By participating in popular entertainment. Richard Dawkins is going to appear on Dr Who!. I know one fan of both who's going to be pleased.
I hope they also got a guest appearance by Lalla Ward…
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More articles by PZ Myers can be found on Freethoughtblogs at the new Pharyngula!
This is one way to ‘frame’ science
Posted on: April 7, 2008 12:42 PM, by PZ Myers
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Comments
Posted by: Tulse | April 7, 2008 12:51 PM
Man, that guy is everywhere -- Dr. Who, South Park...
Posted by: Moggie | April 7, 2008 12:53 PM
I don't think it'll make a lot of difference. Dr Who viewers are huge science nerds already, except those who are too young to have picked sides.
Posted by: baley | April 7, 2008 12:55 PM
Phil from Bad Astronomy should be happy!
Posted by: FishyFred | April 7, 2008 1:07 PM
Bad choice of words by Davies.
Here come the idiots claiming Dawkins is the Atheist Pope...
Posted by: H.H. | April 7, 2008 1:08 PM
Moggie, exposure for vocal atheists in popular entertainment isn't necessarily about winning converts right then and there. Coca-cola doesn't spend millions in advertising so you will immediately stand up, run to the store, and buy their soft drink. They spend the money so that when you do decide to buy something to drink, Coca-cola is a familiar choice. It isn't that weird green drink made with some exotic vegetation sitting on the bottom shelf that 99.99% of shoppers will never touch.
Exposure for vocal atheists like Richard Dawkins in popular entertainment can be nothing but positive. It increases brand recognition, so that when people do decide their old religion is no longer cutting it, atheism seems a normal and mainstream option, not that weird green pulpy product they've never seen anyone actually drink.
Posted by: Anhomoioi | April 7, 2008 1:10 PM
How about casting the Expelled morons as the Daleks?
Ben Stein sounds about like a Dalek. All of the followers are semi-robotic, etc.
Ex - ter - min - ate! Ex - ter - min - ate!
...
Posted by: Sarcastro | April 7, 2008 1:11 PM
I'll tune in for sure if he snoggs Captain Jack!
And now for some intense geekery:
The BBC promises this will be even more intense in episode six, "The Doctor's Daughter". Is Davies going to say how come the most eligible - but elusive - bachelor in the universe has got a child?
He had a granddaughter from day one! 1963, first Doctor's first companion. Susan Foreman as portrayed by Carole Ann Ford. Her parents were never shown, but logic tells us the Doctor already had at least one offspring no?
Posted by: Sigmund | April 7, 2008 1:13 PM
Who's playing Mr Garrison?
Posted by: Abby Normal | April 7, 2008 1:20 PM
Sounds par for the course. I remember in the second episode of the new series they arrive at a space station and hear a prerecorded message, "Use of weapons, personal teleportation devices and religion is strictly prohibited." Come to think of it I kind of want that as a sign for my yard. Or I would if I had a yard.
Posted by: B.B | April 7, 2008 1:26 PM
Richard Dawkins is married to the actress Lalla Ward who played Romana in the 1992-1993 version of Doctor Who.
Posted by: B.B | April 7, 2008 1:28 PM
My mistake. Lalla Ward played Romana since the late 1970s.
Posted by: alex | April 7, 2008 1:29 PM
Prof. Dawkins had a rather minor appearance as a guest on "The Big Questions" the other day, where he seemed to be severely mistrusted by just about everyone else in the audience.
at one point, some breathtakingly pompous C of E chap was claiming that there was "no other explanation for the Holocaust, the Devil was surely behind it". when Dawkins said he was surprised to hear such pre-medieval views nowadays, the audience actually booed him. bizarre.
Posted by: tomh | April 7, 2008 1:29 PM
I don't think it'll make a lot of difference.
Maybe he's not doing it to make a lot of difference. Maybe he just thinks it will be fun.
Posted by: Orac | April 7, 2008 1:32 PM
Hell, yes. In the incredibly unlikely event I was ever offered a guest spot on Doctor Who that's exactly the reason I'd jump at the chance.
Posted by: Janine, ID | April 7, 2008 1:39 PM
I'll tune in for sure if he snoggs Captain Jack!
Posted by: Sarcastro
I was happy enough with Captain Jack snogging/fighting with Spike!
Posted by: MReap | April 7, 2008 1:43 PM
Hey PZ, the Sarah Jane Chronicles begin Friday on SciFi. That'll have to do for a while.
Posted by: Chris Tucker | April 7, 2008 1:47 PM
"some breathtakingly pompous C of E chap was claiming that there was "no other explanation for the Holocaust, the Devil was surely behind it""
But, But... The Jews are offspring and tools of Satan. You know. That whole "Christian Identity" theology about Eve (or was it Lilith?) mating with the Serpent in the Garden of Eden and then dropping a litter of half human, half serpent Jews, and they're the reason for all the trouble and strife in the world?
Oh, wait, is it the Jews or the Thetans that are the problem.
I know, it's the Jews who are infested with Thetans!
Wow! Satan and Xenu, doubleteaming the Earth!
That would explain a lot... if one was a credulous fool, that is.
Damn. I think I just wrote the proposal for EXPELLED II: Electric Boogaloo.
Posted by: Jonathon | April 7, 2008 1:48 PM
FYI, Lalla Ward was also married for a short time to co-star Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor. I loved Lalla then, and I love her now. She was one of my favorite companions, especially so since she was on the show during Douglas Adams' stint as script writer.
You know, I always thought that Dawkins had a Gallifreyan air about him. He'll make a great Time Lord!
I'll have to go home and watch some of Lalla's and Tom's work to celebrate!!
Posted by: ancientTechie | April 7, 2008 1:52 PM
My youngest daughter announced that she will be able to die happy after seeing her favorite writer on her favorite television program. For geeks of my generation, this will be the equivalent of a Carl Sagan guest spot on Star Trek. (That never happened, did it?)
Posted by: Vic | April 7, 2008 2:06 PM
@#19 -nope. Closest I can think of to that would be Hawking's brief guest bit on ST:TNG.
Posted by: DenisC | April 7, 2008 2:12 PM
#16 For all who fans the torrent is available at mininova
courtesy of MadMartha (MM)
Looks like a great season.
DenisC
Posted by: Robster, FCD | April 7, 2008 2:16 PM
Wonderful. Now I have to not get excited and tell my wife. If she gets wind of it, she'll be pissed that we have to wait a year to see it.
Posted by: Don | April 7, 2008 2:21 PM
Excellent news. Interestingly, Ecclestone is an atheist and Tennant openly loathes astrology and 'woo' ( I think I remember him describing himself as 'culturally christian')
And didn't Douglas Adams introduce RD to Lalla Ward while he was scriptwriting for Doctor Who?
Posted by: Blake Stacey | April 7, 2008 2:26 PM
He's also been elevated to the status of celebrity D&D character.
Posted by: Moggie | April 7, 2008 2:27 PM
I agree, of course. Who wouldn't want to appear in Dr Who? Err, preferably in an episode not written by RTD. I was responding to the tongue-in-cheek "framing" comment.
Now, if they work a reference to Douglas Adams into the same episode, I'll be very happy.
Posted by: Brian W. | April 7, 2008 2:47 PM
Would be better if he turned out to be the 5th cylon on BSG, but this is good too.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | April 7, 2008 2:49 PM
no other explanation for the Holocaust, the Devil was surely behind it
What a dolt. Humans were behind the Holocaust, plain and simple.
As for actual examples of the devil's work, one need look no futher than Mark Burnett's career as a television producer....
So, when are Dawkins or PZ gonna get a cameo on BSG?
Posted by: Norman Doering | April 7, 2008 2:51 PM
Tulse wrote:
Not everywhere he should be. He needs to get on Battlestar Galactica next.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | April 7, 2008 2:55 PM
OMG! But would he be an atheist, given that the other Cylons are generally monotheistic?
Posted by: Matthew | April 7, 2008 3:05 PM
Sarcastro, it's not necessarily true that the Doctor had a child, at least if you go by the loom idea or the Other.
Posted by: blf | April 7, 2008 3:14 PM
Ben Stein and Co are so clewless that if they actually were Daleks (an insult to Daleks everywhen), the only thing they'd Ex - ter - min - ate! would be themselves. And even then, they'd probably miss.
Posted by: dWhisper | April 7, 2008 3:14 PM
Admit it PZ... you were cackling madly when you saw that you posted this before Phil did... another thing to hold over him, I suppose.
Posted by: MH | April 7, 2008 3:15 PM
This is great news, but the real question should be:
PZ, which TV program would you like to appear in?
Posted by: Tulse | April 7, 2008 3:17 PM
Well, there's the oddly atheist "priest" Brother Cavil, played by the always-excellent Dean Stockwell -- I can see him having some delightful conversations with a Cylon Dawkins, playing the supreme leader Cylon.
"You all must give up religion!"
"By your command..."
Posted by: Bartholomew | April 7, 2008 3:23 PM
Looks like this guy jumped ship just in time:
Posted by: scrabcake | April 7, 2008 3:55 PM
Hells yeah!This is awesome!
Posted by: Ann | April 7, 2008 4:05 PM
I like that, Bartholomew. "This is evil, but not so bad that I'm not willing to make a few bucks passing it on to someone else."
Posted by: Nick Gotts | April 7, 2008 4:31 PM
"He had a granddaughter from day one! 1963, first Doctor's first companion. Susan Foreman as portrayed by Carole Ann Ford. Her parents were never shown, but logic tells us the Doctor already had at least one offspring no?"
I'm not sure about that - remember that Zaphod Beeblebrox's grandfather was Zaphod Beeblebrox III due to "an accident with a contraceptive and a time machine".
On another point, of course Richard Dawkins isn't the "atheist Pope". The man's BRITISH, for nonexistence-of-God's sake - he's the Archatheist of Oxford!
Posted by: ellazimm | April 7, 2008 4:33 PM
Re: original topic - if you read the whole linked article you will get some idea of why I am glad to live in England now; Dawkins may have been booed on a particular program but in the UK there is a large tolerance for differing views and an appreciation for discourse and knowledge. And we don't have Ben Stein who on an interview linked to by the latest Evolution News & Views blog from the Discovery Institute implies that academics are scared of disagreement.
Posted by: Ragutis | April 7, 2008 4:39 PM
This should be good! A Lalla appearance would be fantastic as well.
And a minor correction to Don 2 #23:
DNA met Lalla during their time together on the show and they became good friends. It was significantly later that he introduced Dawkins to Lalla at a party (supposedly with matchmaking in mind). Lalla and Tom Baker were actually an item during her stint on the show and it led to a brief marriage.
And for those North American fans that don't get their Doctor Who elsewhere, you won't have to wait a year. SciFi Channel will begin airing the new series (starting with the 2007 Christmas special) on April 18. I'd guess that BBC America will begin showing it soon as well.
Posted by: Tulse | April 7, 2008 4:46 PM
Wait..you mean Dr. Who is a television show?
Posted by: Moggie | April 7, 2008 4:54 PM
My money's on an underwater show. Spongebob Squarepants?
Posted by: Peter Mc | April 7, 2008 4:55 PM
I used to hide behind the sofa when the Daleks came on and that was when they were in black and white and made out of cereal boxes operated by dwarves banged up on amphetamines.
They scared the living pooh out of me.
Posted by: alex | April 7, 2008 5:13 PM
i suppose the obvious question to ask is "how long do we now have to wait for PZ's Dr Who role as a squid-monster?"
Posted by: Nicole the Wonder Nerd | April 7, 2008 5:15 PM
Richard Dawkins in Doctor Who! Squeeeeeeee! :D *happy atheist Who-fan moment*
Her parents were never shown, but logic tells us the Doctor already had at least one offspring no?
Word. He's also stated, explicitly, "I was a dad, once".
Now, if they work a reference to Douglas Adams into the same episode, I'll be very happy.
There's already been one nod: in "The Christmas Invasion", the Doctor talks about saving the world in his jim-jams. "Very Arthur Dent. Now there was a nice man..."
Posted by: Ophelia Benson | April 7, 2008 6:18 PM
Sagan also has to be married to a former Star Trek-actor for it to be a complete equivalent. I don't think Ann Druyan played Lt Ahura...
Posted by: ancientTechie | April 7, 2008 7:16 PM
Ophelia,
OK. It's not completely equivalent. Interestingly, though, Ann Druyan did receive a Richard Dawkins Award in 2004.
Posted by: James F | April 7, 2008 8:25 PM
#44 alex wrote,
Maybe they'll have an episode where they bring back the Zygons!
Posted by: Troff | April 7, 2008 9:15 PM
Sarcastro,
Matthew beat me to it; but if you go back to the time between the end of the original series and that BBC/Fox co-production movie, there's a series of novels published by Virgin (then the BBC) with a lot of backstory.
In it, we discover that the Gallifreyans are sterile (due apparently, of all things, to a curse by the dying-last-of-the-Matriarchs who ruled Gallifrey in almost pre-history).
As a result, the Gallifreyans developed a method of "growing" new Time Lords in devices called "Looms".
The Doctor's Granddaughter Susan was, in fact, a child from the pre-sterility era.
... there's a lot, lot, lot more detail in all of that and I won't go into it unless asked (I have to rush to a meeting very shortly).
And besides, all the books might be invalidated anyway. The new series has Sarah Jane meeting the Doctor for the first time since her appearance in the old television series, even though the books have an earlier re-meeting. Not to mention, the books also destroyed Gallifrey in another war which didn't involve the Daleks in any way. Russell Davies elected to NOT inherit any of that continuity in starting the new series.
Posted by: Richard | April 7, 2008 10:11 PM
Christopher Hitchens as The Master, Stephen Hawking as Davros, Rebecca Watson as The Companion... it could work...
Posted by: Pyre | April 8, 2008 12:05 AM
So now he's Dick to the Doc on the BBC
(They're both smarter than you, they've got science degrees)
Posted by: jimBOB | April 8, 2008 12:16 AM
Fans of Lalla Ward can hear her reprise the Romana character in a number of Big Finish audioplays.
Posted by: Lee Brimmicombe-Wood | April 8, 2008 2:03 AM
He admitted as much to Martha last season.
My claim to fame: David Tennant played me in this one (no, really. Go check it!):
http://www.bigfinish.com/2-Doctor-Who-Unbound-Sympathy-for-the-Devil
Posted by: Gareth | April 8, 2008 4:10 AM
"Christopher Hitchens as The Master, Stephen Hawking as Davros, Rebecca Watson as The Companion... it could work... "
With Christopher Hitchens as The Master, no-one else would get a word in edge-ways. He'd keep interrupting them all the time... ;o)
Posted by: Lilly de Lure | April 8, 2008 6:53 AM
Gareth said:
Ah, but he's got the stylish hedonism thing down pat!
How about Matt Nisbett as the Cyberleader, trying to "upgrade" us all into copies of himself?
;-)
Posted by: Nick Gotts | April 8, 2008 7:10 AM
"Russell Davies elected to NOT inherit any of that continuity in starting the new series."
Continuity? When the whole thing's based on time travel?
Posted by: Norman Doering | April 8, 2008 8:55 AM
But with a human or another Time Lord? I mean, can the Doctor breed with humans? Isn't he of another species, from another planet?
Posted by: Devichan | April 8, 2008 8:59 AM
If you also follow the novel continuity, his daughter was during Eight's time. The novel in question is _Father Time_ by Lance Parkin. Rather interesting book. Davies isn't following this, but then he's also adapted novels and short stories a couple of times now with changes. I'll be really curious to see where they go with this!
Posted by: Nicole the Wonder Nerd | April 8, 2008 10:05 AM
But with a human or another Time Lord? I mean, can the Doctor breed with humans? Isn't he of another species, from another planet?
Yeah, but aliens in the Who-niverse seem to be able to interbreed pretty freely. Even the Doctor claimed, at one point, to be half-human. (This is pretty controversial, though. Walking up to Who-fen and going "The Doctor is half-human!" is equivalent to walking up to Trekkies and going "Kirk could totally beat up Picard!" It just won't end well.)
Posted by: Zbu | April 8, 2008 10:44 AM
Dawkins on Who? What's next, the entire run of missing episodes suddenly turning up?
*crosses fingers*
Posted by: amiable atheist | April 8, 2008 11:50 AM
Dr.......who?
Posted by: Erin | April 9, 2008 12:17 AM
There are, I think, no sufficient words for how happy this makes me.
Posted by: Nimravid | April 9, 2008 6:40 AM
According to the Torchwood ethos, his life will not be complete until he does.
Posted by: Troff | April 9, 2008 8:01 AM
Devichan,
wasn't that daughter an adopted daughter?
Posted by: J | April 9, 2008 8:31 AM
It's a shame he can't have a recurring role, he'd make a great Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart-type character.
Posted by: RighteousFIlburn | April 9, 2008 10:36 AM
He could be UNIT's new 'Scientific Advisor'...
Maybe the Doctor will complement him on his contribution to the future of mankind- In a very nervous-fanboy way, as he always does.