20th century London

20th century London was an era in the history of London; while the capitol was generally "a target for all manner of invasion and attacks from outer space", the 20th century in particular had had a "troubled" 20th century. (PROSE: Twentieth-Century London)

For a time, the era was home to the First Doctor and his granddaughter, Susan. (TV: ) It was also home to a number of the Doctor's friends and allies, including Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, (TV: An Unearthly Child) Sarah Jane Smith (TV: The Hand of Fear) and Ace. (TV: Dragonfire)

Overview
20th century London covered a period in the city from the end of the Victorian era (PROSE: A History of Humankind) to the Y2K bug and the start of the new millennium. (PROSE: Millennium Shock)

The invention and widespread adoption of the aeroplane, (PROSE: The Dying Days) led to the construction of Heathrow Airport. (TV: Time-Flight) New technologies, such as radios (TV: Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror) and later televisions, (PROSE: The Wheel of Ice) brought new corporations such as the BBC. Alexandra Palace at Muswell Hill was the main production and transmission centre of the BBC for more than twenty years. (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac)

World War II led to the London Blitz. (TV: The Empty Child) The government arranged the evacuation of many children and teachers from towns and cities, including London, when war broke out in September 1939. When the Blitz began in 1940, (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac) Britain, including the city of London, implemented a "blackout". Blackout rules stated that all windows were to be covered, rooms were to be left in darkness, and no headlights were to be used, or torches or cigarettes lit in the open air. The illumination of the Big Ben was also switched off. Between 7 September 1940 (PROSE: A History of Humankind) and 10 May 1941, (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac) the Luftwaffe targeted major towns and cities throughout Britain, including London. (PROSE: A History of Humankind) On the first night alone, London was attacked by 348 German bombers escorted by 617 fighters, and 448 people were killed. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac) The worst raid occurred on 29 December 1940, when bombing caused a firestorm to rip through the city in what became known as the Second Great Fire of London. (PROSE: A History of Humankind) Much of London was destroyed in the Blitz, including areas such as Cheapside (PROSE: The Time Travellers) and Paternoster Row. (PROSE: A History of Humankind)

The end of the Second World War brought a period of celebration. Thousands of people gathered in Trafalgar Square to celebrate VE Day. (PROSE: Magic of the Angels) In the following decades, London hosted a series of high-profile events, including the 1948 Olympics, (PROSE: Extra Time) the Coronation of Elizabeth II, (TV: The Idiot's Lantern) and the 1966 World Cup Final. (COMIC: They Think It's All Over; PROSE: Extra Time)

Alien incursions included the Shoreditch Incident (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks) and the London Event. (PROSE: Downtime)

Government
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Economy
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Culture
During the Blitz, many of the people of London attempted to carry on as normal. Some would spend evenings in nightclubs and drinking dens, watching singers and entertainers, dancing and mixing with locally stationed troops. When the sirens sounded, lights were extinguished and everyone moved to the nearest shelters. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac)

The Eleventh Doctor considered 1960s London, specifically 1963, to be "the coolest place in the galaxy". As reasons why, he went on to list the Kinks, Sean Connery as James Bond, the Beatles' first two albums, and Mary Quant. (GAME: City of the Daleks)

Transport
It was typical to travel by car. (TV: "An Unearthly Child") Types of car included Volkswagen. (PROSE: The Edge of Destruction)

The London Underground was active through this century. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War, TV: The Web of Fear, PROSE: Unexploded WWII Bomb Warnings) Stations during this century included Goodge Street, (TV: The Web of Fear) White City, (TV: The Chase, PROSE: The Time Travellers) and Tower Hill. (COMIC: Secret of the Tower) During World War II, London tube stations were used by the public for protection from the London Blitz. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac)

Notable residents
Some accounts suggested that Dodo Chaplet, (PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask) and Polly Wright lived in London (PROSE: The Murder Game; TV: The War Machines) though other accounts disputed this. (PROSE: Salvation; AUDIO: The Incherton Incident, PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People)

Rose Tyler was born in the city, (TV: The Doctor Dances) to parents Jackie and Pete Tyler, and grew up in a flat on the Powell Estate. (TV: Father's Day, TV: Utopia) Cleo Proctor also grew up on the Powell Estate under the deadname of Jayden. (AUDIO: Lost) Mickey Smith grew up in a house nearby. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen, PROSE: Rose) Martha Jones grew up on the outskirts of the city. (PROSE: Peacemaker) Donna Noble grew up in Chiswick. (TV: Planet of the Ood) Adelaide Brooke was born in Finchley. (TV: The Waters of Mars)

Geography
London had been divided into boroughs by 1987. The London Borough of Southwark included the Powell Estate, (TV: Father's Day) along with the surrounding area of Peckham, (COMIC: Silver Scream, PROSE: Downtime: Child of the New World, AUDIO: Ghosts) or Kennington. (PROSE: Rose Tyler)

London landmarks built during this century included Wembley Stadium, (PROSE:  The Clockwise Man, Extra Time) Post Office Tower, (TV: The War Machines) the Thames Flood Barrier, (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac) Canary Wharf, (PROSE: Verdigris, COMIC: Imaginary Enemies) including One Canada Square, (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac, AUDIO: Locker 15) and the London Eye. (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac)

1900s
In 1900, the First Doctor and Susan Foreman fought the Soul Pirates in London. (PROSE: A Big Hand for the Doctor)

In July 1900, the First Doctor, Steven Taylor and Vicki Pallister fought the time fungus in 10 Downing Street in London. (AUDIO: Upstairs)

In 1903, Mnemosyne's master was killed by the people of London. Mnemosyne hid in the London Underground until 2009. (COMIC: Ghosts of the Northern Line)

In the same year, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn visited London. (AUDIO: Jubilee)

On 25 June 1906, Edward Grainger was born. (PROSE: Prologue)

In 1909, Bernice Summerfield was temporarily separated from the Seventh Doctor and Ace in London, where she met Muldwych. (PROSE: Birthright) In the same year, Margaret Waterfield was murdered by thugs in the service of Jared Khan. (PROSE: Prelude Birthright)

1910s
In 1910, the Fourth Doctor visited London. (PROSE: In Case of Emergencies) The same was true of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory. (PROSE: Paradox Lost)

In December 1911, the Third Doctor met Edward Grainger. (PROSE: Echoes)

In 1912, the First Doctor, Steven and Vicki fought the Suffering in London. (AUDIO: The Suffering)

In November 1918, the Eighth Doctor and Molly O'Sullivan fought the Viyrans in London. (AUDIO: The White Room)

1920s
In October 1924, the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler fought Shade Vassily. (PROSE: The Clockwise Man)

In 1929, the Fourth Doctor and Romana I visited London. (AUDIO: The Auntie Matter)

1930s
On 4 October 1930, the airship R101 left London, supposedly bound for Karachi in India. Aboard were two stowaways: the Eighth Doctor and Charlotte Pollard. (AUDIO: Storm Warning)

On 24 October 1930, the Fourth Doctor fought Kappa 12 in London. (PROSE: The Northern Heights)

In 1930, the Fourth Doctor and Romana II visited London. (PROSE: The English Way of Death)

In 1933, the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot met the gentleman thief Lucas Seyton. (PROSE: Fallen Angel)

On 25 December 1935, the Seventh Doctor and Melanie Bush visited London. (PROSE: 24 Crawford Street)

In 1935, the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard visited London. (AUDIO: Enemy Aliens)

On 25 April 1936, the Fifth Doctor and Peri attended the FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Sheffield United in Wembley Stadium in London. (PROSE: The Church of Football)

In November 1936, Charley Pollard was briefly reunited with her parents Lord Richard and Lady Louisa Pollard in London before being recaptured by the Viyrans and returned to the Ever-and-Ever Prolixity in the far future. (AUDIO: The Fall of the House of Pollard)

In 1936, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory fought Kriemhilde Steiner in London. (COMIC: The Eagle of the Reich)

In 1937, the Fourth Doctor and Romana I visited London. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)

On 12 October 1938, the Eighth Doctor visited a Euston Road bookshop in London. (PROSE: Time Zero)

1940s
In 1940 and 1941, the Blitz saw London bombed nearly every night. (TV: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances, The Lazarus Experiment, Victory of the Daleks) The Empty Child plague occurred during 1941. (TV: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances)

The Thirteenth Doctor borrowed two zeppelins to use as balloons for Yasmin Khan's birthday. (PROSE: Dr. Thirteenth)

At 8:47 p.m. on 12 October 1940, the New Regency Theatre, which had been owned and operated by the late Henry Gordon Jago during the 1890s, was destroyed in the Blitz, as was the hotel next to it. (AUDIO: Swan Song)

On 17 October 1940, the Eleventh Doctor and Rory Williams visited London during the Blitz, where they saved Ian Fleming from a bomb and became the inspiration for James Bond. (COMIC: The Doctor and the Nurse)

In November 1940, the Seventh Doctor and Ace fought the Cybermen in London. (PROSE: Illegal Alien)

In 1941, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy were summoned to the Cabinet War Rooms in London by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Doctor discovered Daleks working for Churchill. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)

On 8 May 1945, the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War II was marked by VE Day. A major celebration took place in Trafalgar Square in London. (PROSE: Magic of the Angels) The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex were present in London for the celebrations. (AUDIO: Casualties of War)

In 1948, the Olympic Games were held in London. They were not hosted there again until 2012. The Doctor enjoyed it so much that he went to it twice. (TV: Fear Her)

1950s
In 1950, Stephanie and James Wilton found Mr Rees' skeleton and music box, in which he placed his mind, at the bottom of his well in London. (AUDIO: The Reesinger Process)

In 1951, Honoré Lechasseur visited London. (PROSE: The Albino's Dancer)

From May until at least August 1951, the Festival of Britain was held in London. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus; TV: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith) In May, the Seventh Doctor and Ace visited the Festival after defeating the Timewyrm. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) On the same day, the Eighth Doctor visited the Festival and saw his younger self and his former companion. However, as he was suffering from amnesia at the time, he failed to recognise them. (PROSE: Endgame)

In an alternate timeline in which Germany won World War II, the Festival of Britain was a celebration of ten years of Nazi victory. The Seventh Doctor and Ace visited this version of the Festival, where they realised that history had been altered, and went to work preventing this timeline. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)

In 1951, the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble fought Edna Wilberforce in London. (COMIC: The Lavender Hill Blob)

On 7 December 1952, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn visited London. (AUDIO: The Nowhere Place)

In 1953, Londoners with televisions supplied by Mr Magpie had their faces stolen by the Wire, which used television transmissions to spread. It attempted to transmit itself to the whole country of Britain using the BBC's Alexandra Palace transmitter. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern)

In 1954, Barbara Wright was a student teacher in Cricklewood in London, living in a rented room. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)

In 1959, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory visited London. (COMIC: The Upper Deck)

At an undated point time in this decade, a race of anemone changelings tried to take over the city by creating duplicates of people and infiltrating amongst the human race. Their attempt was thwarted by the First Doctor, Steven Taylor and Sara Kingdom with the help of a Jamaican immigrant, Michael Newman. (AUDIO: An Ordinary Life)

1960s
In 1960, the Third Doctor and Jo Grant marched from Aldermaston to London. (PROSE: Come Friendly Bombs...)

In March 1963, the TARDIS materialised in the junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane, owned by I.M. Foreman, in the Shoreditch area of London, disguised incongruously as a police box. While the First Doctor attempted repairs and worked out a plan for safely disposing of the Hand of Omega on Earth, his granddaughter Susan Foreman registered at the nearby Coal Hill School against his wishes. Britain, meanwhile, was in the grip of an unusual cold wave. (PROSE: Time and Relative)

In an alternate timeline on 31 October 1963, the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa visited London and saw the Common Men arrive back in the United Kingdom. (AUDIO: 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men)

In November 1963, the Shoreditch Incident saw Daleks fighting with one another in London. The Imperial Dalek faction eventually defeated the Renegade Daleks. The Seventh Doctor used the Hand of Omega to overload the Imperial Dalek mothership after it recoiled from Skaro's destruction. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)

On 23 November 1963, the Fourth Doctor and K9 Mark II returned to Totter's Lane to retrieve a Heshrax insect which he had been tracking the day that he left. While there, they met Debbie, Susan's best friend from Coal Hill School. (PROSE: Those Left Behind)

In 1963, the Seventh Doctor again visited London and met his first incarnation. (PROSE: Echoes of Future Past)

The Eleventh Doctor told Amy that London was the coolest place in the universe in 1963 due to the Beatles, Sean Connery as James Bond, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Mary Quant, John Steed and Cathy Gale. (GAME: City of the Daleks)

That year, the Doctor and Amy stumbled upon an alternate timeline when they found London in ruins following a Dalek invasion, witnessing the extermination of Sylvia, the last known human survivor. Learning that the New Dalek Paradigm had began to blatantly change history after acquiring the Eye of Time, the Doctor and Amy returned to the ruins of Skaro at a point just before the Paradigm occupied the planet. There, they released the Eye of Time and restored the natural timeline, ensuring that Sylvia was now alive and well. (GAME: City of the Daleks)

In January 1964, the Eleventh Doctor visited Parliament Hill in London. (COMIC: The Door to a Winter Long Ago)

In October 1964, an aeroplane which left New York City with a crew of eleven and hundreds of passengers landed in London with no one aboard, not even the pilot. The matter was investigated by Professor Rachel Jensen of the Intrusion Counter-Measures Group. (AUDIO: State of Emergency)

In 1965, the First Doctor's TARDIS materialised in Wimbledon Common, London so Steven Taylor could go on with his own life. He came across Dodo Chaplet, who said she had witnessed a road accident. (TV: The Massacre)

On 26 June 1965, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright arrived back in London aboard the Dalek time machine, which they set to self-destruct soon after. Boarding a bus, they contemplated how they would pick up their previous, "normal" lives again, having arrived two years after joining the First Doctor on his travels. (TV: The Chase) The Doctor gave them an envelope of British notes and coins which included a twenty pence coin from 1982. (PROSE: The Time Travellers)

On 20 July 1966, WOTAN, located at the top of the Post Office Tower, attempted a takeover of Earth with mind control and its robots, the War Machines. The War Machines were based in a London warehouse where hypnotised workers assembled them. The First Doctor was able to defeat WOTAN and hence, the War Machines. (TV: The War Machines) This was covered in the newspaper Daily Reflection. (TV: The Faceless Ones)

On 24 December 1966, the Eighth Doctor had a conference with the Home Secretary Sir Clive Reeves in Whitehall, London. (PROSE: For the Man Who Has Everything)

In 1967, the Tenth Doctor, Heather McCrimmon and Wolfgang Ryter fought the Va in London. (COMIC: Shadow of the Vaipid)

In 1967, Robin Yeadon visited London for the first time. (AUDIO: Nightshade)

On 21 February 1968, the Sixth Doctor left Jago and Litefoot in the Red Tavern in London, mistakenly believing that it was the 1890s. (AUDIO: Voyage to the New World)

In 1968, the London police announced that they would be scrapping all police boxes. (PROSE: The Nameless City)

On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed an impromptu concert on the roof of the Apple Records building on Abbey Road in London. Ace prevented the killing of John Lennon during this concert. Huitzilin had hoped to feed upon the psychic energy released by the violence. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird) The Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones attempted to witness the concert but ended up in 1669 instead. (COMIC: Black Death White Life)

On 18 May 1969, the Eighth Doctor, Sam Jones and Fitz Kreiner visited Wembley Stadium in London. (PROSE: Revolution Man)

In 1969, the Second Doctor and Victoria Waterfield encountered a robot in the form of the latter's father Edward Waterfield. (PROSE: Father Figure)

Also in 1969, the Second Doctor, John and Gillian fought the Zagbors in London. (COMIC: The Zombies)

In the same year, the Second Doctor, shortly before his regeneration, fought animated scarecrows. (COMIC: The Night Walkers)

Late 20th century
Under the control of the Great Intelligence, Robot Yeti invaded London. The city was evacuated and the London Underground saw pitched battles between UNIT and the Yeti. With the Second Doctor's help, the attack was repelled. (TV: The Web of Fear)

Following this, London was invaded by Cybermen with the assistance of Tobias Vaughn. (TV: The Invasion) After their defeat, some Cybermen still survived in the London sewers and carried out occasional cyber-conversions until 1985. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen, Dalek)

A Silurian virus began to spread throughout the city after a group unrelated to Vastra were awoken in a cave system. UNIT managed to cure the outbreak with help from the Third Doctor. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians)

London was evacuated as a result of Operation Golden Age. (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs)


 * The exact timeframe of the events between the Yeti attack and Operation Golden Age is up for interpretation, though they're estimated to have begun some time after the mid-1960s. See the UNIT dating controversy page for more details.

1970s
In 1970, Christine Summerfield and Chris Cwej visited London. (PROSE: Dead Romance)

Also in 1970, the Second Doctor, John and Gillian fought the Cybermen in London. (COMIC: Cyber-Mole)

In February 1971, the Seventh Doctor met the one-year-old Ace and her mother Audrey Dudman in East Acton in London. (PROSE: Ace of Hearts)

In an alternate timeline in 1972, the Eighth Doctor encountered the Daleks in the Ides Scientific Institute. (AUDIO: Fugitives)

In 1972, Iris Wildthyme and Panda visited London. (AUDIO: The Land of Wonder)

In 1973, the Third Doctor, Sarah Jane and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart fought Remoraxian Prime and the Remoraxians in London. (COMIC: In With the Tide)

In the same year, the Third Doctor and Jo Grant fought in London. (PROSE: The Spear of Destiny)

In 1974, the Tenth Doctor and Martha visited London. (COMIC: Agent Provocateur)

In 1975, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan visited London. (PROSE: The Sands of Time)

In 1976, Big Ben was destroyed by bombing. (PROSE: No Future) The clock tower had been rebuilt by 2005. (TV: Rose)

On 12 October 1979, the Eighth Doctor visited the BBC Television Centre in London in a parallel universe in which his reality existed only as fiction. The actor Tom Baker - who played the Fourth Doctor - fended off Beep the Meep by infuriating him with his endless rambling. The Eighth Doctor realised the truth when he found himself with the first issue of Doctor Who Weekly. (COMIC: TV Action!)

1980s
In 1982, the Seventh Doctor and Ace visited London. (PROSE: Relative Dementias)

In 1983, Ace burnt down Gabriel Chase, a mansion in Perivale. (TV: Ghost Light)

With the TARDIS caught inside a time corridor, the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough arrived in London in 1984, where they encountered canisters of Movellan virus and duplicates of humans created by the Daleks. They travelled across the corridor to meet the Daleks and their creator Davros in the future. After witnessing a huge amount of bloodshed in the early days of the Dalek Civil War, Tegan departed from the TARDIS in this year. Commander Lytton escaped from the future alive with his two police guards. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks)

In the summer of 1984, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy encountered the Kin in London. (PROSE: Nothing O'Clock)

In 1985, Lytton contacted the Cybermen in the London sewers. The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown, searching for a distress signal, were ambushed by the Cybermen, apparently aided by Lytton, and the Doctor was forced to pilot his TARDIS to Telos. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

In January 1986, the Sixth Doctor and Peri visited London. (PROSE: Time Wake)

In 1987, the Seventh Doctor, Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej battled an N-Form in London. (PROSE: Damaged Goods)

Also in 1987, Ace was transported by a time storm created by Fenric from Perivale to Iceworld on Svartos in the far future. (TV: Dragonfire, The Curse of Fenric) Fenric later took her back in time to the day that she was transported to Iceworld in an attempt to convince her to prevent her younger self from leaving. (AUDIO: Gods and Monsters)

In 1988, the Sixth Doctor, Jason and Crystal fought the Daleks and the Cybermen in London. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)

In 1989, a number of young people in Perivale disappeared mysteriously. This was due to in league with the Cheetah People. (TV: Survival)

In July 1989, the Sixth Doctor met Melanie Bush for the first time in her personal timeline. (PROSE: Business Unusual)

1990s
At 6:00pm on 27 September 1990, Elizabeth Klein met with her assistant Will Arrowsmith in the Huntsman Pub in London to talk about possibly moving him out of field work and into office work at UNIT. The Seventh Doctor then arrived and forced Klein on a trip to Germany in May 1945. Will, disobeying her orders to stay away, accidentally ended up stowing away in the TARDIS and joining them. (AUDIO: Persuasion)

On 24 December 1990, the Sixth Doctor met Linda Grainger in London. (PROSE: She Won't Be Home)

In 1990, the Seventh Doctor was reunited with his former companion Sarah Jane Smith in London. (COMIC: Train-Flight)

In 1992, the Seventh Doctor fought the Gantacs and Yaga in London. (COMIC: Invaders from Gantac!) In the same year, he also fought the Benanki in the city. (PROSE: Testament)

In 1993, the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Bernice Summerfield arrived in a ruined London of an alternate timeline created by the Black Guardian, where the First Doctor never left Gallifrey and became Lord President. They found themselves in the midst of a battle between numerous species fighting over the Earth. This timeline was negated when the Doctor retrieved the Key to Time. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)

By 1994, P.R.O.B.E. was based at Ashley House in London. (HOMEVID: The Zero Imperative)

On 25 December 1995, the Seventh Doctor and Mel visited London. (PROSE: 24 Crawford Street)

In August 1996, the Eighth Doctor and Fitz fought Faction Paradox and the Remote in London. (PROSE: Interference - Book One, Interference - Book Two)

On 6 May 1997, London was invaded by the Ice Warriors. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

Before the First Doctor and Susan Foreman settled down in Shoreditch in 1963, they took a brief trip to St Albans on 17 December 1997 to ensure that the United Kingdom would remain safe during and after the 1960s. Unbeknownst to either of them, the Fourth Doctor, Romana II and K9 Mark II were in the vicinity on the same day. (PROSE: The Little Things)

In 1997, the Eleventh Doctor and Clara visited London. (COMIC: Wintervention)

In 1998, the Eighth Doctor and Sam Jones fought the Khameirians in London. (PROSE: Option Lock)

In the same year, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane met their former companion Harry Sullivan in London and fought the Voracians in London. (PROSE: System Shock)

In 1999, the city faced near oblivion with the return of the Mandragora Helix. By this point, the city had reclaimed the name of 'swinging London', having not held the name for thirty years. (COMIC: The Mark of Mandragora)

On 31 December 1999, London participated in the worldwide millennium celebrations which were covered on British television. (TV: Fragments) On this day, the Sixth Doctor and Mel visited London. (PROSE: Millennial Rites) Meanwhile, the Fourth Doctor met Harry in London and they once again fought the Voracians. (PROSE: Millennium Shock)