[Andy]

Here is what I do to grab info from a separate database and display that information by calling the variable in a template using the command {vb:raw $var}

You will want to create a plugin that calls your php script. In the script echo the contents you want displayed.

Hook Location: global_start

Plugin PHP code:

ob_start();
include('/path/to/your/php/file.php');
$var = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();

vB_Template::preRegister('SHOWTHREAD',array('var' => $var));