Silva Screen releases Mark Ayres‘ soundtrack from the direct-to-video Doctor Who-inspired movie Shakedown: The Return of the Sontarans. 
Virgin Publishing releases the 46th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Just War by Lance Parkin.
BBC Radio 4 begins airing the five-part Doctor Who radio drama The Ghosts Of N-Space, starring Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen, and Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier. Stephen Thorne and Sandra Dickinson (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy) guest star. The story is written by early ’70s Doctor Who showrunner Barry Letts. This is Jon Pertwee’s final performance broadcast before his death later in 1996.
Virgin Publishing releases the 47th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Warchild by Andrew Cartmel.
Virgin Publishing releases the 48th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Sleepy by Kate Orman.
Virgin Publishing releases the 49th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Death and Diplomacy by Dave Stone.
After a seven-year gap since the BBC cancelled the original series, Fox premieres Doctor Who: The Movie as its Tuesday Night Movie (and, if ratings prove to be a success story, a backdoor pilot for a series). Depicting the seventh Doctor’s regeneration into the eighth (Paul McGann), this is effectively the 698th episode of Doctor Who, and guest stars Yee Jee Tso and Eric Roberts as the Master. US ratings ultimately prove to be a disappointment, and this remains the only televised adventure of the eighth Doctor (though this incarnation of the Time Lord is carried forward in novels, comics and audio stories). Doctor Who does not make a full return to TV until 2005.
Virgin Publishing releases the 50th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Happy Endings by Paul Cornell.
Virgin Publishing releases the 51st book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, GodEngine by Craig Hinton.
Welsh-born writer Terry Nation, who wrote the first Doctor Who scripts featuring the Daleks, dies at the age of 66. A former comedy writer, Nation had recently been fired from a steady comedy job when his agent directed him toward the still-in-development BBC science fiction series; Nation’s first script drew the ire of Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman, who issued his famous “no bug-eyed monsters” edict in response, though Nation’s scripts were bought and filmed by the show’s first producer, Verity Lambert. The Daleks immediately secured the future of both Doctor Who and Nation himself, who went on to create seminal BBC genre series such as Survivors and Blake’s 7 before emigrating to America, where he became a producer on MacGyver. At the time of his death, he had been developing concepts for a Blake’s 7 revival with input from series star Paul Darrow.
Virgin Publishing releases the 60th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Lungbarrow by Marc Platt.
Virgin Publishing releases the 61st book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Lance Parkin’s The Dying Days. This is the first and only book in the series to feature the eighth Doctor introduced in the previous year’s TV movie, and marks the end of Virgin’s Doctor Who license, as BBC Books has brought the license in-house in the wake of the 1996 movie. The New Adventures books will continue with no direct Doctor Who references and focusing on the original character of Dr. Bernice Summerfield.
SuperTracks releases the Doctor Who soundtrack, with music by John Debney, John Sponsler, and Louis Febre. As with many other SuperTracks releases during this period, this soundtrack is not studio-sanctioned.
The fan-produced Doctor Who video production Auton is released by BBV. Though not a BBC-sanctioned production, thanks to the specifics of UK copyright law, the producers are able to license the Autons from the estate of their creator, Robert Holmes, to commercially release the video on tape and DVD.
BBC Multimedia releases the first-person shooter Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors for Windows PCs in the UK. Featuring sound clips from the classic series, the game also boasts the last new footage of actor Anthony Ainley in character as the Master.
Julian Knott releases a limited CD pressing of Space Adventures: Music from Doctor Who, 1963-1971, an expanded CD of a cassette previously issued in 1987 by the Reference Department of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, gathering vintage production music library tracks used in 1960s Doctor Who.
The Doctor Who-related fan production Mindgame is released on VHS, starring Sophie Aldred and Miles Richardson. Though not BBC-sanctioned, UK copyright law allows the filmmakers to license the characters of the Sontarans and Draconians for this video’s commercial release.
Welsh toy company Dapol announces the release of the first wave of new Doctor Who action figures since the late 1980s, this group including the third Doctor, the Master, a Sea Devil, two different Silurians, and four variants on a “Gallifrey High Councillor”.
Part one of the classic William Hartnell-era Doctor Who four-parter The Crusade is recovered by the BBC, thanks to a fan who obtained it cheaply from a film collectors’ sale. The film is handed over to BBC’s unofficial Doctor Who Restoration Team. There’s initially no word on any possible video release of this segment of The Crusade, since parts two and four are still missing.
The Doctor Who satire The Curse Of Fatal Death airs in two parts as part of the BBC’s Red Nose Day telethon, starring Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Mr. Bean), Julia Sawalha (Absolutely Fabulous), Hugh Grant, and, as the first female Doctor in the history of the series (but not the last), Joanna Lumley. Future 21st century Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat provides the scripts.
Welsh toy company Dapol announces the release of a series of limited edition Doctor Who “Millennium Daleks”. Essentially the same mold and tooling as with their existing Dalek action figures, these Daleks have an assortment of glittery, colorful paint jobs (not matching anything seen on television).
Big Finish Productions releases the first Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range (though the range is not yet monthly, a frequency that will be determined by sheer audience demand). Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy reprise their respective versions of the Doctor in a story written, directed and scored by Nicholas Briggs.
The Doctor Who-related fan production Mindgame Trilogy is released on VHS, starring Sophie Aldred and Miles Richardson. Though not BBC-sanctioned, UK copyright law allows the filmmakers to license the characters of the Sontarans and Draconians for this video’s commercial release.
Big Finish Productions releases the second Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range (though the range is not yet monthly, a frequency that will be determined by sheer audience demand). Peter Davison and Mark Strickson star in a story written by Mark Gatiss, who also guest stars.
The Doctor Who parody sketch The Web of Caves airs as part of BBC2’s Doctor Who Night, starring Mark Gatiss as the Doctor.
Dapol, the makers of Doctor Who action figures, release a fourth wave of 3 3/4″ toys from the long-running series, including two varieties of Sontarans and the calcified Melkur from season 18’s The Keeper of Traken. Though not the last action figure release from Dapol, it will prove to be the last non-Dalek-related wave of Doctor Who figures before the Welsh toymaker loses the Doctor Who license.
Big Finish Productions releases the third Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. Peter Miles guest stars.
Big Finish Productions releases the fourth Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton. Neil Roberts (Sliders, Babylon 5) guest stars.
Big Finish Productions releases the fifth Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. Jacqueline Pearce (Blake’s 7) guest stars in a story revolving around political talk radio.
BBC Music releases Geoffrey Burgon‘s soundtrack from the 1975 Doctor Who story Terror Of The Zygons; Burgon’s music from The Seeds Of Doom is also included.