Sci Fi History: Dr. Who (1963)

Dr. Who is a British sci-fi series featuring a time traveler that explores the universe in a phone booth (or TARDIS). The doctor is a time lord that battles villains and helps those in need. The show is a major British phenomenon, but a cult classic elsewhere. The show has run 50 years, but 12 actors have portrayed Dr. Who. When it’s time for an actor to leave, the writers kill his version of the doctor. Then, the character is reincarnated into another body. Each body brings another personality keeping the character fresh and the series ongoing. The 12^th doctor begins his adventures in 2013.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXCpY_3Sac8

Sci Fi History: The Time Machine (1960)

H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine has been adapted into two full length films, at least two television series, and comic books. The book has influenced science fiction and science for over a century. In fact, the term time machine originated with Wells. The most famous adaptation came in 1960. The makers adapted the film to the Cold War and included a nuclear holocaust as well as the first two World Wars. The book sympathizes with the working classes in the form of the Morlocks, who live underground, operate machines, and cannibalize the Eloi. The Eloi represent the leisure classes who have developed into child-like sheep. The film ends with the traveler returning to Victorian Britain, grabbing some things, and setting off to the future to be with Weena, whom he saved from the Morlocks. Wells was not the first to ponder time travel, but he popularized it and time travel has been a key component of science fiction ever since.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKP-WkcDT5s

Sci-Fi History: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)

The Time Machine popularized the idea of time travel. In the work, an inventor creates a time machine and travels to 802,701 A.D. The people he meets reflect Wells’ political views. One group, the Eloi, are peaceful and childlike. They live in paradise and do no work. The other group, the Morlocks, live underground and only come out at night. The Morlocks represent the working class and their underground layer represents a factory. It turns out, the Morlock feed on the Eloi, whom are herded like cattle. After leaving this period, he witnesses the end of the world before returning home in a depression. Since The Time Machine's publication, several science fiction entities ranging from Star Trek to the Twilight Zone have developed stories centering on time travel and scientists have studied the feasibility of time travel.