The Science of Doctor Who book review

Monday, March 13, 2006 7:39 AM

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'oo-hoo, this could be a little more sonic'?"

Captain Jack obviously wasn't a child of the seventies.

I can clearly remember hunting around my local Woolies looking for a sonically enhanced screwdriver. It was going to be the perfect addition to my space-time travelling wardrobe - complete with crayoned on yellow windows, wonky Police Box writing and flashing torch light.

Aged seven, I was hooked on the business of time travel. And this was the beginning of a life long interest in the science and technology. It was the first of four possible stages of realisation practically every young fan must go through:
  1. Wonder
    Wow. Did you just see that, Dad?
  2. Disappointment
    Can I have one? Oh... [looks down at not-so-sonic ratchet spanner from Dad's toolbox]
  3. Scepticism
    I want some of whatever it was the writers of Doctor Who were smoking...
  4. Kinda doable
    Maybe. If. But. And of course you'd still need to...
Very few make it to stage 4. Stage 4 is the holy grail as it entails becoming a practitioner in a scientific field which still seems like Doctor Who technobabble to the rest of us. Nanotechnologists - yep looking at you. Quantum physicists - you too. Molecular biologists - how could I forget..?

But spend a few minutes (or more likely hours) in their company and the chances are you'll get a few answers to those important life-enhancing questions like:
  • Do lots of planets really have a North?
  • How big can the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire get?
  • Is it possible to do the Spock alien tech scanning thing?
Great if you have the time and the opportunity... But who has?

Which is why I'm grateful to Paul Parsons - the author of The Science of Doctor Who - for doing the hard work for me. His breezy enthusiastic guide is a great introduction to what makes the Whoniverse tick.

It answers all of the most obvious questions. How the TARDIS might work. Dealing with mindbending time travel paradoxes. Whether the Daleks could really tackle stairs. As well as explaining the sonic screwdriver of course.

But to me, the chapters covering:
  • Why the Doctor is altruistic
  • The battle-effectiveness of the Dalek's pepperpot shape
  • How psychic paper might work aka "these are not the droids you're looking for..."
were the most fascinating because they gave new depth to the world of Doctor Who. I can die happy knowing there's a good scientific reason why the Doctor is lucky enough to escape certain death every week (and it's not just lazy script writing).

Lastly no Doctor Who sci-fact book would be complete without mention of Britain's very own Cyberman - Professor Kevin Warwick. You might remember him as the first guy to implant a chip in his arm. He comes across as both a genius and more than slightly bonkers - a bit like the Doctor himself.

My seven year old self would probably be a bit disappointed that there's no explanation about how to "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" using nothing more than a ratchet spanner and a BBC issue flowerpot. I'd probably have to pacify him with a Blue Peter Doctor Who Theatre made out of double-sided sticky tape and toilet rolls.

Otherwise - it's recommended reading for any aspiring companion of the Doctor's.

The Science of Doctor Who is available from April 6th.

The Science of Doctor Who @ Amazon

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