Give me some Spock!

Rose Tyler: It's not very Spock, is it? Just asking.
The Doctor (listening at a door): Voices, music, people. What d'you think?
Rose Tyler: I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some Spock! Just once, would it kill you?
– from the Dr Who episode 'The Empty Child'

It’s a fact that TV sci-fi can spark the imagination of scientists the world over who love the shows. Many of them have science consultants, real scientists who have a guess at the future to help develop the plots and props. Star Trek is a great example of how yesterday's sci-fi has become today’s must-have technology – they really did go boldly with the show's ideas. With the recent high octane reboot of the film franchise, complete with a new cast (well mostly, but we'd be giving the plot away if we said more), the Guardian newspaper produced a great photo gallery showing how gadgets from the starship Enterprise have influenced today’s technologies. It makes us wonder where the ideas of today’s TV sci-fi will end up in 30 years' time. It will be the next generation of scientists and engineers who will make it so. The trek into the future continues.