Doctor Who Chronology: The 1980s

The Doctor regenerates for the first time.

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Or travel backward through time to the 1970s.

1980

February 14: Owen Harper is born.

The date is visible in Owen's file in "Exit Wounds" (TW).

A Skonnan ship leaves the planet Aneth, with a tribute of hymetusite crystals and a group of youthful sacrifices.

Shortly before "The Horns of Nimon" (DW1).

The Horns of Nimon (DW1) 1-4: The 4th Doctor, the 2nd Romana and K-9 Mark II encounter the Skonnan ship, leading them to visit the planet Skonnos. Here they discover that the bull-headed Nimon, in exchange for the hymetusite and human sacrifices, has promised Skonnan leader Soldeed a return of "the great Skonnan empire". However, this is merely a ruse and uncountable Nimons, who travel via artificial black holes from planet to planet, draining them completely of energy, have targeted Skonnos next. The Doctor re-routes the path between black holes, sending the Nimons into the depths of empty space. Soldeed is shot and killed by Seth, one of the young potential sacrifices.

No connection to Earth history; assumed contemporary.

John Frobisher joins the civil service. At this time, he first meets Bridget Spears, who works down the hall from him.

"Children of Earth" (TW).

September: In the village of Moreton Harwood, just as the local apples are due to be picked, a 13-second hailstorm strikes, destroying the crop.

"A Girl's Best Friend" (K9).

Professor Chronotis sends the Doctor a message, requesting a visit from his old friend.

Some time before "Shada" (DW1).

October: Shada (DW1) 1-6: The 4th Doctor, the 2nd Romana and K-9 Mark II visit the Doctor's old friend Professor Chronotis at Cambridge. They discover that Chronotis, who has been posing to the Doctor as simply a retired Time Lord, is in reality the (still retired) Gallifreyan criminal Salyavin and has the power to "move his mind into another's". He is also in possession of a powerful Time Lord artifact, the book The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey. An evil scientist named Skagra intends to use Chronotis/Salyavin's abilities and the book to project his mind into every living being in existence, essentially becoming the universe. The time-travellers, with the aid of Cambridge post-graduates Chris Parsons and Claire Keightly, foil Skagra's plan.

Contemporary adventure. The Doctor gives the month as October.

October: The Five Doctors (DW1): While at Cambridge, Borusa attempts to abduct the 4th Doctor and forcibly bring him to Gallifrey. The attempt is unsuccessful and the Doctor is returned to his proper moment in time.

During the first episode of "Shada" (DW1).

The Leisure Hive (DW1) 1: The 4th Doctor, the 2nd Romana and K-9 Mark II briefly visit Brighton Beach. After K-9 is seriously damaged by sea water, the travellers decide that a holiday on the planet Argolis in the 23rd century would be better.

This short scene would appear to be contemporary.

Meglos (DW1) 1-4: Meglos, the last of the plant-like inhabitants of Zolfa-Thura, merges with a kidnapped Earthling, giving him rudimentary shape-changing abilities. Meglos disguises himself as the 4th Doctor, and steals the Dodecahedron, the power supply of nearby world Tigella, placing the real Doctor, the 2nd Romana and K-9 Mark II in conflict with two factions of Tigellans, the science-based Savants and the religious Deons. The time-travellers expose Meglos and prevent him from using the Dodecahedron's power to destroy worlds by turning the artifact's power back on itself.

At the conclusion of their adventure, Romana and the Doctor receive a summons from Gallifrey.

The abducted human looks to be contemporary, likely making the story contemporary as well.

The Doctor returns the human kidnapped by Meglos to Earth.

Shortly after "Meglos" (DW1); confirmed in "Full Circle" (DW1).

In the village of Moreton Harwood, Lavinia Smith allows Bill Pollock to rent the east wing of her home as part of his market garden.

A year prior to "A Girl's Best Friend" (K9) (1981).

1981

January: The Ultravox song "Vienna" is released. It will become one of Soviet scientist Professor Grisenko's favourite songs.

"Cold War" (DW2).

The Keeper of Traken (DW1) 1-4: The 4th Doctor and Adric are summoned to the planet Traken by the Keeper, a being who controls a bioelectric Source to keep peace and harmony throughout the Union of Traken. The Keeper believes that the Melkur, a corrupt being apparently transformed into a statue, threatens Traken.

It is discovered that the "statue" is really the Master's TARDIS. The evil Time Lord is at the end of his regenerations and in need of a new body; he attempts to take possession of the Source to prolong his life. With the help of Consul Tremas and his daughter Nyssa, the Doctor and Adric ensure that the Master has access to the Source only for a short time.

However, unknown to the others, the Master has enough power to steal Tremas' body as his own.

Given Traken's destruction in the following, contemporary story, "Logopolis" (DW1), it is likely that this story is also contemporary.

February 28: Logopolis (DW1) 1-4: The 4th Doctor and Adric visit Earth to measure a police box in an effort to repair the TARDIS' shape-changing abilities. While doing so, Tegan Jovanka, an Australian air hostess living in London, inadvertently stows away.

The travellers next visit Logopolis, a planet of mathematicians, to initiate the repairs. Here, they are joined by Nyssa of Traken. On Logopolis, they encounter the Master, who attempts to take over Logopolis. This endangers all reality, as the Logopolitans has been postponing the Universe's heat death by opening temporary Charged Vacuum Emboitments, gateways to other universes.

Returning to Earth, the Doctor and the Master open a permanent CVE using a radio telescope, although not before Nyssa's homeworld of Traken is destroyed by a wave of entropy. The Master attempts to blackmail the Universe, threatening to close the CVE. The Doctor foils the scheme, but at the cost of his own life; after falling from the radio telescope, he is forced to regenerate.

Contemporary adventure. The February 28th date is given in "Four to Doomsday" (DW1) when the Doctor attempts to return Tegan to Earth in time for her flight.

February 28-March 1: Castrovalva (DW1) 1-4: After regenerating into his 5th incarnation, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric help the Doctor back to the TARDIS, although Adric is taken captive by the Master.

After unsuccessfully attempting to destroy the Doctor's TARDIS by sending it back to the creation of the universe, the Master uses Adric's mathematical skills to create a fictional city called Castrovalva, complete with an imaginary history and inhabitants unaware of their fictionality. Castrovalva is also mathematically recursive, growing increasingly complex over time, threatening the Doctor, who requires environmental simplicity to recover from his regeneration.

The Doctor and his friends are able to convince the Castrovalvans of the truth behind their existence; the inhabitants help the Doctor and company escape, and trap the Master in their city as it collapses in on itself.

This story continues directly from "Logopolis" (DW1) and would seem to take place over a couple of days.

February 28: Four to Doomsday (DW1) 1-4: The 5th Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan arrive on a spaceship four days from Earth, containing the entire population of the planet Urbanka in microchip format, as well as a number of Earthlings in android bodies. Monarch, the Urbankan leader, intends to poison Earth's population, repopulate the world with his own people, and strip the planet of its resources in an attempt to achieve faster-than-light travel.

Monarch believes that he is God, and that travelling faster than light will allow him to travel back through time to the creation of the Universe and meet himself. The travellers convince the androids the revolt, and sabotage Monarch's plans. Monarch himself is destroyed by the toxin he planned to use on Earth's populace.

The Doctor gives the exact date. This story must take place simultaneously with "Logopolis" (DW1) and possibly "Castrovalva" (DW1).

Ianto Jones' future girlfriend Lisa Hallett is born.

Lisa is 26 in "Cyberwoman" (TW) (2007).

June: Peter Tracey of Moreton Harwood receives a suspended sentence for housebreaking.

"Six months" before "A Girl's Best Friend" (K9).

July 29: Charles, Prince of Wales, marries Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Diana fluffs Charles' full name during their vows.

Diana's flub is mentioned in "Father's Day" (DW2).

British synthesizer duo Soft Cell releases the single "Tainted Love," which becomes a world-wide hit for them. In the far future, this song will be considered a piece of "classical music".

As seen in "The End of the World" (DW2).

The Rings of Akhaten (DW2): The 11th Doctor watches as, due to a falling leaf, Clara's future parents, Dave Oswald and Ellie Ravenwood, meet for the first time.

The Doctor is reading a 1981 issue of Beano.

Marie Thomas is born. In 2008, she will be a test subject for the Pharm drug, Reset.

"Reset" (TW).

Frances Way (née Griffiths) and Elsie Hill (née Wright), who as young girls took a number of pictures of real "fairies" in 1917, begin denying the genuineness of those photos.

As mentioned in "Small Worlds" (TW).

December: A Girl's Best Friend (K9): Sarah Jane Smith visits her aunt Lavinia's home in the village of Moreton Harwood, but finds that she has been called away for a lecture tour in America. Sarah Jane instead discovers a box left behind by the Doctor some years previously at her Croyden home; inside is K9 Mark III, a gift for Sarah Jane.

With K9's assistance, as well as help from Lavinia's young ward, Brendan Richards, Sarah uncovers a coven of Hecate-worshipping witches causing trouble in the area. Brendan narrowly avoids becoming a human sacrifice and the coven is arrested.

Sarah Jane gives the date part way through the story as "1981, December 18th".

December 29: The coven of witches from Moreton Harwood appears in court on attempted murder charges.

"A Girl's Best Friend" (K9).

1982

Time-Flight (DW1) 1,4: The 5th Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan arrive at Heathrow airport shortly after the disappearance of a Concorde. The Doctor believes the aircraft has been displaced in time. Using his UNIT connections, another Concorde is taken for the same flight, with the TARDIS and crew on board; the plane is pulled back through time 140 million years.

The next day, the Concorde returns from the past, having escaped the Master, the abductors of both planes. The Master arrives moments later, but the Doctor is able to force the Master's TARDIS to the planet Xeriphas. When the Doctor leaves, Tegan is accidentally left behind.

Contemporary adventure.

Tegan attempts to resume her career as an air hostess, but is fired.

Some time after "Time-Flight" (DW1), as revealed in "Arc of Infinity" (DW1).

The Master escapes from Xeraphas with a shape-changing robot called Kamelion, left by a previous would-be invader of that world.

Some time after "Time-Flight" (DW1), as revealed in "The King's Demons" (DW1).

May: Duran Duran's hit single "Hungry Like the Wolf" is released. The following year, Clara and Soviet scientists Professor Grisenko will sing the song to keep their spirits up when they are trapped on a submarine with the rampaging Ice Warrior Skaldak.

"Cold War" (DW2).

On Channel Four, the British quiz show "Countdown" makes its debut. A deadly version of the show will be broadcast through the Game Station in the far future.

The deadly version of the show is mentioned in "Bad Wolf" (DW2).

Joyce Saville becomes a victim of the alien "Mary", her heart torn out of its chest and consumed.

Revealed during Owen's research in "Greeks Bearing Gifts" (TW).

Father's Day (DW2): The 9th Doctor and Rose discreetly attend the wedding of Rose's parents, Pete and Jackie.

No date is given in the dialogue of the episode. In "Rise of the Cybermen" (DW2), taking place in 2007, alternate Pete claims that he and Jackie have been married 20 years, which would put their wedding in 1987. However, given the reference to Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding in 1981, it's unlikely that the mainstream Tylers' wedding took place very long afterwards. It is more probable that they got married at different times in each universe. (The shooting scripts date this scene in 1982, lending support to this theory.)

1983

Arc of Infinity (DW1) 1-4: Previously believed dead, the legendary Omega relocates a dimensional gateway called the Arc of Infinity from its home star system to Amsterdam on Earth, where he sets up a base. There, he sets into motion a plot to have the bond with the 5th Doctor's form and become positive matter once again, then take over the Matrix on Gallifrey and rule over the Time Lords.

After avoiding execution on Gallifrey to prevent Omega's success, the Doctor, with Nyssa and Tegan, track Omega to Amsterdam. While Omega is able to change his anti-matter form into a positive matter copy of the Doctor, the change is unstable and his body will explode, destroying Amsterdam. Although Omega prefers to die, the Doctor, in order to save the city, is forced to use an anti-matter converter on Omega, sending the legendary Time Lord back to his anti-matter existence. Tegan rejoins the TARDIS crew, this time willingly.

Contemporary adventure.

After recovering from his encounter with Omega, Tegan's cousin Colin Frazer is released from an Amsterdam hospital and returns home to Brisbane, Australia.

"A couple of days" after "Arc of Infinity" (DW1).

Mawdryn Undead (DW1) 1-4: The TARDIS becomes trapped on a spaceship in orbit around the Earth, due to a faulty transmat device. The 5th Doctor repairs the fault on Earth, but the TARDIS, with Tegan and Nyssa on board, is pushed back through time six years. At nearby Brendon School, the Doctor meets his old friend, now-retired Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who does not remember the Doctor. The Doctor helps Lethbridge-Stewart recover his memory and together they realize that Nyssa and Tegan are in 1977, also with Lethbridge-Stewart.

Accompanied by a student named Vislor Turlough, in reality an alient from the planet Trion and an only partly-willing agent for the Black Guardian, they examine the ship. Here they encounter Mawdryn and his fellow "mutants", caught in perpetual and painful regeneration after their attempts to become Time Lords. For them to die as they wish, the Doctor must sacrifice his remaining regenerations. This becomes unnecessary when Lethbridge-Stewart encounters his 1977 self, brought forward in time by Nyssa and Tegan, releasing enough energy for the mutants to die; this also gives the younger Lethbridge-Stewart partial amnesia. The Lethbridge-Stewarts are returned to their proper times and places and Turlough joins the TARDIS crew.

The year 1983 is given multiple times. Turlough's full name and alien background are revealed in "Planet of Fire" (DW1).

The Eternals begin preparations for the race for Enlightenment.

Two days before "Enlightenment" (DW1). Striker's crew have been on board "ship" that long.

Enlightenment (DW1) 1-4: The 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough become involved in a race through Earth's solar system held by a group of immortals called Eternals. These beings exist "outside time" and have no imagination of their own, relying on abducted humans to give them purpose and stave off unending boredom. The race, for the prize of "Enlightenment", is being run by the Black Guardian and the White Guardian.

The Black Guardian, who is furious at Turlough's failure to eliminate the Doctor, is cheating by giving one of the Eternals, Captain Wrack, a device to eliminate the other competitors. However, the Doctor wins the race and Turlough is given a segment of Enlightenment, apparently a gem of incalculable value. By refusing it, Turlough is freed from his arrangement with the Black Guardian to destroy the Doctor.

Assumed contemporary.

August 19: Future Torchwood Three team member Ianto Jones is born.

"Fragments" (TW).

Archaeologist Peter Warmsley begins excavating a site on the edge of Lake Vortigern near Carbury.

"Ten years" prior to "Battlefield" (DW1) (1993).

Ace, aged thirteen, is friends with an Asian girl named Manisha, whose home is firebombed in a racially motivated attack. Wanting to "get away," Ace runs away and hides in the abandoned Gabriel Chase mansion. She is terrified when she begins to sense the evil pervading the building and burns the building down.

"Ghost Light" (DW1).

While drilling for oil in the Arctic, a Soviet submarine discovers a creature frozen in the ice. Unsure what it may be, the crew cut out a block of ice containing the specimen, in reality an Ice Warrior, to be examined on their return to Russia.

Some time before "Cold War" (DW2).

Cold War (DW2): The 11th Doctor and Clara find themselves trapped on the Soviet submarine and under siege by the Ice Warrior Skaldak, now thawed from the block of ice from the arctic. Believing himself to be the last of his kind, Skaldak intends to launch one of the sub's nuclear missile, causing a nuclear war. The Doctor and Clara convince Skaldak of the dishonourableness of the action and he relents, just in time for him to be rescued by an Ice Warrior ship.

Clara points out that "the world didn't end in 1983."

The 11th Doctor and Clara somehow make their way to the Antarctic to retrieve the TARDIS, which relocated itself when its Hostile Action Displacement System, or HADS, was activated.

Following "Cold War" (DW2).

The Five Doctors (DW1): The 2nd Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sarah Jane Smith, the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are all abducted from this time period to Gallifrey by Time Lord President Borusa, as part of a plot to discover Rassilon's secret of immortality

Contemporary scenes.

After being returned to his proper time, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart makes a speech as guest of honour at a UNIT reunion.

Just after "The Five Doctors" (DW1).

The 2nd Doctor reads about Lethbridge-Stewart's speech in the Times and decides to visit him the day before.

The day after "The Five Doctors" (DW1).

1984

In the village of Little Hodcombe, Sir George Hutchinson and Tegan's grandfather, Andrew Verney, discovers that the Malus, a local legendary demon, is not legendary at all but is in fact a malevolent alien entity lying dormant in the local church. Sir George's already somewhat unbalanced mind awakens the Malus. Under the alien's influence, the increasingly insane Sir George then organizes an English Civil War re-creation in order to stir up enough psychic energy to completely revive the Malus. Verney, being the only other person who knows what is happening, is held captive by Sir George and his men.

Over the"few days" leading up to "The Awakening" (DW1).

The Awakening (DW1) 1-2: The 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough arrive in Little Hodcombe, intending to visit Tegan's grandfather, Andrew. Here, along with a time-displaced young man named Will Chandler, they run afoul of Sir George Hutchinson and his lackeys as their English Civil War re-enactment becomes increasingly violent, allowing the Malus to feed off the psychic energy produced. The travellers sabotage the war games, and Will Chandler pushes Sir George into the Malus' mouth, destroying him. The Malus, realizing it has been defeated, self-destructs.

A setting of "1984" for this contemporary story is confimed several times in dialogue.

After returning Will Chandler to 1643, the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough spend some time visiting with Tegan's grandfather in Little Hodcombe.

After "The Awakening" (DW1).

A group of builders discover a stash of cylinders containing a Movellan virus in a London warehouse. Believing them to be unexploded bombs, they contact the army, who dispatch a bomb disposal squad.

Some time before "Resurrection of the Daleks" (DW1).

Resurrection of the Daleks (DW1) 1-4: In a London warehouse, the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough discover a time-corridor created by the Daleks. The Daleks are using the warehouse to store samples of a Movellan virus which is devastating the Daleks far in the future. The Doctor and his companions travel to the other end of the time-corridor. Upon their return, they are followed by two groups of feuding Daleks, one group following the orders of the Supreme Dalek, the other under Davros' control. The Doctor destroys the Daleks with the Movellan virus, but not before the army unit guarding the warehouse are wiped out.

Tegan leaves the TARDIS crew, unable to stomach any more violence. Lytton, one of the Daleks' mercenary agents, is stranded on Earth.

The Doctor states that the year is "1984".

While visiting the island of Lanzarote with her step-father Howard, Peri Brown meets "a couple of English guys" and decides to travel with them to Morocco. She cashes in her return air-ticket to the States to fund the trip.

Shortly before "Planet of Fire" (DW1).

Planet of Fire (DW1) 1-4: After unintentionally picking up American student Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown on the island of Lanzarote on Earth, the 5th Doctor and Turlough are forced to visit the planet Sarn by a Master-controlled Kamelion. The Master, reduced in size while experimenting with his Tissue Compression Eliminator, uses Kamelion to expose him to the healing fires of Sarn to restore him. The fire, however, turns deadly, apparently destroying the Master. The Doctor destroys Kamelion, at the robot's own request, to prevent any further misuse of his abilities.

It transpires that Sarn is a prison planet for Turlough's homeworld, Trion. While there, Turlough discovers that he and his family, who fought on the losing side of a civil war, have been pardoned. Turlough elects to return home; Peri talks the Doctor into taking her on his travels.

Contemporary adventure.

Peri Brown is due back at school in the United States in the fall of this year.

"Three months" after "Planet of Fire" (DW1).

Scientists at Princeton University discover strange matter.

"Time and the Rani" (DW1).

Leighton Reynolds, future driver for Harwood's Haulage, is born.

Leighton is 24 when he dies in "Meat" (TW) (2008).

The Torchwood Institute purchases the security firm of H.C. Clements. The Institute will eventually build a laboratory under the firm where they will attempt to produce Huon particles.

"23 years" before "The Runaway Bride" (DW2) (2007).

1985

Stranded on Earth, Lytton sends out a distress signal. The signal is intercepted and answered by the Cryons centuries in the future. They ask Lytton to help them in their struggle against the Cybermen, who have taken over the Cryons' world of Telos; Lytton agrees.

As part of his plan to aid the Cryons, Lytton breaks in to an electronics firm, stealing a number of highly specialized components. Word reaches the police that Lytton may be involved and, after finding no records about the man, decide to observe him covertly, even sending a man undercover to become part of his gang.

Some time before "Attack of the Cybermen" (DW1).

Attack of the Cybermen (DW1) 1-2: Also tracking down Lytton's distress call, the 6th Doctor and Peri visit London, where they encounter the former Dalek mercenary in conflict with the group of Cybermen from the future. The Cybermen plan to divert Halley's Comet and slam it into the Earth in order to prevent Mondas' destruction the following year. The Doctor, Peri and Lytton travel to the future, where they thwart the scheme.

The year is stated to be "1985".

The Two Doctors (DW1) 1-3: The 2nd Doctor and Jamie are sent to Space Station Chimera, in the Third Zone by the Time Lords to put an end to some potentially disastrous time-travel experiments. The experiments are a ruse to lure a Time Lord to the station; Chessene, a genetically-enhanced Androgum, allied with the Sontarans, needs Time Lord DNA to create a working time-machine. The 6th Doctor and Peri track the group to Spain on Earth. The Sontarans are killed through Chessene's treachery, Chessene dies while trying to use an incomplete time-machine and the 2nd Doctor is rescued.

Contemporary adventure.

July: The science fiction comedy film Back to the Future is released. The Doctor uses moments from this film to explain to Martha what could happen to her if history is changed.

The Doctor mentions the film in "The Shakespeare Code" (DW2).

The best-selling novel Lucky by Jackie Collins is published.

Mentioned in "Bad Wolf" (DW2).

The Rings of Akhaten (DW2): The 11th Doctor watches as Clara's future father, Dave, presents Clara's future mother, Ellie, with the leaf that brought them together years earlier, calling it "the most important leaf in human history".

Exact placement conjectural. Some time has passed since Dave and Ellie's first meeting in 1981, and Clara is born in 1989, so I'm just splitting the difference.

1986

April 26: A series of explosions at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia leads to a meltdown, the largest in human history. The effects are severe and long-lasting.

As mentioned in "Boom Town" (DW2).

Rose Tyler is born.

Rose is 19 when she meets the Doctor in "Rose" (DW2) (2005). Her age is first given in "The Unquiet Dead" (DW2).

In an unrecorded adventure, the 6th Doctor acquires Melanie "Mel" Bush as a companion while visiting Pease Pottage.

Placement here is conjectural. We never see Mel's first adventure, her first appearance being in "The Trial of a Time Lord" (DW1), but presumably they met in a contemporary adventure.

Toshiko Sato moves from Osaka, Japan, back to the United Kingdom.

"Greeks Bearing Gifts" (TW).

Following the death of his wife, millionaire Henry John Parker becomes a recluse, and is never again seen by anyone outside his home after this time.

"A Day in the Death" (TW).

December: The Smugglers (DW1) 4: The 1st Doctor, Polly and Ben arrive in the Antarctic.

Actually takes place during the first episode of "The Tenth Planet" (DW1).

December: The Tenth Planet (DW1) 1-4: The 1st Doctor (who seems to be growing weaker), Polly and Ben are present at the Snowcap space tracking station in Antarctica when a new planet appears in the skies over Earth. The new planet is Mondas, a sister planet to Earth that drifted out of the solar system millions of years previously and now returned. Mondas is now inhabited by Cybermen, who invade Earth and begin to drain the planet of energy. The time travellers and the station personel keep the Cybermen busy until Mondas absorbs too much energy, destroying itself, the Cybermen with it.

When the travellers return to the TARDIS, the Doctor begins to regenerate.

A calendar clearly gives the date as December 1986.

December: The Power of the Daleks (DW1) 1: The Doctor finishes regenerating into his second incarnation before leaving Earth with Polly and Ben in the TARDIS.

Immediately follows "The Tenth Planet" (DW1).

1987

Februrary 7: Not long before her death, Kathy Nightingale, now Katherine Costello Wainwright, writes a letter to her friend Sally Sparrow. She has her grandson promise to deliver it to Sally in 2007 on the day that Kathy disappears into the past.

"Blink" (DW2). The date is seen on Kathy's letter. Kathy's grandson says that she died "20 years" before the 2007 of the episode, with the year confirmed on Kathy's gravestone.

Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke meet on a street corner outside the Beatbox Club. As Sarah has lost her purse and has no money for a taxi, Stu gives her a ride home. They hit it off and are married within the year.

Slightly conjectural. One gets the feeling from "Father's Day" (DW2), especially from Stu's father's dialogue, that Sarah and Stu have had a whirlwind romance, leading to a quick marriage, exacerbated by Sarah's pregnancy.

Time and the Rani (DW1) 1-4: The Rani forces the Doctor's TARDIS down to the surface of the planet Lakertya; the Doctor regenerates into his 7th persona in the crash.

The Rani wishes to use the Doctor's knowledge of time theory, along with the genius of great scientists from across time and space, to help her turn the planet into a giant time-manipulator, with which she plans to bring "order" to the universe. With Mel's help, the Doctor is able to sabotage the Rani's plan and free the Lakertyans under her control.

Assumed contemporary.

While experimenting in her bedroom with the extraction of nitro-glycerine from gelignite, Ace vanishes in a timestorm caused by Fenric. Her mother, Audrey, reports her missing to the police.

"Dragonfire" (DW1). Ace seems to be of contemporary origin and some of her jacket's badges read 1987, hence the placement here. Fenric's involvement is revealed in "The Curse of Fenric" (DW1), where we also learn Audrey's name. The report of her missing is mentioned in "Survival" (DW1).

Construction begins on One Canada Square, a 50 story skyscraper in London's Canary Wharf business complex. The building is actually a project of Torchwood's. The organization has detected a "radar black spot" 600 feet above sea level and designed the skyscraper to surround it.

Canary Wharf's true origins are revealed in "Army of Ghosts" (DW2).

Martha Jones' brother Leo is born.

Leo celebrates his 21st birthday during "Smith and Jones" (DW2) (2008).

Pete Tyler attempts to teach his wife Jackie to program their video recorder. It does not go well.

The week before "Father's Day" (DW2).

Nov. 7: Father's Day: At her request, the 9th Doctor takes Rose to witness her father Pete's death by a hit-and-run, to be with him in his last moments and will not have died alone. Instead, Rose saves Pete's life, causing a "wound in time". This calls into existence monstrous flying creatures who begin consuming humankind to "sterilize" the wound.

After the Doctor is also consumed by the creatures, Pete realizes that the only way to repair time is to allow himself to run down in the hit-and-run. Pete sacrifices himself, although he does not die alone; Rose comforts him as he passes away. The creatures wink out of being, and all those consumed are returned to existence.

The exact date is given a few times in dialog.

Nov. 13: Carys Fletcher is born.

"Day One" (TW).

1988

July: Sean Harris is born.

He is 19 at the time of "Ghost Machine" (TW) (2007) and states that he will be 20 the next July.

General Uvlavad Kudlak is badly injured during a battle in the Ghost Wars between the Uvodni and the Malakh empire, and is forced to leave the front lines.

"20 years" before "Warriors of Kudlak" (SJA) (2008).

John Tucker is born. He will become one of Suzie Costello's murder victims in 2007.

John was 19 when killed shortly before "Everything Changes" (TW) (2007).

The current incarnation of New Wave band Ultravox split up.

In "Cold War" (DW2), Professor Grisenko asks Clara about this possible future event.

The Pharos Institute is set up to investigate paranormal phenomena.

"20 years" before "The Lost Boy" (SJA) (2008).

Power outages plague Windsor as the Nemesis statue approaches Earth.

Over the "few days" leading up to "Silver Nemesis" (DW1).

November 22-23: Silver Nemesis (DW1) 1-3: The "comet" Nemesis, a statue made of the living metal validium launched into space in 1638 by the Doctor, returns to Earth. A group of Neo-Nazis, an army of Cybermen, and the Lady Peinforte (from the 17th century) battle for possession of Nemesis, as the validium it is made of would give them enormous power. The 7th Doctor and Ace prevent Nemesis from falling into the wrong hands, and the Doctor uses the statue to destroy the Cybermen's fleet, as was always his intent.

A date of Nov. 22, 1988, appears in a caption on screen. The Doctor also confirms that this is "1988". Nemesis was scheduled to return to Earth on Nov. 23.

1989

Amelia "Amy" Pond is born this year.

In "The Big Bang" (DW2) (1996), the Doctor says that Amy is seven at that point.

Clara Oswin Oswald is born this year.

According to her copy of 101 Places to See, Clara is 24 in "The Bells of Saint John" (DW2) (2013).

A number of young people from Perivale, some of them friends of Ace, go missing when they are abducted by the Cheetah People.

In the month leading up to "Survival" (DW1).

Survival (DW1) 1-3: The 7th Doctor takes Ace to Perivale for a visit, where they discover a number of disappearances have taken place. The missing people have been abducted by the teleporting Cheetah People and brought to their homeworld to be future food.

Brought there themselves by the Cheetah People, the Doctor and Ace find the Master, influenced by the planet, and taking on animalistic traits. The Doctor and Ace also being to feel the world's influence, but manage to return to Earth, along with most of those previously abducted, leaving the Master stranded on the self-destructing other world.

Contemporary story. The Doctor also tells Ace that she's "been away as long as you think you have".

The Ritz ballroom in Cardiff closes.

"Captain Jack Harkness" (TW).

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Or travel forward through time to the 1990s.