2020

2020 in

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the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

2020 was a year.

Properties

Overall, 2020 was regarded to be a particularly unpleasant year, especially due to the virus COVID-19. (WC: The Zygon Isolation, PROSE: The Invasion of London, Sweet Revenge) Some speculated that due to the number of cataclysms weighing down on the human psyche in 2020, the year had become "a basin in time". (PROSE: The Blue Scream of Death) The Tenth Doctor was well aware of the difficulties of 2020, warning off his 2009-hailing companion Donna Noble from looking at any documentation from the year. (PROSE: Legends of Camelot)

Events

Dated

January - March

Early in the year, the Kasaavin invaded Earth with the assistance of the Spy Master, having planned as early as 1834, and Daniel Barton, CEO of VOR. In the week leading up to the invasion, the Kasaavin, realising that Earth's intelligence services had began to notice their presence, assassinated numerous intelligence officers across the planet (including C, the head of MI6), but not before he alerted the Thirteenth Doctor and Team TARDIS to the situation. Finding the Master disguised as O, an MI6 agent, Team TARDIS became wanted fugitives while the Doctor was displaced by the Kasaavin. However, the Doctor took the Master's TARDIS to the middle of 2019 and sabotaged the Silver Lady vital to the invasion. When the invasion came, the Doctor, accompanied by Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan, reunited with Team TARDIS and confronted the Master, who had been stranded on Earth for the past 77 years. While Barton publicly announced his intention to convert the majority of humanity into hard drives at the cost of their lives, the Doctor exposed the Master's intent to betray both Barton and the Kasaavin, resulting in him being taken by the Kasaavin as she exiled them to their own dimension. (TV: Spyfall)

On 26 January, the VOR search engine and social media website underwent a massive software update, making it 50% more secure against extra-dimensional alien invasions. (PROSE: 'Time Traveller's Diary)

In January (PROSE: The Tourist) and after the Kasaavin invasion, (TV: Can You Hear Me?) the Judoon briefly placed Gloucester on lockdown while pursuing Ruth and Lee Clayton on behalf of the Gallifreyans. Ruth, ostensibly a 44 year old human woman who had lived in Gloucester since mid-December 1999, was actually a persona adopted by an incarnation of the Doctor using a Chameleon Arch. Having intercepted the Judoon's transmissions, the Thirteenth Doctor and Team TARDIS stumbled upon this incident which led to her meeting her other self, an apparent past incarnation whom she had no memory of. Ultimately, the Doctor was able to elude the Judoon and the Gallifreyans before taking her leave, after which the Thirteenth Doctor picked up alerts across three continents on Earth. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)

Answering to the alerts, the Doctor and her companions prevented the alien bacteria Praxeus from becoming a threat. (TV: Praxeus)

Also in January, Ace visited the Space Defence Centre and used the Squidget to send the Virgil into orbit around the moon. She and Will Buckland met the Thirteenth Doctor, Ryan, Graham, and Yaz, who helped Ace defeat Halogi-Kari. (PROSE: At Childhood's End)

Ten months before the New Year, (TV: Revolution of the Daleks) a TARDIS with Team TARDIS and future residents Ravio, Ethan and Yedlarmi on board materialised in Sheffield, as the Thirteenth Doctor, in the face of the CyberMasters on Gallifrey, returned them to Earth. (TV: The Timeless Children)

In March, River Song and Leela visited the village Charm on Ozkozania to see the outcome of rescuing Juda and Hema from the Royal Magnificat in 2019. Seeing Charm devastated by the Ozkozania Civil War, River and Leela went back in time to save Juda and Hema from Charm's destruction. (AUDIO: Emancipation)

The world's lockdown from COVID-19 began around March, with Ogmore-by-Sea starting its lockdown on 24 March. (PROSE: Copy/Paste) After resetting the timeline to restore the correct 2020, the Eighth Doctor and his companions Liv Chenka, Helen Sinclair, Tania Bell and Andy Davidson found themselves in the midst of lockdown. (AUDIO: The Keys of Baker Street) Unable to leave or intervene until the end of the year whilst time crystallised, they lived in 107 Baker Street for the lockdown's duration, though the Doctor eventually retreated to the TARDIS interior. (AUDIO: Best Year Ever)

April - December

On 17 April, George Colbert killed Mike, Penny, Albie and Samantha Tungate. The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Thomas Hector Schofield arrived at Water's Edge and solved the murders. (AUDIO: Displaced)

In May, Nick broke up with Nicole. (TV: Eve of the Daleks)

During the lockdown, some people communicated with each other via video chats. Lucy Wilson chatted with her friends and family through Whoosh! while isolated. (PROSE: Copy/Paste) On 10 May, Petronella Osgood had a Zoom meeting with Zygon Osgood. (WC: The Zygon Isolation) On 17 May, Evie hosted a video call with her mother Maxine through VidChatX. (WC: The Descendants of Pompeii) Andy Davidson organised virtual quizzes with the residents of 107 Baker Street. (AUDIO: Best Year Ever)

The death of George Floyd, an American black man, by police, sparked anti-racism protests and rioting across the US and UK, in spite of the lockdown, during which statues of historical figures such as Edward Colston were torn down by protesters. Lucy and Hobo Kostinen attended a peaceful, socially distanced protest in Ogmore-by-Sea, (PROSE: 8.46) and Bill Potts attended one in Bristol. (WC: The Best of Days)

On 17 July, Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish time channeled to Kyoto and began investigating a series of deadly incidents orchestrated by the White Claw Kitsune. (PROSE: Kitsune)

On 17 August, the 14681st day of UNIT's observation of the Time Fracture, Sergeant Robert Dudley recorded a field log from the Black Site in which he voiced serious concerns for the safety of the human race. (WC: 14681 UNIT Field Log)

On 18 August, a left shoe, which Errol Courtney believed belonged to the Doctor, emerged from the Time Fracture at the Black Site. (WC: 14682 UNIT Field Log)

On the morning of 19 August, several alien entities emerged in London via the Time Fracture, including a group of three Time Lords by London Bridge, a Cyber-Warrior at St Paul's Cathedral, and a Dalek in the River Thames. They were all intercepted by military personnel before any engagement with the civilian population could take place. (WC: 14683 UNIT Field Log)

In November, Simona became Nick's girlfriend. (TV: Eve of the Daleks)

On 31 December, the European Space Agency's Mars rover Leonardo discovered a copy of David Bowie's Life on Mars which had been left on the planet by Erimem and Andy Hansen in 2016. Most of the rover's mission control had been celebrating New Year's Eve at the time, and only John Wilcox witnessed the find. Assuming it to be a prank by his colleagues, Wilcox did not record the rover's encounter with the album. (PROSE: Life on Mars on Mars)

Undated

After the Doctor returned her companions to 2020, Ryan saw his father. By that time, Aaron had returned to oil rigs. (TV: Revolution of the Daleks)

In 2020, a decade after Bernice Summerfield and Jason Kane's wedding, Emily Hutchings' The Unformed Heart was published. (PROSE: Happy Endings)

The Silurians erect an energy barrier around Cwmtaff. (TV: The Hungry Earth)

The Silurians emerged from their underground city around Cwmtaff and captured local mammals, including humans. The Eleventh Doctor, his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and human allies discovered the Silurians. (TV: The Hungry Earth) Rory was killed by Restac, military leader of this group of Silurians, and absorbed by a time crack. The Silurians then went into hibernation for a millennium. (TV: Cold Blood)

According to some accounts, Amy Pond and Rory Williams were still living on Earth by this year, and stopped by Cwmtaff to see the 2010 versions of themselves with the Eleventh Doctor. (TV: The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood) Other sources indicate the Ponds had left their native era over half a decade before 2020. (TV: The Power of Three, The Day of the Doctor, COMIC: The Fractures)

The first lunar passenger module was developed by Daniel Eldred's father. (TV: The Seeds of Death)

The first HoloPhone Flat was created in 2020. (PROSE: A Bright White Crack)

Several bodies were discovered in Plymouth, apparently victims of spontaneous combustion. Chris Cwej and Iris Wildthyme were tasked by their Superiors to close a dimensional rift nearby. They discovered that the deaths were being caused by a spindly, faceless entity carrying a tool of unknown purpose; Iris speculated that it was a scientist from a higher dimension, inadvertently killing humans while trying to examine them. (PROSE: Flickering Flame)

Directly after meeting Nostradamus on Prophecy, the Seventh Doctor was alerted by his TARDIS to investigate the Blue Fire Project in 2020. (AUDIO: Black and White) The Doctor and Private Sally Morgan of the King's New Delta Squadron of the British Army defeated the Mi'en Kalarash, a being which fed on nightmares and one of the Elder Gods. Sally subsequently joined the Doctor as one of his companions. (AUDIO: House of Blue Fire)

There were riots in Liverpool. (AUDIO: Afterlife)

According to Hob's Death's Head Interactive Archive, the Fantastic Four sent Death's Head to the year 2020, (COMIC: Clobberin' Time!) where he came into conflict with mercenary Arno Stark, also known as Iron Man. (COMIC: The Cast Iron Contract)

A presidential election was due in the United States this year. In 2018, Jack Robertson planned to run against Donald Trump in this election. However, a toxic waste scandal prevented him from doing so. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)

According to one account, Queen Elizabeth II had died and the British Army had a King's New Delta Squadron by 2020. (AUDIO: Black and White)

Around 2020, bowlboards with a curved layout replaced the 20th century QWERTY keyboard and lasted into the 23rd century. (PROSE: Dreamstone Moon)

Other timelines

With Rory Williams dead and his existence erased, Amy Pond visited Cwmtaff alone to wave to herself. (TV: Cold Blood)

Fractured time

After it was drained by the Ravenous, the Eighth Doctor flew the TARDIS on what he believed might be its final flight, (AUDIO: Day of the Master) crash landing in London in 2020. However the TARDIS' crash prevented time crystallising, creating alternate timelines. (AUDIO: Crossed Lines) One such timeline saw robots fighting a war in Hull, (AUDIO: Get Andy) whilst another had 107 still in ruins after being bombed in World War II. (AUDIO: The Keys of Baker Street)

In one alternate 2020, the stranded Eighth Doctor lived in 107 Baker Street with his companions and tenants, (AUDIO: Lost Property) inadvertently taking the son of two tenants, Robin Bright-Thompson, to the future on a test flight of his recovering TARDIS. (AUDIO: Dead Time) Robin was given an expanded lifespan by Deus Ex and upon returning to 2020 moved away from Baker Street to Edinburgh with his parents, much to his annoyance. Without the Doctor's influence to guide him, Robin joined Divine Intervention and would lead them for thousands of years due to his extended lifespan, ruling humanity until he wiped them out. (AUDIO: What Just Happened?) The Doctor's attempts to alter history to correct this caused reality to begin to breakdown as the Void encroached, (AUDIO: Crossed Lines) with his disastrous effort to alter the Bright-Thompson family history dissolving the entire timeline. With the guidance of the Curator, he and his companions were able to reset time, restoring the true 2020. (AUDIO: The Keys of Baker Street)

Sea Devil timeline

Main article: Sea Devil Earth

After a paradoxical encounter with her tenth incarnation and Martha Jones in 1969, the Thirteenth Doctor decided to drop her friends off back in 2020. To their horror, they discovered the paradox had caused an alternate timeline in which the Earth had long been conquered by the Sea Devils on the Skithra's behalf. Working with a rogue Skithra Queen, they travelled back in time and corrected the timeline, (COMIC: A Little Help from My Friends, Alternating Current)

Births and deaths

T.J. Younger was born. (PROSE: Information Service)

Other

According to the Eleventh Doctor, the population of Earth was six billion. (TV: The Hungry Earth)

When Charley Pollard examined the belongings of the 108th or 109th century time traveller Carmen, she found a 2020 reprinting of a book first published in 2018. (AUDIO: The Raincloud Man)

In 1816, the Doctor offered to return her companions to 2020 as she proceeded to face the Cybermen in the far future. Nevertheless, they declined and accompanied her. (TV: The Haunting of Villa Diodati)

Behind the scenes

The trailer included on the Lost in Time box set and press material from the time around the production of The Power of the Daleks states that The Power of the Daleks occurred in this year.