The Truth About Science Fiction

The atomic bomb was not used until 1945, but the phrase "atomic bomb" initially crops up in 1913 in H.G. Wells' The World Set Free. Even before Hugo Gernsback coined the term "scientifiction" (which later became "science fiction") when he launched the magazine Amazing Stories in 1926, writers such as Jules Verne (who envisioned lunar travel in From the Earth to the Moon), Wells, and Rudyard Kipling (who foresaw air mail) were trying to extrapolate future inventions and changes from what was then scientifically known. In this episode of The History Channel's In Search of History, viewers will see a lively comparison of science fiction and science fact, as sci-fi historians and writers, such as Harlan Ellison and Larry Niven, examine early versions of "cyborgs" and ponder today's pacemakers and cochlear implants, trace early instances of cloning in sci-fi while recalling 1997's super surprise story of a sheep named Dolly, and pinpoint the first use of the rocket launch countdown in Fritz Lang's 1929 film Woman in the Moon. While not a terribly in-depth examination of the topic, The Truth About Science Fiction is full of nostalgic movie clips, cool first edition jacket covers, and good old NASA footage. Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (R. Pitman)