B00DPX9ST8 EBOK (100 page)

The idea of coincidence is stretched to and probably beyond breaking point by the two
Human Nature
s, however. There’s nothing in the TV story to explain how both could happen. Yet this chronology counts both stories, as it counts both
Shada
s, so some explanation is probably needed.

There are a number of possibilities:

1) Both happened, and it’s all a coincidence. There are differences, some of them pretty serious ones: they take place in different years; the school is called Hulton in the novel and Farringham in the TV story; the Doctor is in a different incarnation with a different companion and becomes human for a different reason; he fights different aliens. The Joan Redferns he falls for are different ages and have different histories. So the Doctor has a similar adventure twice - luckily, it’s one that involves him losing his memory, so the second version of “John Smith”, at least, wouldn’t notice the redundancy.

2) Both happened, and it’s not a coincidence. We’re told in the TV story that the TARDIS chose the landing point. Perhaps it’s deliberately picked a situation that “worked” in similar circumstances. It seems a little odd - if not actively cruel - for the TARDIS to pick on another Joan Redfern, though.

3) The original was erased from history… possibly as a result of the Time War, the events of the novel
Human Nature
no longer “happened” (this does not automatically suppose that the whole of New Adventures did not “occur”, however). The Big Finish version of
Shada
establishes that in this situation, there would be a timeline gap that needs filling, but that a different incarnation of the Doctor can play the part.

[
1294
]
No Man’s Land.
Dudgeon says the Mons conflict started 22nd August, 1914, although some resources say it technically was initiated on the 23rd. Real-life soldiers did report seeing the angels that Dudgeon describes, but they’re commonly regarded as the result of battle trauma, urban legends and perhaps deliberately targeted propaganda.

[
1295
]
TW: Consequences
: “The Wrong Hands”. Machen, a Welsh author responsible for the legend of the Angels of Mons, lived 1863-1947.

[
1296
]
Matrix

[
1297
] Per Torchwood.org.uk.

[
1298
] Dating
Project: Twilight
(BF #23) - The exact days are given.

[
1299
]
Brotherhood of the Daleks

[
1300
]
The Left-Handed Hummingbird
(p58).

[
1301
] Dating “The Forgotten” (IDW
DW
mini-series #2) - The date is given. Private Benton may be an ancestor (the grandfather?) of UNIT’s Sergeant Benton.

[
1302
]
TW: Trace Memory

[
1303
]
Recorded Time and Other Stories
: “Paradoxicide”. The battle was 22nd April to 25th May, 1915.

[
1304
]
TW: The Undertaker’s Gift
. The book is a little contradictory concerning Morgan’s abduction/death - it’s said on page 90 that Torchwood investigated his disappearance after the war in 1919, and yet when his kidnapping is retroactively prevented, page 239 claims that “he was dead by 1915”.

[
1305
] Dating
The Sirens of Time
(BF #1) - The date is given.

[
1306
] Dating
White Darkness
(NA #15) - “On the wall, a calendar of 1915 had just been turned to the August page” (p22).

[
1307
]
The Cabinet of Light
(p85).

[
1308
]
Just War

[
1309
] “Twenty years” before
The Abominable Snowman
.

[
1310
] Dating “The First” (
DWM
#386-389) - The exact days are given. The expedition is historical, and renowned as the last great (albeit failed) crossing of Antarctica.

[
1311
] “The Age of Ice”, “The Crimson Hand”.

[
1312
] Dating
Players
(PDA #21) - The date is given (p69).

[
1313
]
The Wages of Sin

[
1314
]
The Magic Mousetrap.
The brothers started performing “before the war”, but the Empire Theatre didn’t open until April 1915, as a music hall starring Marie Lloyd.

[
1315
]
Human Nature
(NA)

[
1316
]
The Family of Blood

[
1317
]
Storm Warning

[
1318
]
Eater of Wasps

[
1319
]
Let’s Kill Hitler
. Presumably Rasputin wasn’t the target of their attack, as they were impersonating him.

[
1320
]
FP: The Book of the War

[
1321
] Dating
The Wages of Sin
(PDA #19) - The date is given (p21).
Zagreus
confirms that the Doctor has met Rasputin.

[
1322
] Dating
The Roof of the World
(BF #59) - It’s 1917 according to the back cover.

[
1323
]
Storm Warning

[
1324
]
The Devil Goblins from Neptune

[
1325
]
Singularity

[
1326
] Dating
No Man’s Land
(BF #89) - The year is given.

[
1327
]
Planet of Giants

[
1328
]
The War Games

[
1329
]
The Sea Devils

[
1330
]
Delta and the Bannermen

[
1331
]
Divided Loyalties

[
1332
]
Eternity Weeps

[
1333
]
Byzantium!, The King of Terror.

[
1334
]
The Empire of Death
. Luckner lived 1881-1966.

[
1335
]
Mad Dogs and Englishmen

[
1336
]
Storm Warning
. The Treaty of Versailles was signed 28th June, 1919.

[
1337
] Torchwood.org.uk. Harriet appears in
TW: To the Last Man
.

[
1338
]
TW: Small Worlds

[
1339
] Dating
The Way Through the Woods
(NSA #45) - It’s “autumn 1917, shortly after closing time” (p19).

[
1340
]
FP: The Book of the War
,
FP: Warring States
.

[
1341
]
Assassin in the Limelight

[
1342
]
FP: The Book of the War
,
FP: Warring States
(p52).

[
1343
]
The Coming of the Terraphiles

[
1344
]
Sontarans: Old Soldiers

[
1345
] Dating
Casualties of War
(EDA #38) - The date is given (p7).

[
1346
]
Eater of Wasps

[
1347
]
Pier Pressure
. The armistice with Germany was signed in France on 11th November, 1918.

[
1348
] Dating
TW: To the Last Man
(
TW
2.3) - The year is given. Tommy is 24 and was born 7th February, 1894, so events in 1918 must occur after that day.
The Torchwood Archives
claims that Tommy was killed on 28th October, 1918, so events in
To the Last Man
- set three weeks beforehand - presumably occur in the same month.

[
1349
] Dating
TW:
“Rift War” (
TWM
#4-13) - The year is given.

[
1350
]
Birthright
,
Casualties of War
.

[
1351
] “Twelve years” before
The English Way of Death
(p83).

[
1352
]
The Magic Mousetrap

[
1353
]
Matrix

[
1354
] Dating
The Memory Cheats
(BF CC #6.3) - The month and year is given.

[
1355
] Dating
Toy Soldiers
(NA #42) - The main action of the book starts “25 September 1919” (p39).

[
1356
]
TW: To the Last Man
. Harriet is said to be killed “the year after” an undated photo of Gerald Carter’s Torchwood team is taken;
The Torchwood Archives
dates her death to 1919, confirming that the photo was taken in 1918. There’s conflicting reports of when Gerald stops leading Torchwood Cardiff - Torchwood.org.uk says he held himself responsible for Harriet’s death and “retired from active service soon afterwards”, but
The Torchwood Archives
says he remained in charge until 1926.

[
1357
]
Aliens of London
. No date is given, but Lloyd George was Prime Minister 1916-1922.

[
1358
]
The Roundheads

[
1359
]
Dying in the Sun

[
1360
] “The Final Chapter”

[
1361
]
Scaredy Cat

[
1362
] He’s 29 in
TimeH: The Tunnel at the End of the Light
(p16), which appears to take place in early 1950 - although he might have already had a birthday, in which case he was born in 1921.

[
1363
]
TimeH: The Sideways Door

[
1364
] Dating
Blink
(X3.10) - Benjamin’s newspaper names the day and year.