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This is a list of stories and episodes of Doctor Who and its spin-offs in the chronological order in which they appear to be set.
The majority of these stories are part of the main series, Doctor Who, which features a renegade Time Lord, the Doctor, and various travels in the TARDIS, his time machine and spaceship. It features a primary element of time travel, with many stories taking place on disparate apparent dates across a wide-spanning timeline of the fictional Doctor Who universe.
The spin-off series Torchwood occasionally delves into time travel and flashbacks, usually centred around former Doctor Who character Captain Jack Harkness, a time travelling companion of the Doctor originally from the 51st century. The Sarah Jane Adventures features Sarah Jane Smith, another of the Doctor's companions in stories appearing to predominately take place in a contemporary setting. The list also encompasses the singular pilot episode of K-9 and Company, a 1981 spin-off centring on robot companion K-9.
Not all of these stories have a definite apparent date. For example, most of the adventures in Doctor Who pertaining to the fictional UNIT organisation contain hints to various settings between the 1960s to the 1980s, with different writers suggesting different dates, and as such there is some noted controversy over their placement, testament to the significance of the series' continuity and chronology within its fandom. (The basis on which they have been entered into the table is noted in the 'Contemporary' section.) Other stories take place on the timeless fictional planet of Gallifrey; stories set there occur in a distinctly chronological order but may take place at any time within the universe's history. Similarly, stories set on other alien worlds, such as the fictional planet Skaro, have no distinctly recognisable chronological place within the series' timeline.
[edit] Historical
At the earlier points in the history of the universe - known as "The Dark Times", it was a smaller, more chaotic place of "blood and magic"[1]. At this time, it was home to races such the Racnoss, Nestenes, Great Vampires, Weeping Angels and Carrionites as well as beings left over from the previous universe "before time" such as The Beast.[2] Beings outside of or with control of time such as the Time Lords and Eternals also make appearances in this era.
[edit] 1st & 2nd Millennia (pre 19th Century)
[edit] 19th Century
This era sees the formation, in 1879, of the Torchwood Institute by Queen Victoria, perhaps the earliest instance of a government response to extraterrestrial and paranormal threats and to the Doctor himself. During the following years, Queen Victoria expands her organisation.[23]
[edit] 20th Century
[edit] Contemporary
During this era humanity remains largely unaware of the existence of extra-terrestrials, despite several dozen failed invasion attempts (thanks to the Doctor).
Many of the adventures that aired between 1968 and 1989 revolved around UNIT (marked with a [U] in the table), the dating of which has been a highly discussed issue for decades (see also UNIT dating controversy). There is no clear evidence as to when nearly all of these adventures took place - though Invasion of the Dinosaurs is an exception - apart from being in the late 20th century. However, their general appearance is consistent with the date of their initial airing, and as such dating is also consistent with the date for Invasion of the Dinosaurs, they have mainly been entered in the table on that basis.
| Story |
Dating |
Doctor |
Year Aired |
| The Chase (episode 4) |
1996[4] |
1st |
1965 |
| Doctor Who (film) |
30 December 1999 - 1 January 2000[4] |
7th/8th |
1996 |
| "Fragments" (second Jack flashback) |
31 December 1999 - 1 January 2000[4] |
TW |
2008 |
Most of the episodes in this era are set approximately a year after their airdate. The early 21st century is described by the Doctor and Jack Harkness as when the course of humanity changes. Humanity becomes widely aware of the existence of aliens for the first time after several high-profile incidents, although they apparently still have a remarkable capacity for self-deception.
| Story |
Dating |
Doctor |
Year Aired |
| "Fragments" (Tosh flashback) |
Spring 2004[66] |
TW |
2008 |
| "The End of the World" (twice, briefly) |
early March 2005[67] |
9th |
2005 |
| "Rose" |
| "Love & Monsters" (flashback) |
10th |
2006 |
| "Fragments" (Owen flashback) |
two weeks before "Aliens of London"[66] |
TW |
2008 |
| "Aliens of London" & "World War Three" |
March 2006[67] |
9th |
2005 |
| "Love & Monsters" (flashback) |
10th |
2006 |
| "Boom Town" |
September 2006[68] |
9th |
2005 |
| "The Parting of the Ways" (partly) |
Autumn 2006[69] |
| "The Christmas Invasion" |
24-25 December 2006[70] |
10th |
2005 |
| "Love & Monsters" (flashback) |
2006 |
| "New Earth" (teaser) |
between "The Christmas Invasion" and "School Reunion"[71] |
2006 |
| "Blink" |
2007[4] |
2007 |
| "School Reunion" |
2007, before March[72] |
2006 |
| The Lost Boy (one scene) |
Unspecified date after "School Reunion" [73] |
SJA |
2007 |
| "Rise of the Cybermen" & "The Age of Steel" |
1 February 2007 (alternate timeline)[74] |
10th |
2006 |
| "The Age of Steel" (partly) |
between "School Reunion" and "Love and Monsters"[72] |
| "Love & Monsters" |
March-April 2007[75] |
| "The Runaway Bride" (flashbacks) |
five dates in 2007 from June[76] |
| "Army of Ghosts" & "Doomsday" |
Summer 2007[75] |
| "Fragments" (Ianto flashback) |
between "Doomsday" and "Everything Changes"[66] |
TW |
2008 |
| "Everything Changes" to "They Keep Killing Suzie" [77] |
spanning 3 months in late 2007[75] |
2006 |
| "Random Shoes" |
between "They Keep Killing Suzie" and "Out of Time" |
| "Out of Time" |
17-24 December 2007[75] |
| "The Runaway Bride" |
24 December 2007[70] |
10th |
2006 |
| "Combat" |
between "Out of Time" and "Captain Jack Harkness" |
TW |
2006 |
| "Blink" (final scene) |
2008[78] |
10th |
2007 |
| "Adrift" (teaser) |
between 15 February and 16 June 2008[79] |
TW |
2008 |
| "Captain Jack Harkness" (partly), "End of Days" |
between "Adrift" (teaser) and "The Sound of Drums"[80] |
TW |
2007 |
| "Utopia" (first scene) |
10th |
2007 |
| "Smith and Jones", "The Lazarus Experiment", "42" (Earth scenes) |
spanning 6 days between late June and 20 September 2008[81] |
10th |
2007 |
| "The Sound of Drums", "Last of the Time Lords" (final Valiant scenes) |
| "Last of the Time Lords" (Jack's departure) |
after the final Valiant scenes, before "To the Last Man"[81] |
| "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" to "Sleeper" |
after "Last of the Time Lords" (Jack’s departure)[82], before "To the Last Man" |
TW |
2008 |
| "To the Last Man" |
20-21 of either July, August or September 2008[81] |
| "Meat" to "From Out of the Rain" [83] |
after "To the Last Man" and before 14 February 2009.[84] |
| ”Last of the Time Lords” (Martha’s departure) |
October/November 2008[81] |
10th |
2007 |
| "Adrift" (main part) |
between 26 September 2008 and 21 February 2009, starting 7 months and 11 days after the teaser[79] |
TW |
2008 |
| "Voyage of the Damned" |
24-25 December 2008[70] |
10th |
2007 |
| The Sarah Jane Adventures series 1 |
January to June 2009[85] |
SJA |
2007 |
| "Partners in Crime" |
after "Voyage of the Damned"[86] |
10th |
2008 |
| "The Sontaran Stratagem" & "The Poison Sky" |
a few days after "Partners in Crime"[4] |
| "The Doctor's Daughter" (final scene) |
after "The Poison Sky"[87] |
| "Fragments", "Exit Wounds" |
Spring 2009[66] |
TW |
2008 |
| "Last of the Time Lords" (negated timeline) |
spanning 2 days between late June and September 2009, one year after "The Sound of Drums" [88] |
10th |
2007 |
[edit] Future
The Doctor Who series gives consistent speculation into the future of the universe. By the late 21st century, humankind is able to colonize nearby planets and satellites - for example, The Wheel in Space, set near 2100, is set entirely on a scientific base in deep space. Development is implied to be continuous - Terror of the Vervoids is set in the year 2986 on the interstellar ship Hyperion III, and during Planet of the Ood, set in the year 4126, the human empire is described as spanning three galaxies.
Of the episodes that are set hundreds of thousands of years in the future, several are grouped together in story arcs - the arc spanning "The Long Game", "Bad Wolf", and "The Parting of the Ways" is of a strategic Dalek infiltration of Earth in the 2001st century, while "The End of the World", "New Earth", and "Gridlock" explore a dying Earth and the effects of humanity dispersing and interbreeding across the universe.
Even among episodes that do not share a common story arc, there are general trends in each time period. Episodes ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years in the future reveal at least four successive "Great and Bountiful Human Empires" which span multiple galaxies. Episodes taking place millions of years in the future all show that humanity has abandoned a dying Earth for other planets.
[edit] 21st Century
[edit] 3rd Millennium (post 21st Century)
[edit] Thousands
[edit] Tens of Thousands
[edit] Hundreds of Thousands
[edit] Millions
[edit] Billions
[edit] Trillions
According to the Doctor, no Time Lord has ever travelled this far in time. It is during this time period that the current universe comes to an end; all the stars have burnt out and humanity slowly evolves onward to a cannibalistic species. The Doctor says that humans pass through many forms in their long evolution, frequently returning to the form of contemporary humanity, which exists once again in this time period. Reference is made to the existence of a post-stellar cosmology that involves "dark matter reefs". Finally, reality is "collapsing", although what that implies is never made clear.
| Story |
Dating |
Doctor |
Year Aired |
| "Utopia" |
100,000,000,000,000[4] |
10th |
2007 |
[edit] Unknown date
Many of the stories and episodes do not give sufficient information to determine at what date they were set, though they can often be seen to be set at some period in the future.
[edit] Roughly contemporary
[edit] Future
[edit] Unknown date
| Story |
Doctor |
Year Aired |
| The Keys of Marinus |
1st |
1964 |
| Galaxy 4 |
1965 |
| The Celestial Toymaker, The Savages |
1966 |
| The Dominators, The Mind Robber |
2nd |
1968 |
| The Krotons |
1969 |
| Genesis of the Daleks |
4th |
1975 |
| The Brain of Morbius |
1976 |
| The Robots of Death |
1977 |
| Underworld, The Pirate Planet |
1978 |
| The Armageddon Factor, Destiny of the Daleks, The Creature from the Pit |
1979 |
| The Horns of Nimon, Full Circle |
1980 |
| Warriors' Gate |
1981 |
| Snakedance, Terminus, Enlightenment |
5th |
1983 |
| The Five Doctors (First Doctor, Fourth Doctor and Eye of Orion scenes) |
1st/4th/5th |
1983 |
| The Caves of Androzani |
5th |
1984 |
| Time and the Rani, Dragonfire |
7th |
1987 |
| The Greatest Show in the Galaxy |
1988 |
[edit] Inside the TARDIS
The TARDIS' nature as a time travel machine makes it impossible to definitively date such adventures set solely in the ship to a certain date and locale - however, all three adventures occur while the ship is in transit between two specifically mentioned locations.
[edit] Adventures on, or dealing with, Gallifrey
The time period in which these adventures is not specifically stated in dialogue. The television movie suggests that the fictional planet Gallifrey is set in the "Rassilon Era", while Earth is set in the "Humanian Era". Additionally, tie-in audio series suggest that the Laws of Time forbid Time Lords from travelling into either Gallifrey's past or future; however, the canonicity of these series is disputed.
[edit] References and notes
- General
- Howarth, Chris & Steve Lyons, Doctor Who: The Completely Useless Encyclopedia (London: Virgin Books, 1996), ISBN 0-426-20485-9
- Lofficier, Jean-Marc, Doctor Who: The Terrestrial Index (London: Virgin Books, 1991), ISBN 0-426-20361-5
- Miles, Lawrence & Tat Wood, About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who — 1970–1974, Seasons 7 to 11 (New Orleans, LA: Mad Norwegian Press, 2004), ISBN 0-9725959-2-9
- Parkin, Lance and Lars Pearson, A History: An Unauthorised History of the Doctor Who Universe (Des Moines, Iowa: Mad Norwegian Press, 2006), ISBN 0-9725959-9-6
- Richards, Justin & Andrew Martin, Doctor Who: The Book of Lists (London: BBC Books, 1997), ISBN 0-563-40569-4
- Episode Guide. Doctor Who Classic series. BBC.
- Shaun Lyon, David Hancock, et al. The Canon Keeper's Guide to Doctor Who. Outpost Gallifrey.
- The Doctor Who Reference Guide.
- Specific
- ^ Descriptions given by the Doctor in The Infinite Quest and The Shakespeare Code.
- ^ In "The Satan Pit", it is stated that the Disciples of Light sealed away The Beast "before time", and he has existed, imprisoned ever since.
- ^ The Tardis travels back to 'Event One', which is referred to several times as the creation of the galaxy, though the description better matches that of the Big Bang at the beginning of the real-life Universe, 13.7 billion years ago. In real-life, the oldest star in the galaxy is 13.2 billion years old.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az The time period is specifically stated in dialogue.
- ^ The description of the environment better matches that of the real-life Earth at c. 4 billion BC.
- ^ There are a number of references in dialogue to Eldrad becoming dormant and his hand becoming embedded in Jurassic limestone 150 million years earlier.
- ^ The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event is depicted in this episode, as a radioactive trawler crashing into Earth.
- ^ The date is taken from the alternative title to this story. However, according to the Out of Africa theory, humans would not be present in areas with the kind of climate shown until approximately 30,000 BC.
- ^ The storyline is set around the Fall of Troy, which ancient Greek historians variously date happening between 1335 and 1134 BC.
- ^ a b c d e The year is specifically given in a caption.
- ^ Vicki mentions that they had been in Rome for a month. The Great Fire of Rome, which started on July 18 64, is depicted at the end of this episode.
- ^ The Doctor mentions they arrive the day before Vesuvius erupts; they leave shortly after it does so. A caption gives the final scene as "6 months later".
- ^ The Doctor says the scene took place in the 8th century and involved Charlemagne.
- ^ The army carried by the Viking invasion fleet referred to, had its first engagement at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066.
- ^ a b The Time Warrior takes place during the reign of England's King Richard I. The Crusade takes place when the King was in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade (he arrived 8 June 1191), but before the settlement between Richard and Saladin, which was reached on 2 September 1192.
- ^ The Doctor deduces that the purported King John is an imposter as the real king was in London on 4 March 1215 taking the Crusader's Oath.
- ^ The Aztecs novelization gives the date as 1507, but this was not stated on screen.
- ^ The events of the episode cover the five days up to and including the first day of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
- ^ The 'comet' appeared three weeks earlier and the start of the Great Fire of London is depicted at the end of this storyline.
- ^ The storyline is set shortly after the Battle of Culloden.
- ^ The last scene set in 18th century France takes place shortly after Madame de Pompadour's death.
- ^ The storyline is set in the five days up to and including the downfall of Robespierre, the day before his execution.
- ^ Queen Victoria's speech, July 1882. Torchwood Institute External Hub Interface. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
Queen Victoria on secrecy, December 1888. Torchwood Institute External Hub Interface. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
The Rift. Torchwood Institute External Hub Interface. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ The storyline is set at the height of the Luddite movement.
- ^ The date of the final log for the Marie Celeste - the abandonment of the ship is shown in the episode.
- ^ The storyline is set in the lead up to, and includes, the gunfight at the OK Corral.
- ^ The Doctor says that Inspector McKenzie was sent to the area in 1881, to which Ace exclaims that that was two years ago.
- ^ The storyline is set in the reign of the UK's Queen Victoria, which ended 22 January 1901. Casey wonders if the missing women mean that 'Jolly Jack' - i.e. Jack the Ripper - is back, the first killings for which the newspapers used that name for the killer occurring in late 1888.
- ^ On Jack's first meeting with the then Torchwood he is aware of his immortality that he told the Doctor (in Utopia) he discovered in 1892. The girl who cast Jack's fortune told him that the century would turn twice before he'd meet the Doctor again, implying it was no later than 1900. The episode is probably set nearer the end of this time period as Jack asks what he would do for 100 years and Alex in 1999 spoke of Jack having 100 years of service as a field agent.
- ^ The storyline is set in the reign of the UK's King Edward VII, which commenced 22 January 1901, and Colonel Skinsale refers to his feeling uneasy in the presence of Lord Salisbury, who died on 22 August 1903.
- ^ Martha gives John Smith a paper with the date November 10 1913. The episodes comprise a two-part storyline taking place over at least three days (other than flashbacks and visions of the future).
- ^ The scene is set (as a voiceover states) on the Western Front in World War I.
- ^ The episode is set before the armistice with Germany.
- ^ A newspaper gives the date of these scenes as 1920-12-05.
- ^ Carnival Ticket. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Dialogue has the episode set during Agatha Christie's famous 10-day disappearance in 1926, and by appearance in the Summer - though the real-life Christie disappeared on 8 December.
- ^ The Monk Thomni states that the Holy Ghana was taken in 1630, which was 300 years earlier. The Doctor later gives the same lapse of time. However, in The Web of Fear, Anne Travers, Professor Traver's daughter, asks Victoria: "And you met him - when was it you said? In 1935? In Tibet?", to which Victoria responds: "Yes!"
- ^ A telegram dated to 5 January 1941 on Torchwood's site notes that Harkness was killed "yesterday". The episode takes place the night before the real Jack's death.
- ^ The episodes comprise a two-part storyline. In Everything Changes it is stated that Jack disappeared on 21 January.
- ^ Seeing the women wearing headphones in the deciphering room, Ace remarks that she didn't know they had personal stereos in 1943.
- ^ The episode takes place on the eve and on the day of the coronation of Elizabeth II.
- ^ Remembrance of the Daleks, which is set shortly after the events of An Unearthly Child, has a calendar visible showing the month as November 1963. (An in-joke reference is made to the premiere of a BBC TV programme which, from context, may be inferred to be Doctor Who itself, which first aired on 23 November 1963.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p No date stated in the storyline. However, the general appearance is consistent with the date of initial transmission and the story is so dated on that basis.
- ^ a b In The Invasion, the Brigadier states that the events of The Web of Fear (WoF) happened four years earlier. In WoF, Professor Travers states that the events of The Abominable Snowmen (itself set in either 1930 or 1935) were over 40 years ago, placing WoF in 1970 or 1975 and Invasion in 1974 or 1979. However, Invasion is set before Invasion of the Dinosaurs, which is itself dated between 1973 and 1975, ruling out the latter pair of dates, and even a date of 1974 for Invasion is implausibly close given the events that would need to be fitted between. It must therefore be concluded that the Professor was incorrect. One episode could be dated on the basis that its general appearance is consistent with the date of initial transmission, but not both – though fixing one fixes the other. A date of 1968 for Invasion is preferred over the same date for WoF as it allows many succeeding storylines to be dated on the same basis.
- ^ Ben states in The Faceless Ones that the date of that storyline is the same date as when he and Polly joined the Tardis.
- ^ The storyline starts directly after the events of The Faceless Ones.
- ^ The episode takes place when gas is being supplied to England from the North Sea, which commenced in 1967, but before decimalisation in the UK.
- ^ Polly shows the Doctor a faux Aztec piece that reads "Mexico Olympiad" on it. Zaroff was reported kidnapped and killed 20 years earlier, causing the West and East to blame each other - the Cold War ended in the early 1990s.
- ^ The Doctor gives the year, and Martha says it is before the first moon landing.
- ^ Including Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Ambassadors of Death
- ^ a b The Doctor was stranded on Earth during these storylines.
- ^ Elton states he lost his mother when he was 3 or 4. The date is based on the age of the actor, Marc Warren, who was born in 1967.
- ^ The Doctor's companion is Jo in Three Doctors and Green Death, and she leaves at the end of the latter. Time Warrior is Sarah Jane's first adventure, and the Brigadier refers to the events of this episode in Invasion of the Dinosaurs.
- ^ Sarah Jane states she is 23. In Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? she is shown as a 13 year old on 13 July 1964 putting her date of birth between 14 July 1950 and 13 July 1951 and making her 23 between 14 July 1973 and 12 July 1975.
- ^ Robot follows directly on from Planet of the Spiders and the transition incorporates the Doctor’s regeneration from his Third to Fourth Incarnation.
- ^ The Brigadier's school is preparing to celebrate Elizabeth II's silver jubilee.
- ^ Mrs Tyler refers to it being Lammas Eve, the festival of Lammas being celebrated on 1 August.
- ^ The Doctor momentarily takes Sarah Jane specifically to an alternate 1980 (which he states is her "present" year) Earth, an Earth which Sutekh became free to destroy beginning in 1911
- ^ No date stated in the storyline. However, the Gaztaks - who do not appear to have time travel capabilities - kidnap an ordinary Earth man who appears to be contemporaneous, and therefore year given is that of initial transmission.
- ^ The storline begins on Tegan's first day at work as an airline hostess. In Four to Doomsday, the Doctor is attempting to get her to that day on time and sets temporal coordinates for 28 February 1981.
- ^ The storyline ends on Christmas Day. K-9 gives the date at one point as 22 December, and the story starts three days earlier. K-9 also stated that the Doctor left him on Earth for Sarah Jane in 1978, and Aune Lavinia says that she has been keeping the crate for Sarah-Jane to open for three years.
- ^ a b The contemporary events of Time-Flight must take place before those of Arc of Infinity, as in the latter Tegan references the Doctor leaving her behind at the end of the former.
- ^ The Doctor checks the transmat capsule's controls and confirms it had just arrived from Earth, 1983.
- ^ Sarah Jane Smith is seen with K-9, placing her scenes after A Girl's Best Friend, and the Brigadier recognises The Fifth Doctor and Tegan, placing the UNIT scene after Mawdryn Undead.
- ^ The Doctor shows Polly a calendar in the Tracking Room that shows it is December 1986.
- ^ a b c d The flashbacks showing Tosh, Ianto and Owen's inductions into Torchwood are preceded by captions giving the length of time from those events to those in Fragments. Ianto's is '21 months earlier', during which he refers to the events of Doomsday. Also, he must have joined before Everything Changes. This places Fragments in Spring 2009. Tosh and Owen's inductions are 5 and 4 years earlier, respectively. Tosh and Owen state that he had been in Torchwood for 2 weeks when the 'space pig' incident occurred, which was in Aliens of London. The events of Exit Wounds follow immediately on those of Fragments, and together both episodes take place over two days. Note that Jack tells the 1901 Torchwood to set the timer to keep him frozen for 107 years, implying he awoke no later than 31 December 2008. However, we can posit approximation, misappreciation of the then date or poor arithmetic due to his ordeal.
- ^ a b The 'have you seen this girl' posters in Aliens of London (AoL) say that Rose went missing (in Rose) on 6 March 2005. Both the Doctor and Mickey say that she has been gone a whole year. Each storyline takes place over a few days. Elton has a flashback to the two stories' events in Love & Monsters. In The End of the World (EoW), Rose phones her mother and Jackie's dialogue implies that the conversation takes place (from her point of view) shortly before Rose. At the end of EoW, the Doctor and Rose arrive in a setting that appears contemporary and he asks her if she wants to go home. In AoL, the Doctor intends to return Rose 12 hours after she left. EoW's final scene is not specifically dated. However, placing it after the end of Rose, but within 12 hours, is consistent with the idea that the Doctor would aim to keep Rose's personal continuity in line with the in-universe continuity to minimise the risk of paradoxes etc.
- ^ Six months after "World War Three", as stated in a caption at the beginning of the episode, which is set over a day.
- ^ The contemporary scenes take place after the events of "Boom Town" - Rose says to Mickey "the last time I saw you, with the Slitheen, this middle bit opened" - but before those of "The Christmas Invasion", as Jackie (on hearing the Tardis) says 'she's alive, Mickey! I said so, didn't I? She's alive!' And the Doctor has regenerated.
- ^ a b c The Christmas Invasion is after Aliens of London, as Jackie knows about the Doctor whom she first met in the latter episode. Wilf, in Voyage of the Damned, which is set at Christmas, states that the events of the Christmas Invasion happened 'the Christmas before last', and that the events of The Runaway Bride happened 'last year'. The events of To the Last Man and of Adrift both take place before March 2009, and the events of both episodes are after The Sound of Drums, which itself is after Runaway Bride. Therefore the latter must be set at either Christmas 2007 or Christmas 2008. However, if it is the latter, then Christmas Invasion would be set at Christmas 2007, and as the events of Sound of Drums are at least 18 months later, the latter episode would be set after May 2009, which is incompatible with it being set before March of that year. Therefore Runaway Bride is set at Christmas 2007 (specifically Christmas Eve, as stated in dialogue), with Christmas Invasion being a year earlier and Voyage of the Damned a year later (both specifically 24-25 December, as stated in dialogue) . Elton has a flashback to the events of Christmas Invasion in Love & Monsters.
- ^ Rose says goodbye to Jackie and Mickey, presumably shortly after Christmas, as when on New Earth, Rose says "you're so different", the Doctor responding "new, new Doctor".
- ^ a b In School Reunion, Sarah Jane refers to the events of "The Christmas Invasion" as taking place at the Christmas just gone. Children are back at school, so in the New Year. Mickey is present, so before his relocation to the alternative universe in Age of Steel. That happened prior to Love & Monsters as Jackie tells Elton that Mickey had 'gone now. Bless him.' When the Doctor returns Rose to Jackie's flat in The Age of Steel she asks 'where's Mickey', not 'do you know where Mickey is', implying she knows he has started travelling with them, which was in School Reunion.
- ^ Mentioned to be set 18 months before the main events in The Lost Boy, which in turn is at least 18 months after "School Reunion".
- ^ "The episodes comprise a two-part storyline set on 1 February (stated a number of times in dialogue) and Mickey says the date of the newspaper he found is 'this year'. (Note: the story is set on the alternate Jackie Tyler's supposed 39th (actually 40th) birthday. Her official biography states that she was born on the same day as Cuba Gooding, Jr., though the real-life individual was actually born on 2 January 1968.)
- ^ a b c d In Love & Monsters, Elton specifically states Kennedy's arrival to a "Tuesday night in March". He met Ursula after The Christmas Invasion, and the presence of Jackie makes this before her relocation to the alternative universe in Doomsday. The latter episode events are referenced by the Doctor in The Runaway Bride. So both are in 2007. (Army of Ghosts and Doomsday takes place over a day. Love & Monsters over several weeks, and the flashbacks to the Hoix are in this period.) In Everything Changes, Jack references the events of Doomsday. In They Keep Killing Suzie he tells Suzie she's been dead 3 months. All episodes take place before Out of Time. Diane flew into the rift at the end of that episode, which Owen says (in End of Days) happened on 24 December (and Ianto tells Owen that he only knew Diane for a week). The episode takes place before The Sound of Drums, so this is Christmas 2007. (Note: Although Diane gives the date 18 December 1953 as 'today's date' at the beginning of the episode, there is nothing that implies a whole number of years has passed.) So Doomsday must be over three months prior to Christmas, but after March, placing it in the summer.
- ^ Flashbacks to when Donna meets Lance (which she states was 6 months before the episode), joking with him on stairs and asking him to marry her (three times).
- ^ Including Day One, Ghost Machine, Cyberwoman, Small Worlds, Countrycide and Greeks Bearing Gifts.
- ^ The episode's final scene was introduced by a "One Year Later" caption on broadcast, but not on the DVD release.
- ^ a b Both PC Andy and various posters said that Jonah was born on 15 February 1993. Gwen twice said he was 15 when he disappeared. According to PC Andy, Jonah had been missing 7 months and 11 days. Therefore the teaser would be no earlier than 15 February 2008 and the main part of the episode would be on or after 26 September 2008. Gwen said she was looking for a 15-year old when going into the adult Jonah's room, which dates that event to no later than 14 February 2009. (Subsequent to that scene there was a 'One Week Later' caption, making the end of the episode no later than 21 February 2009.) A poster states that the first Searchlight meeting was on Mon 27, so that event is no later than 27 January 2009, which means the teaser can be no later than 16 June 2008. Note: the only Mon 27 within the period in real life is in October. However, days fall on different dates in the Doctor Who universe (see Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness for examples).
- ^ According to PC Andy, Jack appeared at the scene one hour after Jonah went missing in the Adrift teaser, which itself is before The Sound of Drums, in which episode Jack returns. Therefore the teaser must be before Jack goes missing in End of Days, which episode follows directly on from Captain Jack Harkness. Note A "MISSING" poster on the Torchwood website states Jack was last seen in "Early February", but this is incompatible with dating information given in the program itself.
- ^ a b c d In The Sound of Drums (SoD), Vivienne Rook says that Saxon became real 18 months ago just after the downfall of Harriett Jones, which would be shortly after The Christmas Invasion. Therefore SoD is no earlier than 25 June 2008. Martha says that it is the day after the election, which is four days after she met the Doctor. In The Lazarus Experiment, the Doctor says it is the morning after they left. In 42, Francine states it is Election Day. SoD (and Last of the Time Lords (LotTL), after time is reset) is set over 2 days. There is no information in LotTL as to the length of time between the final Valiant scenes, Jack’s departure and Martha’s departure, though Tom Milligan takes Martha's phone call standing in front of a whiteboard recording monthly achievements against targets, which is completed up to October. SoD is before To the Last Man (TtLM). That episode spans two days, starting on the 20th, as given by both Jack and Tosh’s calendars. (They actually say Friday the 20th, the only one of which in 2008 in real-life is in June. However, days fall on different dates in the Doctor Who universe (see Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness for examples.) Owen says Tommy is awoken every 12 months or so, but this is the first time since Gwen joined Torchwood in Everything Changes, which was no later than 17 September 2007. (Note: Winters, on meeting the Toclafane, describes himself as President-elect, implying that SoD is set between November and January. However, this date is difficult to reconcile with that of TtLM and causes severe compression of the time spanned by other episodes. In SoD an AMNN newscast has the scroll 'President Winters demands action'; a BBC newsreader refers to Air Force One arriving, and the accompanying scroll refers to numerous sighting of that plane and says 'PM Saxon reveals the President has been invited'; we get a close up of the Presidential seal on the plane; on meeting Winters, the Master salutes and says 'Mr President, Sir!' and later says to his wife 'The last President of America'; and BBC and AMNN newscasters refer to President Winters. In LotTL, after time is reset, a voice from UNIT Central says 'we just saw the President assassinated', and the Doctor says the reset was to 'just after the President was killed'. To reconcile the dating with TtLM we must postulate one or more of the following: Winters mis-spoke (unnerved by having the Toclafane appear around him?) and seven people (including two Time Lords) correctly describe him as President; the term President-Elect means something different in the Doctor Who universe; Presidential elections are at a different time of year in that universe; or there was some unshown alteration in the timeline.).
- ^ Jack returns hours after the events of Last of the Time Lords
- ^ Including Adam, Reset, Dead Man Walking, A Day in the Death and Something Borrowed.
- ^ The episodes are set before the main part of "Adrift", which itself must be before 14 February 2009.
- ^ Sarah Jane gives the date of "Invasion of the Bane" to at least eighteen months after "School Reunion". Maria's alarm clock says January 11 in Invasion of the Bane. "Jay and Heidi" say that "Ashley" (Luke) has been missing for 5 months, and Luke was "born" in IotB.
- ^ Donna refers to the events of "Voyage of the Damned".
- ^ Undated, but placed after The Poison Sky on the basis that character appearances are in timeline order unless otherwise stated (and we can assume the Doctor would minimise the risk of time paradoxes).
- ^ A caption on screen gives this as one year later. At the end, the paradox is broken, negating the timeline in which the episode is set.
- ^ Pete Tyler says that it took the Cybermen three years to infiltrate the parallel Torchwood and traverse the void.
- ^ At the end of the episode, the Doctor expels Adam Mitchell from the TARDIS into his own time.
- ^ The episode depicts the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, currently planned for 27 July 2012.
- ^ The alternate future timeline is negated by the events of the storyline.
- ^ The Doctor says that Paradise Towers "won all sorts of awards back in the 21st century".
- ^ a b Rose initially asks to go forward 100 years, but when they arrive the Doctor says that it is boring and moves to 10,000 years in the future, when he says the New Roman Empire is outside the doors.
- ^ The Doctor claims to be from Galactic Salvage, but Rigg points out that that was liquidated twenty years earlier in 2096.
- ^ The Doctor finds a 2164 calendar in an abandoned warehouse.
- ^ Romana says the Argolin-Foamasi war was in 2250. Brock says there have been forty years of tachyonics science, the development of which Pangol says was a direct result of the war.
- ^ The Doctor says it is 400 years since the last landing (in The Stones of Blood).
- ^ The Valyard gives the date as "twenty-fourth century, last quarter, fourth year, seventh month, third day". The 24th Century will start in 2301, so the last quarter's first year will be 2376.
- ^ Jane Leeson tears off the top sheet of a day-by-day calendar, which showed the day before was 2 March 2472.
- ^ Vicky says that she and her father left Earth in 2493.
- ^ a b The Doctor and Taron both refer to the events of The Daleks, which Vaber says happened generations ago. However, the Doctor also refers to the Daleks' activities as part of the same plan they were conducting in the immediately preceding storyline, Frontier in Space.
- ^ The Cyber Controller and the Doctor reference the events of The Moonbase and the latter says the Cybermen have been frozen for five centuries.
- ^ The episodes form a two-part storyline. The Ood, according to Halpen in Planet of the Ood were enslaved 200 years before that episode, in which they were freed.
- ^ Jack Harkness' childhood. As an adult he served for the Time Agency in the year 5094.
- ^ In The Dalek Invasion of Earth Ian refers to the events of this episode, which the Doctor says is "a million years ahead of us in the future".
- ^ The desciption of the colonists etc match those in The Ark, though at least 40 years must have passed (Range says the colonists spent ten years filling the wreck of their ship with food followed by thirty years bombardment).
- ^ The events of this storyline must have occurred before those of Logopolis, as Nyssa's home planet of Traken was destroyed in the latter storyline. How much before is unclear.
- ^ Bogon was from ancient Athens and said he'd been on the ship for 2,000 years.
- ^ a b Monster of Peladon is a sequel to Curse, and there are various references to it taking place 50 years later.
- ^ Although Donna recognised '60120724' as the date, the Doctor said that it was the New Byzantine calendar. The equivalent date in the Gregorian calendar is unknown.
- ^ a b This refers to the Tenth Doctor placement. The Fifth Doctor placement is unknown.
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