B00DPX9ST8 EBOK (310 page)

As there’s no mention of a major war or its aftermath being of any concern, it’s unlikely to be during the Dalek Invasion of Earth or the Dalek Wars (where the latter is concerned, the
Vancouver
, a warship, isn’t said to be part of Spacefleet). With all of that in mind, thinking that
Earth Aid
happens at some point in the fourth millennium rings reasonably true, especially if the spaceships’ “jump” capabilities relate to the hyperspace paths in use prior to
The Daleks’ Master Plan
(see
The Guardian of the Solar System
). The Metatraxi homeworld was “decimated” by the Krotons prior to 2068 (
Alien Bodies
), but might not have been outright destroyed.

[
1227
]
Only Human

[
1228
] “Two centuries” before
Placebo Effect.

[
1229
]
The Curse of Peladon
, with much elaboration given in
Legacy
- a book that incorporates some details from
The Curse of Peladon
novelisation.

[
1230
]
Neverland
. The Sensorian Era was mentioned but not defined in
Doctor Who
- The Movie
.

[
1231
] Dating
The Curse of Peladon
(9.2) - There is no dating evidence on screen. The story takes place at a time when Earth is “remote”, has had interstellar travel for at least a generation (King Peladon is the son of an Earthwoman) and has an aristocratic government.

It’s not set between 2500 and 3000, when Earth has a powerful galactic empire according to fellow Pertwee stories
The Mutants
and
Frontier in Space
. Its sequel is set fifty years afterwards, and galactic politics is in much the same position as in the previous story.

Although the Federation seems to be capable of intergalactic travel at the time of
The Monster of Peladon
, Gary Russell suggested in the New Adventure
Legacy
that Galaxy Five was a mere “terrorist organisation” (p27).
Legacy
is set “a century” after
The Curse of Peladon
.

Remarkably, given the lack of on-screen information, there has been fan consensus about the dating of this story and its sequel:
The Programme Guide
set the story in “c.3500”, and made the fair assumption that the Federation succeeded the collapsed Earth Empire.
The Terrestrial Index
revised this slightly to “about 3700”.
The TARDIS Logs
suggests “3716”.
Timelink
suggests “3225”,
About Time
“at least a thousand years in the future”.

While that seems reasonable, another possibility is that this story is set very early in Earth’s future history, when Earth’s just starting to explore the galaxy. It’s at least a generation after interstellar travel. But other than that, the aliens here and in
The Monster of Peladon
are all near neighbours - Mars, Alpha Centauri, Arcturus and Vega. On the evidence of the TV series alone,
The Curse of Peladon
could comfortably be set in the late twenty-second century, before the Earth Empire forms.

Arcturus

We have seen at least three different alien races come from Arcturus over the course of
Doctor Who
, and it has been the site of a large number of events, although all of these have alluded to rather than depicted.

The Curse of Peladon
shows us an Arcturan that resembles a shrunken human head with some sort of tendrils growing from it, which needs a bulky life support system to survive in places suitable for humans. The criminal Arktos (
The Bride of Peladon
) was one of this species, and his nickname “the Scourge of the Nine Worlds” might indicate the extent of the Arcturan system. It’s this species of Arcturan that seems most common, and in the far future, they become members of the Galactic Federation - along with Earth and their arch enemies, the Ice Warriors.

UNIT fought an Arcturan with sinister intent (
Verdigris
), but in the late twenty-first century, the relationship with Arcturus became very fruitful for Earth. Earth picked up an Arcturan signal with enough information to build a working transmat (
Cold Fusion
). Earth’s first diplomatic agreement with an alien race was the Arcturan Treaty of 2085 (
The Dying Days
). Humans gained much from contact with Arcturans, including scientific information (
Lucifer Rising
).

Arcturus was the location of early human colonies. The interstellar Stunnel, a transmat corridor, was planning to reach Arcturus II (
Transit
). Arcturus Six is habitable by humans, and was reached early on in human spacefaring days (
Love and War
). A Von Neumann probe landed on Arcturus and started to build a city, oblivious to the fact the planet was already inhabited (
The Big Hunt
). Humans settled Sifranos in the Arcturus Sector, although that colony was wiped out by the Daleks (
Lucifer Rising
). There were soon civil wars in the Earth colonies in Arcturus (
GodEngine
).

The Arcturans were at war with the Ice Warriors, who had fled Mars for Nova Martia, beyond Arcturus (
GodEngine
). A great Cyber fleet crashed on A54 in the Arcturus system (“Junkyard Demon”). The Sontarans fought the Battle of Arcturus (
Sontarans: Conduct Unbecoming
).

Arcturans helped to fund Checkley’s World (
The Highest Science
) and won the Galactic Olympic Games on at least one occasion (
Destiny of the Daleks
). They were obsessed with profits and thought to be selfish (
Interference
). During the height of the Earth Empire, some Arcturans lived in the Overcities on Earth (
Original Sin
). They had only a few records of the Doctor (
The Doctor Trap
), although the Doctor, Rose and an Arcturan once “shared an experience” in a cellar (
The Day of the Troll
). The Navarinos named one model of time machine the “Arcturan Ultra-Pod” (
The Tomorrow Windows
). In the Terraphile Era, one popular reconstructed world is the howling terrace of Arcturus-and-Arcturus (
The Coming of the Terraphiles
).

Arcturus is twice mentioned in short stories not included in this chronology... “Only a Matter of Time” (
Doctor Who Annual 1968
) says that Arcturus is a swollen star, and that one fleet of hundreds of ships left the dying solar system “many thousands of years” ago. These Arcturans were an entirely peaceful race of frail four-armed birdlike creatures who could no longer fly due to gravity fluctuations. More whimsically, “The Mystery of the Marie Celeste” (
Doctor Who Annual 1970
) details how Greek god-like beings from Arcturus studied Earth and abducted the
Marie Celeste
.

[
1232
] Dating
The Prisoner of Peladon
(BF CC #4.3) - It’s been five years since
The Curse of Peladon
. The seventh Doctor says in
Legacy
(p90) that he’s visited Peladon on “two occasions” - an acknowledgment of only the TV Peladon stories, not this story or
The Bride of Peladon.

[
1233
] Specified as “two thousand years” after
J&L: Chronoclasm
.

[
1234
] Dating
The Pirate Loop
(NSA #20) - It is repeatedly said to be the “fortieth century”. However, when the tenth Doctor and Martha visit the planet Hollywood in the late twenty-fifth century (in
Peacemaker
), the Doctor suggests (jokingly or otherwise) that their movie-watching options include
The Starship Brilliant Story
.

[
1235
]
The Only Good Dalek
. See the dating notes on this story for possible reasons why other stories seem to contradict this.

[
1236
] “Three for four generations” before
The Judgment of Isskar
.

[
1237
] “Several centuries” after the latter part of
Cobwebs
, and a possible reference to the Kilbracken technique referred to in
The Invisible Enemy
.

[
1238
]
The Invisible Enemy
. Clones are seen or referred to before this date in a number of subsequent stories such as
Heritage
,
Deceit
,
Trading Futures
,
Project: Lazarus
,
The Also People
and
So Vile a Sin
. Professor Marius distinguishes between the Kilbracken Technique, which instantly creates a “sort of three-dimensional photocopy”, and a true clone that would take “years” to produce.
Heritage
also suggests cloning keeps periodically falling into disuse, whereupon another scientist will come forward and claim to have perfected the science for the “first” time.

[
1239
] Dating
The Resurrection Casket
(NSA #9) - No date is given, although Galactic Seven spacecraft went out of service a century before the story. References to trisilicate would seem to place it around the time of the Galactic Federation (although trisilicate is also mentioned in
The Price of Paradise
, set in the twenty-fourth century). This date coincides with the space piracy prevalent in
The Infinite Quest
.

[
1240
] Dating
The Infinite Quest
(
Totally Doctor Who
animated story) - Balthazar is “scourge of the galaxy and corsair King of Triton in the fortieth century”.

[
1241
] Dating
Sontarans: Conduct Unbecoming
(BBV audio #27) - Maria, a fugitive of Haigen V, says, “To think... I’m a sophisticated fortieth century woman, and I’m reduced to throwing rocks.” Later on, President Forrest claims that as prisoners, he and Maria should be treated according to the “Terran Treaty of 21,000”, which we can only assume can’t be a date.

[
1242
] “Seventy years” before
The Daleks:
“The Destroyers”. This seems to go against Cory’s claim in
The Daleks’ Master Plan
that the Daleks “haven’t been active in our galaxy for some time now”, although it’s debatable as to what exactly constitutes “active”, and whether Cory would be informed concerning (or think it relevant to mention) every minor Dalek incident.

[
1243
] “Two hundred years” before
Planet of the Ood
. That story is set during the time of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire, but these events seem to predate it. The Doctor says it’s an Empire “built on slavery”, so perhaps this is one of the first steps in that process. The Sense-Sphere is the home of the titular characters from
The Sensorites
.

[
1244
]
The Daleks’ Master Plan
, with the date of 3932 given in
Neverland
. The entity is referred to as “the Embodiment Gris” in
The Daleks’ Master Plan
, as “the Embodiment of Gris” in
The Dying Days
and
Neverland
.