It's the start of July, 1997. Over a year has passed since the first, and so far only, UK transmission of the BBC/Universal Doctor Who television movie. And what has happened ...?

Well, Doctor Who was voted by the general public to be the best BBC Drama series of the last fifty years and the BBC were so determined to cash in on the Doctor Who phenomenon that they withheld the renewal of the licence to publish original fiction based on the series from Virgin, and have started publishing the books themselves. Smart move. With their brilliant new covers, the books have done well. They have reportedly sold out in many stores, and in others they're going like the proverbial hot cakes.

I loved Terrance Dicks' The Eight Doctors. It may not be the best written novel in the world, and some of the characterisation may not be as deep and angst-ridden as most of the characters in the Virgin books, but it is a good fun read. It also serves to re-introduce readers who had either never read the Virgin books, or who had given up on them, to the whole concept of what Doctor Who is all about - having fun. As with The Five Doctors Dicks has a lot on his plate, but the plot manages to embrace a large number of established Who concepts and characters without seeming forced and unnatural.

Hopefully, now that this introductory celebration is out of the way, the authors of the BBC books can continue to present Doctor Who adventures that are recognisable as such, without veering too far from the basic concepts by which the series operated. Hopefully it'll be a fun ride.

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I'm sitting here listening to a limited-edition promotional CD of John Debney's music for the 1996 TV Movie. It's a truly fabulous score, full of smashing cues and uplifting themes from the film. Debney has put this out himself as a not-for-sale promotional item, but copies are available from selected specialist stores. It's worth tracking down as it really is great.

I've also managed to get my hands on the Australian edition of the TV Movie. Not only is this uncut, but is a simply superb transfer. Compared to the highstreet releases from the BBC, this tape looks as good as the original transmission. Congratulations to CIC Video and Rainbow Productions Limited who distributed it in Australia. It's just a shame that, like the CD, this edition of the film is not generally available in the UK.