The Pyramid at the End of the World has come under criticism from something of a surprising source - the scientific community.
“It’s so easy to get the science right… Surely a microbe capable of ‘killing off root systems’ would be handled in a containment level three or four lab”
I’m pretty sure that they weren’t trying to make a dangerous microbe, the Doctor said it was an accident, so the containment protocols were probably just so the plants samples didn’t get contaminated
While Doctor Who has always veered into the realms of the fantastical, even becoming more fantasy than science-fiction in many respects, The Pyramid at the End of the World‘s scenes set at a biological research facility were just too much for some viewers.
Speaking with Geek.com, Dr. Pam Cameron, director of Scottish outreach firm NovoScience, said:
“It’s so easy to get the science right… Surely a microbe capable of ‘killing off root systems’ would be handled in a containment level three or four lab”
The doors are wrong too:
“Those would not open directly into an office, they would open into an [anteroom], where scientists would take off outer hazmat suits or shower completely and re-dress for containment level 4.”
So are the suits:
“What was the point of the ‘space suits’?” she asked, highlighting the lab rats’ all-white ensembles, which contain no independent oxygen supply, and can be removed on a whim. ‘What’s the point of wearing this?'”
Dr. Cameron was not the only one to point out the flaws in the episode. Nanochemist and Discovery presenter Dr Suze Kundu said:
Yep! Seriously annoyed by the lab set up in #DoctorWho - so much so that I couldn't focus on the episode through the rage! ☹️ @bbcdoctorwho https://t.co/tHyLrrXpCX
— Dr Suze Kundu (@FunSizeSuze) May 28, 2017
Regular viewers were just as confused
The Pyramid at the End of the World.
How many airlock doors do they keep open all at once? The contaminate would already be out😂 #doctorwho— Scott H (@Scottdiavolo) May 29, 2017
WHY ARE THEY ABLE TO LEAVE BOTH AIRLOCK DOORS OPEN WHAT THE FUCK SORT OF LAB IS THAT #ThePyramidAtTheEndOfTheWorld #DoctorWho
— Avocado frog (@fuddlemark) May 28, 2017
So airlock and Hazmat suits,but a ventilation system that just spews outside?! Nope. #DoctorWho
— Carlie (@CarlieP) May 28, 2017
Also, you would figure a lab working on possibly lethal bacteria wouldn't just AUTOMATICALLY VENT EVERYTHING ONTO THE WORLD! #DoctorWho
— Verdant Range (@Verdant_Range) May 28, 2017
Why the FRIG would a biochemical lab automatically vent air from a sealed, contaminated lab into the atmosphere?!?! #DoctorWho
— Zoë Marriott (@ZMarriott) May 27, 2017
Doctor Who returns this coming Saturday, featuring Victorians on Mars! The Empress of Mars airs at 7:15pm on BBC One and 8/9c on BBC America.
It’s fiction. Entertainment. Did they also criticise the fact there aren’t really any space monks o… https://t.co/7ugWlUeN1c
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Theres a reason why its called science FITCION.
None of it is real. Not every scene about science has to be accurate to real world science as it’s all fictional. Do scientists criticize the T.A.R.D.I.S and vortex manipulator?
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No but some have a point, airlock doors would NOT both open, and it WOULD NOT vent into the atmosphere. Its common sense not science.
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But they are ok with the whole “bigger on the inside” and wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.Riiiiiiight.
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It’s a tv show. Chill out and move on.
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Hopefully they weigh in on Kill the Moon
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Seriously? Speechless.lol
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I’ve never watched an episode of Dr.Who and been like well they didn’t do that exactly the way this or that person would do it.unbelievable just watch it to be entertained not to get a science lesson
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Stupid scientists you don’t know everything, if you did all drugs on the market would work perfectly and not be taken off the market several years later because you scientists have done another study and decide it doesn’t work after all. This is science fiction and therefore your educationalist text book rules are re-written into that fiction and not changed because it wasn’t looked at properly in the first place, as you scientists have a habit of doing.
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Get over it. It’s a bloody scifi show.
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Honestly the science fiction never bothers me, i play games where things that shouldn’t happen DO happen, but the lab made no sense for a modern lab. In ANY science fiction i’ve played that have airlocks like that, one opens at a time as to keep things contained. Also why the hell would you vent dangerous shizzle into the atmosphere? It’s not a science thing its a ” how do we NOT kill everyone” thing..
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So what?
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So they dont have a problem with the Tardis being bigger on the inside.It’s a tv show! A great tv show.
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OooOoo, a scientist is criticising a science FICTION story! Get back to your lab and actually cure something.
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“It’s so easy to get the science right… Surely a microbe capable of ‘killing off root systems’ would be handled in a containment level three or four lab”
I’m pretty sure that they weren’t trying to make a dangerous microbe, the Doctor said it was an accident, so the containment protocols were probably just so the plants samples didn’t get contaminated
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Derrrrr.
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Ffs IT’S A TV SHOW not real life. It’s not hard to tell the difference.
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It’s just a t.v show! Get over it!
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Guess what!…peter capaldi isn’t a real time lord!
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I have loved this show since I was a child, getting lost in the possibilities is what it is all about. Shame on you for thinking inside the box, and forcing everything around you to comply to what you understand. It simply goes against the very nature of the show. The Doctor knows things, and has seen things so fantastic. You are seeing a world ending event and all you can do is fuss about some strange doors, or some hazmat suits?
To expand your mind, should you not first open yourself to possibilities?
Whatever, like it? Who cares, he is the Doctor!
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You think 🤣
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WHOOOOO CARES!!
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