1997
Although no more TV adventures were forthcoming, just one appearance was enough to renew interest in the show, and the new eighth Doctor was welcomed as the "current" Doctor with a new line of BBC Books novels. These kicked off with The Eight Doctors, which saw the Doctor meet up with his previous incarnations, before setting off on his own adventures with new companion Sam Jones. With the BBC publishing their own books however, Virgin's New Adventures concluded their seventh Doctor stories, and Lungbarrow contained elements of the "Cartmel Masterplan", the direction the show and character of the Doctor would have taken had the series continued.
1998
The BBC continued to release original Doctor Who novels via their Eighth Doctor and Past Doctor ranges, and fans continued to produce "Who clones", stories as close to Doctor Who as is possible, but without infringing copyright. BBV produced The Time Travellers, starring Sylvester McCoy as The Professor, and Sophie Aldred as Ace. Although only six were produced due to the BBC considering these too close for comfort, their next release Cyber-Hunt featured Nicholas Briggs, who would later become the official voice of pretty much any animatroniced alien in the revived series.
1999
The first Comic Relief special was broadcast as part of this years Red Nose Day campaign; The Curse Of The Fatal Death starring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor and Bond Villain Jonathan Pryce as the Master. A parody of classic serials this one off featured a Doctor who was planning to settle down with his companion, until the Master and the Daleks hatch a deadly trap for him on Tersarus, the planet of the bottom burpers, and was written by Steven Moffat. Away from TV screens Doctor Who also made it's first leap into a new arena when Big Finish productions began producing licensed Doctor Who audio adventures. The Sirens Of Time was the first in a long line which still runs today, and featured the fifth, sixth and seventh Doctors.