Continuing the tradition of former Star Trek stars appearing in science (or pseudoscience) related programs, Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard from The Next Generation) is starring in a new BBC drama called The Eleventh Hour. He plays Professor Ian Hood, a Sherlockian character whose job is to investigate and head off potential disasters caused by modern technology.

I’m glad to see the increase in such programming – mainstream dramas featuring protagonists who are decidedly scientific and even skeptical. My favorite such character is Gil Grissom from CSI, but others come to mind, including Dr. House.

It’s refreshing to see characters who proudly defend science and reason, who are living in a reality-based world (as opposed to the magical or supernatural worlds of so many other programs), and who are likeable. I know it is just one more trend among many, and that this trend will not last forever, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

It stands in stark contrast to the 1990’s, which were typified by the X-files. In that series, the skeptic, Scully, took a fairly dismissive and simplistic approach to the fantastical phenomena that she and her partner, Mulder, encountered. Further, this cartoon of science always – ALWAYS – led to the wrong conclusion. Meanwhile, Mulder followed his intuition, which always led directly to the most supernatural, and correct, conclusion.

Also, Hollywood, and by extension television, has had a very limited concept of scientists – who basically came in two flavors: The mad scientist bent on either world domination or defying the purview of god; or the hopeless nerd with incomprehensible (almost magical) scientific knowledge, but no social skills.

By contrast, Dr. House uses legitimate logical inferences to reach reasonable conclusions. Gil Grissom is a slave to evidence – and it always leads to the truth. And now Professor Hood questions everything, considers alternatives, and follows logic and evidence to uncover sensational – but not supernatural – conclusions. Even more, they are all charismatic likeable characters (even if House is a bit of a jerk).

By this point you should be wondering why I care about such fictional characters. Well, movies and television are the storytelling of our age. They represent our culture and our mythology – and they also play an important role in shaping our culture. Do we want to lure the next generation with fantasies of the paranormal? Do we want to tell them that hard work and careful thinking are not necessary or even valued – that gut intuition is better (and will get you the girls)? Or do we want to ignite their imaginations with legitimate science and discovery, and teach the value of critical thinking?

I am not advocating television programming as a method of social engineering, and I have no problem with science fiction, or with pure entertainment (I, in fact, enjoy both). But it is nice to see some balance in the presentation of science and scientists on television.

Perhaps even Captain Picard can finally kill the legacy of Spock and his embarrassing docufiction – In Search Of.