1990

January

 * UK Release of An Unearthly Child Video


 * 14 - John Witty (the voice of the Computer in The Seeds of Death) dies in Bristol.


 * 18 - Doctor Who - Planet of Giants First Published.


 * 20 - John Maxim, who played Frankenstein's Monster in The Chase, as well as a Cyberman in The Moonbase (under the name John Wills) dies in Brighton.

February

 * Target Books begins republishing selected novelisations with new cover designs by Alister Pearson. Other than the covers, these reprints are identical to earlier editions. A number of the reprints will be issued to coincide with video releases (which often used the same cover art) and rebroadcasts. The reissues are also in most cases retitled from their original publication, either with the "Doctor Who and the ..." title format being dropped, or the book's title being changed to reflect the original broadcast title. The first two novelisations republished in the new format are Doctor Who - The War Games and Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child.


 * 15 - Doctor Who - The Happiness Patrol First Published.

March

 * 15 - Doctor Who - The Space Pirates First Published. Final Target Books novelisation by Terrance Dicks.

May

 * 1 - Brian Vaughan, who portrayed Lt. Commander Watts in The Sea Devils dies.


 * 15 - Writer and director Peter Grimwade dies from leukemia.

June

 * 21 - Doctor Who - Remembrance of the Daleks First Published.

July

 * 19 - Doctor Who - Mission to Magnus First Published. Third and final release in the "Missing Episodes" line, and the last "original" Doctor Who novel until the Virgin New Adventures line launches a year later.

August

 * 2 - Edwin Richfield, who appeared as Captain John Hart in The Sea Devils and Mestor in The Twin Dilemma dies from cancer in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, UK.


 * 17 - Graham Williams, who produced Seasons 15-17 (1977-79) is killed in a shooting accident in Devon, England.

September

 * 20 - Doctor Who - Ghost Light First Published.


 * 26 - Leonard Sachs, who played Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in "The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve" and Lord President Borusa in "Arc of Infinity," dies in London.

October

 * 18 - Doctor Who - Survival First Published, adapting the final serial of the original 1963-89 series.

November

 * 10 - Dudley Jones, who played John Dyson in "The Tenth Planet," dies.


 * 15 - Doctor Who - The Curse of Fenric First Published.


 * 23 - Mostyn Evans (Dai Evans in The Green Death and the High Priest in Death to the Daleks) dies.

December

 * 28 - Edward Brayshaw, who played Léon Colbert in "The Reign of Terror" and the War Chief in "The War Games," dies.

Unknown date

 * An Unearthly Child published in Germany under the title Doctor Who Und Das Kind Van Der Sternen
 * After months of speculation, the BBC announces that it will not air a 27th season of Doctor Who in 1990, and at some point during the year the Doctor Who Production Office closes down. Although Sophie Aldred, in the later documentary More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS would say she was told the series had been cancelled, no actual public announcement of this is made by the BBC. Over the next few years the show's fate remains a matter of debate.
 * Around the time of the BBC's announcement, Virgin Books, which has purchased Target Books, announces plans to launch a series of original novels continuing Doctor Who from the events of Survival; the line is scheduled to launch in 1991.
 * To tie in with rebroadcasts of the series on BSB television, Target Books begins reissuing selected novelisations in new editions. The interiors of these new books remain unchanged from earlier editions, but new cover art is introduced for all books.