2008

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Doctor Who Universe

January

February

April

May

Election Day is generally held on the first Thursday in May. In 2008, the first Thursday was 1st May.
Under US law, upon the death of a sitting president, the vice-president takes office. As it has been established that the US presidency timeline differs from that of the real world, it would appear that Barack Obama becomes president at this point. (DW: The End of Time)

July

August

September

Fall

December

Negated timelines

See Donna's World.

Dates Unknown

  • During an unchronicled adventure in London with Martha Jones, 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)
  • Following her encounter with the 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 burn up the Earth. The Slitheen plan is foiled by Sarah Jane Smith, although a child Slitheen escapes and the Earth briefly experiences a worldwide power outage coupled with a brief disruption in solar activity. Sarah Jane, utilizing her supercomputer Mr Smith, later orchestrates a cover-up that suggests the darkening of the sun and the power outage were caused by a sudden, but temporary, shift in Earth's magnetic field. (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 her way back to Earth, Sarah Jane Smith is handed a puzzle box by a Verron soothsayer, with instructions to give it to someone she trusts. The next week she gives it to Maria Jackson. The Trickster retroactively wipes Sarah Jane out of existence, but reality is restored with help from Maria Jackson. (SJA: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?)
  • The Xylok Plans to Collide the moon into the Earth

Real World

  • The announced 2008 production hiatus sparks speculation in the media over whether David Tennant will be continuing in Doctor Who, with reports published ranging from suggestions that Tennant would leave at the end of the then-upcoming Series 4, or during the specials, to published reports suggesting he had negotiated a deal with the BBC that would keep him on the series through Series 5 in 2010 or possibly longer. This speculation finally ends in October with Tennant's announcement regarding his future on the series.
  • Silva Screen Records reissues Doctor Who - Original Television Soundtrack, the soundtrack CD featuring music from the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Due to licensing changes, the reissue features a new cover photograph of David Tennant by himself, with Billie Piper's image having been removed.

January

February

March

Spring

  • 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 universe" episode nominees are DW: Blink by Steven Moffat (making this his third consecutive Hugo nomination) and the DW: Human Nature/The Family of Blood two-parter by Paul Cornell, and the Torchwood episode TW: Captain Jack Harkness by Catherine Tregenna.
  • In the weeks preceding the debut of Doctor Who Series 4, the BBC releases a trailer to cinemas in Great Britain - a rarity for a television series. The trailer includes scenes from most episodes from the first half of the season (except DW: The Doctor's Daughter), and also includes a clip from DW: Turn Left from near the end of the season. The incorporation of a clip of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler from Turn Left makes official that the character is returning in the new season.
  • After nearly a decade of being available sporadically through comic shops, distribution of Doctor Who Magazine in Canada is increased considerably, with the magazine now widely available in bookstores and magazine specialty shops, although issues are distributed in Canada 2 to 3 months after their UK publication dates.

April

May

June

July

  • BFA: The Boy That Time Forgot is first released.
  • CC: Here There Be Monsters is first released, marking the first appearance of Carole Ann Ford as the "true universe" version of Susan Foreman since DW: The Five Doctors.
  • ST: Short Trips: Transmissions is first published.
  • Early July - The week between the cliffhanger ending of DW: The Stolen Earth and the broadcast of DW: Journey's End is marked by some of the most intense media attention Doctor Who has ever seen, especially given the uncertainty over whether David Tennant is remaining with the series.[3]
  • 1 - UK DVD release of Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 2 with the episodes DW: The Sontaran Strategem, The Poison Sky, The Doctor's Daughter and The Unicorn and the Wasp.
  • 3 - DW: The Invasion of Time is released to DVD in Region 4.
  • 4 - WC: The Baktek Illusion is uploaded, concluding the BBC Writers' Comics special series.
  • 5 - DW: Journey's End is first 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. The episode features the one-time returns of Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri and K-9 to the series; Catherine Tate leaves the series as a regular with this episode. This is the last regular weekly episode of Doctor Who scheduled until Series 5 in 2010. 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 DW: 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.[4][5]. The episode concludes with a teaser for the 2008 Christmas special, at the time of broadcast left untitled but later announced as DW: The Next Doctor. This is the last "regular" weekly episode of the series until the start of Series 5 in the spring of 2010. As K-9 does not appear in Series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures, this marks his final appearance until the post-season mini-episode SJA: From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love airs in March 2009.
  • 6 - DW: Partners in Crime is broadcast on ABC in Australia.
  • 7 - The Daily Mail reports that more than 2,500 people actually attempted to phone the Doctor's phone number as shown in DW: The Stolen Earth, in hopes of hearing a special recorded message, but the number was in fact non-functional.[6]
  • 8 - The Bred for War DVD box set (DW: The Time Warrior, The Sontaran Experiment, The Invasion of Time, The Two Doctors) is released in Region 4.
  • 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.[7] Despite this, wildcat Internet rumours persist that Morrissey will replace Tennant as early as the 2008 Christmas special, while some UK media report that Tennant has signed an agreement to stay with the series through Series 5 in 2010.
  • 12 - Doctor Who sweeps the television categories at the second annual Constellation Awards, a Canadian award presented as part of the Polaris science fiction convention. David Tennant wins for best Male Performance in a Science Fiction Television episode for his work on the two-parter DW : Human Nature/The Family of Blood; Carey Mulligan wins the female equivalent for DW: Blink; and the series itself wins for Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2007. Doctor Who is eligible for these awards thanks to its co-production arrangement with the CBC.
  • 21 - DW: The Brain of Morbius is released to DVD in the UK.
  • 23 - Copies of issue No. 397 of Doctor Who Magazine come polybagged with randomly chosen original Target Books editions (from a selection of 27 books), giving the Target novelisations widespread exposure for the first time in years; also included in the mix were a few non-novelisation releases such as REF: The Making of Doctor Who. The issue also includes a second surprise: when the polybag is removed, all text on the front cover (except around the UPC symbol) is revealed to be "BAD WOLF", including the title banner for the magazine itself! This is a tie-in with the ending of DW: Turn Left.
  • 27 - The first Doctor Who Proms concert is held at Royal Albert Hall in London, featuring music from Doctor Who. An interactive mini-episode, DW: Music of the Spheres, is shown as part of this event, which is initially broadcast on BBC Radio. The concert is hosted by Freema Agyeman, with Catherine Tate appearing to introduce a segment, as well. Singer Tim Phillips, who performed "Song for Ten" in DW: The Christmas Invasion, performs the extended version of the song introduced on the Series 1 & 2 soundtrack CD. Davros, the Graske and other monsters make cameo appearances as well. As a tribute to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and Delia Derbyshire, Music of the Spheres ends with the original 1963 arrangement of the "Doctor Who theme". The BBC later announces that an edited version of the broadcast -- including Music of the Spheres -- will air on 1 January 2009.

August

Late summer

September

October

November

December

Footnotes


2007 21st century
2000s
2009