2008 - in Fiction

In Fiction

• Isaac Asimov's 1955 short story Franchise takes place in 2008, the premise being that the U.S. president will be selected by a computer program looking for the "most representative citizen".
• John Barnes, Mother of Storms (1994) begins with a 2008 UN resolution barring any nation from acquiring nuclear weapons after June 1, 2008, subject to penalty of preemptive strike.
• Gregory Benford's books The Jupiter War and The Threads of Time are set in 2008.
• The Galactic Milieu Series by Julian May features Earth's first contact with an alien race on June 20, 2008.
• Ian McDonald's "Chaga Saga" (Evolution's Shore and Kirinya) begins with the March 13, 2008 impact arrival of the plant form Chaga from outer space.
• Alan E. Nourse's 1957 book Rocket to Limbo begins with the March 3, 2008 launch of the starship Argonaut on a centuries-long trip to Alpha Centauri.
• The Mote in God's Eye (1974) by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle postulates that faster-than-light travel is perfected in 2008.
• The Next War, a controversial 1996 novel about the post-Soviet era, co-authored by former U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, looks at a possible 2008 nuclear confrontation between the United States and Russia.
• Mega Man (1987)
• Twisted Metal III (1998)
• Ghost Recon (2001): Russia attempts to reunite the Soviet Union and invades several Eastern European countries. The UN intervenes with peacekeeping forces.
• Splinter Cell series: Sam Fisher goes undercover.
• Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
• Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009)
• Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
• Silent Running (1971)
• Deterrence (1999)
• Jason X (Friday the 13th series, 2002)
• The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
• The Lake House (2006): The ending takes place on Valentine's Day, 2008.
• Southland Tales (2007)
• Split Second (1992 film) (1992)
• 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007): The final act takes place in Tokyo during 2008.
• Doomsday (2008): The start of the film is set in 2008, when a virus has infected Scotland.
• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010): Is set in June 2008.
• Geng: The Adventure Begins (2009)
• The events of the Macross Zero OVA take place in 2008.
• Doraemon: According to the original manga story, a time machine will be invented in 2008.
• The Future Boy Conan anime (1978) story begins in July 2008, when a war results in five continents sinking into the sea.
• According to the Futurama episode "Space Pilot 3000", Stop 'N Drop suicide booths are claimed to have been "America's Favorite" since 2008. Whether this is the use of an advertising hyperbole to indicate that they were introduced in 2008, or that they gained a plurality of market share in 2008 is not concluded.
• Dawson's Creek (2003 series finale): The characters meet once again. Dawson, now 25, is the creator of a television series, The Creek, based on his life.
• The 2007 series of Doctor Who: Present time (such as "Smith and Jones") is primarily set in 2008.
• Heroes: A possible future shown in Out of Time features the Shanti virus killing about 93% of the world's population by 2008.