Episode 106


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The Lazarus experiment follows a disappointing trend of misunderstanding the principles of evolution, both in the TNG episode Genesis which you mentioned as well as Voyagers Threshold. I've always thought one of the duties of good sci-fi should be education, using exaggeration to emphasise scientific or social principles. X-men can mess with evolution because it explores the notion of survival of the fittest as well as social issues like exclusion and persecution. All these other shows are claiming that DNA has the potential to turn you into a scorpion or a spider or whatever with some tiny shifts and it absolutely drives me mental.

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The Lazarus experiment follows a disappointing trend of misunderstanding the principles of evolution, both in the TNG episode Genesis which you mentioned as well as Voyagers Threshold. I've always thought one of the duties of good sci-fi should be education, using exaggeration to emphasise scientific or social principles. X-men can mess with evolution because it explores the notion of survival of the fittest as well as social issues like exclusion and persecution. All these other shows are claiming that DNA has the potential to turn you into a scorpion or a spider or whatever with some tiny shifts and it absolutely drives me mental.

The new series has never been big on real science. Just read any interview with Bidmead

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The Lazarus experiment follows a disappointing trend of misunderstanding the principles of evolution, both in the TNG episode Genesis which you mentioned as well as Voyagers Threshold. I've always thought one of the duties of good sci-fi should be education, using exaggeration to emphasise scientific or social principles. X-men can mess with evolution because it explores the notion of survival of the fittest as well as social issues like exclusion and persecution. All these other shows are claiming that DNA has the potential to turn you into a scorpion or a spider or whatever with some tiny shifts and it absolutely drives me mental.

Genesis I didn't have a problem with, since the idea was that dormant DNA strands were becoming dominant. The instantaneous mutation is a bit wonky, but that's about the only problem. Threshold, though... eesh. That's a total disaster.

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The Lazarus experiment follows a disappointing trend of misunderstanding the principles of evolution, both in the TNG episode Genesis which you mentioned as well as Voyagers Threshold. I've always thought one of the duties of good sci-fi should be education, using exaggeration to emphasise scientific or social principles. X-men can mess with evolution because it explores the notion of survival of the fittest as well as social issues like exclusion and persecution. All these other shows are claiming that DNA has the potential to turn you into a scorpion or a spider or whatever with some tiny shifts and it absolutely drives me mental.

Genesis I didn't have a problem with, since the idea was that dormant DNA strands were becoming dominant. The instantaneous mutation is a bit wonky, but that's about the only problem. Threshold, though... eesh. That's a total disaster.

Evolution isn't determined by potential changes already stored within the DNA, it's caused by slow mutation. Even if you play it extremely fast and loose maybe Betazoids were fish, and Klingons were big predators, and Riker is really only a generation removed from Cro-magnon, but Barclay being a spider is immensely moronic.

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Evolution isn't determined by potential changes already stored within the DNA, it's caused by slow mutation. Even if you play it extremely fast and loose maybe Betazoids were fish, and Klingons were big predators, and Riker is really only a generation removed from Cro-magnon, but Barclay being a spider is immensely moronic.

The idea of past mutations still being stored within dormant sections of DNA is an actual scientific thing; they didn't make that part up. They weren't evolving into future forms like Threshold; they were devolving based on pre-existing mutational patterns. The spider thing is a little odd, yes. But then it might just be a case of certain patterns being active that paralleled arachnid physiology, not literally saying Barclay had a spider ancestor.

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I and everyone I know own a telephone answering machine.

It's extremely possible that this is a cultural thing. I have not owned an answering machine in almost twenty years, ever since voicemail became an easily obtainable thing.

I think it might be cultural. Sure, everyone owns mobile phones with texting etc. But when i went to buy a new home phone recently, almost all of the ones on sale had an answering machine.

And since Doctor Who is a british show, it would make sense for them to go with the answering machine. :)

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I disagree that the Lazarus Experiement is as insanely boring as you guys said it was. It's one of my favorites from series 3. I can't exactly say why other than I like the interplay of the Doctor and Martha in it. I think that has a nice outing, and the clip Mike put it at the beginning with the Doctor excited over the impossible happening, stuff like that hooks me. It's not the BEST of the series, admittedly, but I think there's fun to be had. I will agree that it didn't need the extended third act.

42 I did get a Satan Pit vibe from very heavily. No strong love for that. Lazarus Experiment has a socft spot in my heart.

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