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From: strausx@utai.UUCP (Paul Albert Strauss)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,net.tv
Subject: Re: How to fix bad SF
Message-ID: <605@utai.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Jul-85 15:53:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: utai.605
Posted: Mon Jul  8 15:53:25 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 8-Jul-85 16:35:43 EDT
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Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
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> <>
> There is one segment of a Dr Who episode that has been bothering me for
> some time.  Usually Dr Who has imaginitive (sp?) scripts and well thought
> stories.  The sf isn't hard core but when they show something it usually
> is correct, or good enough that I would allow them "poetic license".
> Example: the episode Enlightment, dumb premise, a yacht race in space,
> but the explaination of the wind being the solar wind and the gravity
> of the planets providing the force to steer against the wind was quite
> good.  What gets me is Four to Doomsday, where the Doctor is stranded
> in space midway between another space craft and his Tardis.  He pulls
> a cricket ball out of his pocket and throws it at the space ship, when
> he catches it on the rebound he has the momentum to reach his Tardis.
> He should have also gotten some momentum from throwing the ball!!!
> If the writers had figured out the solar sailing business I would have
> thought they would have figured this out too.
> 
> Mike
> Davis

        Sounds to me as if throwing the ball toward the space craft
        (and thus away from his Tardis) would have accelerated the Doctor 
        TOWARD his Tardis, as would the act of catching the ball.  Thus,
        (without having seen this episode), I don't perceive a flaw.

Paul Strauss