(no subject)

[gwynhefar]

Ok, am I the only one who thinks it odd that the first Doctor Who novel to include the new companion was released on March 1st, when the episode introducing said companion doesn't air until March 31st? There's something wrong there.

Comments

[cktraveler.livejournal.com]

I do recall distinctly hearing two of my friends debating what was going to happen in Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. I suggested they just go to the local Walgreens and pick up a copy of the Revenge of the Sith coloring book, which had come out months before the movie and summarized the entire plot.

My suggestion was not appreciated.

[gallowglass.livejournal.com]

The difference in schedules is probably due to the complete separation between public television and for-profit media (including Dr Who novels) in the corporation.

As a publicly funded body, the BBC is legally forbidden from making a profit in and of itself, so such things as overseas licensing, magazines, books, etc have always been hived off into a separate for-profit company, currently called BBC Worldwide, the revenues from which are reinvested into the corporation for public broadcasting. It's a controversial idea that has always raised complaints from other companies who whine that it's unfair that the BBC should have such an advantage with the BBC brand and its library of extant titles.

This separation means that the schedules of the two sections are not necessarily in synch and even if they're supposed to be, sometimes the left hand doesn't know what the right is up to. It may well have increased since the complaints I mentioned above and the official government scrutiny that they have drawn means that the corporation has been selling off some of BBC Worldwide's assets and among these is BBC Books, a majority shareholding of which is now owned by the publishers Random House.

[gwynraven.livejournal.com]

I guess that makes sense. I tend to fall into the trap of thinking that the people who put out the Doctor Who books must be fans of the show themselves and therefore how could they possibly *not know* when the new series starts? We've been counting down for months!