A teaspoon and an open mind

Science fiction suggests that the future will bring many new possibilities, from travelling throught the galaxy to extending our lives indefinintely, but it's hard to be sure which of these will remain fiction. In this book Michael White examines how some of these ideas might be achieved in practice. It has to be said that most of the book doesn't reflect the unique nature of the Dr Who programs, rather it is a look at science fictional ideas in general, which might irritate fans of the series. However it contains many interesting and entertaining ideas and can be recommended as a bit of light reading for anyone with an interest in what new possibilities await us in the future.

The book starts with that special ability of the Doctor, time travel. It goes on to consider whether there is life elsewhere in the universe and what it would look like. White also examines the possibilities for interstellar travel, both in starships and using teleportation. Moving away from the physical sciences, there are chapters on telepathy and a look at whether there have been advanced civilisations on Earth before us, such as Atlantis. The chapter on robots doesn't relate much to the Dr Who programs, but the final chapter does get back to on of the Doctor's characteristic abilities - regeneration.

Confusingly there is an unrelated Dr Who fan fiction archive with the same title as this book.