[scifinoir2] Re: Jericho Premieres Tonight on CBS
The other day--yesterday?--I posted something about all the TV shows with slowly unfolding clues, and that keep you guessing as to what's what for one or more seasons. That's great, intelligent, suspenseful TV. Well needed in what's become a wasteland of reality shows and one-shot CSI/Law and Order clones. But yeah, too many of such shows starts to become a strain. If you were watching Lost, 24, the new Vanished, Kidnapped, Prison Break etc., you'd indeed have to watch every ep to stay up. And actually a good show with action and suspense--24, Prison Break--at least doesn't keep you guesing. As you said, too many of these shows with cleverly placed clues, slowly doled out revelations? Becomes overwhelming. I know I sound as if I'm being ungrateful, as it's the intelligent TV I wanted, but some of the themes simply don't warrant the format. You don't sound ungrateful to me. It sounds like you want quality TV and you're not getting it. Everyone assumes that slowly unfolding clues is the only way to deliver quality TV. It isn't. These slowly unraveling shows can be just as bad as any other. I find many of these slowly unraveling clues shows a stepsister to the daily soaps... and hence, I don't watch either. Nothing is ever really resolved. To keep the plot twists coming and to develop new secondary plots, the writers often use totally stupid or unrealistic actions. Bad character development and poor story developement are such whether it's a standard 1-hour TV show or one of these slowly unraveling clues shows. As far as Jericho, this is trash IMHO. I watched the pilot and I find in highly contrived to keep this town isolated. It's the same as keeping isolated a planeful of 150+ passengers on an island in Lost. With satellites, Google Earth, and other such stuff, these lost on an island sci-fi shows require an absurd suspension of belief. To me, they are soaps in disguise. (If you wnat something entertainingly absurb, the other night I listed to the Iranian prez's speech to the U.N. on C-Span2.) Also, I don't trust the network or the local affiliate to air the eps in the correct order. I am willing to wait a season and watch the few shows I do like on DVD... in order and without commercials. I want my TV when and how I want it, not the way the networks or affiliates want to show it to me. This translates into me wathcing less and less TV when the eps first air. About the only live TV i watch are sports... and event then I'll tape a 3.5 hour football game so I can bypass the commercials and timeouts and watch a 60- minute football game in about 60 minutes. Times are a changing... George Captain USS Ronald E. McNair (Boston) Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[scifinoir2] Grow Your Own Limbs
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,71817-0.html?tw=rss.index Grow Your Own Limbs By Kristen Philipkoski In response to the hundreds of soldiers coming home from war with missing arms or legs, Darpa is spending millions of dollars to help scientists learn how people might one day regenerate their own limbs. Prosthetics are getting better all the time, but they will never be as good as the limbs we were born with. So two teams of scientists at 10 institutions across the country are competing to regrow the first mammalian limb. The two groups are sharing $7.6 million in grants for a year to find a way to give humans salamander-like abilities. According to Army Medical Command, 411 soldiers who fought in Iraq and 37 in Afghanistan are amputees as a result of combat wounds. If preliminary research is successful, the scientists could receive more funding for up to four years. The researchers' first milestone is to generate a blastema - a mass of cells able to develop into various organs or body parts - in a mammal. We have to show we can do that in a mammal by 24 months - and by 48 months we have to show that we can actually regrow digits, said Stephen Badylak, director of the Center for Pre-Clinical Tissue Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and a principal investigator for his team. This is really a Star Wars-type project. Mammals can't naturally regenerate limbs or digits beyond the fetal stage. Amphibians like salamanders and newts, however, can regrow limbs, eyes and even spinal cords. So the scientists are on a hunt for the molecular signals responsible for controlling that regenerative ability. We're looking for what genes get turned on and off to make one regenerative and one not, Badylak said. We can regenerate as a fetus. We know the potential is there, but it's a matter of unlocking that potential (in adults). Badylak's team is working with a remarkably regenerative mammal - a mouse discovered by accident in 1998. Ellen Heber-Katz, a professor at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, was working with mice that had been genetically engineered to develop lupus when she noticed that some of their ears looked weird. She had punched holes in them so she could separate her control from her treatment groups in an experiment. But the holes quickly grew shut without a trace - not even a hint of a scar. The missing ear holes confused her research at the time, but the phenomenon launched a whole new career for Katz. She and her colleagues wanted to find out if other parts of these mice, known as the MRL strain, would also regenerate. So they performed some tests: They snipped off the tip of a tail, severed a spinal cord, injured the optic nerve and damaged various internal organs. All of the injuries healed, even the severed spinal cord. The results caused Heber-Katz to shift her research from autoimmune disease to regenerative medicine. Now, thanks to Darpa's call for grant applications in regeneration, scientists all over the country from various disciplines are working together on the MRL mouse. It's an interdisciplinary team of people who would never otherwise work together, Badylak said. That's what Darpa does. Hans Georg-Simon has been studying salamanders for 15 years. As part of the Darpa project, he's identifying genes that control regeneration in salamanders. If those same genes are active in the MRL mouse, he'll have a lead on which genes in humans might be manipulated to allow regeneration. At some point during evolution, humans seem to have lost the ability to regenerate, Simon said. There are actually more species on this globe that can replace lost structures during regeneration than there are animals who can't, he said. From a human perspective, we always think we are the masters; we know everything. But no, it is not so. We belong to the species that have secondarily lost the ability to regrow lost tissues. Another salamander scientist, Ken Muneoka, a professor at Tulane, is on the competing team. His lab is focusing on a type of cell called fibroblasts. The cells exist throughout the body and produce collagen fibers. In salamanders we have pretty good evidence that these cells control spatial information in the body, that is to say where a cell or tissue is located, Muneoka said. Fibroblasts in mammals invade wounds and create scar tissue. In mammals (fibroblasts are) not doing what we want them to do, he said. We want to redirect their activity in response to injury. And now for the most annoying, but necessary, question a reporter can ask a scientist: When will you get this to work in humans? It's impossible to know, Muneoka said. I could tell you next year or 20 years. It has a lot to do with discovery. We might find out that if we just alter one gene pathway in a mammal all of a sudden cells (act) like a salamander. That would be spectacular, but I don't think so. I think it's going to require
RE: [scifinoir2] Jericho Premieres Tonight on CBS
The brother who played the cop- wasn't he the cop in John Doe? Keith Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Anyone watch Jericho last night? Nothing yet to make me feel one way or the other. Apparently--apparently--the US was nuked, as the residents saw a mushroom cloud on the horizon one day, and next thing all radio and phone communications are down. No contact with the nearest major city, Denver. One kid got a call on his home answering machine from his parents who were vacationing here in Atlanta, and you can hear an explosion and screaming, after which the message cuts off. So there's an assumption it was a major attack. At this point, though, there's nothing approaching data on what really happened. The most intriguing character is a Black guy who is a former St. Louis cop. He's handling the crisis well, telling the local officials how to do their jobs better. They're starting to look to him for innovative ways to keep the peace, get power, etc. Kinda cool to see a Brother take the lead and not be a reformed criminal with street smarts and all that. Other than that the show's a big mystery so far, and i have no clue as to when we'll know for sure what happened. _ From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, 20 September, 2006 12:17 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Jericho Premieres Tonight on CBS Another won't-last-even-if-it's-good scifi show premiering tonight. I guess you can think of it as Lost on the prairie. Apparently this small Kansas town is effectively cut off from the rest of the world by what *seems* to be a nuclear holocaust. Is the rest of the world destroyed? How did they survive then? Will anyone from the outside world ever enter the town? Are they in another dimension? Hmm...reminds me of Lost. One wonders how many slowly-unfolding-mystery shows the public will tolerate. I'm already hearing some complain that there are too many shows like Lost, Prison Break, Vanished, 24 etc., that make you catch evey show, either due to the action or a mystery that slowly reveals itself. Frankly, I love such shows, but even I can't take a whole bunch of them. I quit watching Vanished for that reason. I'll give Jericho a try, but sadly, given the bodies of scifi shows littering the landscape recently--Tru Calling, Jeremiah, Jake 2.0, John Doe, Threshold, Surface, Invasion--I wouldn't be too thrilled about its chances. http://www.cbs. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/about/ com/primetime/jericho/about/ JERICHO is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small, peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they're the only Americans left alive. Fear of the unknown propels Jericho into social, psychological and physical mayhem when all communication and power is shut down. The town starts to come apart at the seams as terror, anger and confusion bring out the very worst in some residents. Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), prodigal son of the town's mayor, becomes a reluctant hero when a school bus crashes as a result of the explosion. Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) is conflicted with the return of his estranged son, but is called to action when the town begins to riot. Johnston's wife, Gail (Pamela Reed), is the strong, savvy first lady of the town who runs interference between her husband and her favorite son. Attempting to usurp the mayor's power is Johnston's politic al adversary, Gray Anderson (Michael Gaston), who is not above putting his personal agenda before the welfare of the very community he wants to lead. Though the cloud appears in the distance, it affects all the residents in Jericho, including Dale Turner (Erik Knudsen), the 16-year-old trailer park kid everybody picks on, who finds himself in a position that could change his status; Robert Hawkins (Lennie James), a mysterious stranger who seems to be a jack-of-all-trades as he steps in to help restore order; Heather Lisinski (Sprague Grayden), a pretty young schoolteacher on the bus with her students returning from a class trip when the glare from the explosion causes a terrible accident; Emily Sullivan (Ashley Scott), Jake's high school sweetheart who lives outside of town and innocently goes about her business unaware of the catastrophe, Bonnie Richmond (Shoshannah Stern), a pretty 17-year-old who is hearing impaired; and Bonnie's older brother Stanley (Brad Beyer), Jake's best friend from childhood and an avid car lover who works on the family farm. In this time of crisis, as sensible people become paranoid, personal agendas take over and well-kept secrets threaten to be revealed, some people will find an inner strength they never knew they had, and the most unlikely heroes will emerge. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Excuse me
Re: [scifinoir2] Jericho Premieres Tonight on CBS
I watched it. My friend (also named Martin) watched it. Our unified verdict? We'd sooner watch VH1... Daryle Lockhart [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I watched it. My review? Eh. Beats watching VH1. I was trying to remember why this seemed so familiar and then I remembered The Trigger Effect. (http://www.imdb.com/title/ tt0117965/) Anybody else see this movie? It's ten years old now. The nuclear explosion thing is what is going to kill this show. Eventually they are going to have to show that people are alive across the country. And then the show will be about what would happen to Americans if they didn't have technology, which is a show that has been tried a hundred times. This show would have been a great mini series or a TV movie. But I don't think I'm gonna be a regular viewer. And PLEASE don't let them start doing online components to the show for clues or stuff like that. After Lost and Push, Nevada, I'm done reading TV shows. From here on, If it ain't on the screen in between the ads, I'm not interested. What I WOULD like to point out is the show that came on AFTER this...Criminal Minds. One of the only shows I watch regularly now. This show has turned Shemar Moore's career AROUND. He's GREAT in this show about the Criminal Behaviour unit of the FBI. The start of the show is the crime, a lot like Crossing Jordan or the early days of CSI. It's got enough reference to science for folks who care, enough whodunnit for the CSI crowd. I'd be interested to see what more science and speculative fiction fans think of this show. On Sep 21, 2006, at 12:49 PM, James Landrith wrote: Thanks for the recap Keith. I missed the first 45 minutes and forgot to set it up to record. Now the last 15 minutes I saw makes more sense with your summary. I did like the mayors admonition to the citizens to not break my heart again by acting in all manner of jackassery. I grew up in a small town like that (near Peoria, IL) and I can certainly picture a few idiots I knew losing their minds in a crisis. Of course, my father was (at different times) on the Village Council, Mayor, Fire Chief, Rescue Chief, and all-around-volunteer-guy, so I probably felt a bit more of a connection to that character than others may have experienced. I hope the writing is up to par and it doesnt become clichéd and predictable. __ James Landrith [EMAIL PROTECTED] cell: 703-593-2065 * fax: 760-875-8547 AIM: jlnales * ICQ: 148600159 MSN and Yahoo! Messenger: jlandrith Taking the Gloves Off - http://www.jameslandrith.com The Multiracial Activist - http://www.multiracial.com The Abolitionist Examiner - http://www.multiracial.com/abolitionist/ __ _ From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Keith Johnson Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:17 AM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Jericho Premieres Tonight on CBS Anyone watch Jericho last night? Nothing yet to make me feel one way or the other. Apparently--apparently--the US was nuked, as the residents saw a mushroom cloud on the horizon one day, and next thing all radio and phone communications are down. No contact with the nearest major city, Denver. One kid got a call on his home answering machine from his parents who were vacationing here in Atlanta, and you can hear an explosion and screaming, after which the message cuts off. So there's an assumption it was a major attack. At this point, though, there's nothing approaching data on what really happened. The most intriguing character is a Black guy who is a former St. Louis cop. He's handling the crisis well, telling the local officials how to do their jobs better. They're starting to look to him for innovative ways to keep the peace, get power, etc. Kinda cool to see a Brother take the lead and not be a reformed criminal with street smarts and all that. Other than that the show's a big mystery so far, and i have no clue as to when we'll know for sure what happened. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links Excuse me while I whip this out. Cleavon Little , Blazing Saddles - Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
