Theory:Timeline - UNIT

This page lists appearances of UNIT 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.

Note that the placing of UNIT stories is especially complicated due to the UNIT dating controversy.

Origin

 * TV: The Invasion

Liz Shaw

 * TV: Spearhead from Space
 * COMIC: The Arkwood Experiments
 * COMIC: The Multi-Mobile
 * COMIC: Insect
 * TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians
 * PROSE: The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back
 * The outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians is still fresh on the Doctor's mind.


 * AUDIO: Old Soldiers
 * Tentative placement in regards to the "recent" falling out between the Doctor and Brigadier over the Silurians.


 * AUDIO: Vengeance of the Stones
 * The Doctor has had Bessie for a relatively short period of time. RAF Lieutenant Mike Yates is asked to join UNIT, with a promotion from lieutenant to captain.


 * AUDIO: Shadow of the Past
 * The Silurians occurred a few weeks earlier.


 * TV: The Ambassadors of Death
 * PROSE: UNIT Christmas Parties: First Christmas
 * Liz has been working with UNIT for "a few months", and her complaints about her job here are similar to those that the Brigadier cites as her reason for leaving. The TARDIS console has also been removed from within the ship, as it was in The Ambassadors of Death.


 * AUDIO: Walls of Confinement
 * This is the second time the Doctor has visited a zoo, setting this after The Arkwood Experiments.


 * PROSE: Prelude White Darkness
 * The Brigadier finds it doubtful that the Doctor can get the TARDIS to work, setting this before Inferno.


 * TV: Inferno
 * AUDIO: The Last Post
 * The Last Post spans from Spearhead to just before Inferno.


 * PROSE: Ashes of the Inferno
 * COMIC: The Fishmen of Carpantha
 * COMIC: Doctor Who and the Rocks from Venus
 * PROSE: The Science of Magic
 * PROSE: The Eye of the Giant
 * Mike Yates arrives at UNIT and sees inside the TARDIS for the first time, and the Doctor mentions visiting the parallel universe from Inferno.


 * AUDIO: The Blue Tooth
 * Liz decides to leave UNIT.


 * AUDIO: Binary
 * Liz announces her intention to leave UNIT.


 * PROSE: The Scales of Injustice
 * Liz officially leaves UNIT, Yates is promoted to Captain Rank, and the Doctor is in a new laboratory.


 * PROSE: Prisoners of the Sun
 * Liz has recently left UNIT.


 * AUDIO: The Rings of Ikiria
 * COMIC: Castaway
 * COMIC: Levitation
 * PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune
 * Liz is called back to UNIT, and has been absent long enough for the Doctor to admit missing her company.


 * PROSE: Reconnaissance
 * After Prisoners of the Sun as the Master is active, unbeknown to the Brigadier.

Jo Grant

 * TV: Terror of the Autons
 * TV: The Mind of Evil
 * AUDIO: The Doll of Death
 * Jo is still quite new to UNIT, and is unaware of the true nature of the TARDIS, setting it before The Claws of Axos.


 * PROSE: Deadly Reunion (part 2)
 * The Master has a working TARDIS, placing this after The Mind of Evil.


 * PROSE: UNIT Christmas Parties: Christmas Truce
 * No one has seen the Master since Deadly Reunion.


 * TV: The Claws of Axos
 * AUDIO: The Mega
 * The Mega were aided by the Master. The events of The Claws of Axos are referred to.


 * TV: Colony in Space
 * TV: The Dæmons
 * PROSE: Freedom
 * Set soon after The Dæmons.


 * AUDIO: Degrees of Truth
 * Set immediately after The Dæmons.


 * AUDIO: The Magician's Oath
 * TV: Day of the Daleks
 * PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy
 * PROSE: The Face of the Enemy
 * This is concurrent with The Curse of Peladon.


 * PROSE: Harvest of Time
 * c. 1972-1982 - TV: The Sea Devils
 * Rough dating from the Twelfth Doctor. (COMIC: Clara Oswald and the School of Death)


 * PROSE: The Eight Doctors
 * For the Third Doctor, this takes place immediately after The Sea Devils, but before Find and Replace.


 * AUDIO: Find and Replace
 * AUDIO: Prisoners of the Lake
 * PROSE: Rags
 * Jo recalls the Daleks and Ogrons, which places this firmly after Day of the Daleks. Likewise, the Doctor confesses that sheep have never filled him with dread before, placing this before Verdigris.


 * TV: The Time Monster
 * PROSE: Verdigris
 * TV: The Three Doctors
 * AUDIO: The Scorchies
 * AUDIO: The Many Deaths of Jo Grant
 * PROSE: Last of the Gaderene
 * The takes place before the Green Death


 * TV: The Green Death
 * AUDIO: Council of War
 * Takes place soon after The Green Death.

The Brig encounters the Fifth Doctor while the Third is having a break from UNIT.
 * PROSE: Deep Blue
 * PROSE: Faithful Friends: Part 1
 * The Third Doctor returns from his Sabbatical from UNIT.

Sarah Jane Smith

 * TV: The Time Warrior
 * AUDIO: The Paradise of Death
 * 1974-1979 - TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs
 * Conflicting dates provided by UNIT's dating protocol. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time)


 * COMIC: Prisoners of Time
 * The Doctor is driving the "Whomobile", setting this after Invasion of the Dinosaurs.


 * AUDIO: The Ghosts of N-Space
 * PROSE: Island of Death
 * The Doctor senses that he will soon regenerate.


 * PROSE: An Overture Too Early
 * TV: Planet of the Spiders
 * As witnessed by the Brigadier and Sarah Jane, the Doctor regenerates into his next incarnation.

The Later Years

 * TV: Robot
 * Follows Planet of the Spiders. The Fourth Doctor leaves with Sarah Jane and Harry Sullivan.


 * PROSE: Wolfsbane


 * TV: Terror of the Zygons


 * COMIC: Official Secrets


 * 1976 - PROSE: No Future
 * The Seventh Doctor implants the idea of the Brigadier retiring.


 * 1979 - AUDIO: The Oseidon Adventure


 * 1980 - AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan


 * TV: The Five Doctors


 * 1984 - COMIC: The Fires Down Below


 * 1984 - AUDIO: The Helliax Rift


 * 12 December 1985 - COMIC: Skywatch-7


 * 198X - AUDIO: The Architects of History
 * Klein recognises the Doctor, but only based on the fact he arrived in his TARDIS. She indicates that it's two years since he worked for UNIT.


 * 198X - AUDIO: Dominion
 * Since the Seventh Doctor visited Klein in The Architects of History, he has been keeping an eye on her, causing Klein to think that he's stalking her. The Brigadier has retired, and Klein says she was promoted to Scientific advisor "a few years back" after the Fourth Doctor retired from UNIT.


 * 1 January 1990 - PROSE: The Enfolded Time


 * 27 September 1990 - AUDIO: Persuasion


 * 1992 - AUDIO: Hour of the Cybermen


 * 1994 - AUDIO: Warlock's Cross


 * 1995 - HOMEVID: Downtime


 * 1997 - TV: Battlefield


 * PROSE: UNITed We Fall


 * 1997 - PROSE: The Dying Days

2000s

 * 2001 - AUDIO: Animal


 * 2003 - TV: Fragments
 * Five years prior to her death in 2008, Toshiko Sato is arrested by UNIT but freed by Jack Harkness, who offers her a place at Torchwood Three.


 * AUDIO: The Coup
 * AUDIO: Time Heals
 * AUDIO: Snake Head
 * AUDIO: The Longest Night
 * AUDIO: The Wasting


 * c. March 2006 - TV: Aliens of London/World War Three
 * The Ninth Doctor identifies a group of alien experts from the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce.


 * Christmas 2006 - TV: The Christmas Invasion


 * c. June 2008 - TV: The Sound of Drums
 * First contact with the Toclafane is hosted on the UNIT aircraft carrier Valiant, designed by Harold Saxon.


 * c. June 2008 - TV: Last of the Time Lords
 * UNIT command radio the Valiant after the President of the United States is assassinated.


 * c. September 2008 - TV: Revenge of the Slitheen (mentioned only)
 * Sarah Jane Smith arranges for UNIT to clean up Coldfire Construction after defeating the Slitheen.


 * c. March 2009 - TV: The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky
 * UNIT is now known as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce.


 * c. April 2009 - TV: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End


 * Easter 2009 - TV: Planet of the Dead


 * 2009: The Three Companions


 * September 2009 - TV: Children of Earth: Day One / Day Three / Day Four / / Day Five


 * 2009 - TV: Enemy of the Bane


 * December 2009 - TV: The End of Time

Science Leads

 * 4 May 2010 - GAME: Blood of the Cybermen (mentioned only)
 * Having defeated a Cyberman incursion in the Arctic, the Eleventh Doctor predicts that UNIT will clean up.


 * 2010 - COMIC: The Golden Ones


 * 2010 - TV: Death of the Doctor


 * 2011 - AUDIO: Tales from the Vault
 * Captain Matheson tells Warrant Office Sato about the Terravore incursion in the London Underground in 2010.


 * 2011 - TV: The Blood Line (mentioned only)
 * As noted by Jack Harkness, UNIT seals off the Blessing after "the Miracle" is negated.


 * August 2012 - AUDIO: The Hexford Invasion / Survivors in Space


 * TV: The Power of Three
 * Kate Stewart meets the Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, for the first time. The Brigadier has already passed away, setting this after December 2011.


 * 2013 - TV: The Bells of Saint John


 * 2013 - AUDIO: Mastermind
 * Charlie Sato refers to the Thames Mead Massacre in London in 2012.

Shindi's injury

 * AUDIO: Vanguard
 * AUDIO: Earthfall
 * AUDIO: Bridgehead
 * AUDIO: Armageddon
 * According to Big Finish, Extinction is between The Power of Three and The Day of the Doctor. Josh Carter is a new recruit in Vanguard, placing this definitively as the start of the UTNS timeline. Shindi is injured fighting the Autons.


 * AUDIO: Power Cell
 * Osgood imagines the Eleventh Doctor visiting the Tower of London after allowing her mind to wander while showing Jay the thought projector, however it is left unclear as to whether or not she has met him.


 * AUDIO: Death in Geneva
 * Osgood recalls fighting Autons in the Gobi Desert, setting this after UNIT: Extinction.


 * AUDIO: The Battle of the Tower
 * Atkins is guarding the Black Archive.


 * AUDIO: Ice Station Alpha
 * The Antarctic winter won't end for another three weeks, setting this around August.


 * AUDIO: House of Silents
 * Shindi has recovered from his injury but is still using a wheelchair. Kate is doing extra weapons training following her encounter with Cerberus in UNIT: Shutdown. Shindi mentions that Osgood was away in Antarctica while he was recovering from his injury.


 * AUDIO: Square One
 * AUDIO: Silent Majority
 * Set one month after Square One.


 * AUDIO: In Memory Alone
 * In Memory Alone is set several months after the end of Silent Majority. Sam Bishop claims that "Osgoods can't be duplicated", setting this before The Day of the Doctor. Shindi is no longer using a wheelchair.

Fighting the Silurians

 * AUDIO: Call to Arms
 * Osgood believes that meeting Three Doctors at once would be a once in a lifetime experience, setting this before The Day of the Doctor.


 * AUDIO: Tidal Wave


 * AUDIO: Retrieval


 * AUDIO: United

Dealing With the Auctioneers

 * AUDIO: The Dalek Transaction
 * Jacqui McGee is now an established ally to UNIT, following the events of In Memory Alone. UNIT learn that a group known as the Auctioneers are selling alien technology on the black market.


 * 31 October - AUDIO: Invocation
 * Invocation occurs during Halloween.


 * AUDIO: The Sontaran Project


 * AUDIO: False Negative


 * AUDIO: Game Theory
 * The events of Encounters are recent and Shindi makes reference to the Shakri cubes.


 * AUDIO: Telepresence


 * AUDIO: Code Silver


 * AUDIO: Master of Worlds
 * Colonel Shindi is unfamiliar with the sight of flying Cybermen, while Osgood is thrilled to have survived meeting The Master, suggesting this takes place before Death in Heaven. The Master leaves UNIT with a parting gift, leading directly into Host of the Wirrn.


 * AUDIO: Hosts of the Wirrn
 * The Master's parting gift is revealed to be a Wirrn egg, which he took from the Auctioneers.


 * AUDIO: Breach of Trust


 * AUDIO: Open the Box


 * AUDIO: It Takes a Thief
 * Lady Christina de Souza catches the attention of UNIT and Sam Bishop is sent to investigate her.


 * AUDIO: Skin Deep
 * After being called by Lady Christina de Souza, Sam Bishop cleans up after the Amber.


 * AUDIO: Portrait of a Lady
 * Sam is leading the clean-up operation following the events of The Sontaran Project and refers to the fall of the Auctioneers, setting this after Cyber-Reality


 * AUDIO: Death on the Mile
 * Sam Bishop recalls his previous encounter with Lady Christina in Portrait of a Lady. Sam and Jacqui McGee are familiar with one another.

Further threats

 * AUDIO: This Sleep of Death
 * Osgood mentions the Sontaran incident, setting this after The Sontaran Project. The year is given as "20 odd years" after 1999, setting this story sometime around 2019.


 * AUDIO: Tempest
 * Sam mentions that they have survived Daleks and Cybermen, setting this after both Encounters and Cyber-Reality.


 * AUDIO: The Power of River Song
 * UNIT knows little about River Song and Kate Stewart meets her for the first time, setting this before Day of the Doctor where UNIT know more about River and possess a picture of Kate and River together. Upon arriving in the past, Osgood notes that none of the car number plates go beyond 1973. She also mentions that she is "40-odd years" in the past, setting this story around 2013. However Kate also mentions that 2091 is 70 years in the future suggesting a 2021 setting. River says that 2091 is "nearly 80 years" in the future, and Osgood also mentions this, indicating an early 2010s setting.


 * AUDIO: The Sacrifice of Jo Grant
 * Osgood and Jo are close friends, setting this after UNIT: Assembled.

The Two Osgoods

 * c. 2013 - TV: The Day of the Doctor
 * Osgood and Kate meet the Eleventh Doctor as well as the War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor. Preventing the discovery of a Zygon incursion from erupting into war, the three Doctors force UNIT and the Zygons to make a truce which will become Operation Double. Befriending her Zygon copy, there are now two Osgoods. According to the novelisation, Atkins was killed by the Zygon Kate Stewart.


 * 2014 - COMIC: The Fractures
 * Set in 2014. Osgood is away investigating a UFO sighting, but has recently started wearing bow ties instead of her scarf and has yet to meet the Twelfth Doctor.


 * 2014 - AUDIO: The Screaming Skull


 * 2014 - AUDIO: Second Sight


 * c. 2014 - TV: Death in Heaven
 * Kate has her first encounter with the Twelfth Doctor and Missy, the latter of whom murders the Zygon Osgood.


 * Summer 2015 - COMIC: The Hyperion Empire
 * The Doctor claims they have arrived in Summer 2015. Authorial intent places this between Last Christmas and The Magician's Apprentice


 * c. September 2015 - TV: The Magician's Apprentice


 * c.September 2015 - TV: The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Invasion
 * By this point, Kate is more than comfortable wielding a gun. The Zygon group Truth or Consequences attempt to break the ceasefire until the Twelfth Doctor convinces them to stand down. Their leader, Bonnie, joins and assumes the form of the surviving Osgood, who still refuses to disclose whether or not she is herself human or Zygon until the time comes when it does not matter.


 * September 2015 - COMIC: Clara Oswald and the School of Death
 * Two Osgoods are present, placing this after the events of The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Invasion


 * COMIC: Robo Rampage
 * Set after The Zygon Inversion.


 * 8 March 201X - AUDIO: Narcissus
 * Jacqui McGee recalls The Silence. UNIT has already lost one Osgood. The Zygon Osgood labels herself as replaceable whereas the other Osgood isn't, indicating that the first Zygon Osgood was the one killed in Death in Heaven.


 * 18-24 October 2016 - PROSE: Yes, Missy


 * c. 2016 - TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio


 * c. 2017 - COMIC: The Lost Dimension
 * Kate and Osgood meet the Doctor, now based at St Luke's University with companions Nardole and Bill Potts.


 * c. 2017 - COMIC: Tulpa
 * Kate is familiar with Bill Potts, placing this after The Lost Dimension.

Uncertain Future

 * 1 January 2019 - TV: Resolution (mentioned only)
 * UNIT has had their funding temporarily suspended.


 * 2020 - TV: Spyfall (mentioned only)
 * The Thirteenth Doctor believes UNIT to be gone.


 * 23 April 2026 - AUDIO: Project: Destiny
 * Although they don't appear, UNIT are called in to help deal with the fallout of the Contaminants.


 * 23 April 2026 - AUDIO: A Death in the Family


 * 2027-2028 - AUDIO: A Death in the Family

Post-21st century

 * 2119 - TV: Under the Lake/Before the Flood (mentioned only)

Unplaced

 * AUDIO: The Valley of Death
 * AUDIO: The Screaming Skull
 * HOMEVID: Wartime
 * AUDIO: Primord
 * The Doctor and Liz last met in Sentinels of the New Dawn. Jo and Liz meet for the first time.


 * AUDIO: The Scream of Ghosts
 * AUDIO: The Sacrifice of Jo Grant
 * Set in 1972, during Jo's first year at UNIT.