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 Jone's Diary is published. In the 51st century it would be preserved in The Library (DW: Silence in the Library)

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 TV Movie. 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: The TV Movie 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 2008 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: The TV Movie 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

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

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


 * Frederick Hall, who took the role of Andrew Verney in The Awakening, dies.