What year does Doctor Who take place?
This may be a little reminiscent of the little dating controversy with the UNIT stories (did they take place in the 70s or 80s?). I was just reading up on the past episodes this season on the Doctor Who Wiki. Something that they keep bringing up, and they did this in SFX Magazine as well, was that the show takes place in the “wrong” time. In “The Shakespeare Code” when the Doctor says “wait until you read the seventh (Harry Potter) book…” some people claim that by Martha’s time the book should have already been out.
It all starts with “Aliens in London.” Rose returns home to what the Doctor thinks is the next day but is actually the next year. Assuming they left in 2005, then they should be in 2006. This means that the series should actually be a year ahead. Martha’s adventures took place in 2008 while the Doctor and Donna traipsed around the universe in 2009. There seems to be a bit of a big deal about this discrepancy which is why I bring it up. Personally I think it can all be easily fixed with just one little statement: “Rose” takes place in 2004. They never give you an exact date. Even on Rose’s “Have You Seen Me” posters, there is no date. So I think that could bring an end to this little dating controversy. Or maybe I’m getting really nitpicky in my old age (today’s my birthday after all). What do you guys think?
8 responses so far ↓
1 Daniel Doty // Jun 25, 2008 at 9:13 am
I agree why couldn’t Rose have just taken place in 2004, wouldn’t be the first time a show starts in the past so that when they make a jump they will be in the present, take the new terminator series, same thing.
2 daniel // Jun 25, 2008 at 10:36 am
Frankly, it’s a moot point. The whole thing is an alternate version of our Earth anyway. Let’s face it, if “Rose” took place in 2004 or 2005, certain events would have happened between then and the “current” adventures that we in this world would have known about. What year, specifically, it is within the show doesn’t matter too much because the timeline is getting shifted about and altered every time the TARDIS jumps about. The whole future is present and the past is ahead is all “wibbley wobbley timey-wimey” stuff that is best left to the imagination.
3 ninjac // Jun 25, 2008 at 11:02 am
Happy Birthday! I agree that Rose could’ve happened in 2004 and then everything would probably work out. But since they never actually set any dates and we don’t know exactly how long the time was between the companions with all the wibbley-wobbley-timey-wimey all the events could take place in the near future or the near past, couldn’t they? My biggest question is how the Doctor keeps all that information in his head!
Though I’m still pretty new to my obsession with Doctor Who, so if I got something totally wrong and missed things please be nice
4 gaul // Jun 26, 2008 at 4:19 am
Is it ever actually stated that he takes martha or donna in earth time after he takes rose. all I am aware of is that it is in the doctors future not necesarily earths future. I could be wrong though.
5 rwun // Jun 26, 2008 at 3:20 pm
it totally stated in *relative* time when he takes donna and martha after he leaves rose. like, martha had a cousin (Adiola) at canary wharf, and there’s a bunch of “last christmas”-type references all the way through… however, I don’t think any of them refer to events in `Rose’, so it actually seems really likely that the show simply started a year early… EXCEPT for the whole 903-years-old thing (he told Rose he was 900 in `Rose’). Then again, he’s almost certainly lying about his age and/or not measuring it in Earth Time, so…
6 daniel // Jun 27, 2008 at 11:02 am
True - there is the whole discrepancy with The Doctor’s age that has plagued the series throughout its entire run…
7 Daniel (Mr Hyde) // Jun 27, 2008 at 11:44 am
True, or they have just been so busy on the Tardis they’ve had no time to run to the bookstore and read it.
8 tardisfiend // Jul 12, 2008 at 7:20 am
all I can do is laugh. it is a tv show they can play around with dates and times to suit them it doesn’t have to make total sense. who cares if he gets things wrong or right or who fits in where and Rose what year did that happen. Oh my hahaha
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