Doctor Who and Science

£19.99

Doctor Who and Science

Essays on Ideas, Identities and Ideologies in the Series

Television: styles and genres Film, television, radio genres: Science fiction, fantasy and horror Science: general issues

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Language: English

Published by: McFarland

Published on: 15th January 2021

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 243 pages

ISBN: 9781476642000


Science and Doctor Who

Science has always been part of Doctor Who. The first episode featured scenes in a science laboratory and a science teacher, and the 2020 season's finale highlighted a scientist's key role in Time Lord history. Hundreds of scientific characters, settings, inventions, and ethical dilemmas populated the years in between. Behind the scenes, Doctor Who's original remit was to teach children about science, and in the 1960s it even had a scientific advisor.

The Scientific Landscape of Doctor Who

This is the first book to explore this scientific landscape from a broad spectrum of research fields: from astronomy, genetics, linguistics, computing, history, sociology and science communication through gender, media and literature studies. Contributors ask: What sort of scientist is the Doctor? How might the TARDIS translation circuit and regeneration work? Did the Doctor change sex or gender when regenerating into Jodie Whittaker? How do Doctor Who's depictions of the Moon and other planets compare to the real universe? Why was the program obsessed with energy in the 1960s and 1970s, Victorian scientists and sciences then and now, or with dinosaurs at any time? Do characters like Missy and the Rani make good scientist role models? How do Doctor Who technical manuals and public lectures shape public ideas about science?

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