BC

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference

BC or B.C. was an initialism (Before Christ) used to designate an Earth year's position relative to the epoch known as AD. The term "BC" thus designated a negative number; 100 BC was ninety-nine years before 1 BC. Its positive counterpart was AD.

There was, however, a question as to whether the year 1 BC was followed by the year 0 or the year 1 AD. Some people, including the human chronologist Professor Wagg, clearly believed that 1 BC was followed by 0, allowing him to make the claim that the year 2000 was the first year of a new millennium, as did American journalists working for television station KKBE. (TV: Doctor Who) The Eighth Doctor concurred with this opinion. (PROSE: The Novel of the Film. AUDIO: Relative Dimensions) However, the Sixth Doctor (PROSE: Millennial Rites) and Dave Young (PROSE: Escape Velocity) both strongly argued that 1 BC was followed by 1 AD, thus making 2001 the start of the 3rd millennium.

Timeline

Prehistory

3rd Millennium B.C.

2nd millennium B.C.

10th century B.C.

9th century B.C.

  • Circa 800 B.C.: Azal sealed himself up within the Devil's Hump, awaiting the day when he should make his final judgment on humanity. (TV: The Dæmons)

6th century B.C.

5th century B.C.

4th century B.C.

3rd century B.C.

2nd century B.C.

1st century B.C.

Behind the scenes

  • An inherently Christian designation, BC is not generally used in calendars of the traditionally non-Christian world. Consequently, some people use BCE (meaning "Before Common Era") for BC. CE (meaning "Common Era") as a substitute for AD. These largely cosmetic replacements are thought to avoid religious offence. However, Doctor Who fiction has typically remained loyal to the BC/AD convention. Even as late as the RTD and Moffat eras, dialogue and on-screen graphics prefer the Christian convention. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii, The Pandorica Opens, A Good Man Goes to War, The Angels Take Manhattan)
  • In the real world, there is no year zero, so therefore 1 BC is immediately followed by 1 AD. Doctor Who fiction, however, is unclear as to this point.
  • On this wiki, templates and categories, both of which use, or are used in, mathematical formulae, assume the presence of a year zero, since the fiction of the DWU allows it. Hence, we deem that the year 2000 is in the 21st century.
BC