Theory:Timeline - Torchwood

This page lists appearances of the Torchwood Institute and Torchwood Three in chronological order. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories. From these observations we have attempted to build a concise timeline. It is assumed that for each novel, comic, audio or television series, their published, broadcast or numbered order is the order they occur in.

Limiting factors
Any story with Gwen, Ianto, Owen and Tosh must be after TV: Everything Changes and before TV: End of Days or after TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and before TV: Exit Wounds. Any story where Owen is dead, but still mobile must be set after TV: Dead Man Walking and before TV: Exit Wounds. Any story where Gwen is married to Rhys must be after TV: Something Borrowed. Any story with Gwen and Ianto must be after TV: Exit Wounds and before TV: Children of Earth: Day One.

Overview
The adventures of Torchwood Three and the related Torchwood team in America that was formed after the destruction of the Hub can be categorised as these original to Torchwood television lineups:


 * Jack Harkness, Gwen, Owen, Ianto and Tosh in Torchwood Three
 * Jack Harkness, Gwen and Ianto in Torchwood Three
 * Jack Harkness, Gwen, Ianto and associate Rhys Williams following the Torchwood Hub's destruction
 * Jack Harkness, Gwen, Rex Matheson and Esther Drummond as part of a new team codenamed Torchwood

1879
Victoria founds the Torchwood Institute.
 * TV: Tooth and Claw

1899

 * TV: Fragments (flashback with Alice and Emily)
 * Set in the late 19th century.


 * PROSE: Consequences: The Baby Farmers
 * Features Alice and Emily after Jack joined their team.


 * AUDIO: The Victorian Age

1901

 * TV: Exit Wounds (flashback with Alice and Charles finding future Jack)

1909

 * TV: Small Worlds (flashback)

1927

 * TV: Immortal Sins (flashback)

1940

 * AUDIO: The Dying Room

1941

 * COMIC: Overture

1950s

 * AUDIO: Goodbye Piccadilly

1965

 * TV: Children of Earth: Day Four (flashback)

1970s

 * AUDIO: The Dollhouse

1987

 * PROSE: Damaged Goods / AUDIO: Damaged Goods

1999

 * TV: Fragments (Alex Hopkins flashback)

2004

 * TV: Fragments (Toshiko Sato flashback)

2005

 * AUDIO: Blind Summit (flashback)
 * AUDIO: One Rule
 * AUDIO: New Girl
 * AUDIO: Through the Ruins
 * AUDIO: Uprising
 * AUDIO: The Law Machines
 * AUDIO: Blind Summit (framing narrative)
 * AUDIO: 9 to 5

2006

 * TV: Fragments (Owen Harper flashback)


 * TV: Aliens of London
 * Toshiko Sato covers for Owen Harper during his second week of work and performs an alien autopsy.


 * AUDIO: Moving Target
 * Suzie's alive, set during 29th November.


 * TV: The Christmas Invasion

2007

 * AUDIO: Infamy of the Zaross
 * TV: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday
 * TV: Fragments - Ianto Jones flashback
 * After the fall of Torchwood One.


 * TV: Everything Changes
 * Gwen is recruited.


 * TV: Day One
 * Gwen's first day on the job.


 * TV: Ghost Machine
 * Gwen is still inexperienced with weapons. Set 66 years after 1941.


 * PROSE: Another Life
 * Rhys mentions a co-worker called Lucy who has been on a diet recently, foreshadowing Slow Decay.


 * PROSE: Border Princes
 * Set in October 2007.


 * PROSE: Slow Decay
 * Ianto keeps something secret in the hub.


 * TV: Cyberwoman


 * AUDIO: Broken
 * Ianto first enters the ferret the night after Lisa dies. A few days later Jack takes Ianto out to hunt Weevils. Later when Ianto returns to the Ferret, he is given advice by Mandy. Jack is contacted by Estelle Cole shortly after and takes Gwen with him instead of Ianto.


 * TV: Small Worlds


 * AUDIO: Broken
 * Jack and Ianto fight Scorchies at the Millennium Centre. Ianto opens up to Jack about his life before the battle of Canary Wharf and how the loss of Lisa has affected him. This leads to him being invited on a mission to the brecon beacons for a few days, leading into Countrycide.


 * TV: Countrycide


 * AUDIO: Broken
 * Horrified by what he witnessed in Countrycide, Ianto attempts suicide before being talked down by Mandy. He returns to work the following day.


 * TV: Greeks Bearing Gifts


 * AUDIO: Broken
 * Ianto visits the Ferret on the night that Jack killed Mary. Jack enters the Ferret on the same night investigating rift activity.


 * AUDIO: Instant Karma
 * Tosh has recently discovered what her friends really think of her and recently had a bad relationship, setting this shortly after Greeks Bearing Gifts.


 * TV: They Keep Killing Suzie
 * Set three months after Everything Changes.


 * TV: Random Shoes
 * Set 14 years after 1992, can be attributed to rounding.


 * TV: Out of Time
 * Captain Jack Harkness places this story in the week ending December 24th.


 * TV: Combat
 * Owen is visibly upset by the events of Out of Time in this story. He calls off his affair with Gwen.

2008

 * COMIC: The Return of the Vostok
 * Set in March.


 * TV: Captain Jack Harkness
 * TV: End of Days
 * Continues where Captain Jack Harkness left off. Jack disappears from Torchwood.


 * TV: Utopia
 * Set immediately after End of Days.


 * TV: The Sound of Drums
 * Set immediately after Utopia.


 * PROSE: Consequences: Kaleidoscope
 * Set shortly after End Of Days with the team arguing over who will take charge in Jack's absence.

The Year That Never Was

 * TV: Last of the Time Lords
 * The Sound of Drums is said to be 18 months after Harriet Jones' demise which was in December 2006, setting this circa June or July 2008.

2008

 * TV: Kiss, Kiss, Bang Bang
 * Gwen has started taking charge more in Jack's absence, in comparison to Captain Jack Harkness, where Owen was said to be second-in-command. Gwen is now engaged to Rhys.


 * TV: Sleeper


 * TV: To the Last Man
 * Occurs on Friday 20th of June, 114 years after 1894.


 * PROSE: Something in the Water
 * Tosh recalls To the Last Man but Rhys does not yet know about Torchwood.


 * PROSE: Trace Memory
 * Set in 2008. To the Last Man is referenced and Rhys does not appear to be aware of Torchwood.


 * AUDIO: Hidden


 * AUDIO: Everyone Says Hello
 * Set between Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Reset.


 * AUDIO: The Conspiracy
 * Jack has left Torchwood before.


 * AUDIO: Fall to Earth
 * Jack is currently missing.


 * AUDIO: Uncanny Valley
 * Jack decides to return to Torchwood Three.


 * AUDIO: Zone 10
 * Neil Redmond was investigated by the KVI, setting this shortly after Uncanny Valley. Toshiko is working on the Time lock.


 * AUDIO: torchwood_cascade_CDRIP.tor
 * Set after Zone 10 but months before Exit Wounds.


 * TV: Meat


 * PROSE: The Twilight Streets
 * Set between Meat and Adam.


 * AUDIO: In the Shadows
 * Jack gives Gwen two plane tickets to Paris, setting this shortly before Adam.


 * TV: Adam
 * Gwen has just returned from a trip to Paris with Rhys.


 * TV: Reset


 * TV: Dead Man Walking
 * Continues where Reset left off. Owen is resurrected, but with no lifesigns.


 * TV: A Day in the Death
 * Set three days after Reset.


 * AUDIO: Corpse Day


 * PROSE: Pack Animals
 * Set in November. After Owen's undeath but before Gwen's wedding.


 * TV: Something Borrowed
 * Gwen and Rhys get married.


 * PROSE: Plant Life
 * Set during the first day after Gwen’s return from honeymoon.


 * PROSE: Skypoint
 * Set in September. Gwen and Rhys have just returned from their honeymoon. Toshiko is working on the Time lock. Gwen has been with Torchwood for roughly a year.


 * AUDIO: Believe
 * Gwen mentions the Nostrovite, placing this story after Something Borrowed.


 * TV: From Out of the Rain


 * TV: Adrift

2009

 * PROSE: Monster
 * Set in 2009, before Exit Wounds.


 * TV: Fragments
 * TV: Exit Wounds
 * Continues where Fragments left off. Owen and Tosh die.


 * AUDIO: Lost Souls
 * Martha meets Jack for the first time since Owen and Tosh's funeral. Set September 10th 2008.


 * PROSE: Almost Perfect


 * PROSE: Who by Fire


 * PROSE: Gordian


 * PROSE: The Man Who Dreamed of Stars


 * PROSE: Closing Time


 * PROSE: Stakes on a Plane


 * PROSE: I May Be Some Time


 * PROSE: They Keep Killing Andy


 * PROSE: Flotsam and Jetsam


 * PROSE: Happy New Year


 * PROSE: Photo Finish


 * PROSE: Bay of the Dead


 * PROSE: Into the Silence


 * PROSE: The House That Jack Built


 * TV: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End


 * AUDIO: In the Shadows (introduction)
 * Gwen attempts to send a message to Owen and Tosh in the afterlife. She recalls the Dalek Invasion and Torchwood Three's trip to CERN.


 * AUDIO: The Sin Eaters
 * The door to the Hub is still damaged from the Dalek attack. Torchwood Three have a boat called the Sea Queen. It is destroyed by the end of the story.


 * AUDIO: Asylum


 * AUDIO: Golden Age


 * AUDIO: The Dead Line


 * PROSE: The Last Voyage of Osiris
 * Preview to Risk Assessment.


 * PROSE: Risk Assessment
 * Torchwood Three have replaced the Sea Queen with the Sea Queen II.


 * PROSE: The Undertaker's Gift


 * PROSE: Consequences: The Wrong Hands


 * PROSE: Consequences: Virus


 * PROSE: Consequences: Consequences
 * Nina Rogers recalls the Dalek Invasion.


 * PROSE: Postcards from the Rift


 * PROSE: Reflections


 * PROSE: Rare Earth


 * PROSE: The Package


 * PROSE: Ashes to Ashes


 * PROSE: Rift-Raff


 * PROSE: Lockdown


 * PROSE: Everything's True


 * PROSE: The Secret of Crow Island


 * PROSE: Red-Handed


 * PROSE: Cultural Firsts
 * Ianto has done Opera, setting this after Into the Silence.


 * PROSE: The Mind's Eye


 * PROSE: We All Go Through


 * AUDIO: Department X


 * AUDIO: Ghost Train


 * AUDIO: The Devil and Miss Carew
 * AUDIO: Submission


 * AUDIO: Outbreak
 * Norton Folgate is aware that Ianto will die soon.


 * TV: Children of Earth: Day One


 * TV: Children of Earth: Day Two


 * TV: Children of Earth: Day Three


 * TV: Children of Earth: Day Four


 * TV: Children of Earth: Day Five


 * COMIC: Shrouded
 * Jack and Gwen attend Ianto's funeral.


 * PROSE: Long Time Dead
 * Sequel to Children of Earth and prequel to Miracle Day.

2010

 * AUDIO: The House of the Dead


 * TV: Children of Earth: Day Five (epilogue)
 * In March 2010, six months after the 456 incident, Jack leaves Earth.


 * COMIC: Overture
 * Jack is in a bar on the planet Zog.


 * TV: The End of Time
 * Jack briefly encounters the Doctor in the Zaggit Zagoo bar on the planet Zog. He is introduced to Alonso Frame.


 * AUDIO: One Enchanted Evening
 * Set immediately after The End of Time.


 * PROSE: First Born
 * Begins around March 2010 with Gwen seven months pregnant, and continues through to about May the same year, with the birth of Anwen Williams.


 * PROSE: The Men Who Sold the World
 * Prequel to The New World. Set nine months after Children of Earth.

2011

 * TV: The New World
 * Jack returns to Earth.


 * TV: Rendition
 * Jack and Gwen are taken to America. According to the date on Rex's phone, it is 22 March 2011.


 * TV: Dead of Night
 * TV: Escape to LA
 * TV: The Categories of Life
 * TV: The Middle Men
 * TV: Immortal Sins
 * TV: End of the Road
 * Jack and Gwen return to the UK, along with Esther after End of the Road. The New World through End of the Road flow into one another.


 * TV: The Gathering
 * Takes place a two months after End of the Road.


 * TV: The Blood Line
 * Continues where The Gathering left off. Esther's funeral takes place a few weeks after the main story. According to a date on Rex's phone, it is September 2011.


 * AUDIO: Army of One
 * Gwen and Rhys are still in America following Miracle Day. Gwen gives Sarah Drummond a small fortune.


 * AUDIO: Fallout
 * Gwen and Rhys are still in America.


 * AUDIO: Red Skies
 * Jack visits Cotter Paluni's World and has a vision of Gwen dying.


 * AUDIO: Mr Invincible
 * Set shortly after Red Skies with Jack returning to Cardiff to check on Gwen following his vision. Gwen and Rhys have returned to Swansea. The events of Fallout were weeks ago.


 * PROSE: Exodus Code
 * The Miracle ended a few months ago. Andy recalls the events of Fallout while Gwen and Rhys still live in Swansea. Jack joins the crew of the Ice Maiden.

2016

 * AUDIO: Forgotten Lives
 * Gwen hasn’t seen Jack for five years.


 * AUDIO: More Than This
 * 10 years have passed since Day One, but Torchwood has been forgotten in the space of four years.


 * AUDIO: Ghost Mission
 * Set in 2016. Almost 10 years have passed since Gwen Cooper joined Torchwood and she has recently started trying to set up operations in Cardiff again.


 * AUDIO: Made You Look
 * Set on a Sunday in winter. Gwen and Rhys have a place to store aliens, suggesting that they now have use of the Hub.


 * AUDIO: We Always Get Out Alive

2017

 * COMIC: World Without End
 * Gwen is acting-head of Torchwood Three, while Jack is serving with the crew of the Ice Maiden. Ending leads directly into Station Zero.


 * COMIC: Station Zero
 * Ending leads directly into The Culling.


 * COMIC: The Culling
 * Jack and Gwen part ways once again after defeating the Vervoids.


 * AUDIO: Changes Everything
 * Having been "dumped" by the crew of the Ice Maiden, Jack has returned to duty at Torchwood Cardiff.


 * AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy


 * AUDIO: Orr


 * AUDIO: Superiority Complex


 * AUDIO: Visiting Hours
 * Set between Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy and Love Rat.


 * AUDIO: Love Rat
 * AUDIO: A Kill to a View
 * AUDIO: Zero Hour
 * AUDIO: The Empty Hand
 * AUDIO: Poker Face
 * AUDIO: Tagged
 * AUDIO: Escape Room
 * AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn
 * AUDIO: Cardiff Unknown
 * Set a few weeks after Herald of The Dawn and Brent Hayden is still around, setting this before The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood.


 * AUDIO: Future Pain
 * AUDIO: The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood
 * AUDIO: See No Evil
 * AUDIO: Night Watch
 * AUDIO: Flight 405

2018

 * AUDIO: Hostile Environment
 * AUDIO: Another Man's Shoes
 * The Empty Hand took place the previous year.


 * AUDIO: Eye of the Storm

Far Future

 * AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive

Unplaced

 * PROSE: Harm's Way
 * Set between Meat and Fragments.


 * PROSE: Black Water
 * PROSE: Mrs Acres
 * PROSE: The Beauty of Our Weapons
 * PROSE: The Book of Jahi
 * PROSE: Mend Me
 * Set between Meat and Fragments as Rhys knows about Torchwood but Tosh and Owen are still alive.


 * PROSE: Unplugged
 * Before Fragments.


 * PROSE: Requiem
 * Before Fragments.


 * COMIC: The Legacy of Torchwood One!
 * COMIC: Jetsam
 * COMIC: Rift War!
 * COMIC: Captain Jack and the Selkie
 * COMIC: Broken
 * COMIC: Fated to Pretend
 * COMIC: Shrouded
 * COMIC: Somebody Else's Problem: A Gwen Cooper Story
 * COMIC: Hell House
 * TV: Web of Lies
 * AUDIO: Army of One (Flashback)
 * Set between Meat and Fragments.


 * AUDIO: The Office of Never Was
 * AUDIO: The Death of Captain Jack
 * AUDIO: The Last Beacon
 * The events of Cyberwoman are recent and Ianto is in a relationship with Jack.