The Year That Never Was The Year That Never Was was a year which , due to the destruction of the paradox machine , never occurred for a majority of the population of Earth , but was remembered by a few people on the " Valiant " . During this time , beginning in approximately Spring 2008 to 2009 and lasting exactly one year and one day , the Master , with the assistance of the Toclafane , ruled over Earth . However , once the year was erased from history , everything was restored to how it was , the Master failing in his efforts . Overview . Background . , then calling himself Harold Saxon , won the upcoming general election and became Prime Minister of Great Britain and self - proclaimed ruler of the Earth , following the downfall of Harriet Jones . He had , by this time , converted the Doctor ' s TARDIS into a paradox machine in order to alter history . ( TV : " The Sound of Drums " ) The beginning . After the Master ordered the Toclafane to remove one tenth of the Earth ' s population , ( TV : " The Sound of Drums " ) Martha Jones travelled around London and started to tell people of the Tenth Doctor as part of his master plan . She rescued a little girl known as Aleesha and then travelled to Europe and met a man known as Mathieu Vivier . ( PROSE : " The Story of Martha " ) Martha also met a man in Turkey known as Brigadier Erik Calvin , the son of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge - Stewart . Eventually she went to spread the message to Japan but the Toclafane attacked , killing everyone there . Only Martha escaped the country . ( PROSE : " The Story of Martha " ) Occupation of Earth . From his mobile base , the " Valiant " , the Master launched the Toclafane invasion . The Master had enslaved the human race with the intention of using them to build weapons in preparation for war against the rest of the universe . The Master wished to turn Earth into New Gallifrey and create a new empire stretching across the universe , lasting " one hundred trillion years " . ( TV : " The Sound of Drums " / " Last of the Time Lords " ) The Master imposed a dictatorial and despotic regime upon the Earth with himself at the head of it . The people suffered severe over - crowding , often with many families crammed into a single house , and economic and technological regress occurred massively in the neglected urban centres . One citizen claimed that London was " full of wild dogs " by night . A huge amount of human lives were lost over the course of the year . Television and any notable technology was shut down , and entirely replaced with the Archangel Network . It was implied by Professor Alison Docherty that at some point a military response to the invasion was attempted , but the Toclafane descended . The Master also carved his face into Mount Rushmore , and ordered statues of himself to be built across the world to enforce his regime . The effects on Earth were so great that the planet was closed to the wider universe , and the planet was designated to be unsafe to approach . During the Master ' s time he was known to have frozen the River Nile , poisoned the Caspian Sea , ( PROSE : " The Story of Martha " ) built fusion mills in China , created radiation pits in Europe , ( TV : " Last of the Time Lords " ) burned the islands of Japan to the ground in retaliation for the Drast meddling and ruined New York City . ( PROSE : " The Story of Martha " ) Resistance . The leader of the resistance was Martha Jones , who became renowned among the human race for travelling across the world and evading capture by the Master . One of her more notable escapes was her escape from Japan , being the only person ever to do so . She had escaped the " Valiant " using a vortex manipulator given to her by Jack Harkness and witnessed the slaughter of one tenth of the population of Earth . Many legends developed around Martha Jones and the purpose for her travelling the world . The most common belief held by people was that she travelled across the world in search of a weapon . Another belief held by the people was that Martha Jones was the only one who could kill the Master . Members of the resistance included Thomas Milligan and Professor Alison Docherty , the latter betraying Martha to the Master in return for information about her son . A small resistance also existed on the Master ' s headquarters , the " Valiant " , headed by the Doctor . Members of this resistance included Francine Jones , Clive Jones , Tish Jones and Jack Harkness . ( TV : " Last of the Time Lords " ) Eve of war . The Eve of War was the day before the Master planned to go to war against the rest of the universe . He chose this day to transmit a warning to Martha . He used his laser screwdriver to age the Doctor ' s body to his actual age of 900 years . ( TV : " Last of the Time Lords " ) End of the year . A revolt on the " Valiant " and the destruction of the paradox machine by Jack Harkness reversed time to just before the Toclafane ' s arrival on Earth . Everyone on the " Valiant " retained their memory of the year while the rest of the human race had no memory of the events under the Master ' s reign . ( TV : " The Last of the Time Lords " )