CH: A Popular TV Series with Biopunk

[Killer300]

Specifically, a GOOD and popular series that utilizes Bio-Punk primarily in its art style. Now, how popular and critically acclaimed? Well... here are the qualifications.

1. It has name recognition on the level of something like Star Trek:TNG, or the Battlestar Galactica remake. Even if someone hasn't watched the show, they have probably at least heard of it.

2. It must be loved by critics on the level of something like Star Trek:TNG, which was hardly perfect, however was liked for the most part. Bonus points if it can go far beyond that.

3. This doesn't relate to the first two quite too much, but again, it must be genuinely biopunk. So, this isn't just a gimmick of the show, it's a core element of the show.

So... GO! Lets see what can be done with a relatively unknown sub genre compared to others popularity wise.

 

[omnimercurial]

Ok. Here's a concept. Run with a premise of the current financial crisis escalating with a deterioration of rights under the law&a severe plummeting drop of living standards. This causes political&idealogical radicalisation to take hold and move from the margins into the mainstream. Have Nationalism&Imperialistic adventurism&opportunism become the tactic that stronger bigger, countries adopt to cling to power. As a reaction, smaller and more resource scarce Nations under threat, attempt radical measures.

 

[omnimercurial]

With having modern tech&industry present a path of exploring Bio Sciences&Genetics etc is possible&becomes the method seized upon to survive in spite of extremely limited resources&restricted trade. Applications would extend to everything, Agricultural development&enhancement to attain food independance.Military usage like Bio,Viral deterrants&Human Augmentation for Warfare etc.Civilian maintenence like energy supply,Bio Gas generated via Gene Mod Microbes for fuel to get electricity.

 

[omnimercurial]

A potential idea could be disaster which becomes an unforeseen boon.Perhaps as other Nations are threatened etc,A Maniac could release a Plague that saturates&incapacitates with later fatality.If the Nation has natural barriers like mountain ranges or is a island like Sicily/Cyprus other Nations would likely write off the Populace&add to Natural barriers with Military means for Quarantine.If the Nation use Bio Tech&manage to develop a Vaccine alone,This could be the point a culture for the premise is born
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/forumdisplay.php?f=16

 

[omnimercurial]

For this nation to be able to develop Culturally&Advance its Scientific Goals we could have the Plague be a Bio Weapon that was developed as an Area Denial Weapon. This would mean that only the Nations Surviving Population can survive in this land due to the Cure/Vaccine. What was an attack&an atrocity has now become a Strategic Defence that gives this Nation a breating space from the previously imminent Hostile Actions of Predatory Nations. They now have the Time they so badly need.

 

[superkuf]

The world described in the early parts of Peter F Hamiltons "A second chance of Eden" would be a good setting for the show.

Advances in genetical science, as well as nanotech, ceates biotech - LEGO that lives. And just as LEGO easy to use (well, you need a bunch of doctorates and million of dollars in equipment - but possible for small companies, NGOs and groups of millionares) for different subjects. It also creates a lot of moral questions such as body modifications, sentinence/what is "human" etc.

Let the main characters be either investigators for UN Biotech, a national FDA-alike burocracy or a private research company that follow leads and collection stories. Just some subjects

* Gladiator fights between biotech constructs. What laws are applicable in that case?

* An adoption agency that creates genetically modified babies from scratch (artifical wombs) and adopt them away. Either with or without the new parents knowledge. To really grimdark it, add a mental mindset in the DNA that will lead the children, when grown, to a military career and use the parents as unpaid workers.

* A NGO that grows new reef from biotech, but thereby destroying the fishing industry since the new reef are harder than diamond and shreds all netting.

* Some biotech invention destroys a whole industry. Like desktop publishing and the printing unions, but far bigger and more upsetting.

* Bill Gates buys a lot of biotech, grows his own island (from the sea bottom) and then an orbital tower. Then declare the island as independent, by offering cheap transport to those countries that recognize him.

* Transplanting human brains into biotech constructs (that are mobile ICUs). Legal or not? Legal only for medical reasons? What to do if someone breaks the law, transplants his brain and destroys his old body?


Since no one knows how biotech would look CGI would be easy to use. Great outdoor scenes showing the orbital tower or the reef. A team of investigators just like House MD or X-Files, with some rotation to provide variation. Reccuring outside characters that may change from "bad guy" in one episode to "good guy" in a later episode (rather, their morale and goals are the same - it is the relation to the investigators that change).

The world must changes due to the cases. An orbital tower would make enormous changes fairly quickly, not to mention the industry-destroying biotech.

 

[Killer300]

Hey, that sounds awesome! And, judging by the art, the show would be instantly recognizable too, which would aid its popularity.

 

[Thande]

This is actually in the backstory to Red Dwarf (the more serious version seen in the novelisations). After the stereotypical robot rebellion, the human race switched over to using Genetically Engineered Life Forms (GELFs) instead...who, naturally, eventually also rebelled. It has a lot of detail in the novelisations about what this involved.

The main reason why it's hard for this to go mainstream is the cost of the special effects. It is just about possible now that CGI is cheap (though advanced puppetry a la Farscape would arguably look better IMO) but would have been prohibitively expensive at any point in the past.

 

[Killer300]

Hmm, perhaps an anime reaches heights such as these?

But besides that, well, Battlestar Galactica has name recognition despite how recent it is, so I think a Bio-Punk TV show could be made around the same time.

 

[Thande]

Hmm, perhaps an anime reaches heights such as these?

That would certainly be an easier way to do it SFX-wise, don't know if the bio-punk genre is well known in Japan though.

But besides that, well, Battlestar Galactica has name recognition despite how recent it is, so I think a Bio-Punk TV show could be made around the same time.

Battlestar Galactica's name recognition is hard to judge from the fact that it obviously takes the name from the earlier series from the 1980s. Also, the SFX for biopunk is still a lot harder/more expensive than even the stuff in that show, at least if you want to make it the general focus of the programme rather than just an occasional quirk.

 

[Killer300]

That would certainly be an easier way to do it SFX-wise, don't know if the bio-punk genre is well known in Japan though.


Battlestar Galactica's name recognition is hard to judge from the fact that it obviously takes the name from the earlier series from the 1980s. Also, the SFX for biopunk is still a lot harder/more expensive than even the stuff in that show, at least if you want to make it the general focus of the programme rather than just an occasional quirk.

The latter... well, I don't know much about CGI, so I guess.

But the former, I could actually see. Japan certainly has a strong cyberpunk following, and Bio-Punk is often considered a sub genre of that. So, yes, it looks like that's the key, as that cuts the costs to manageable levels, to say the least.

Well, it looks like we'll need an even bigger explosion of anime popularity in the states.

 

[AdA]

Starting points

1. Ghost in the shell done with actors and lots of money?
2. Dark angel with more emphasis on genetic manipulation?
3. A live action version of Appleseed?

 

[superkuf]

1. Ghost in the shell done with actors and lots of money?
2. Dark angel with more emphasis on genetic manipulation?
3. A live action version of Appleseed?

1. Ghost in the shell is very much about where the human end and the machine begins such as the Majors body, which is to 99,9% artifical (including the brain). Mental travels through cyberspace and all that is so very much cyberpunk, not biopunk. And you can't replace the Tachikomas with bio constructs

2. Dark Angel, with such potential that quickly turned into stereotypes. Yes, definetly - but it would require a lot of rewrites. Or simply less focus on Max and more on the surroundings and other peoples. It could explain why US seems to be a third world country.

3. Well, isn't the only (but extremly important) biopunk in Appleseed the bioroids themselves? Houses are still not-living, Deunan Knute is fairly standard-DNA, uses a robot exoskeleton in combat and when her partner Briareos got shot up he became a cyborg in a robot chassi, not some biopunk construct.

When we are discussing potential biopunk anime: Armitage III. Just make the Mars colony use a lot of biotech (while Earth restrict its use), turn the androids to "bioroids" and have parts where the Earth-Mars conflict on etics is displayed, or where Mars is terraformed (well, it will take centuries) with biopunk stuff that produces oxygen, water etc. Let Syllibus think about keeping his mechanical prothesis from Earth, or get biopunked "new parts" on Mars.

 

[Killer300]

Okay, I don't see live action Appleseed working anyway. It would be far too expensive to produce per episode, so I doubt it really get anywhere.

Dark Angel... yes, could work. It would need better writing, and honestly, is probably the best bet for this. For the effects, I don't think Bio-Punk would necessarily be overly expensive. After all, people have made convincing cyberpunk on a TV show budget before, so I think Bio-Punk can be done, with work.

 

[The Militant One]

Super easy. Just take Seaquest DSV and give it the biopunk flare.

 

[Killer300]

That would get popular enough? Interesting.