04 March 2009

Science Fiction and the Medical Point of View


Have you ever tried to watch a science fiction show or movie with a doctor? My spouse and sister-in-law are medical doctors and if I happen to be watching a sci fi show or movie with one or the other it is almost impossible for me to sit back and relax without hearing a running commentary on the technical mistakes being made by the good doctor of the show or movie. I try to remind them that it is simply fiction, but I get in response that basic mistakes should not be made if they are going to have a medical doctor treating people(which they invariably do!) The doctor is usually the beloved character in a series or movie and is highly trained in alien physiology or using technical gadgets. The techno babble usually sounds good to the untrained ear but look out if you have someone who knows medicine!
I hear the loudest complaints and sometimes outright laughter whenever I watch Star Trek in any incarnation, and to a lesser degree while watching Stargate. (Forget about watching ER, I know it is not sci fi, but if I want some drama and fun I need to watch it alone!)
While it is very useful to get the perspective from a trained professional it can also get tiresome. The funny thing is that neither can control themselves, they automatically point out what is wrong and that in and of itself can be very amusing to me. Suddenly I will be startled with "if that were true the person would be seizing, are they an alien or what?" Most of the time I don't mind and to outsiders it is amusing, but sometimes I want to relax in my fantasy science fiction world where broken spines can be replaced, we can read minds, and have bionic hearing!
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6 comments:

Egotistical Cyclist said...

LOL, your post is so true and hilarious, becasue it's true. I'm a Cardiologist and some of my friends are sci fi fanatics and sometimes it's hard for me to watch either, Stargate or Star Trek without noticing the horrendous mistakes they make sometimes.

MrsBrains said...

haha, that would be like watching Criminal Intent or any detective show with my hubby. I just can't watch any of my favorite detective shows because he's right there criticizing the evidence collected, lol.
Good post, Mish.

Medix Thoughts said...

Nice post!
I like to read a good/intelligent/SMART Sci Fi Blog like yours.
Thumbs up!

Sci-Fi Gene said...

Mish, this is 100% true and another excellent post but this phenomenon is not limited to sci-fi - any TV doctor is fair game in my experience but the worst offenders are always the actual medical shows, even if like ER they are well-researched.

I personally like the way ship's doctors are portrayed in Star Trek as argumentative, arrogant but basically good figures who consider themselves outside the captain's authority (particularly McCoy or the holographic doctor). The Kirk - McCoy battles of wits in the original Star Trek were always good fun and this was the point rather than the realistic portrayal of future medicine.

Catherine Maname Uli said...

Hi, I'm from Indonesia. I love sci-fi very much, especially in medical sci-fi!
Now I'm trying to write the medical sci-fi short story in Indonesian because I think I have to introduce the sci fi in Indonesia and besides that I think my english isn't fluent.
The last, I love to read your Sci Fi blog!
Keep writing!
:)

Mish said...

Thank you for reading my blog and good luck to you on your writing, medical sci fi is so interesting!