The origins of life

The very early Earth was barren and dead. So how did life come about? The answer lies with Scaroth, an alien who would one day come up against the Fourth Doctor. Scaroth was taking off from the young Earth's surface when his spaceship accidentally exploded. The resulting fire and radiation caused the chemicals in the surrounding swamps to merge and mutate, triggering the birth of the first living organisms.

The death of the dinosaurs

Many scientists believe that the impact of an asteroid resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Actually the culprit was a space freighter which had been hijacked by the Cybermen during their attempted invasion of Earth. The freighter lost control and ploughed into prehistoric Earth, wiping out the dinosaurs in the process. Also killed in the crash was Adric, the Fifth Doctor's assistant, which was a far greater loss...

The burning of Rome

History books tell us that it was Emperor Nero who had Rome burned down in 64AD. This is true, but the First Doctor had a hand in it too. He was holidaying in Ancient Rome when he accidentally set fire to some architectural plans for the city, inspiring the crazed Nero to burn Rome down for real.

Stonehenge

Unfortunately, the creation of Stonehenge was not a triumph of human endeavour. Our ancestors were helped by a rogue Time Lord called the Meddling Monk, whose loan of an anti-gravity device allowed the humans to erect the structures. His interfering ways would later be uncovered by the First Doctor.

The Great Fire of London

It was during a visit to 17th century London that the Fifth Doctor and his friends stumbled across a group of evil aliens hiding out in a small bakery. The final battle between the aliens and the Doctor triggered an initially small fire that was soon aggravated by the explosion of the alien leader's gun. Soon the whole city was in flames.

The Mary Celeste

Many theories have circulated around the disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste. The culprits here are the Daleks, who briefly turned up on the 19th century ship while they chased the First Doctor through time. The crew were so shocked by the Daleks' appearance that they all jumped overboard.