1996

Events

Dated Events

• Real World: January 20. Yasser Arafat elected president of the Palestinian Authority.

• Real World: January 29. French President Jacques Chirac announces an end to French nuclear testing.

• Real World: February 10. An early version of the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats gransmaster Garry Kasparov at chess, but loses the match entire.

• Real World: March 13. Spree killer Thomas Hamilton opens fire at a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 small children and an adult teacher before committing suicide.

• Real World: March 20. The government of Great Britain announces that people may have contracted mad cow disease.

• Real World: April 3. Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber," is arrested at his cabin in Montana.

• Men in Black (Films), Men in Black (Series): May 26 - May 29. Events of Men in Black. (Inside Men in Black II)

• Gargoyles, Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles: June-July, before July 9. Oberon and Titania return to Avalon and begin the Gathering. ("Ill Met by Moonlight")

• Real World: July 5. The first mammal cloned from an adult cell, Dolly the sheep, is born.

• Gargoyles, Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles: July 9. Goliath, Elisa Maza, Angela and Bronx return to Manhattan. The Manhattan Clan stops Oberon from kidnapping newborn Alexander Fox Xanatos, leading David Xanatos to start making amends with the gargoyles. ("The Gathering" Parts I & II; Ask Greg)

• Real World: August 6. NASA's ALH 84001, a meteorite believed to come from Mars, is announced to contain evidence of primitive life forms from that world.

• Real World: August 28. The Prince and Princess of Wales are divorced.

• Harry Potter: September 1. Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts. The events of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince follow.

• Real World: September 27. The Taliban seize the Afghani capitol of Kabul.

• Gargoyles, Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles: October 26. Jon Canmore reveals the existence of gargoyles to the world. ("Hunter's Moon" Part III)

• Gargoyles, Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles: After October 26. Under the name John Castaway, Jon Canmore forms the Quarrymen. ("The Journey" (Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles))

• Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles: After October 26. The PIT Crew is formed by humans who want to reach out to gargoyles. ("The Dying of the Light")

• DC (Generations): November 5. Barbara Gordon is elected President of the United States. (Superman & Batman: Generations II)

• Real World: November 5. Bill Clinton is re-elected President of the United States.

Undated Events

• Buffy-Angel, Buffy-Angel (Expanded Universe): Buffy Summers begins her tenure as the Slayer, defeating the vampire lord Lothos. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), "Welcome to the Hellmouth" (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer))

• Doctor Who, Doctor Who (Expanded Universe): The 1996 Festival of Ghana occurs; the First Doctor and his companions land here briefly as they flee the Daleks. ("The Chase")

• Doctor Who (Expanded Universe): The Seventh Doctor, Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester stop the Skrak from conquering the Three Empires. (Death and Diplomacy)

• Star Trek, Star Trek (Expanded Universe): The Eugenics Wars end on Earth; deposed genetic "superman" Khan Noonien Singh and his followers leave Earth on the sleeper ship SS Botany Bay. ("Space Seed" (Star Trek))

New Fictional Works

Notable Books

Excession by Iain M. Banks, Intensity by Dean Koontz, Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, Hogfather by Terry Pratchett.

Notable Films

Alien Nation: Millennium (TV movie), Alien Nation: The Enemy Within (TV movie), The Craft, Doctor Who (TV movie), The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Independence Day, Mission: Impossible.

Notable Comic Books

DC vs. Marvel; Supreme #41 (Alan Moore issues begin); Amalgam Comics event; Kingdom Come; Superman: The Wedding Album.

Notable Television Series

• Beginning: The Adventures of Oliver Twist, B.A.D. (Bureau of Alien Detectors), Beast Wars, The Burning Zone, Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys, Dark Skies, Darkstalkers, The Delta Wave, The Demon Headmaster, Dragon Flyz, Eagle Riders, Early Edition, Flash Gordon, The Incredible Hulk, Jumanji: The Animated Series, Kindred: The Embraced, The Mighty Ducks, Millennium, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Neverwhere, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The Pretender, Profiler, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Sky Dancers, Space Cases, Vor-Tech, Wing Commander Academy.

• Continuing: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Season 5), Babylon 5 (Season 3), BUGS (Season 2), Dragon Ball Z becomes Dragon Ball GT (Japan), Gargoyles becomes Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Season 3), Highlander: The Series (Season 5), Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (Season 4), Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Season 4), The Neverending Story (Season 2), The Outer Limits (Season 2), Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (Season 2), Reboot (Season 2), Sliders (Season 3), Spider-Man (Season 3), The Tick (Season 3), The X-Files (Season 4), X-Men (Season 5), Xena: Warrior Princess (Season 2).

• Ending: Aeon Flux, American Gothic, Earthworm Jim, G.I. Joe Extreme, Nowhere Man, Ocean Girl, The Savage Dragon, SeaQuest 2032, Skysurfer Strike Force, Space: Above and Beyond, Space Strikers, Street Fighter, Street Sharks, Tales from the Crypt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teknoman, Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic, Ultraforce.

Notable Electronic Games

Gex (Sega Saturn, PC, 3DO, Playstation), Quake (PC), Resident Evil (Playstation).

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