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SERIES PLACEMENT

FOR UNIT, THIS SERIES

TAKES PLACE BETWEEN

THE TV EPISODES "LAST

OF THE TIME LORDS"

AND "THE SONTARAN

STRATAGEM", CIRCA

2008.
  
 

WRITTEN BY

SIMON GUERRIER (1)

IAIN McLAUGHLIN (2, 5)

CLAIRE BARTLETT (2, 5)

JONATHAN CLEMENTS (3)

JOSEPH LIDSTER (4)

 

DIRECTED BY

IAN FARRINGTON (1)

JASON HAIGH-ELLERY (2)

JOHN AINSWORTH (3)

EDWARD SALT (4, 5)

   

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Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2011

 

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

 

Continuity Corner

 

No date is given for the events of this series, but it is made explicit that they take place some time after 11th September 2001, the events of which are referenced more than once.

 

Furthermore, we can infer from how "the Brigadier" (now a General and Knight of the realm) is portrayed that he is almost certainly “pre-regeneration”, placing these events between his non-knighted appearances in The Shadow in the Glass and Minuet in Hell (set in 2001 and 2003, respectively) and Bernice’s wedding in 2010. This is compatible with the Brigadier’s wife, Doris, being reportedly alive and well here.

 

Additionally, UNIT is still heavily affiliated with the United Nations here – indeed, much of the season’s story pivots upon that association – which would mean that these events take place prior to The Sontaran Stratagem (set 2009), by which time UNIT had become the "Unified Intelligence Taskforce." This fits with Captain Winnington’s 1980s birth date and the public’s rising awareness of matters strange following the events on Downing Street in 2006, as depicted in Aliens of London / World War Three. The recurrent mentions of "Albion Hospital" (which appeared in a number of ninth Doctor stories) strengthens this feel.

 

As this series' ill-fated Prime Minister of Great Britain is male, but neither Harold Saxon nor Brian Green, then the events of this series most likely take place between Saxon’s (apparent) death in 2008 and Green’s election. 

 

Taking all of the above into account, the events of the UNIT audio series are best placed in or around 2008, after Harold Saxon’s fall but before the advent of the "Unified Intelligence Taskforce."

 

On a side note, Chaudhry and Hoffman had previously travelled with the sixth Doctor for a while prior to this series, as documented in a number of short stories published by Big Finish.

 

 

                                          THE UNIT DATING DOSSIER

 
                                          COMPILED BY
E.G. WOLVERSON

 

 

It was the production team’s original intention that the UNIT stories were to take place some time in the audience’s “near future.” Some contemporaneous publicity placed Spearhead from Space in the 1980s, and Sarah Jane even hinted that she might be from 1980 in Pyramids of Mars. Mawdryn Undead would forcefully retcon such a far-flung setting (as if the fashions on display hadn’t already), but to this day the question still burns – did the UNIT stories take place on or around their dates of broadcast, or some years later? Are you a David Bishop man, or a Gary Russell? A UNIT Revisionist, or Classicist? And how do you feel about sandwiches?

 

Much is made of prescient scenes such as the Brigadier’s conversation with a female Prime Minister in Terror of the Zygons (broadcast 1975), or even the prevailing political climate in serials such as The Mind of Evil and Day of the Daleks (broadcast in 1971 and 1972, respectively). In including such elements in their stories, the writers were patently trying to set their stories in a time yet to come, but still within touching distance, subtly suggesting that all these wonders and terrors were just around the corner. One might compare their approach to that of Russell T Davies in the revived series, or even the makers of the popular US thriller 24 (which is on all fours when looked at closely). Nevertheless, when trying to date the UNIT stories, these little touches don’t really carry any real evidential weight – different universe; different history; and, most palpably of all, more television channels.

 

Above: How it all began - the “London Event” of 1971, as depicted in The Web of Fear

 

To look at the television series as a starting point, as we must, only two dates appear to be fixed. The first is the “Shoreditch Incident” of 1963, as depicted in 1988’s Remembrance of the Daleks, which later stories would posit saw the seeds of UNIT sewn in Group Captain “Chunky” Gilmore’s Intrusion Counter-Measures Group. The second is Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart’s retirement from active service in 1976 and RSM Benton’s in 1979, as established in Peter Grimwades controversial 1983 serial Mawdryn Undead. A mutable third presents itself in The Web of Fear - no date is ever mentioned on screen, but if one takes the date for The Abominable Snowmen suggested in the dialogue (1935), takes into account the noted passage of more than forty years, and then does the maths, a late 1970s setting is revealed. The Invasion is explicitly set four years later. It doesnt take a Charles Babbage to work out that something is amiss.

 

The C-19 novels of the mid-1990s embody two very different takes on UNIT dating, which I shall use here to represent the two opposing sides of the argument. The “Classic” view was put forward by Gary Russell when writing his 1996 novel The Scales of Injustice. Russell opined that the events of The Web of Fear took place in 1971 (approximately three years after the serial’s broadcast), The Invasion in around 1975 (six years after its broadcast, as it was originally billed in the Radio Times, and as in accord with the earlier novel Iceberg) and Spearhead from Space in 1976 (around six years after its broadcast), with the rest of the Pertwee / Baker UNIT stories following over the next five or six years. This theory does not account for the dates given by Grimwade in Mawdryn Undead, and even fudged the dates suggested by The Web of Fear (though that storys dialogue did, admittedly, offer a little wiggle-room), but it did respect the original premise that UNIT stories were meant to be set in the near future.

 

Above: UNIT mop up after the Cyberman invasion of 1975, as depicted in The Invasion

 

David Bishop’s novel, Who Killed Kennedy, took a Revisionist or “Grimwade” approach, tying the UNIT stories and their forerunners to events in real-world history that occurred on or around the time of the serials’ original broadcast dates (the eponymous Kennedy assass-ination being something of a case in point). This approach provided for the Brig’s retirement as established in Mawdryn Undead, but put two fingers up to the idea that the UNIT stories werent contemporaneous. In fairness, Bishop included a cop-out bit of waffle at the book’s end to allowing the two views to be reconciled by those inclined to do so (something about the book’s narrator, James Stevens, possibly having his dates muddled), but this doesn’t really ring true, and was probably included as an in-joke as much as anything.

 

Televised stories after the “Blood and Thunder Days” are less troublesome to place. With its King and five pound pieces, Battlefield was demonstrably set several years after its date of transmission – 1997 seems to be the year generally favoured, as it was put forward by the serials author when he penned a New Adventures authors guide. Even the revived series’ UNIT episodes can be dated without undue difficulty, each taking place a year or so after its broadcast on the basis that just prior to his regeneration in The End of Time, the Doctor confirmed that he first met Rose in 2005, placing Aliens of London in 2006 and so on.

 

Above: The Blood and Thunder Days begin with Spearhead from Space - but in 1970, 1975, or 1976?

 

However, when we widen the canvas to include the innumerable stories told in the spin-off media, matters are made even more problematic as The Sontaran Stratagem has to be reconciled with the existing post-2009 UNIT stories; Eternity Weeps with The Death of the Doctor; Battlefield, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, The Shadow in the Glass, Minuet in Hell and Enemy of the Bane with The Three Companions; and The Dying Days with… well, everything else. It’s not impossible if one keeps an open mind (Liz Shaw escaping certain death on UNIT’s Moonbase, the Brig getting forgetful in his dotage, old soldiers doggedly referring to UNIT as the “United Nations Intelligence Taskforce” long after it’s changed its name…), but it certainly requires a keen suspension of disbelief.

 

Ironically, in attempting to stamp finite dates on the UNIT adventures, Russell, Bishop and particularly the iconoclastic Grimwade have only given rise to perpetual contradiction, as some authors inevitably favour Russell’s more romantic Classic approach, whilst others stick with Bishop’s simpler and grittier Revisionist one. Nowadays, the convention across the spin-off media appears to be to make vague references to the 1970s and hope for the best, but the Wilderness Years’ novelists were a law unto themselves (particularly Messrs Parkin, McIntee, Stone and Miles), and the current crop of television writers are nothing if not mischievous. Helen Raynor gifted the Doctor a cheeky line in The Sontaran Stratagem, and The Sarah Jane Adventures have done their best to add fuel to the fire, introducing a birth date for Sarah (circa 1951) that yields a date of 1973 / 1974 for Invasion of the Dinosaurs, in which she claims to be 23 years old - to date the most compelling evidence in support of  Revisionist theory.

 

 

SANDWICH THEORY

 

 

I have tried to come up with a simple explanation that contradicts as few stories as possible. If I apply Occam’s Razor to the available evidence, then I end up making a UNIT sandwich, with the Pertwee / Baker UNIT stories falling in the mid-1970s. This approach preserves the production team’s “near future” doctrine, at least for the most part, whilst still allowing for the cut-off date put forward in Mawdryn Undead and perpetuated in novels such as No Future.

 

To begin with, I must agree with Russell’s pragmatic placement for The Web of Fear (1971), and thus the date that he suggests for The Invasion (1975) too - with the important caveat that it’s very early 1975. Spearhead from Space could follow in fairly short order; perhaps a little earlier that Russell might opine, but not by much in the grand scheme of things.

 

“The service quickly expanded, making our presence felt in a golden period that

spanned the sixties, the seventies, and, some would say, the eighties.”

 

We are buoyed by the fact that the length of the Doctor’s employment with UNIT has never been resolutely determined. We know that, from his unique perspective, the Doctor was on the organisation’s payroll for the entirety of his third incarnation, but how much time passed for UNIT in the interim is another matter entirely. Indeed, as so succinctly demonstrated by Colony in Space’s bookends, the Doctor could disappear off into time and space, only to rematerialise a few seconds later from UNITs perspective. This effectively allows for years’ worth of TARDIS travel within a few seconds of UNIT time, allowing for Terror of the Zygons to be set just days after Robot, for instance.

 

Most people generally infer that around six years passed for UNIT between Spearhead from Space and The Seeds of Doom, broadly in line with the time that had passed for viewers, but this is difficult to reconcile with the Brigadier’s 1976 retirement established in Mawdryn Undead. Accordingly, I’m inclined to suggest that all of the UNIT stories between Spearhead from Space and The Seeds of Doom took place throughout 1975 and 1976, and Battle-field is dated to 1997 by authorial intent. This could also allow for The Ghost of N-Spaces explicit 1975 setting, depending on whether or not you want your 1975 incursions weekly (on a Friday, obviously, as per The Doll of Death) or fortnightly.

 

Above: UNIT in 1997, as seen in Battlefield. Consistency at last?

 

The evidence in support of this hypothesis is more explicit, and thus more persuasive, than any evidence against. The latter is comprised of a few hazy references in later adventures to earlier adventures taking place “years ago”, whereas Season 9’s bookending tales both explicitly take place in the month of September - potentially as little as four weeks apart. This would place Day of the Daleks, The Sea Devils and The Time Monster (and probably a couple of novels and / or audios too) in September 1975. Given their patent propinquity, this seems more likely than the suggestion that Day of the Daleks and The Time Monster sit a full year apart.

 

Even so, in order for this theory to even come closing to holding up, we’d have to swallow the premise that the Brigadier did not retire until very late in 1976; the events of Seasons 7 to 13 occurred within the space of two years, despite being broadcast over six (which is, admittedly, pushing it rather, even taking the condensed Season 9 into account); Sarah Jane lies (or, less likely, is mistaken) about her age in Invasion of the Dinosaurs; and her “1980” line in Pyramids is a just throwaway comment, perhaps even rounding up on her part.

 

I know what youre thinking. Surely it would be more plausible to shift The Invasion back to, say, 1972 or even 1973, and have the Pertwee-era stories take place over a longer period? After all, in conversation people often round up or down or even blatantly exaggerate, and as the 1971 date for The Web of Fear is a bit of fudge anyway, why not just give up and fudge The Invasion’s date too?

 

Above: Colonel Mace and his 2009 troops show the warriors of Sontar what they can do in The Poison Sky

 

Such an approach seems sensible, on the face of it, but it would lack the compatibility with Classic UNIT dating that “Sandwich Theory preserves. Besides, even when the tales are listed, inclusive of all the relevant novels and audio dramas that have been released to date, we are still looking at less than one incident every fortnight during 75 and 76. Even allowing for a gap of several months between The Invasion and Spearhead from Space at the start of 1975, that’s not much to keep the troops occupied. No wonder the third Doctor got so fed up before his exile was lifted – he must have been sat twiddling his thumbs half of the time.

 

In my view then, “Sandwich Theory is the lesser of three evils. It may be full of as many holes as a Swiss Cheese, but thats still fewer than either of the alternatives. Whatever theory you choose to accept, there will always be some piece of evidence that doesnt quite fit with it, but with this theory such evidence is all borne of Sarah Jane-based conjecture, which isnt quite as significant as, say, the date of the Brigs retirement or the formation of UNIT. Some will of course argue that the point is moot - as my good friend Chris McKeon will tell you, in the minds of a lot of fans the UNIT stories have become wed to their broadcast dates and, in many cases, fond childhood memories too. I fear that no matter how well-reasoned or logical anyone’s arguments, there may be no shaking that.

 

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2011

 

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

 

SANDWICH THEORY IN PRACTICE

(STORIES RELEASED 1963 - 2010)

 

 

1963

REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS

 

1971

THE WEB OF FEAR

 

1975 / 1976

THE INVASION
SPEARHEAD
FROM SPACE

DOCTOR WHO AND THE SILURIANS

OLD SOLDIERS

SHADOW OF THE PAST

THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH

INFERNO

THE EYE OF THE GIANT

THE BLUE TOOTH

THE SCALES OF INJUSTICE

THE DEVIL GOBLINS FROM NEPTUNE

TERROR OF THE AUTONS
DEADLY
REUNION

THE MIND OF EVIL
THE CLAWS OF AXOS

THE DÆMONS

THE DOLL OF DEATH
THE MAGICIAN'S OATH

DAY OF THE DALEKS

THE FACE OF THE ENEMY
WHO KILLED KENNEDY (FINAL SCENES)

THE SEA DEVILS
FIND AND REPLACE

THE TIME MONSTER

VERDIGRIS

THE THREE DOCTORS

THE WAGES OF SIN (UNIT SCENES)

DANCING THE CODE
LAST
OF THE GADERENE

RAGS

THE GREEN DEATH

THE THREE COMPANIONS: THE BRIGADIER'S STORY

DEEP BLUE

THE TIME WARRIOR (UNIT SCENES)

THE PARADISE OF DEATH
INVASION
OF THE DINOSAURS

THE GHOSTS OF N-SPACE

ISLAND OF DEATH
PLANET
OF THE SPIDERS

ROBOT

THE KILLING STONE

TERROR OF THE ZYGONS

THE ANDROID INVASION

THE SEEDS OF DOOM

NO FUTURE

 

1977

MAWDRYN UNDEAD (1977 SCENES)

 

1980

THE FIRES OF VULCAN (UNIT SCENES)

 

1983

MAWDRYN UNDEAD (1983 SCENES)

 

1989

BUSINESS UNUSUAL

 

1995

DOWNTIME

 

1997

BATTLEFIELD

THE DYING DAYS

 

1999

THE KING OF TERROR

 

2000

THE SPECTRE OF LANYON MOOR

 

2001

THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS

 

2002

HEAD GAMES

 

2003

MINUET IN HELL

 

2004

THE ALGEBRA OF ICE

 

2006

ALIENS OF LONDON / WORLD WAR THREE
THE CHRISTMAS INVASION

 

2007

THE WARKEEPER'S CROWN

 

2008

TIME'S CHAMPION

THE SOUND OF DRUMS

UNIT: THE COUP

UNIT: TIME HEALS
UNIT: SNAKE HEAD

UNIT: LONGEST NIGHT

UNIT: THE WASTING

 

2009

THE SONTARAN STRATAGEM / THE POISON SKY

THE STOLEN EARTH / JOURNEY'S END

THE THREE COMPANIONS: BREWSTER'S STORY

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES: ENEMY OF THE BANE

HORNETS' NEST (CONTEMPORARY SCENES)

 

2010

PLANET OF THE DEAD

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES: THE DEATH OF THE DOCTOR

HAPPY ENDINGS

DEMON QUEST (CONTEMPORARY SCENES)

 

2012

THE SHADOWS OF AVALON

 

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