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Sid the Science Kid (Western Animation)

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/westernanimation/sidthesciencekid

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They're kind of like Muppets, but without the hand inside 'em. (Left to right: May, Gerald, Gabriela, Sid)

Sid the Science Kid is a CGI children's Science Show created and produced by The Jim Henson Company. The show follows young Sid and his friends, May, Gerald, and Gabriela, along with their teacher, Teacher Susie. Sid is a budding scientist who regularly asks why things happen, what causes what, and also sings songs about it.

The show debuted in September 2008, and concluded its run in March 2013 with the release of Sid the Science Kid: The Movie. Although the show itself is off the air, DVD releases are still easily found in stores and as of 2022, the program is still available to stream on the PBS Kids video app service.

This show provides examples of:

  • A. I. Is a Crapshoot: In the movie, Dr. Bonabodon builds a whole staff of seemingly sentient robots to maintain the museum. Among them is the tour guide Bobbybot, who goes rogue after a mishap in the electricity pavilion and starts causing assorted mischief by reprogramming all of the exhibits.
  • All-CGI Cartoon: Using the Henson Company's proprietary digital puppetry system.
  • Animal Motifs: For starters, Sid's pajamas are covered in bees.
  • Amazing Technicolor Population: Just look at them.
  • Ambiguously Brown: Zig-Zagged. Although the kids' actual skin tones are pastel colored, they are implied to be from real ethnic backgrounds; Gabriella is supposed to be Latina, May is described as being Asian (clarified as Chinese-American in the movie), and Sid is mixed-race since his mom is stated to be of African descent and his dad celebrates Hanukkah.
  • Archive Binge: invoked In "Must See TV," Sid decides that once he gets home from school, he wants to take a TV into his room, camp out, and go straight into a marathon all-weekend watch of his favorite television show, Firedog Brigade, about a team of dogs that seem like ordinary dogs until the bell in their fire station goes off and then they go out and do stuff like fighting crimes and saving the day. Being the show that this is, he learns that it's okay to watch television sometimes, but this sort of binge-watching isn't healthy for a growing young boy.
  • Art Shift: Sid's "Super Duper Schmooper Big Ideas" are presented as animated kids' drawings.
  • Beautiful Void: Sid's neighborhood and school is completely devoid of any people besides the main cast, as is the museum they visit on occasion in later episodes.
  • Because I Said So: Averted. Every adult character, be they Teacher Susie or the parents, happily and straightforwardly answers whatever questions the kids may have.
  • Big Entrance: Gerald usually does a weird entrance when he enters class.
  • Birthday Episode: "I Want Cake" takes place on Sid's birthday and has him learn all about healthy eating when he decides he wants to eat nothing but cake all the time, only for his parents to tell him that having one's diet based entirely around cake wouldn't be very nutritious.
  • Blind Without 'Em: May, apparently.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall:
    • Sid greets the viewers as "fellow scientists," but none of the other characters seem to recognize the presence of an audience.
    • In the unaired episode"Where Did I Come From?", Sid's parents tell him to walk into the kitchen counter in order to meet the animation team that created him.
  • Camping Episode: Sid, Gerald, and Mort camp out in the backyard in "Sid's Backyard Campout."
  • Changing Chorus: The song "The Journey of a Germ" has two lines, and one is always different but the other one is "_____ on my journey of a germ".
  • Cheesy Moon: In "The Big Cheese," Sid and his mother find a website that says that the moon is made of glowing green cheese. From this, Sid eventually learns a lesson that you can't believe everything you read on the Internet.
  • Child Prodigy: Niuniu and Yangyang in the movie; two students from China comprising the other winning team of the invention contest. They're only a few years older than Sid and Gabriella at most, and yet they built a fully functional extraplanetary rocket.
  • Class Trip: In later episodes, the class goes to a science museum to learn about their topic.
  • Cloudcuckoolander:
    • Gerald. He always provides the most off-the-wall answer in each interview segment.
    • In the movie, Bobbybot becomes this when Niuniu and Yangyang attempt to reprogram him after he's zapped by the lightning exhibit. He proceeds to sabotage all the exhibits in mischievous ways.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The kids' science journals.
  • Company Cross References:
    • In the episode "Sid's Amazing Lungs", Gerald pretends to be a baby and says "I'm the baby, gotta love me!" This is one of the Catch Phrases of Baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs, another Jim Henson series.
    • In the movie, the robotic tyrannosaurus dances along to a scatted version of "Dinosaurs A-Z" from Dinosaur Train (which was running on PBS Kids around the same time) after being reprogrammed.
    • The animatronic dinos themselves also use more realistically retextured character models of Boris Tyrannosaurus and Morris Stegosaurus from the aforementioned series, although this is probably more a case of Recycled Animation than intentional homage.
  • Constantly Curious & Curious as a Monkey: Sid both asks a lot of questions and does experiments to get to the bottom of things. Those are, after all, things that a good scientist does. Still, he could give the original Trope Namer for the latter a run for his money.
  • Cool Old Lady: Sid's grandmother.
  • Cool Teacher: Teacher Susie, who is shown to be a fun and engaging instructor all the kids love.
  • Disease-Prevention Aesop: "Getting a Shot, You Can Do It" teaches the importance of, not only vaccines, but hand-washing as well.
  • Disembodied Eyebrows: While not a normal component of the series, random animals seen in the animated portions of songs (which are an Art Shift using a more traditional animation look), such as the frogs in the "Getting Into the Habit" song.
  • Dynamic Entry: Gerald is always the last to enter the classroom, and he's usually doing something related to the plot on the way in.
  • Edutainment Show: It's intended to teach the viewers about science, if the name of the show being Sid the Science Kid didn't already clue you in.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Guess Sid's favorite subject!
  • Expository Theme Tune: The theme song has Sid singing about how he wants to learn about the world around him and how things work.
  • Fantasy Helmet Enforcement: When any of the kids is shown leisurely pedaling around the playground on a tricycle, the kid is never without a helmet.
  • Fiery Redhead: Gerald has a mohawk-like tuft of red hair, and is the loudest and most boisterous of the kids.
  • First-Name Basis: Sid and his classmates call their teacher by her first name, but do at least address her as "Teacher Susie." Also, somewhat unusually for a show of this type, Sid's parents, Alice and Mort, address each other by first name when talking to each other.
  • Formula-Breaking Episode: "No School Singalong Special" and "Sid's Backyard Campout" break formula by not having the kids in school and otherwise departing from the formula in many ways.
  • Fourth Wall Greeting: This is how the closing segment is presented, in which Sid talks with the viewers in his room at night before going to bed and presents his "Super Duper Big Idea. "
  • Gender-Equal Ensemble: In Sid's class, there are 2 boys (Sid and Gerald) and 2 girls (Gabriela and May).
  • Girlish Pigtails: Gabriela wears her hair like this.
  • Good, Open Minded Parents: A large portion of what the parents do entails encouraging the children's curiosity, as well as guiding and assisting them in their exploration.
  • Growling Gut: It happens to Sid two times in the beginning of the episode "Special Mom Day Meal". Also, happens to Sid, Gabriela and Gerald in the same episode when May tries to guess what they ate for lunch. Sid's Mom's stomach rumbled in almost to the end of the episode and the characters in "Sid's Big Idea". A Cat's stomach rumbled in the episode "Sid's Pet Project" when Sid's having one of his big ideas
  • Halloween Episode: Each child is told of their costume's practical applications.
  • Hiroshima as a Unit of Measure: In "The Whale Episode," the buzz-phrase of the day was "nonstandard measurement." It all got started because Sid wanted to know how someone could measure the length of a blue whale. Teacher Susie taught the kids about the idea of "nonstandard measurement" and also that there were certain rules - like that they could use objects lying around to measure things or even themselves, but the units all had to be the same within a particular measurement. Gerald had the idea that they could use him to measure things and they found out that their classroom was "14 Geralds" long.
  • I Always Wanted to Say That: In "The Amazing Computer Science Tool," Sid's mother Alice asks to say and gets to say "Let's all go to the Super Fab Lab" after saying that she always wanted to say it.
  • Imagine Spot: Sid and his classmates are five years old. They can be given a pass.
  • Injection Plot: In the episode "Getting a Shot, You Can Do It!", Sid gets told that he will be getting a shot at school. He asks his friends if they've had shots, and they all say yes (May's cat has also had a shot). The episode as a whole talks about the importance of shots.
  • Is This Thing On?: Prior to the opening theme, Sid starts the show by tapping his microphone and asking "Hey, is thing on?"
  • It's Always Spring: Lampshaded in the Christmas Episode; Sid is about to visit a relative in Minnesota, and wonders why it's never cold and snowy where he lives.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: May is the gentlest of the kids and loves her cat, Mooshu.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: When Sid is horrified after discovering he is a CGI puppet character, his parents erase his memories Men in Black-style
  • Laugh Track: Sid can produce one with his microphone, as well as applause.
  • Limited Wardrobe: Only subverted when Sid goes to bed, but then it's the same pajamas every night. Other than that, he's seen wearing the same clothing every episode, as well as the rest of the cast. He does end up wearing his brown dress shoes in "My Shrinking Shoes" because he's grown too big for his old pair of shoes, but at the end of the episode, his mother brings him home a pair that looks exactly the same, but is one size up.
  • Minimalist Cast: Barring The Movie, the cast is exclusively composed of Sid, his family, his friends, and Teacher Susie.
  • The Movie: Released as an hour-long Made-for-TV Movie and overall Grand Finale to the show in 2013, Sid the Science Kid: The Movie follows Sid and Gabriela as they tour a theme park-like science museum as their prize for winning an invention contest. Things go off the rails when one of the robotic tour guides malfunctions, however, and it's up to the kids and their new friends to solve the fiasco. Christopher Lloyd also appears as an eccentric inventor with wild white hair named Dr. Bonabodon.
  • Muppet: Technically, this is a Muppet production. (The phrase "Muppet" was sold to Disney before the series began.) The performers are voice actors in motion capture suits. The process is referred to as "digital puppetry."
  • No Antagonist: It's a simple Science Show that doesn't really warrant a villain. The closest it comes is Bobbybot going haywire after getting zapped in the movie, but even then he's not acting out of malice in the slightest.
  • Only One Name: It's obvious that Sid, Alice, Mort, and Zeke are a family, but there's no last name given. Teacher Susie is commonly referred to as Susie.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "How Did My Dog Do That?", when Gerald doesn't make a weird entrance into the classroom, everyone is confused and Teacher Susie points out that he didn't do anything special. So he leaves the room and comes back in to make his special entrance.
  • Paying for Air: In "Clean Air!", Sid pretends to be a slick-talking salesman offering bottles of clean air for one million dollars each. Gerald offers to buy one, Gabriela to buy two, but they are eventually lured away by May, who points out that they can just plant trees.
  • Plot Allergy: In "The Reason Sid's Sneezin',"Sid learns about allergies after discovering that he's allergic to pollen like his father.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Gerald. He often embodies the more juvenile thoughts kids may have about the episode's subject, such as when they are taught about bodily functions.
  • Pluto Is Expendable: When the show covers the planets, Pluto simply isn't mentioned - Teacher Susie teaches the kids about the eight planets, the four terrestrial planets and the four outer planets. Justified as the astronomical community renounced Pluto's classification as a planet not long before the show debuted, and it does its best to keep up with the latest scientific discoveries.
  • Potty Dance: In "Hello Doggie!", Gerald does one while Gabriella is pretending to be a veterinarian and they think he's pretending to be a dog telling her that he needs to go to the bathroom, as they've been learning about animal communication. He's not pretending, though, he really does need to go to the bathroom.
  • Primal Fear: Sid and his friends are all a bit afraid of the dark in "Discovering Darkness" and the book I'm Not Afraid of the Dark. They overcome their fear after doing some scientific experimentation and realizing that the things around them don't change simply because it's dark.
  • Pun-Based Title:
    • "Sid's Pet Project" - "pet project" is a term for a project pursued as a personal favorite, but the episode itself is about a literal pet - Sid learns about pets to better take care of his grandma's dog over the weekend.
    • In "Seed the Science Kid," Sid learns about the importance of seeds after being bothered by the seeds in his apple at breakfast.
  • Punny Name: Go ahead, guess.
  • Recap Episode: "Sid's Healthy Day" is basically one giant recap of stuff about healthy habits seen in previous installments, complete with recycled footage.
  • Recycled IN SPACE!: Bill Nye the Science Guy FOR YOUNG ELEMENTARY STUDENTS!
  • Roger Rabbit Effect: This is used in the Internet-only short "Where Did I Come From?" to depict Sid meeting the folks involved in the show's production and getting at the technical processes which created him and the show.
  • Running Gag: When Gabriela, Gerald and Sid play house, Gerald is the daddy, Gabriela is the mommy and Sid has to be the crying baby, though he always complains about it. Occasionally, though, they will let him take another role instead.
  • Science Hero: Sid is a kindergarten version.
  • Science Show: The show's title literally has the word "science" in it, after all.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: At the end of "Where Did I Come From?", Sid is so disturbed by learning the explanation of the creation of himself and the show Sid the Science Kid that he declares "Okay. Um, well, good luck with all that stuff you just said and, um, gotta be going now. Bye!" then darts away back home. He returns to his parents, panting in shock, and admits he never wants to think about what he just saw/heard again. They oblige by neuralyzing him.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In "Sid's Amazing Lungs," when Gerald pretends to a baby, he looks directly at the camera and says "I'm a baby, gotta love me" with the same tone and style as Baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs was an early 90s ABC comedy done in part by Jim Henson Productions, and this also counts as a Parental Bonus, since most of today's children would be entirely unfamiliar with the series.
    • Also on the subject of references to Jim Henson shows that star prehistoric reptiles, the robotic dinosaurs in the movie are all retextured versions of various character models used in Dinosaur Train. The reprogrammed T-Rex even dances to a scatted version of "Dinosaurs A-Z".
    • As mentioned above, Dr. Bonabodon is voiced by Christopher Lloyd and features Doc Brown's exact hairdo.
    • At the end of "Where Did I Come From?", Sid's parents neuralyze him.
  • Signing Off Catchphrase: Sid reminds viewers, "And remember, keep asking lots and lots of questions."
  • Sick Episode: Sid's father gets a cold in the episode "Germs".
  • Stock Footage: Stock footage sometimes appears in the show's song segments, which teach something about whatever the topic of the episode is, such as animals in nature.
  • Strictly Formula: Sid proposes a hypothesis, has breakfast, and asks his mom or dad about his hypothesis. Then, Sid goes off to school. After that, he interviews his friends before school starts. Rug Time is where Sid tells his friends and teacher about his question before they run off to get their science notebooks and the actual learning takes place. During the Super Fab Lab, they conduct an experiment based on the question posed at the beginning. Next is playtime, where they either play Pretend (in which Gabriela is usually the mom), Good Laughternoon (a joke segment), or just having fun around on the playground. Finally, Teacher Susie sings a song about the topic and Sid goes home. At the end of the episode, Sid tells us his Super-Duper-Ooper-Schmooper Big Idea! and he's off to bed, ready to do it all again the next day.
    • Almost every episode (except for specials) is part of a week-long unit related to a topic. Each Friday, Sid's class has a science lab session outside, and everyone reviews what they learned.
  • The Talk: "Where Did I Come From?" subverts this. Sid asks this question of his parents, which would lead the viewer to expect this. Instead, they tell him to walk through a wall of his home. When he does, he meets the real-life staff of the show who created him.
  • Talking Animal: When Sid's grandmother gets a dog, Sid begins to wonder if they can talk.
  • Talking in Your Sleep: In "Sleep - Who Needs It?", Teacher Susie lets the kids have a nap to demonstrate the importance of sleep. After everyone has already woken up, Gerald continues to sleep and mutters "Hello, pony. I like applesauce too." They leave him too and later spend some time observing him. He eventually wakes up, but pretends to still be asleep and quacking in his sleep.
  • Title, Please!: None of the episode titles are given on the episodes themselves; they're only available in listings.
  • Title Theme Tune: "I'm Sid, the Science Kid!"
  • Token White: Technically, Gerald could be considered this. As mentioned under Ambiguously Brown, Sid is supposed to be mixed race, and Gabriela and May are implied to be Latina and Asian respectively. This makes Gerald the only (presumably) white kid.
  • Twofer Token Minority: Alice (Sid's mom) is implied to be black, and Mort (Sid's dad) is Jewish. That makes Sid and Zeke both.
  • Very Special Episode: "Getting a Shot: You Can Do It!" This episode is available for free, and is posted on YouTube as a public service.
  • When I Was Your Age...: Sid's Grandma always tells Sid a story about her as a young girl with the topic that Sid learned about in school that day.
  • You Remind Me of X: In "Sid Wings It!", Sid's Grandma tells him that he reminds her of his father Mort, that they like a lot of the same things.
  • Youthful Freckles: Gerald has these.

 

Measuring in Geralds

In "The Whale Episode," Sid and his friends explore the concept of "non-standard measurement" and one of the ways they do so is by measuring things using their friend Gerald.

Example of:
Hiroshima as a Unit of Measure

Just Take a Loo...

Sid the Science Kid: Primary Colors

None Sid and his friends learn how primary colors make secondary colors. When Sid sees a beautiful rainbow in the sky, it leads him and his friends to learn about the three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow! After learning all the colors, the kids mix them together to make secondary colors, like green, purple, and orange. Sid’s dad’s favorite color is a neutral color, black, which is made by mixing all the primary colors together. What’s your favorite color? What colors do you need to mix to make that color? show full description Show Short Description

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Full Text

Hey, you're a scientist, like me! Come discover with Sid the Science Kid. Hi, everyone, I'm Sid! And today I'm here at my school to talk to you about . . . rainbows! Oh, wow! Look at all those amazing colors! Do you know any of the primary colors? Here's a hint: there are three. Let's see if Gerald knows what they are. “Hey, Gerald, I have a question for you.“ “Hey, Sid!“ “So, do you know any primary colors?“ “Uh . . . yeah, yellow is a primary color, just like the color of my pants.“ “Yeah! Yellow IS a primary color!“ “Yeah!“ “Okay, two more to go! Hey, May, do you know any primary colors?“ “Sure, Sid. Red is a primary color, like your sweatshirt!“ “Okay, thanks!“ “Bye!“ “And one, two, three! And one, two, three!“ “Ooh! Hey, Gabriela! Wait for me! Do you know any primary colors?“ “Ooh! My favorite is blue, the color of the sky!“ Wow! My friends know all three of the primary colors! Gerald knew that yellow was a primary color. And May—May told us red was a primary color. Um, and Gabriela . . . hmm. Oh yeah, Gabriela said blue was a primary color. “Okay, everyone, recess is over! Let's go back to class!“ Yay! Let's go learn more about primary colors! “All right, everyone, so here are the primary colors. Does anyone know why they're called the primary colors?“ “Because they make other colors?“ “Yeah, those colors make lots of other colors!“ “Um. Teacher Susie, I think we should make green!“ “Yeah, a pretty green!“ “Then you're in luck because we're going to make colors by mixing two primary colors together!“ “Does that really work? It sounds like magic!“ “Yes, May, it really works! Go ahead and mix the primary colors and see what happens!“ “Okay. Yeah!“ “All right!“ “Okay!“ “Yay!“ “Have fun!“ I'm going to make purple, and you can try this too! “So, Gerald, did it work?“ “Yeah! See, um . . . I wanted to make green, so I mixed the blue and the yellow together.“ “Great job, Gerald! Who's next? How 'bout you, Sid? What color did you make?“ “I made the color purple. “ Did you do it too? “How did you do it?“ “Oh, well, I'll show you how I did it. I got this purple color here by mixing red and blue!“ “Bravo, Sid! Now who can tell me which primary colors make orange?“ “Oh, oh, I know! If you mix together yellow and red, you get orange!“ “That's right, May! Green, purple, and orange are all called secondary colors! By mixing together the primary colors, you can have all the colors of the rainbow!“ “Yay!“ Ah! What a great day we had today, scientists! Do you remember everything we learned about colors? First, we learned that red, blue, and yellow are the three primary colors! Then we mixed those colors together! We learned that when you mix blue and red, you get purple. Yellow and blue make green. And red and yellow make orange. Cool! “Wow, Sid . . .“ “Hey, Dad!“ “Sounds like you know a lot about colors, kiddo!“ “Yeah, I love colors! Hey, Dad, what's your favorite?“ “My favorite is a neutral color. It's black!“ “Black? Oh, wow! Dad, how do you make black?“ “Ah, it's easy, Sid. You mix together the three primary colors, and you get black!“ “Wow!“ “Night, night.“ “Night, Sid.“ I have a feeling I'm going to have some pretty colorful dreams tonight. See you later, scientists! Weeee!

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Genius by inheritance

- I heard about it, - said Peter Garyaev, Doctor of Biological Sciences, when I turned to him for clarification. - This is one of those phenomena, which, in its possible consequences, is on the verge of what is permitted. This means that it requires researchers to have maximum responsibility to society.

- Petr Petrovich, do you think that this discovery carries a danger to mankind?

- You see, scientific discovery is a tool. Like a sharp razor that can shave cleanly, or you can cut your neighbor's throat. Therefore, these studies should immediately be limited by the rigid framework of laws with personal responsibility for their observance. nine0003

AS my interlocutor explained, the very existence of the genius gene is hardly in doubt. In the end, all our abilities and addictions are determined by the gene apparatus. There can only be disputes: whether one "specialized" gene or some kind of gene conglomerate maximally sharpens a person's abilities in one kind of activity, addictions to which are determined by other genes. For example, if a child likes to draw, this is the result of the "work" of certain genes, the set of which in the chromosomes can be dictated by a number of random reasons. And the genius gene that got here will make him a brilliant artist. The same is true with musical, literary, and artistic predilections. All of them are aggravated to the limit by the genome of genius, allowing a person to perfectly master the chosen specialty. nine0003

No less, if not more impressively, this gene sharpens scientific predilections, endowing a person with the gift to penetrate deeply into the essence of natural phenomena, allowing one to draw paradoxical conclusions from facts that other researchers pass by. And then the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, the periodic system of elements, and many other scientific achievements appear in the arsenal of mankind, expanding the horizons of our knowledge.

But the obvious question arises: if the genius gene is inherent in every person, why are there so few geniuses among us? Rummage through your own memory, can you count many names in the most diverse fields of creativity that grateful humanity has awarded with this epithet? You probably won't get more than ten. And scrupulous historians, who traced the path of civilization from Ancient Greece, barely recruited several hundred thinkers, whose deeds determined the development of society. But genes are carriers of hereditary information. And genius should seem to pass from parents to children. Nevertheless, in the entire history of human civilization, not a single (!) Case has been noted when children would fully inherit the abilities of their parents. No wonder a saying was born: nature rests on the children of geniuses. What's the matter? nine0003

Again, it's all about the genes. In the conditions of their, so to speak, work. To put it very simply, the genes that determine a person's addictions, and especially the genes of genius, require a special combination of conditions that develop in the cells, under which these genes begin to exert their influence on the psychological mood of the individual, determining his interests and abilities. And these combinations occur extremely rarely in cells, which is why there are so few artists, writers, musicians among us, so few scientists and philosophers. But immeasurably less often a situation arises in cells in which, along with the addiction genes, the gene of genius begins to work. One must think that nature acted wisely enough when it limited the occurrence of these favorable conditions. nine0003

The last remark is by no means a paradox. Even ten or fifteen years ago, Russian professor Boris Kudrin revealed a pattern: for the optimal development of a society, a clearly proportional number of its members is necessary. So many scientists, so many artists, so many engineers, so many workers. Searching in any of these categories does not lead to anything good. Indeed, imagine that all school graduates suddenly graduated from universities and became engineers. And who will stand at the machine? Or another option: even if not all, but at least half of the employees of research institutes are brilliant scientists. So, science will rush forward sharply? Yes, nothing of the sort. Science will roll back, at best, freeze in place. According to Kudrin, for the maximum effectiveness of science, only five percent of researchers are required who are able to discover new natural phenomena, found their own schools, and put forward "crazy" ideas. And the business of other scientists is to pick up and develop these ideas, while the founders go further. nine0003

So nature acted wisely, extremely rarely creating favorable conditions for the gene of genius. Will a person who peeps from her the key to the highest spiritual activity turn out to be just as wise? The question is legitimate. Each time, following the discovery of a new gene in the human body, researchers also establish the conditions under which it begins to work. Then they try to create these conditions.

Sooner or later it works out. And as a result...

I AM AFRAID to even imagine what kind of excitement may break out in about twenty years, when geneticists fully reveal all the conditions for the functioning of this gene and master the technology of its transplantation with a guarantee of effective work. How many people want to become geniuses! And even more people will set out to "make" their children geniuses. Moreover, from birth, when the transplanted genes take root most easily. It doesn't matter if the child has an addiction to something or not. If only he was a genius. And if there are no special addictions? So the unfortunate genius will grow up, feeling tremendous strength in himself, but not knowing what to put his hands on. And believe me, this is not the worst option. It could be even scarier. nine0003

I don't know if scientists will agree with me, but I am firmly convinced that by rewarding someone with genius, wise nature puts in his chromosomes an appropriate set of moral qualities. High quality. And he does it, as they say, in order to avoid... A brilliant mind is a dangerous weapon. That is why geniuses, as history shows, almost always acted for the benefit of mankind. Criminal structures... That's who will appreciate the achievements of genetics the fastest. For a world where everything rests on the primacy of force, where there is a constant fierce struggle for spheres of influence, where the main, decisive argument in negotiations is a bullet, the ability to analyze facts and make correct predictions is the main hope for survival. And for this you need to have brains, and good ones. So the "brothers" will spare nothing to transplant a gene that allows them to find new, ingenious ways to enrich themselves. Let's not forget: the genius gene in every possible way enhances a person's abilities precisely in the sphere of his passions. And the addictions of criminal authorities do not bode well for us. nine0003

Of course, let's hope for the best. The fact that the governments, if not of all, then at least of the advanced countries, will limit this area of ​​​​genetic engineering to a legislative framework that will protect society from distortions.

Albert VALENTINOV.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

EXPERIMENTS

Richard Seed lacks one thing: MONEY

Dolly the cloned sheep could not help but fire the imagination of scientists like Richard Seed, a physicist with a Ph.D. , or almost a genius." nine0003

In two years, he is going to make everyone happy with the first "homunculus", an artificial human created using cloning technology.

The declaration of a self-proclaimed "near genius" shocked America to the core. Nobody remained indifferent. Congressman Dick Armey urged lawmakers to immediately pass a law banning human cloning so that this area of ​​\u200b\u200bactivity remains accessible "only to mad scientists in works of science fiction."

Colleagues did not remain silent either. From Edinburgh, one might say the home of soft-haired Dolly, came the voice of Dr. Harry Griffin, who recalled that before the birth of their cloned miracle child, they had to give 277 sheep for scientific slaughter. If it comes to human cubs, then an unbearable cup of suffering will fall to their lot - there will be stillborns, there will be death in infancy, there will be cancer and, possibly, early aging ...

But all this does not stop the American "eccentric". If he manages to collect about 2 million dollars, then in his laboratory he will be able to start research in a few months, and in a year and a half to two years he will get the desired result.

Observers, however, believe that the wings of this undertaking will be clipped. Back in June, the US administration proposed a five-year moratorium on these unpredictable experiments.

V. MIKHEEV.

Izvestia.

January 16, 1998 At 16:45 2532 0

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May 1, 2022, 13:13:13 p.m.

discussPhoto: courtesy of the KION press service

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May will be busy in terms of series: new seasons of "Tricks", "Stranger Things", as well as high-profile premieres - from the Star Wars spin-off about Ob- Van Kenobi before the adaptation of The Serpent in Essex and the Sex Pistols biopic. Fontanka has selected 15 iconic TV series in May 2022. nine0077

Ten Percent

London talent agency dramedy

Where/When: BBC America - May 1, 2022, 16+

Original UK TV series Take a Long Time to Get Percent before international distribution: it was ordered by the Amazon Prime Video streaming service, but for some reason, everyone around the world shows it, but not Amazon itself. In general, from May 1, it is also available on the American cable TV channel BBC America. nine0081

Ten Percent is an English-language remake of the well-known French Netflix comedy series Call My Agent! (The French name is "Dix pour cent", and 10% is the standard rate that an agent receives from the fee of his client / actor for finding him another job or role). The British managed to combine old and new storylines, and the London version of "Ten Percent" returned the main format of the original television project itself - the life and work of an agency that deals with the affairs of a wide variety of actors - from "so-so" to superstars playing themselves. nine0081

Starring Jack Davenport, Maggie Steed, Prasanna Pouvanaja, Lydia Leonard and Jim Broadbent, with some of these star cameos by Helena Bonham Carter, David Oyelowo, Dominic West and Emma Corrin.

Pentaverat / The Pentaverate

Mike Mayers with the next Buffonada about the universal conspiracy

where / when: Netflix - from May 5, 2022, 16+

unexpectedly on the horizon of the film, a British commander was announced Myers is the same Austin Powers. While the 4th part of the popular comedy franchise is being prepared, the actor decided to remind himself to a wide audience with the help of another parody television series under the intriguing name "Pentaverat". Before us is a spin-off of the once successful romantic black comedy "I Married an Ax Killer" of the distant 1993 years, in which the same Mike Myers shone together with Nancy Travis. This time, the plot will not be a lyric poet, as it was 20 years ago, but a journalist who finds himself at the center of a global conspiracy. As you might guess, Mike Myers plays the same journalist who is trying to expose the universal tyrant who decides the fate of the world. Well, the company of the British comedian was Keegan-Michael Key, Ken Zhong, Jennifer Saunders and others. Mike Myers, by the way, also acted as a screenwriter and producer of his newly appeared parody television show. nine0081

The Staircase

Drama about a writer accused of murdering his wife

Where/When: HBO Max - from May 5, 2022, 18+

TV mini-series based on the story , which formed the basis of the 2004 French documentary series Suspicion, which was enthusiastically received by critics and journalists, which Netflix itself bought and added a couple of episodes in 2018. Its main character is the writer Michael Peterson, who was accused of killing his wife, who allegedly fell down the stairs in an accident. In reality, American novelist Michael Peterson was accused of murdering his second wife in 2003 and sentenced to prison. After 8 years, he won a rehearing of his case. As a result, the court recognized the fact of the accident and released the writer from custody. Peterson released a book of memoirs about these events, which formed the basis of the new mini-series "The Ladder" on the HBO Max streaming service in 2022. The main character is played by Colin Firth, his unfortunate wife - Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Juliette Binoche and others also starred in the TV show. nineCandy Candy starring Jessica Biel. By the way, she also acted as a producer of her new TV project. The plot is also based on real events and tells the story of a Texas housewife named Candy, who was on the front pages of all American newspapers in the 80s when she was put on trial for murdering her neighbor with an ax. Elisabeth Moss was originally supposed to play the role of Candy in the biographical television project, but due to a scheduling conflict, the actress dropped out of the show, and Jessica Biel had to play the main role herself. nine0081

Candy is not the first production project of the Hollywood film star and Justin Timberlake's wife. She has such TV hits and also crime dramas as "The Sinner" and "Cruel Summer". Jessica Biel does not hide the fact that she likes to explore the topic of female violence and aggression. The remaining roles in Candy were played by Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber and Timothy Simons.

Hacks

New comedy favorite returns

Where/When: HBO Max - May 12, 2022, 18+

With a highly anticipated fresh second season, one of the best TV comedy series of recent years, Cunning, returns. Recall that in the center of the plot is the legendary stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, who is less and less admired by the Las Vegas audience. In order to refresh the material and attract a younger, more advanced audience to the star, Ava, who dreams of a successful career, is sent to her aid from Los Angeles. Women become each other's mentors. In the second season, the ladies go on a new tour across America. nine0081

Cunning received a record 13 EMMY nominations, and lead actress Jean Smart won Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. All the characters from the first season will return in the new series, plus newcomers performed by Lori Metcalf, Susie Essman, Ming-Na Wen, Martha Kelly and others.

"Absurd"

A comedy about how auditors arrived in a Russian prison

Where/when: Premier — from May 12, 2022, 16+

Russian streamers are also getting ready for May. The Premier online service will release its premiere on May 12. We are waiting for the original 8-episode comedy television series under the intriguing title "Absurd". The plot of the comedy takes place in a remote Russian prison, to which a commission from the European Union is going to check (this is a separate absurdity, taking into account modern realities). She will evaluate both the condition of the building and the conditions of the convicts' stay. But the prison is located in the oldest stone building in Siberia. In order not to disgrace himself in front of the delegation, the resourceful General Khobotov from Moscow comes up with, in his opinion, an ingenious solution: send all prisoners under escort to go around Russia by train for the duration of the check, and place specially hired actors in prison instead. At first everything goes smoothly, but soon, as often happens, unforeseen circumstances appear. Starring: Andrei Merzlikin, Alexei Maklakov, Yuri Chursin, Ivan Mamonov and Anna Starshenbaum. nine0081

“Snakes in Essex” / The Essex Serpent

A film adaptation of the Bestseller novel Sarah

where / when: Apple TV+-from May 13, 2022, 18+

High British Teleseria Minor Mali Minor May on the streaming service Apple TV + - a screen adaptation of Sarah Perry's 2016 best-selling novel of the same name - "The Serpent in Essex", which in Foggy Albion was proclaimed almost the best literary work of our day. The action takes place at the end of 19century, Victorian England. Scientific and technological progress is gaining momentum, and the debate on medical issues is in full swing. The emancipated widow Cora Seaborn decides to leave London after the death of her husband and move to a cozy village in Essex, where Will Ransome serves as a local vicar. Her attention is attracted by local beliefs about a mythical creature - the Essex snake.

Writer Sarah Perry has created a graceful, intelligent, literary game novel that takes on a variety of guises - a detective story, a love story, and even a romance novel. The creators of the 6-episode film adaptation managed to transfer the same to the screen, in which viewers will find witty Dickensian beggars, and love scenes a la Lawrence, and poetic descriptions of nature, which are perhaps closer in style to Hamsun or Turgenev. Starring Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes, who replaced Keira Knightley, who dropped out of the project. nine0081

The Time Traveler's Wife

TV adaptation of the novel of the same name also a famous best-selling novel. On May 15, the American media empire HBO will air the premiere of the fantastic melodrama The Time Traveler's Wife. Everyone remembers the acclaimed 2009 film based on Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel. We are now looking forward to a 6-episode TV series adaptation, at least in the first season, as promised by the producers. If anyone forgot or missed it: the main character named Henry suffers from a rare genetic disease, due to which he constantly moves in time. He visits his wife Claire at various points in her life. Henry and Claire meet when she is six and he is thirty-six, and they marry when she is twenty-three and he is thirty-one. A new adaptation of the literary classic of the 21st century was directed by one of the directors of the "Game of Thrones" - David Nutter. The main roles this time are played by Theo James and Rose Leslie, who, by the way, also played in the aforementioned Game of Thrones. nine0081

“Angelin” / Angelne

Bayopic about the queen of billboards 80s

where / when: Peacock-from May 19, 2022, 18+

Big Party is waiting for us in the City Service Catalog. Peacock, who will release the biographical drama "Angelyn" on May 19th. Reni Goldberg was born in Poland in the 1950s. After moving to Los Angeles, she created the image of the chic blonde Angelina, began to post her photos on billboards and turned herself into a pop icon. No one knew who Angelina was, but when she drove around Hollywood in her pink Cadillac, everyone recognized her because they saw pictures of Angelina on billboards. Perhaps Angeline, a category D actress, is no longer remembered, but her visual memory for a long time preserved her outrageous street advertising, in which she appeared in a bright pink Corvette. nine0081

Peacock ordered the television series Angeline many years ago, but the ubiquitous pandemic pushed back filming and production, and the project is only now ready. The main role in the mini-series was played by Emmy Rossum, familiar to many from the television series Shameless, and she was accompanied by Martin Freeman, Hamish Linklater, David Hramholtz, Lucas Gage, Michael Angarano and Alex Karpovsky.

Night Sky

Fantastic Detective Time Portal

Where/When: Amazon Prime Video - May 20, 2022, 16+

What would you do if you had access to another world? For example, to a desert planet, which only you have access to from a secret room. Will you tell anyone about this? How often would you visit this planet? The heroes of the sci-fi series "Night Sky" will have the opportunity to answer these questions. The miniseries follows a retired couple, Irene and Franklin York, who kept their cosmic secret for decades until a young man enters their lives, questioning everything they once knew and saw. nine0081

Night Sky was created by newcomer Holden Miller and directed by Juan José Campanella (Mystery in Their Eyes) and Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman (American Splendor). Starring: Sissy Spacek and J. K. Simmons.

Amore More

The first free relationship drama in Russia Russian dramedy about free relationships Amore More, which clearly claims to be one of the most explicit series of this spring. This is the first project in Russian cinema that explores the phenomenon of polyamory. The main characters are two pairs of young people who have a very complicated relationship. The witty dramedy Amore More offers a fresh and unexpected answer to the question "What is love and is it possible to build a relationship if there are more than two of you?" nine0081

The roles in the series were performed by Yana Gladkikh, Alexandra Ursulyak, Yuri Chursin, Andrei Burkovsky, Ksenia Kutepova, Stepan Devonin, Victoria Korlyakova, Maxim Didenko and many others. The script for the series was written by Yulia Tupikina ("Dovlatov"). Directed by Yana Gladkikh.

“I wonder what is happening with the institution of the family today. People are looking for new forms of alliances and, interestingly, they find them. In my opinion, the worst thing is to live someone else’s life, to follow the path beaten by someone before you without thinking about what exactly you need, ”says Gladkikh. nine0081

Photo: courtesy of KION press service

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Home Field

Sports drama about women in men's football

one domestic release is the sports drama "Home Field", which starts on the more.tv streaming service - a new project in the more originals line, which includes such hits as "Chiki", "Psycho", Happy End and "Difficult Teens". This is the first series of Hype Film (Sputnik, Execution, Petrovs in the flu). nine0081

Elena Volkova was a successful coach of the women's football team. But one day her exceptional expertise and crazy dedication was noticed by the head of the Red Hawk football club Anton Danin. And he offered to lead the men's team. Now she must make the alien world play by its own rules. The main roles were played by Svetlana Ustinova, Maxim Matveev and Ivan Yankovsky.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi's personal spin-off from Star Wars

Where/When: Disney+ - from May 27, 2022, 16+

The Star Wars universe continues to expand on the Disney+ streaming service, and on May 27 the entire multi-billion A new spin-off is waiting for an army of loyal fans - now about Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, for the sake of which even Ewan McGregor himself returned to the role, who played him in the Star Wars trilogy of the early 2000s. The 2022 miniseries takes place on Tatooine ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith (and about ten years before A New Hope), where Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi looks after a very young Luke Skywalker. nine0081

Also returning from the original trilogy are Hayden Christensen, here playing Darth Vader, and Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Pisse (reprising their roles as Owen and Beru), while newcomers include Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, Maya Erskine, Benny Safdie and O'Shea Jackson Jr. Deborah Chow, who worked on The Mandalorian, fully directed all 6 episodes of this TV project, and the scripts were written by Joby Harold, who was hired to rewrite the script after Disney did not like what Hossein Amini was writing (because of this and stopped production on the series in early 2020, fueling rumors that the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off has been cancelled). nine0081

Stranger Things / Stranger Things

The main teen retro horror is back with us

Where / when: Netflix - from May 27, 2022, 16+

will be a real battle of the giants Disney7 +

and Netflix, which will bring the long-awaited (after a three-year hiatus) season 4 of Stranger Things to its subscribers. Despite the viewers' long absence from the project, however, the series begins just six months after the third season finale, leaving Hawkins little time to spend time in California and in a Russian prison where the still-alive Hopper (his name is still played by David Harbour). We will see our beloved child heroes grow up dramatically, who have become full-fledged sexually mature actors over the years of filming. New faces this season include Robert Englund (yes, the same actor who played Freddy Krueger), Eduardo Franco, Mason Dye, Tom Vlacikha, and Jamie Campbell Bower. nine0081

By the way, each episode of the fourth season of Stranger Things cost $30 million. This is probably due to the increased scope of the show: the actors' fees have increased, new artists have joined the cast, and the series takes place in different parts of the world - in Russia and California. With such a budget, Stranger Things becomes the most expensive series to date, overtaking even Game of Thrones.

The creators of the show, the Duffer brothers, have revealed that they have plans to make several spin-offs of Stranger Things after the original story is completed - it will end with the fifth season, which Netflix has already ordered. nine0081

“Pistol” / Pistol

Musical story Sex Pistols

Where / when: Hulu - from May 31, 18+

Well, the last day of this turbulent spring 2022 will give us another one more iconic mini-series - this time a music drama about the cult British punk band the Sex Pistols, which was personally directed by Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting", "Slumdog Millionaire"). The plot of the Hulu project is built around the life story of Steve Jones, in particular, his three years as the founding guitarist of the Sex Pistols. Screenwriter Craig Pierce adapted Jones' 2017 memoir, A Lonely Boy. Toby Wallace plays Steve Jones, Anson Boone frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), Louis Partridge and Christian Lees as bassists Sid Vicious and Glen Matlock respectively, and Jacob Slater as drummer Paul Cook. The rest of the cast includes Sydney Chandler (as rocker Chrissie Hynde), Talulah Riley and Maisie Williams (as punk fashion innovators Vivienne Westwood and Jordan respectively), Emma Appleton (as Nancy Spungen), and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as the impresario. / manager Malcolm McLaren. And, despite a lost lawsuit filed by the real John Lydon, who was unhappy that he was not personally involved in the creation of the mini-series, Pistol will not only tell about the legendary punks of the Sex Pistols, but also give the audience the original music of the band. nine0081

Andrey Smirnov, specially for Fontanka.ru

Photo: provided by the KION press service Photo: provided by the KION press service

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