBC Books.
• Scheduled publication of Doctor Who: The Ultimate Monster Guide.

Autumn

• A third season of The Sarah Jane Adventures is scheduled for broadcast in the autumn of 2009; titles and dates TBA. In May 2009 it was announced that the season will include a guest appearance by David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.[12]

October

• 17 - 30th anniversary of Doctor Who Magazine, the longest continually running publication of its type based upon an English-language TV series.

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.[13] 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".

December

• 06 - 20th anniversary of the broadcast of Survival Episode 3, the final episode of the original 1963-1989 series.

Unannounced dates

• Production of the 2010 series is expected to begin, with Steven Moffat as new head writer and Piers Wenger as new producer and Matt Smith in the role of the Eleventh Doctor. Doctor Who Magazine, in an article on Smith published in early 2009, hinted that production could begin in mid-year.
• 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.[14] Broadcast of the series in other countries has yet to be confirmed.

2008

21st century 2000s

2010