1999

1999 in

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the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

Throughout 1999, much concern was raised on Earth over a feared computer glitch known as Y2K or the Millennium Bug. This had the potential to cause technological havoc as clocks changed from 1999 to 2000 (the "00" in the date being expected to cause problems for many computer systems). The concern ended up being unfounded, though not without some help from one, or possibly two incarnations of the Doctor. (PROSE: Millennium Shock)

Events

• 12 May - Adelaide Brooke was born. (TV: The Waters of Mars)
• Late December - The Sixth Doctor saved the Earth from Saraquazel, a being from after the universe, and his servant, Ashley Chapel. (PROSE: Millennial Rites)
• 30 December - The Seventh Doctor, en route to Gallifrey with the remains of the Master, was forced to land the TARDIS in San Francisco and was caught in the crossfire of a gangland shooting. Ignorance of the Time Lord form meant that his surgeon, Grace Holloway, accidentally killed him. The Master escaped into the city. (TV: Doctor Who)
• 31 December
  • The Doctor regenerated into his eighth incarnation. The Master took Bruce as a host. He then opened the Eye of Harmony and the Earth started to fluctuate. The Doctor closed the Eye and the Master was consumed by it. (TV: Doctor Who)
  • The Seventh Doctor and Melanie Bush crashed a party hosted by the Auton Alisha Hammerson and prevented another invasion by the Nestene Consciousness. (COMIC: Plastic Millennium)
  • The Fourth Doctor stopped the millennium bug (probably with a little help from his sixth incarnation) just as the New Year arrived. (PROSE: Millennium Shock)
  • While Jack Harkness fought a "Millennium Bug" of his own, Alex Hopkins killed the rest of his Torchwood Three team, then himself after Jack returned, just as the New Year arrived in Cardiff's time zone. Harkness subsequently took over Torchwood Three. (TV: Fragments)
  • Dave Young spent the entire evening trying to convince his girlfriend, Anji Kapoor, that the millennium would not actually begin for another year. Kapoor, for her part, thought this extreme pedantry meant their relationship was in trouble. This incident led to her insisting on New Year's Eve 2000 that the two of them spend 2001 doing "Wild and Spontaneous Things' —the result of which was the couple spontaneously going to Belgium in February 2001. There, she met the Eighth Doctor and began travelling with him. (PROSE: Escape Velocity)
  • The renegade Time Lady Iris Wildthyme and her companion Panda arrived in San Francisco in her TARDIS. Immediately after their arrival, Iris spilled gin into the bus' control and out into Time Vortex, resulting in various different versions of Panda from alternative realities crossing over into the primary universe. With the assistance of Dr. George Strangeways, Iris was able to close the rift, though not before the Panda from the primary universe had been dragged into it. (AUDIO: The Panda Invasion)
  • The Fifth Doctor, Peri Brown and Erimem visited Edinburgh in an alternative timeline. (PROSE: Graham Dilley Saves the World)

Due to time zone differences, the above events technically occurred hours prior to the incident in San Francisco.

Unknown dates

• Terry Brooks was serving as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during this year. (PROSE: Millennium Shock)