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.