1996

History of the Doctor Who Universe

 * The Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki arrive at the Festival of Ghana while being pursued by Daleks. (DW: The Chase)
 * The novel Bridget Jones's Diary is published. In the 51st century it would be preserved in The Library. (DW: Silence in the Library)
 * The Doctor is summoned back to Earth via the space-time telegraph by the United Nations to assist them after they were offered The Cold. Sam Jones meets Sarah Jane Smith (who also meets the Doctor in his eighth incarnation). (EDA: Interference - Book One, Interference - Book Two)

January

 * Just War First Published


 * Downtime First Published. Based upon the unofficial fan-made film of the same title, it is the third and last of Virgin Publishing's series of post-Target Books novelisations. As such, it brings to an end a long line of adaptations dating back to 1973.

February

 * Warchild First Published


 * The Man in the Velvet Mask First Published

March

 * Sleepy First Published


 * The English Way of Death First Published

April

 * Death and Diplomacy First Published


 * The Eye of the Giant First Published


 * Who Killed Kennedy First Published


 * Fox Television in America begins airing trailers for its upcoming broadcast of Doctor Who. The trailers incorporate special effects footage from episode 1 of the 1986 serial The Mysterious Planet.

May

 * 12 - CITV in Edmonton, Canada, is the first broadcaster to air the Doctor Who TV movie, two days before its "official" premiere in the US.


 * 14 — Doctor Who First Broadcast on Fox Television in America. Sylvester McCoy regenerates into Paul McGann for McGann's (to date) only on-screen appearance as The Doctor. The film introduces a new theme music arrangement by John Debney (the late Ron Grainer is not credited, however), and reinstates the Jon Pertwee era logo from 1970-1973 which subsequently replaces the 1987 series logo as the franchise branding (it will continue to be used into 2009 to denote "past Doctor"-related products following the 2005 series revival). The ratings prove to be a disappointment and Fox declines to commission a TV series or further movies. Subsequently, issues over rights and licensing prevent the telefilm from being released to home video in North America (a situation that persists into 2008), although a UK home video release occurs not long after its broadcast there.


 * 20 - Jon Pertwee dies from a heart attack in Connecticut.


 * 27 - Doctor Who First Broadcast on BBC1. The UK broadcast includes some minor edits related to violence, and also includes an on-screen dedication in memory of Jon Pertwee. Unlike the US showing, the UK broadcast is considered a ratings winner, but without US support, the telefilm does not result in a series revival.


 * Happy Endings First Published


 * The Sands of Time First Published


 * Doctor Who - The Script of the Film First Published


 * Doctor Who - The Novel of the Film First Published. This is the first novelisation of a televised story to not be published by Target Books or an affiliate. This is the first Doctor Who novel to be published by BBC Books, and would lead to the imprint taking over the Doctor Who fiction licence from Virgin Books. It is the last novelisation of a televised Doctor Who story to date, and the last novelisation of any kind until Scream of the Shalka was adapted in 2004.

Spring 1996

 * Around the time the novelisation of the telefilm is published, a major shake-up occurs in the Doctor Who publishing world when it's announced that BBC Books has taken on the licence to publish fiction featuring The Doctor and other BBC-owned characters and concepts from the franchise. Virgin Books, which has been publishing original novels since 1991 and also owns the Target Books line which dates back to 1973, announces its Virgin New Adventures and Virgin Missing Adventures lines will conclude in 1997, after several remaining commissioned novels are published. Virgin, however, also announces it will continue the New Adventures line after that point, focusing on the character of Benny Summerfield.

June

 * GodEngine First Published


 * Killing Ground First Published

July

 * Christmas on a Rational Planet First Published


 * The Scales of Injustice First Published

August

 * Return of the Living Dad First Published


 * The Shadow of Weng-Chiang First Published


 * 10 - Rex Tucker dies.

September

 * The Death of Art First Published


 * Twilight of the Gods First Published

October

 * Damaged Goods First Published. This book is notable as it was written by Russell T Davies before he achieved national fame as the creator of Queer as Folk and, ultimately, became executive director of the revival of Doctor Who.


 * Speed of Flight First Published

November

 * The Plotters First Published


 * 1 - David Dodimead, who played Barclay in "The Tenth Planet," dies.

December

 * Bad Therapy First Published


 * Cold Fusion First Published

Unknown

 * Decalog 3: Consequences First Published. Notable for including a short story by future head writer Steven Moffat.


 * Frederick Hall, who played Andrew Verney in The Awakening, dies.