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[scionofgrace]

Hey tree_and_leaf, izhilzha, rj_anderson, and other Christian Whovians, did you see this article by Terry Pratchett about Doctor Who?  Specifically the whole part where he says the Doctor has been treated like a Messiah lately?  I giggled the whole way through it: nobody can say it's just us Christians seeing things!  (Though so far, Moffat seems to be better about it.  And about

Comments

[author_by_night]

He's also right that Star Trek is not thoroughbred sci-fi either: it may deal with the future, and with sci-fi concepts, but the stories are more philosophical than that, and the science is fudged wherever it's narratively convenient.

Wait... it isn't? I'm so confused; I thought ST was the epitome of sci fi. O_o So what is sci fi?

(Of course, I never watched much of it so I don't really know how sci fi or not it is.)

[scionofgrace]

Well, I could link you here, but that would just be mean. ;-)

A true, solid, thorough, "hard" sci fi deals entirely with known science. Maybe the technology hasn't been developed yet, but it's not outside the realm of possibility, based on what we already know about the universe.

Sci fi is "softer" when the author(s) break known laws and make up more stuff, even if that stuff is internally consistent and treated in a realistic way. Anything - anything - that has faster-than-light travel is fairly soft sci fi, as right now that's contrary to the known laws of time/space. Meaning that Firefly is "harder" than Star Trek because there are a) no aliens and b) no faster than light travel.

Doctor Who is pretty much science fantasy. (Not that I mind!) And, actually, the above link is a pretty good discussion on the whole thing, with a ranking for series. TVTropes.org definitely has its uses!

[engelhardtlm1]

I definitely love that scale... And I think Doctor Who is definitely "science fantasy". The sonic screwdriver is basically a magic wand... But, who cares? It's great fun!

[scionofgrace]

The sonic screwdriver is basically a magic wand.

Well, yes, in a narrative sense... but did you see this article?

The Time Vortex, on the other hand...

[tree_and_leaf]

I'd missed that, but it's a good article -thanks.

(Of course the interesting thing about Pterry is that though he's a paid up humanist, he has a very good grasp of how religious imagery works.)

[scionofgrace]

Pterry is one smart cookie. As evidenced by the quality of his writing, and especially the quality of his humor: he gets things, even things he doesn't agree with. Most people don't take that kind of trouble.

I just love his "It makes no scientific sense but it's hugely entertaining" opinion of the whole thing.