WALL-E is an animated Pixar film about robots in love, and what happens to Earth when we abandon it. But is the science quotient more like a fresh young sapling that saves the planet, or is it just a load of old rubbish? more
Watchmen is thought of as the first major graphic novel, a compenium of the 12 comics written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons. It’s about a bunch of superheroes in an alternative 1985, and is filled with science. But who watches the Watchmen’s science quotient?
DISCLAIMER: We apologise for the poor sound quality in this episode. We were unable to record in the studio and the room we ended up in turned out to be wholly unsuitable for podcast recording. That said, we feel there is enough interesting content in this edition to still place it up for download.
Iron Man, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, is the story of Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist/arms dealer who, after a nasty accident, ends up using a fantastical metal suit to battle crime. But as a piece of Science, is it more like finding Gwyneth Paltrow as a PA, or like having the disembodied voice of Paul Bettany charting your every move more
Battlestar Galactica is a 2003 reboot of the 1970s show of the same name, and is a sci-fi space opera filled with action, political intrigue, religion, back-stabbing and identity crises. But is the science more like having a lovely dinner with a Number 6, maybe watching a movie and snuggling up warm to reboot the human race, or is it like being locked alone in a room with a Cavill? more
What TV shows, movies and books do want to hear us discuss on Science or Fiction? We have drawn up an extensive list of possible sci-fi to talk about and would like to know your opinion. We hope to get around to doing al of them at some time or another, but in what order?! It would be great to get your vote, so tick all those items you think sound interesting and then click ‘vote’! You’ll find the poll in the right hand column of the website.
You can also suggest new items to us either by contacting us on email or by contacting us via Twitter @sciorfi.
Armageddon is a 1998 film starring Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis, and directed by Michael Bay. It tells the story of an enormous asteroid heading for a collision with the Earth, and the rag-tag bunch of oil workers sent up to the asteroid to drill a nuke into it and blow it up before the world gets smushed. But in terms of the science, is it more like training oil workers to be astronauts and saving the world, or a crazy Russian alone on Mir with Space Dementia?
Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was created by Joss Whedon, of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame, and starred Neil Patrick Harris as the titular character, a wannabe Evil Villain who falls in love with a girl and has to compete for her affections with the heroic – and astonishingly egotistical – Captain Hammer, played by Nathan Fillion. There’s lots of scientific stuff, such as transmatter teleportation, freeze rays and death rays. But does the science have a proper doctorate, or did it buy the qualification from the internet? more
The film tells the story of the Lewis & Clark, a ship sent into deep space to search for the thought-lost Event Horizon, a space ship that was capable of super-fast interstellar travel due to its ability to generate black holes, and travel through them. When the ship is found, the Lewis & Clark’s crew - which features Lawrence Fishburne, Joely Richardson and the perennially-dying-in-sci-fi-films Sean Pertwee - are all killed off in gruesome ways by some unnamed power in the black hole that possesses the body of their ship-mate, Sam Neill (the man responsible for the technology).
So, it’s set in space and features black holes, but as a piece of science is it more like an experiment that betters mankind and helps them travel to the furthest reaches of the galaxy in the name of science, or is it like being kicked across a pool of blood by a naked Sam Neill?
Synopsis: Innerspace tells the tale of an experimental procedure to shrink a human being and a small vehicle to a size where they could enter the bloodstream of a rabbit. The experiment goes awry, and the soldier - played by Dennis Quaid - ends up being injected into Martin Short. Together they attempt to overcome a number of obstacles - a bad doctor with a British accent, a wealthy landowner, a Russian cowboy played by Star Trek: Voyager’s Doctor - and try to find a way to restore Dennis Quaid to his normal size.
Synopsis: Minority Report is the story of John Anderton, a policeman (played by Tom Cruise) in Future-Washington DC’s Pre-crime unity. In Pre-crime they predict the crimes that will occur and stop them before they happen, ably aided by three bald mutants named after crime fiction writers. When Anderton pops up as a future murderer, he goes on the run in an attempt to clear his name, escape the law, and try to stop the murder he’s seen predicted from ever happening. But is the science in the film equivalent to a think-tank of geniuses predicting what is going to happen, or is it a big bath full of photon milk? Here, in the pilot episode of Science Or Fiction, three scientists and a layman attempt to decide.
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