MORE than 40 years after the first Doctor Who revolutionised the science fiction genre, fans are preparing for the start of a brand new series.

You don't have to be an enthusiast to recognise that sci-fi has been a major niche in both the televisual and film markets for years.

It doesn't look like it's about to give up the ghost anytime soon, either.

So what is it that keeps people turning up to parties wearing Spock ears or dressed in glorified tin-can suits?

The SF Ball is a prestigious event held annually in Bournemouth and attracts some of the biggest names in sci-fi.

This year's guests of honour included Elisabeth Sladen, who plays Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who, and James Callis, better known as Gaius Baltar in Battlestar Galactica.

B Jones, organiser of the ball, said: "These days with the re-emergence of Doctor Who, sci-fi is just getting better and better. Bringing it back was wonderful.

"It's easier to be accepted into it now. Seven and eight-year-old girls are into Doctor Who and are allowed to be.

"It is still all story-driven, but the special effects are more believable now. You really do believe someone is flying now."

It is amazing the number of closet sci-fi fans you can find just walking around your office.

Echo sub-editor Peter Koerner remembers his childhood favourites as Lost in Space and the original Doctor Who, played by William Hartnell.

He said:"As a child it all seemed so real.

"It was something different, something that I hadn't seen before."

Echo reporter Fiona Pendlebury said that she particularly likes the monsters.

Her favourite shows include Doctor Who, Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Battlestar Galactica.

She said: "My Dad introduced me to Doctor Who when I was four and I've never stopped watching. I like the sense of freedom, that you can go out and explore anywhere, even other planets."

It is this out-of-the-world nature that seems to be the major attraction for the genre but is also its main divider.

While some revel in the escapism and fantasy aspects of sci-fi, others dismiss it as unrealistic.

There is no doubt that science fiction is benefiting from today's technological advancements and when we look back now at the programmes of the 1960s we often find them laughably dated.

But this does not constitute a reason not to appreciate these benchmark productions.

Modern sci-fi films, like the recently released Sunshine, owe a great deal to the likes of Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Star Wars.

Sci-fi's adaptability has also ensured its survival with the hybridisation of sci-fi and horror having produced a number of pioneering and hugely successful films such as Ridley Scott's Alien.

Andy Hine from comic shop Paradox in Poole said: "It's still a niche market but people are becoming more aware of what science fiction has to offer.

"People watch films to escape from the ordinary but science fiction takes you that one step further.

"People have realised it's not necessarily uncool to like sci-fi."

Whatever you say about sci-fi and its legions of convention-going devotees, one thing is clear.

Sci-fi is growing and it seems it's here to stay.