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2004 in

the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

Timeline for 2004
21st century | 2000s

1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010
WikipediaInfo

2004 was a year.

Properties

Its corresponding year in the Huskix Cycle was 7818. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

Events

Dated

On 21 January, NASA's Mars rover Spirit temporarily lost communication with Earth for two days due to problems with the computer's memory or, as one source suggested, Ice Warrior interference. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary [+]Chris Farnell, BBC Children's Books (2020).)

In April, the billionaire businessman Neil Redmond was left severely disabled and disfigured after a serious car accident in the south of France. (AUDIO: Uncanny Valley [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)

In June, Tate Modern was destroyed by an electron bomb. (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows [+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).)

On 8 June, Ian Chesterton witnessed the Transit of Venus from Earth. (AUDIO: The Transit of Venus [+]Jacqueline Rayner, The Companion Chronicles (Big Finish Productions, 2009).)

In mid-2004, Aaron Smith met the Ninth Doctor in a department store. Around the same time, in summer, GPW's two children were rescued by the Ninth Doctor from "lizard people". Also during that summer, the Doctor tried to buy a cup of tea from a café in Cambridge with the old 10p pieces, so Riccy Unwin gave him 50p so he could pay. About six months later, in early 2005, both Aaron, GPW and Riccy wrote about their encounters on Doctor Who?. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man? [+]various authors, Who is Doctor Who? (BBC, 2005).)

On 29 September, the asteroid 4179 Toutatis passed within four lunar distances of Earth. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary [+]Chris Farnell, BBC Children's Books (2020).)

Prior to 10 October, the Serapheem migrated via Dundee and, upon hearing the local teenagers' wishes to escape, deconstructed their molecules to take them with them. However, they were left invisible and inaudible as a result. The Ninth Doctor later helped return them to normal. (AUDIO: Girl, Deconstructed [+]Lisa McMullin, Respond to All Calls (The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Series 1, Big Finish Productions, 2021).)

Just before Christmas, the Ninth Doctor said something in Arabic to a shopkeeper in a souk in Marrakech, while Thomas Vaughan watched; Thomas later wrote about his encounter on Doctor Who?. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man? [+]various authors, Who is Doctor Who? (BBC, 2005).)

On 24 December, the infant Ruby Sunday was abandoned outside a church on Ruby Road in Manchester by her birth mother shortly before midnight. When the adult Ruby and the Fifteenth Doctor stopped Ruby's foster sister, Lulubelle, from being kidnapped by goblins in 2023, the goblins travelled back in time to 2004 Christmas Eve and attempted to seize Ruby to feed to the Goblin King instead, creating an alternate timeline, but the Doctor followed them and rescued Ruby, restoring the timeline to normal. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2023 (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).)

On 25 December, Ruby Sunday was discovered by a vicar just after the stroke of midnight. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2023 (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).) On the same day, the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister became trapped in a time loop in the home of George Smythe, his wife Patricia and his two children, Josie and Mark. (PROSE: Every Day [+]Stephen Fewell, Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury (Short Trips, 2004).)

On 31 December, Rose Tyler missed a New Year's Eve party. This allowed her to meet the regenerating Tenth Doctor, prior to the instance when she first encountered the Ninth Doctor, shortly after midnight. (TV: The End of Time [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2009 and New Year Special 2010 (BBC One, 2009-2010).)

Undated

Other notable events which took place in 2004 included the aftermath of the Iraq War, Arsenal winning the Premier League, floods in Boscastle, and the 2004 Olympics, in which Mallika Montgomery won the silver medal in the long jump. Ian Glendennis was a BBC commentator for the games. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

Connie Winter had tickets to a Kaiser Chiefs concert but went to the wrong Newcastle. (AUDIO: A Perfect World [+]Jonathan Morris, Time Reef (Main Range, Big Finish Productions, 2008).)

Iris Wildthyme and Panda visited Manchester. (PROSE: The Shape of Things [+]Stuart Douglas, Ms Wildthyme & Friends Investigate (Iris Wildthyme, Obverse Books, 2010).)

Clive Finch obtained a copy of a photograph taken just prior to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, featuring the image of the Ninth Doctor, from the Washington public archive. (TV: Rose [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 1 (BBC One, 2005).)

Elsewhere in the universe, the Battle of Ygnbnbby took place in the year 7818 of the Huskix Cycle, which corresponded with Earth year 2004. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

SkipN saw the Ninth Doctor at a Boston Red Sox game in 1998, and the Doctor told him to be patient and wait until 2004. Doris Spelgar visited Fred in a hospital also in 2004. Stephen Norris was advised against being Anthony Wallenda and supporting Liverpool. Dr C.J. Sansom found a cache of Tudor parchments that cast doubt on Henry VIII's right to the throne in an archive which the Doctor visited to retrieve said cache. SkipN, Doris, Stephen and Sansom wrote about their experiences on Doctor Who? in March 2005. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man? [+]various authors, Who is Doctor Who? (BBC, 2005).) SkipN also saw Rose Tyler walking in Boston near the Charles River. (PROSE: The Doctor Was Involved in the Dummy Massacre [+]BBC webteam, Who is Doctor Who? (BBC, 2005).)

Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair were attending primary school by this year. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

Other realities

SouthAmericanState

A transmission from Gemini citing the 2004 report of the South American State. (WC: Tardisode 5 [+]Gareth Roberts, Tardisodes series 2 (2006).)

In 2004 in Pete's World, the South American State reported that 265,000 people had gone missing. Pete Tyler, using an alias known as Gemini, linked these disappearances to Cybus Industries and sent this information to the Preachers on an encrypted broadcast. (WC: Tardisode 5 [+]Gareth Roberts, Tardisodes series 2 (2006).)

In an alternate timeline, Ralph and Belinda were married. (AUDIO: Suburban Hell [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)

Births and deaths

Dated

In November, Cassandra Schofield was killed by Nimrod in the Forge's alpha facility in Dartmoor. (AUDIO: Project: Lazarus [+]Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2003).)

Ruby Sunday was born on 24 December in Manchester, at approximately 2PM. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2023 (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).)

Undated

Ray Charles died. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

Ian Glendennis' son was born. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

Other

2004 briefly disappeared from history when Richard Somerset, a Time Agent, attempted to erase Maria Hackett's memory of the year after she rejected his romantic feelings for her, but instead achieved the opposite effect due to his Time Adjuster being damaged. As a result, residents of Earth in 2019, with the exception of Maria, had neither memory nor documented evidence of any event which took place in this year. The year was restored after the Thirteenth Doctor fixed Richard's adjuster. (PROSE: Time Lapse [+]Naomi Alderman, Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (Puffin eshort, Puffin Books, 2019).)

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