16th Jul 2016 7:00pm-9:30pm
Sallis Benney Theatre
“the perfect balance, clearly and dynamically covering a wide range of subjects.” – Starburst Magazine
An all-ages talk with the authors of a book about the real-life science behind the famous fictions of the BBC series.
Doctor Who stories are many things: thrilling adventures, historical dramas, and science fiction tales. But how much of the science is real? And how much is fiction?
Why is it a bad idea to change history? How do you tell one Sontaran from another? How difficult is it to turn someone into a Cyberman?
Prepare to step beyond space and time for a very special one-off event on July 16th, as we tackle the science of Doctor Who. Dr Who writer Simon Guerrier teams up with Public Astronomer Dr Marek Kukula to expound subjects as diverse as time travel, regeneration, artificial intelligence and how to operate a sonic screwdriver, in ways easy for all to understand, even parents. If you’ve got a burning question about the science of Doctor Who, send it in; let’s keep the panellists on their toes.
The Speakers
Dr. Marek Kukula is the public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the home of time and space. Originally he wanted to be a Time Lord when he grew up but settled on astronomy as the next most exciting thing, going on to study quasars and distant galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope. Marek regularly appears on BBC science shows such as The Sky at Night and Bang Goes the Theory to explain the latest astronomical discoveries and has also turned up in Doctor Who Confidential, where he showed Karen Gillan how to view Saturn through a telescope.
Simon Guerrier has written countless Doctor Who books, comics, audio plays, and documentaries. As research for one of his Doctor Who stories, he took night classes in astronomy at the Royal Observatory Greenwich which resulted in an A-plus and the plot for another Doctor Who story. Simon regularly writes for Horrible Histories magazine and the medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry. With his brother Thomas, Simon also makes films and documentaries most recently The Fundamentalist Queen, about the wife of Oliver Cromwell, broadcast by the BBC in December 2014.
£7. Tickets and more info here.
