View source for Ludicrous show: Pratchett attacks the unconvincing and 'pixel thin' science of Doctor Who

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| publication = The Daily Telegraph
| file = 2010-05-06 Daily Telegraph.jpg
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| date = 2010-05-06
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| pages = 14
| language = English
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Sir Terry Pratchett has called Doctor Who a "ludicrous" show with "pixel thin" science fiction.

The author of the Discworld fantasy book series said the BBC show's scripts were full of "fast talking, and what appears to be that wonderful element makeitupasyougoalongeum," he told science fiction magazine SFX. 

"I wish I could hate Doctor Who," he said, adding that he was still "a believer" in the show, which pulls in more than eight million viewers.

But he went on: "Doctor Who is ludicrous and it breaks most of the laws of narrative." Episodes were plagued by "the unexpected, unadvertised solution which kisses it all better," he said.

Sir Terry, whose Discworld is perched on four elephants, said Doctor Who should not be seen as science fiction. While it was "possible to imagine" some concepts in Star Trek being real, he said of the Doctor's gadgets: "But the sonic screwdriver? I don't think so. Doctor Who's science is pixel thin."

But he said the show was "very entertaining, with its heart in the right place, even if its head is often in orbit around Jupiter".

GRAPHIC: Sir Terry Pratchett, inset, said the Doctor, played by Matt Smith, above, has unbelievable gadgets such as the sonic screwdriver

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