View source for 1996

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== Events ==

=== January ===
* [[22 January|22]] - [[James Stevens]] began writing ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'')

=== April ===
* [[James Stevens]] went missing, having travelled back in time to [[Kennedy assassination|assassinate Kennedy]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
* ([[Easter]]) The [[regenerate|newly-regenerated]] [[Eleventh Doctor]] crashed his TARDIS in [[Amy Pond]]'s back garden in [[Leadworth]]. He discovered a mysterious crack in her bedroom wall. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'') ''Date obtained from [[DWA 161|DWA Issue 161]].''
* At the same time, in a parallel and subsequently negated timeline, the [[Rory Williams (Auton)|Auton Rory Williams]] finished his job guarding the [[Pandorica]]. A version of [[Amy Pond|Amelia Pond]] rescued her older, nearly-deceased self, who had been inside the Pandorica since [[102|102 A.D.]], with the younger Amy's DNA. The [[Eleventh Doctor]], having taken the shorter route from 102, seemed to be killed by a [[Stone Dalek]]. [[River Song]] killed it shortly afterward. This was a ruse to sneak past and shoot the Pandorica with the Doctor inside into his exploding [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] to [[Big Bang Two|reboot the universe]] being destroyed by the [[Time Field]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')

=== Unknown Dates ===
* The [[First Doctor]], [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Barbara Wright]] and [[Vicki Pallister]] arrived at the [[Festival of Ghana]], pursued by [[Dalek]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase]]'')
* The [[Eighth Doctor]] was summoned back to [[Earth]] via the [[space-time telegraph]] by the [[United Nations]] to assist them after they were offered [[The Cold (Interference)|the Cold]]. [[Samantha Jones]] met [[Sarah Jane Smith]] (who also met the Doctor in his [[Eighth Doctor|eighth incarnation]]). ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Interference - Book One]]'', ''[[Interference - Book Two]]'')
* [[Rex Matheson]]'s father became an alcoholic due to family and financial troubles. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]'')

== Behind the scenes ==
=== January ===
* [[15 January|15]] - Filming began in [[Vancouver]], B.C. for the [[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who TV movie]]; discounting some post-production dubbing, this was the first major production session for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' since recording for [[TV]]: ''[[Ghost Light]]'' concluded on [[3 August]] [[1989]].
* [[18 January|18]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Just War (novel)|Just War]]'' was first published.
* 18 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Downtime (novelisation)|Downtime]]'' was first published. Based upon the unofficial fan-made film [[Downtime|of the same title]], and published as part of the [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] line, it was the third and last of [[Virgin Publishing]]'s series of post-[[Target Books]] novelisations. As such, it brought to an end a long line of adaptations dating back to 1973. It was the only Missing Adventures release not to feature [[the Doctor]].
* [[20 January|20]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)|The Ghosts of N-Space]]'' Episode 1 was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio]]. This was the second BBC Radio play produced featuring [[Jon Pertwee]] as the [[Third Doctor]].
* [[27 January|27]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)|The Ghosts of N-Space]]'' Episode 2 was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio]].

=== February ===
* [[3 February|3]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)|The Ghosts of N-Space]]'' Episode 3 was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio]].
* [[6 February|6]] - [[Patsy Smart]] (the [[Ghoul]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]'') died.
* 6 - [[Gerald Savory]], [[Head of Serials]] at the [[BBC]] in the [[1960s]], died.
* [[10 February|10]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)|The Ghosts of N-Space]]'' Episode 4 was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio]].
* [[15 February|15]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Warchild]]'' was first published.
* 15 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Man in the Velvet Mask|The Man in the Velvet was]]'' was first published.
* [[17 February|17]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)|The Ghosts of N-Space]]'' Episode 5 was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio]].
* [[19 February|19]] - [[Brenda Bruce]] ([[Tilda]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Paradise Towers (TV story)|Paradise Towers]]'') died.
* [[21 February|21]] - Filming concluded for the [[Doctor Who (1996)|''Doctor Who'' TV movie]]. The next time ''Doctor Who'' went into production was not until [[18 July]] [[2004]].
* [[23 February|23]] - [[Roy Heymann]], who appeared as an alien priest in [[TV]]: ''[[Colony in Space (TV story)|Colony in Space]]'' and [[Gotal]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Death to the Daleks (TV story)|Death to the Daleks]]'',  died.
* [[24 February|24]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)|The Ghosts of N-Space]]'' Episode 6 was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio]]. It was the final known performance of [[Jon Pertwee]] as the [[Third Doctor]].

=== March ===
* [[21 March|21]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Sleepy]]'' was first published.
* 21 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The English Way of Death]]'' was first published.
* 21 - [[REF]]: ''[[Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era]]'' was first published. Co-written by [[Sophie Aldred]], it was a memoir of her time on the series.

=== April ===
* Fox Television in America began airing trailers for its upcoming broadcast of [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]''. The trailers incorporated special effects footage from episode 1 of the 1986 serial [[TV]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet]]''.
* [[18 April|18]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Death and Diplomacy]]'' was first published. It was the first appearance of recurring character [[Jason Kane]].
* 18 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Eye of the Giant]]'' was first published.
* 18 - ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'' was first published. This was the only original ''Doctor Who'' novel published by [[Virgin Publishing]] after 1991 not to be considered part of either the [[Virgin New Adventures]] or [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] lines (although it's often lumped in with the MA line as it featured past incarnations of [[the Doctor]]).
* [[24 April|24]] - [[Preston Lockwood]] ([[Dojjen]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Snakedance]]'') died.

=== May ===
* [[12 May|12]] - CITV in Edmonton, [[Canada]], was the first broadcaster to air the [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'' TV movie, two days before its "official" premiere in the US.
* [[14 May|14]] — [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'' was first broadcast on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] in America, marking the return of ''Doctor Who'' to the screen. [[Sylvester McCoy]] regenerated into [[Paul McGann]] for McGann's (to date) only on-screen appearance as the [[Eighth Doctor]]. The film introduced a new theme music arrangement by [[John Debney]] (the late [[Ron Grainer]] was not credited, however), and reinstated the [[Jon Pertwee]] era logo from [[1970]]-[[1973]]. This logo replaced the [[1987]] series logo as the franchise branding, and continued to be used into [[2009]] to denote "past Doctor"-related products following the [[2005]] series revival. The ratings proved to be a disappointment, and Fox declined to commission a TV series or further movies. Subsequently, issues over rights and licensing prevented the telefilm from being released to home video in North America until 2011, although UK home video release occurred not long after its broadcast there.
* [[16 May|16]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Happy Endings]]'' was first published. Promoted as the fiftieth book in the [[Virgin New Adventures]] line, it featured cameo appearances by many characters from both the TV series and the NA books, and was notable for "outing" [[Mike Yates]]. [[Benny Summerfield]] ceased to be a regular companion with this novel, though she returned in later volumes and ultimately took over the New Adventures line after Virgin lost the ''Doctor Who'' licence.
* 16 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Sands of Time]]'' was first published.
* 16 - [[REF]]: ''[[A History of the Universe|Doctor Who: A History of the Universe]]'' was first published.
* [[17 May|17]] - ''[[Doctor Who - The Script of the Film]]'' was first published.
* [[20 May|20]] - [[Jon Pertwee]] (the [[Third Doctor]]) died from a heart attack in his sleep whilst in Connecticut.
* [[25 May|25]] - The [[Doctor Who (1996)|TV movie]] was promoted on the cover of the ''[[Radio Times]]''.
* [[27 May|27]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'' was first broadcast on [[BBC1]]. The UK broadcast included some minor edits related to violence, and also included an on-screen dedication to the memory of Jon Pertwee. Unlike the US showing, the UK broadcast was considered a ratings winner, but without US support, the telefilm did not result in a series revival.
* ''[[Doctor Who - The Novel of the Film]]'' was first published. This was the first novelisation of a televised story to not be published by [[Target Books]] or an affiliate. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' novel to be published by [[BBC Books]], and led to the imprint taking over the ''Doctor Who'' fiction licence from [[Virgin Books]] (it was not, however, considered part of the later [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]] line). It was the last novelisation of a televised ''Doctor Who'' story to date, and the last novelisation of any kind until [[WC]]: ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]'' was adapted in 2004.

=== Spring 1996 ===
* Around the time the novelisation of the telefilm was published, a major shake-up occurred in the ''Doctor Who'' publishing world when it was announced that [[BBC Books]] had taken on the licence to publish fiction featuring the Doctor and other BBC-owned characters and concepts from the franchise. [[Virgin Books]], which had been publishing original novels since 1991 and also owned the [[Target Books]] line which dated back to 1973, announced its [[Virgin New Adventures]] and [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] lines would conclude in 1997, after several remaining commissioned novels were published. Virgin, however, also announced it would continue the New Adventures line after that point, focusing on the character of [[Benny Summerfield]].

=== June ===
* ''Doctor Who'' novel writer [[Jonathan Blum]] wrote and played the [[Seventh Doctor]] in an unofficial video production, ''[[Time Rift (film)|Time Rift]]''. Blum later recycled elements of the story for his later novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[Vampire Science]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drwhoguide.com/timerift.htm |title=Time Rift |date of source= |website name=Doctor Who Reference Guide |accessdate=11th December 2011}}</ref>{{facts}}
* [[20 June|20]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[GodEngine (novel)|GodEngine]]'' was first published. A new cover design format for the [[Virgin New Adventures]] line was launched with this book.
* 20 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Killing Ground]]'' was first published.

=== July ===
* [[1 July|01]] - The [[BBC]] applied for trademark status for the traditional police box design associated with the [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm//legal/decisions/2002/o33602.pdf |title=IN THE MATTER OF Application No. 2104259 by The British Broadcasting Corporation to register a series of three marks in Classes 9, 16, 25 and 41 AND IN THE MATTER OF Opposition thereto under No. 48452 by The Metropolitan Police Authority |author=M KNIGHT For the Registrar the Comptroller-General |date of source=14th day of August 2002 |website name= Intellectual Property Office (UK) |format=PDF |accessdate=11th December 2011}}</ref>
* [[18 July|18]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Christmas on a Rational Planet]]'' was first published. This book contained the earliest reference to characters from the later [[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]] spin-off works.
* 18 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Scales of Injustice]]'' was first published.
* 18 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Decalog 3: Consequences]]'' was first published. This book was notable for including a short story by future head writer [[Steven Moffat]]. This was the last ''Decalog'' volume to feature the Doctor.
* [[21 July|21]] - [[Wolfe Morris]] ([[Padmasambhava]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Abominable Snowmen (TV story)|The Abominable Snowmen]]'') died.

=== August ===
* [[10 August|10]] - [[Rex Tucker]], director of [[TV]]: ''[[The Gunfighters (TV story)|The Gunfighters]]'', died.
* [[15 August|15]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Return of the Living Dad]]'' was first published. [[Benny Summerfield]] returned for this novel.
* 15 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadow of Weng-Chiang]]'', the twenty-fifth Missing Adventures novel, was first published.

=== September ===
* [[19 September|19]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Death of Art]]'' was first published.
* 19 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Twilight of the Gods (MA novel)|Twilight of the Gods]]'' was first published.
* 19 - [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: Companions]]'' was published in paperback.

=== October ===
* [[Frazer Hines]] published his autobiography ''Films, Farms and Fillies''.
* [[3 October|03]] - [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Eighties]]'' was first published.
* [[7 October|07]] - [[REF]]: ''[[TX file: Doctor Who]]'', a "filofax"-style reference book, was published by [[BBC Books]] as one of a series of ''TX File'' releases.
* [[13 October|13]] - [[Beryl Reid]] ([[Briggs]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'') died.
* [[17 October|17]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Damaged Goods]]'' was first published. This book was 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 producer and lead writer of the revival of ''Doctor Who'' from 2004 to 2009.
* 17 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Speed of Flight]]'' was first published. It was the final [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] novel to feature the [[Third Doctor]].

=== November ===
* [[1 November|1]] - [[David Dodimead]], who played [[Barclay (The Tenth Planet)|Barclay]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'', died.
* [[21 November|21]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Plotters]]'' was first published. It was the final [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] novel to feature the [[First Doctor]].
* 21 - [[REF]]: ''[[I Am the Doctor!]]'', [[Jon Pertwee]]'s second volume of memoirs, was published posthumously.
* 21 - [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who - The Handbook: The Third Doctor]]'' was first published.
* 21 - Due to production issues, there was no [[Virgin New Adventures]] novel published this month; the book scheduled for release date, [[PROSE]]: ''[[So Vile a Sin]]'', was pushed back to 24th April 1997.
* [[22 November|22]] - [[REF]]: ''[[Classic Who: The Harper Classics]]'' was first published.

=== December ===
* [[5 December|5]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Bad Therapy]]'' was first published. [[Roz Forrester]] was no longer a companion, but readers had to wait until [[PROSE]]: ''[[So Vile a Sin]]'' was finally published to find out why. [[Peri Brown]] made a return appearance.
* 5 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Cold Fusion]]'' was first published. It was the first and only Missing Adventures novel to feature more than one incarnation of the Doctor, and the first to feature the [[Seventh Doctor]]. At one point Virgin planned for Seventh Doctor adventures to continue in the Missing Adventures line after novels began to appear featuring the [[Eighth Doctor]], but this did not happen. This was also the final Missing Adventures novel to feature the [[Fifth Doctor]].
* 5 - [[REF]]: ''[[The Completely Useless Encyclopedia]]'' was first published.

=== Unknown ===
* [[Frederick Hall]], who played [[Andrew Verney]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Awakening]]'', died.

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Years]]