CBHD often receives requests from educators and other individuals for popular resources that engage bioethics through various media (fiction, film, and television). In this resource, we offer a recap of materials relevant to biotechnology that have premiered on television. Viewers are cautioned that the shows represent a wide variety of genres and may not be appropriate for all audiences. They are encouraged to read annotations/synopses available through such websites as www.movieweb.com or www.imdb.com. If there is a show you think we missed, email us at info@cbhd.org.

Biotechnology

• Better Off Ted (2009-2010)
  • Comedy about a multinational corporation engaged in cutting-edge, and often over the edge, research. (Topics: Biotechnology, Emerging Technology, Human Subjects Research, Research Ethics)
• Caprica (2009-2010)
  • This prequel to Battlestar Galactica sets the stage 50 years before the latter, showing how a startling advance in artificial intelligence sets in motion a series of unintended consequences leading to the emergence of the Cyclons and their subsequent wars with humans. (Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Uploading, Cyborgs, Human-Computer Interface, Personhood, Robotics)
• Fringe (2008-2012)
  • Beginning with Season 2 FOX included a short discussion of the Science of Fringe that educators may find particularly helpful. (Topics: Biotechnology, Cloning, Cybrid/Animal-Human Hybrid, Human Enhancement, Nanotechnology, Radical Life Extension, Synthetic Biology, Transhumanism)
• Orphan Black (2013- )
  • Topics: (Biotechnology, Gene Patents, Human Cloning, Human Enhancement, Research Ethics, Stem Cell Research, Transhumanism/Posthumanism)

Updated December 2016