Dating protocol

Due to the various temporal discrepancies in the 1970s and 1980s, a dating protocol was created by the United Nations for their files. It was established in January 1990 at a secret meeting in Geneva between Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Charles Crichton, and Amara Essy, (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"]) following an encounter between the Doctor and a displaced time traveller. (AUDIO: The Web of Time ^[+]Loading...["The Web of Time (audio story)"])

According to one account, the after-effects of a temporal shockwave which caused the 1960s to coincide with the 1970s continued to create inconsistent chronology for nearby time travellers after the Seventh Doctor dealt with the disturbance. He remarked that he'd always wondered how someone could have retired in the 1970s after having worked in the 1980s, and theorised that these after-effects were to blame. (AUDIO: The Split Infinitive ^[+]Loading...["The Split Infinitive (audio story)"]) Another account, maintained by the Accord, claimed the Doctor himself was to blame, having caused the damage with his frequent visits to this time period in his faulty TARDIS. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])

Events covered by the protocol[[edit] | [edit source]]

A number of events were filed as occurring at two different equally valid dates during the years covered by the protocol:

• The Great Intelligence's invasion of London (TV: The Web of Fear ^[+]Loading...["The Web of Fear (TV story)"]) occurred in February 1969 and March 1975. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])
• The Cyberman invasion, (TV: The Invasion ^[+]Loading...["The Invasion (TV story)"]) Black Thursday, (TV: Spearhead from Space ^[+]Loading...["Spearhead from Space (TV story)"]) the Wenley Moor Affair (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians ^[+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)"]) and the Mars Probe 7 incident (TV: The Ambassadors of Death ^[+]Loading...["The Ambassadors of Death (TV story)"]) occurred in 1973 and 1979. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])
• The Eastchester drilling project (TV: Inferno ^[+]Loading...["Inferno (TV story)"]) took place in July, 1974 and 1980. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])
• The mass kidnapping of scientists (TV: The Time Warrior ^[+]Loading...["The Time Warrior (TV story)"]) and the dinosaur invasion of London (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs ^[+]Loading...["Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)"]) occurred in 1974 and 1979. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart retired from UNIT in both 1976 (TV: Mawdryn Undead ^[+]Loading...["Mawdryn Undead (TV story)"]) and 1981. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

The United Nations dating protocol is a reference to the UNIT dating controversy, a source of interest and argument among writers and fans.