Earth

**Earth**, also known as **the Earth** and **Planet Earth**, is a planet in the solar system whose native sapient species were primarily the human race and the Silurians, though they were by no means the only intelligent species to develop there. The twin planet of Mondas, it was the third planet from its sun and therefore also known as **Sol III**, though mainly to extraterrestrial cultures.

## Astronomical Data

### Location

Earth was located at Galactic Coordinates [684484|58044 684484] (TV: *The Pirate Planet*) in Sector 8023 Of The Third Quadrent. (TV: *Logopolis*) It was the third Planet in the solar System. It was later shifted two lightyears from its position by the Time Lords and renamed Ravolox Circa 2,000,000 AD. (TV: *The Mysterious Planet*, *The Ultimate Foe*)

### Moon(s)

For all of Earth's history there was only one Moon which orbited the planet. (TV: *The Moonbase*)

### Geology

Earth was one of the few sources of Quartz in the galaxy. (TV: *The Pirate Planet*) and was also rich in Silicon and Carbon. (TV: *Four to Doomsday*)

Carbon Dioxide was vital to Earth's lower atmosphere. (TV: *The Ice Warriors*)

As the Third Doctor noted with the invention of the Motor Car came a change in the atmosphere. (TV: *Colony in Space*)

### Geography

Earth's surface changed considerably over the course of it's long history, owing to it's seismic activity. When native life first appeared on the planet for example, what later became the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was a vast rocky wasteland. (TV: *City of Death*)

## Indigenous species

Several sapient and semi-sapient species evolved on Earth, though the most important and influential ones were the humans and Earth Reptiles, known as Silurians. (TV: *Love and War*)

### Flora and Fauna

The Fourth Doctor stated that Earth was the only planet in its galaxy where oak trees grew. (TV: *The Android Invasion*)

## History

### Early History

#### Before life

Around 3 Billion BC The Sentience became trapped in the Earth as it formed. (TV: *Nightshade*)

#### Creation of Life

Native life eventually developed due to the explosion of a Jagaroh Spaceship circa 400 Million BC. (TV: *City of Death*)

#### Dinosaurs, Silurians, Sea Devils and Lampsi

Various species of saurian creatures dominated the planet until circa 65 million BC when a freighter from 2526 time-warped to this period and exploded in the upper atmosphere. The resulting clouds of dirt and smoke obscured the sun, lowering the temperature and causing mass extinctions. (TV: *Earthshock*)

Reptilian Silurians (TV: *Doctor Who and the Silurians*) and Sea Devils (TV: *The Sea Devils*) were also active and were the dominant species on Earth, as were the humanoid Lampsi. (TV: *The Living Light*)

The reign of the Silurians and Sea Devils came to a final end when the small planet (later known as Earth's primary satellite, the Moon) entered Earth's orbit. (TV: *Doctor Who and the Silurians*) At the same time, the Lampsi left their humanoid forms and became creatures of pure light, before abandoning the Earth. (TV: *The Living Light*) Amanda Powell described the trajectory of the planet the astronomers had predicted as a "crash course". (TV: *Beneath the Earth*) The reptiles went into suspended animation until the atmosphere returned. Because the atmosphere never went away, they stayed in hibernation for millions of years. (TV: *Doctor Who and the Silurians*)

Apes, regarded by the reptiles as pests, eventually evolved into the species known as humans, given a substantial jolt forward when the Fendahl Core arrived in Africa circa 12 million BC. (TV: *Image of the Fendahl*)

### Human Age

#### The Rise of Human Civilisation

Human civilisation evolved quickly, assisted (either accidentally or directly) by the Dæmons, (TV: *The Dæmons*) the various temporal fragments of Scaroth, (TV: *City of Death*) the predatory nature imparted to humans by the Fendahl, (TV: *Image of the Fendahl*) Scaroth claimed responsibility for the inventions of fire and the wheel; (TV: *City of Death*) The Osirans apparently had an influence on Earth around 5000 BC, inspiring many aspects of Ancient Egypt and imprisoning one of their number, Sutekh, in Egypt. (TV: *Pyramids of Mars*) The Third Doctor said that the Dæmons helped *Homo sapiens* "kick out" Neanderthalman. He mentioned the Greek civilisation, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and various myths, gods and devils including Khnum and the Horned Beast as being inspired by the Dæmons. (TV: *The Dæmons*)

For "a half a million years", humanity systematically killed one another in conflicts. (TV: *The War Games*) Human beings' predatory and aggressive nature was evident in the many conflicts which humans fought amongst themselves throughout much of their early history, such as during the siege of Troy, the Dark Ages and the American War of Independence. (TV: *The Mark of the Rani*) Other conflicts, including World War I, the English Civil War, the American Civil War, the Mexican Civil War, the Crimean War, the Boer War, the Russo-Japanese War, the Thirty Years' War and the Peninsular War were also exploited by the War Lords, who kidnapped human soldiers from these various conflicts in Earth history for use in their war games. (TV: *The War Games*)

#### 20th and 21st centuries

The conflicts known as the World War I and World War II and the Cold War would be particularly significant in the 20th century. The development of Nuclear weapons increased international tensions in the late 20th century even more. In the 1980s nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States seemed imminent. This threat was somewhat alleviated when the great powers entrusted their nuclear launch codes to the United Kingdom for safe-keeping (TV: *Robot*), and again when the planet came under the rule of the World Zone Authority in the early 21st century. (TV: *The Enemy of the World*)

Scaroth was killed in 1979. (TV: *City of Death*)

The space race, partially inspired by the Silence, (TV: *Day of the Moon*) was of great significance: while Earth had been visited by aliens many times throughout its history, the launching of space probes made such visits more frequent, as *Homo sapiens* began drawing attention to themselves. (TV: *Spearhead from Space*) These visits also tended to be more openly hostile. Earth was saved from conquest or outright annihilation often only through the intercession of the Doctor or the secret organisation The Pyramid. An attack by the Great Intelligence would finally force the Earth's governments to agree on a unified response to aliens: the United Nations body known as UNIT. (TV: *The Web of Fear*, *The Invasion*) Despite this increase in invasions, a number of aliens that arrived were benevolent.

The governments of Earth, as well as the Doctor, UNIT and The Pyramid tried to keep these invasions a secret. UNIT was officially a counter-terrorist group and had several incidents explained as terrorism and accidents, though this caused political scandals throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. (TV: *Pilot*) while The Pyramid used mind-wiping drugs to cover up some incidents. (TV: *The Red Death*) The Seventh Doctor would remark that these cover-ups were helped by the fact humans didn't *want* to notice, and were performing self-deception on themselves. (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*)

In the early 21st century, starting with the attack on Cardiff by The Strength (TV: *War World*) alien incidents became far more blatant. The governments and UNIT would have a random policy of alternately admitting that some aliens existed ( TV: *War World*) and trying to desperately cover things up, such as claiming that the attack on Cardif by Damien was was because of terrorists planting drugs in water. (TV: *Damien*) Many humans acknowledged the aliens, while others tried to claim they were fake. (TV: *Fugitives on the Moon*) However, several further events, most notably the forced relocation of Earth and a global Dalek assault (TV: *Indigo*, *The End*) served to finally convince the populace at large that humanity was not alone in the universe.

by 2084, there were again two vast power blocs in conflict and the threat of nuclear war. (TV: *Warriors of the Deep*) According to one account, the tensions between the competing blocs ended with the Martian assault of 2086, when Paris was destroyed. A Thousand Day War against a common alien enemy united humans and planted the seeds for a united Earth. (TV: *Transit*)

#### 22nd Century Dalek Invasion

The 22nd century Dalek invasion proved devastating to Earth. First, the Daleks released a plague across the Earth. Over a six-month period, Africa, Asia and South America were almost wiped out; humanity was barely able to resist when the Daleks arrived. (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*) New York City and many other cities were destroyed. (TV: *The Chase*) For ten years, the remaining inhabitants of Earth were terrorised by the Dalek forces, who enslaved many and turned others into Robomen, while the Daleks attempted to turn Earth into a mobile dreadnought. Only a handful of resistance groups existed.

Following the defeat of their grand scheme (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*) The invasion killed about two-thirds of Earth's population. (TV: *An Earthly Child*)

#### Earth empires

By the 23rd century, Earth had recovered and a major "break-out" of colonisation took place. (TV: *The Romance of Crime*)

In time the planet formed a unified government and an Earth Empire emerged. This dominated most of Mutter's Spiral for over 500 years. This empire at times came into military conflict with other space powers, particularly the Draconians, (TV: *Frontier in Space*) and the Cybermen (TV: *Earthshock*) It often employed oppressive and disenfranchising policies on the indigenous inhabitants of its colonies. (TV: *The Power of Kroll*, *The Mutants*) Alongside Draconia, Earth would fight and win the Second Dalek War. Before the war, Earth and the Empire was overseen by a president, (TV: *Frontier in Space*)

In the 29th century, Earth's environment was largely destroyed by solar flares. Humanity fled the planet on giant spaceships, returning when the solar flares stabilised. Autonomous nations returned during the crisis, as countries like the United Kingdom constructed their own, specific refuge ships. (TV: *The Beast Below*) The United Kingdom was still travelling on its refuge ship by the 33rd century. (TV: *The Beast Below*)

Unrest among the subjugated alien races, instabilities in the Empire's political and economic structure, and ecological damage to Earth eventually led to the decline of the Empire. (TV: *The Mutants)*

By the year 4000, Earth and its dominions were ruled by a Guardian of the Solar System, with the Space Security Service handling military intelligence. The incumbent Guardian, Mavic Chen, plotted with the Daleks to form an alliance against Earth which was exposed by the First Doctor and SSS agent Sara Kingdom. (TV: *The Daleks' Master Plan*)

#### Later events

Earth, in its later history, was abandoned numerous times by its human inhabitants, first in 6087 when solar flares bombarded the planet, leaving Earth uninhabited for 10,000 years. The population of Earth was evacuated in vast starships, while a small number of people were left behind aboard Nerva Beacon to begin the repopulation of the planet once conditions on the surface were suitable for life. Humans elsewhere carried on with another period of colonial expansion under GalSec. (TV: *The Ark in Space*, *The Sontaran Experiment*) Nerva Beacon's evacuees returned to Earth after ten thousand years had passed. They recolonised the planet. (TV: *The Ark in Space*)

Some time after, Earth was visited by the Usurians, who relocated the dying human population first to Mars and then Pluto. Generations later, humans had thrown off the yoke of Usurian exploitation and returned to Earth. (TV: *The Sun Makers*)

About the year 2,000,000, Earth was relocated two light-years from its proper position by the Time Lords to prevent the escape of aliens from the constellation of Andromeda who had stolen information from the Matrix on Gallifrey. Most of the humans remaining on Earth were wiped out. Those that survived degenerated to a primitive, tribal culture. The planet came to be known as Ravolox, with Earth being completely forgotten. The inhabitants of Ravolox eventually came to know of the true nature and history of their planet and to rebuild their civilisation. (TV: *The Mysterious Planet*)

#### Earth's destruction

About the year 2,000,000, Earth was relocated two light-years from its proper position by the Time Lords to prevent the escape of aliens from the constellation of Andromeda who had stolen information from the Matrix on Gallifrey. Most of the humans remaining on Earth were wiped out. Those that survived degenerated to a primitive, tribal culture. The planet came to be known as Ravolox, with Earth being completely forgotten. The inhabitants of Ravolox eventually came to know of the true nature and history of their planet and to rebuild their civilisation. (TV: *The Mysterious Planet*)

### Alternate timelines

Earth experienced various alternate timelines.

#### In alternate 20th centuries

On one occasion, guerrilla fighters from an alternate timeline of 22nd century Earth attempted to prevent their own future and instead caused it. Shurabombed Auderly House where Sir Reginald Styles was holding the second World Peace Conference, vital to preventing World War III. As a result, many world leaders were killed and a series of wars devastated the planet, killing seven-eighths of the population. By the 22nd century, the Earth was under the rule of the Daleks. After travelling to this future, the Third Doctor and Jo Grant pieced together what had actually happened to cause the future which had previously been blamed upon Styles. After being informed of the truth, Shura sacrificed himself to blow up a Dalek attack force once Auderly House was emptied, changing the future. (TV: *Day of the Daleks*)

On another occasion, the release of Sutekh in 1911 meant that by 1980 the Earth would become a desolate planet circling a dead sun. The Fourth Doctorshowed this to Sarah Jane Smith, and by causing Sutekh to age to death before he could escape, this timeline was averted. (TV: *Pyramids of Mars*)

In an alternate timeline, the Earth was a polluted world covered in a chemical slime. From this world sprang the haemovores with the Ancient One being the last by the year 500,000. After Fenric brought the Ancient One to 1943Earth, he attempted to get the Ancient One to fill the oceans with poison which would create this future. The Seventh Doctor convinced the Ancient One of the truth and it sacrificed itself to defeat Fenric and change its future. (TV: *The Curse of Fenric*)

#### In alternate 21st centuries

When the Antitempes realigned the Earth so that it would be destroyed by a meteor shower, it created a fixed point in time, time collapsed, creating a timeline where all of history was happening at once. The correct timeline was restored when the Eleventh Doctor and his companions worked with a group of Silurians to move the planet, so that the meteor shower wouldn't hit. (TV: *The Antitempus* *The History of Earth*)

## Paralell universes

In his attempts to free himself from his exile to Earth, the Third Doctoraccidentally sent himself to a parallel version of the planet, one where a fascist government ruled England. This version of Earth was subsequently devastated by the Inferno Project. (TV: *Inferno*)

In another paralell universe, the Doctor's first encounter with the Silurians in 1973 ended with the Third Doctor being completely killed by the new Silurian leader Morka, after being captured by the Silurians.

The Silurian virus, which came to be called "the Nightmare," spread across the world and killed much of the population since the Doctor wasn't alive to cure it. Some humans regressed to a primitive state, and different dinosaurs that existed millions of years apart co-existed in a new ecosystem that the Silurians began creating. Extinct plants returned and mutated with modern plants, making fruits glow and become inedible; flowers were non-existent and tar pits emerged. The Silurians used atmospheric windows to heat up parts of the planet and had their capital city Ophidian in Africa by the equator. The Silurians built artificial lakes which would house fish to feed a population that was growing as more and more of their people were taken out of suspended animation. They also began to terraform the deserts to bring back the rainforests, returning Earth to its original state.

UNIT was still led by Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart with the intent of using nuclear missiles against "the Reps," but encounters with the Silurians resulted in the race memory malaise causing humans to behave erratically. Manisha Purkayastha was also never killed in a fire.

The Eighth Doctor was later forced to the Silurian Earth, where he considered whether he was supposed to die in 1973 and that he might have existed in an alternate timeline since his third incarnation, but later abandoned the idea, as he had visited crystallized points in Earth's future before encountering the Silurians. Having lost his TARDIS in a tar pit, Raine Cunningham soonretrieved the TARDIS and the Doctor materialised it around the Earth, placing the nuclear missiles in temporal grace and deleting them using the TARDIS' architectural controls

As this was an alternative timeline, the changed history of Earth affected the rest of the universe; it subtracted mass-energy from the "real" universe, causing it to end several billion years before it should and about ten million species to never evolve. To prevent this, the Doctor time rammed his "real" TARDIS and channelled the resulting energy to destroy the Silurian Earth. (TV: *Blood Heat*)

## Behind the Scenes

The first shot of the first scene of *The Flood* featured a dramatic zoom from Earth orbit into Brigadier Bambera's office. A number of *Doctor Who* stories have since opened with this same dramatic zoom, including *Earth Rebels*, *The Forgotten Christmas*, *Red Eyes* and *The Human Market*.