The Fiction of the Science in Doctor Who

We all know that the science aspect in Doctor Who can be as wibbly wobbly as time itself. However, one of the apparent gaffes from Series Nine has one fan curious about Skaro’s gravity.

Science in any science fiction show is going to be a bit hit or miss. This varies from show to show, but it is practically unavoidable to make at least a few mistakes. On a program like Doctor Who, where the adventure is far more important than scientific accuracy, that gap between science and fiction is a lot shorter. In fact, Doctor Who has been known for quite a few scientific gaffes over the years.

During Series Nine, there was another such error. Remember when Missy shoved Clara into a pit to see how deep it was during ‘The Witch’s Familiar’? She counted down until Clara hit the bottom, and estimated that it was twenty feet deep. Well, reddit user Suffocatedwallaby has provided a scientific explanation as to why, unless Skaro’s gravitational pull is exceptionally weak, there is no way that it would have been a mere twenty foot drop for the time that it took her to hit the bottom.

In reality, that is not even close to the most questionable error in the history of the show. We all remember the infamous episode ‘Kill the Moon’ in which the Moon was a space dragon egg, the explanation of which led to quite a few Captain Picard style facepalms. Multiple concussions and the occasional broken nose were the order of the day from that one. Then again, it was Series Eight, so…

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Let’s face it — no one is watching Doctor Who for scientific accuracy. The science part is just there to help explain some of the situations, and even then, the show is not going to hold hard and fast to what is factual. It is not as though Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, and Larry Niven, for example, are writing the episodes.

Likewise, these inaccuracies typically do not ruin the episodes. It is all a matter of the adventure and storyline being good enough to keep our attention and suspend our disbelief. The vast majority of the time, Doctor Who delivers. It really does not matter if Clara fell 20 feet, or if it seemed as if she really fell a lot further. It was an entertaining moment in a damned good episode.

In all likelihood, the vast majority of Doctor Who episodes will have those moments that will make one question if anyone involved on the show has picked up a scientific textbook… or even has a basic understanding of the world simply from personal experience. And that just does not matter. The character development and adventurous nature of the stories are much more important.

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If you’re watching Doctor Who for the science aspect of science fiction, then you’re going to be disappointed. It is much more of an adventure series with a dash of science, making inaccuracies expected. Occasionally, though, they really do push things quite far. How far is too far for you? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

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