{"id":3158,"date":"2008-11-16T16:53:26","date_gmt":"2008-11-16T16:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scienceblogs.com\/principles\/2008\/11\/16\/strain-to-see\/"},"modified":"2008-11-16T16:53:26","modified_gmt":"2008-11-16T16:53:26","slug":"strain-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/2008\/11\/16\/strain-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Strain to SEE"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I’m in the right mood, I’m a sucker for really awful sci-fi movies. For example, Saturday night I stayed up far too late to watch the end of the tv-movie version of The Andromeda Strain<\/cite><\/a>, based on the book by the prolific and recently deceased Luddite Fiction writer Michael Crichton. It’s been twenty-plus years since I read the book, but I recall it being a whole lot better than this piece of garbage.<\/p>\n

Crichton’s original novel about a crack research team dealing with a disease of alien origin is remarkable for being somewhat understated. The action focusses on the scientists attempting to find a way to fight the disease, and the ultra-high-tech research facility where they’re working. The origin of the disease is never really spelled out, and there’s relatively little detail about what’s going on outside the facility.<\/p>\n

The tv movie, on the other hand, adds a sub-X-files conspiracy-theory subplot whose daftness is exceeded only by the lengthy discussions of the origin of the plague. It appears that it was sent from the future, via a wormhole in orbit. They know this because it arrives packaged in “buckyballs,” which the token Asian team member explains are:
\n1) Named after their inventor, Buckminster Fuller
\n2) An advanced form of nanotechnology,
\n3) Beyond our ability to create,
\n4) Octahedral in shape,
\n5) Consisting of 60 carbon atoms.<\/p>\n

That’s an impressive piece of work (20% sucks even in baseball), considering that all of these mistakes could’ve been avoided by looking at Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This televisual turd is a wonderful demonstration of the need for the new initiative that Jennifer Ouellette is heading up<\/a>, the Science and Entertainment Exchange<\/a>, a program backed by the National Academy of Sciences that aims to improve communication between the scientific community and people in the entertainment industry who would like to do a better job portraying science and scientific activity.<\/p>\n

What does the Exchange offer?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Spanning the range of science topics, The Exchange can find experts that will work with you to identify and effectively portray the science details that complement a storyline. We can help flesh out ideas that depend upon accurate details relating to insects, extraterrestrial life, unusual Earth-based life forms, or the mysteries of oceans. We can refine concepts relating to emerging science concepts in areas such as space travel, multiple dimensions, nanotechnology, computer technology, and engineering. We can find experts in environmental and ecological issues, health, medicine, and disease, and U.S. educational practices. We are also well positioned to work with you on public policy issues that relate to science such as stem cell research, global climate change, and teaching about evolution and the nature of science. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Basically, the idea is to put writers and producers in touch with scientists who can answer questions, and work with them to refine their ideas so as to produce plots that are dramatically satisfying without insulting the viewer’s intelligence. It’s a great idea, and I hope Hollywood takes advantage of it.<\/p>\n

(There are probably benefits to be gained from collaboration in the other direction, as well. A lot of scientists and science policy groups could do with a few pointers in how to appeal to a mass audience.)<\/p>\n

This comes too late for the people behind the tv-movie Andromeda Strain<\/cite>, but it’s not likely they would’ve made use of it, anyway. After all, if they wanted to make a non-stupid book about scientists investigating an alien disease, all they needed to do was stick to Crichton’s book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I’m in the right mood, I’m a sucker for really awful sci-fi movies. For example, Saturday night I stayed up far too late to watch the end of the tv-movie version of The Andromeda Strain, based on the book by the prolific and recently deceased Luddite Fiction writer Michael Crichton. It’s been twenty-plus years… Continue reading Strain to SEE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,11,29,75,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pop_culture","category-science","category-sf","category-society","category-television","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}