- ReGenesis
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ReGenesis
Cover of Season 1 DVD. From left to right: Conrad Pla as Carlos Serrano, Mayko Nguyen as Mayko Tran, Peter Outerbridge as David Sandström, Maxim Roy as Caroline Morrison, Dmitry Chepovetsky as Bob Melnikov, and Sarah Strange as Jill Langston.Created by Christina Jennings Starring Peter Outerbridge
Conrad Pla
Dmitry Chepovetsky
Wendy Crewson
Mayko Nguyen
Greg BrykOpening theme Anywhere But Here Country of origin Canada Language(s) English No. of seasons 4 No. of episodes 52 (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Christina Jennings
Tom ChehakBroadcast Original channel The Movie Network
Movie CentralOriginal run October 24, 2004 –
May 25, 2008External links Website ReGenesis is a Canadian television program produced by The Movie Network and Movie Central in conjunction with Shaftesbury Films. The series, which ran for four seasons, revolves around the scientists of NorBAC ("North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission"), a fictional organization with a lab based in Toronto. The organization investigates problems of a scientific nature, such as bio-terrorism, mysterious diseases or radical changes in environment throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NorBAC is headed by David Sandström (played by Peter Outerbridge), the chief scientist and molecular biologist. Through this character the show often addresses topical social, political and ethical issues related to the science at hand.
The series was originally seen on The Movie Network and Movie Central with rebroadcasts on Global and Showcase in Canada. Internationally it can be seen on FX in the United Kingdom, Halogen TV and in syndication and CW Plus in the United States, and FX Latin America in Mexico; as well as numerous broadcasters in Europe and Asia. International distribution is handled by Oasis International.
Aled Edwards, scientific consultant for the series, is a noted Canadian molecular biologist, and the director of the Structural Genomics Consortium.
Contents
Interactive and other media
ReGenesis has been an international pioneer in integrating interactive media elements into the series. The first successfully deployed alternate reality game paired with a major television broadcast is called the ReGenesis Extended Reality and was created by Xenophile Media in association with Shaftesbury Films. It won the Canadian New Media Award for Best Cross-Platform project of 2004 and an FITC Design & Technology Award for Excellence in Convergence.[1] In 2006 the alternate reality game won the Banff World Television Festival[2] Award for Interactive Television, a Gemini Award for Best Cross-Platform, and in 2007, an International Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Program. An exploratory game, the ReGenesis Extended Reality draws viewers into a conspiracy and mystery that weaves in and out of the TV series, using the internet, email and other media to immerse the viewer, blurring the line between fiction and reality. ReGenesis Extended Reality harnesses the power of enthusiastic fans that seed the site with discussion content and collaborative investigations. Extensive knowledge of various chemistry and biotechnology issues is required to find out why the plot in many episodes can't be true (if it can't).
Other interactive elements include ReGenesis:ReMixed, a series of podcasts featuring the music of ReGenesis, as well as exclusive interviews with some of the people involved in putting the show together.
However, neither of these were continued for the third or fourth season of the series.
Characters
Main characters
- David Sandström (Peter Outerbridge) — Canadian. A molecular biologist, he is NorBAC's Chief Scientist.
- Carlos Serrano (Conrad Pla) — Mexican. Geneticist and Medical Doctor at NorBAC. Revealed to be gay after seeking to prevent his first lover's progression from HIV-positive status to AIDS (Season 1, episode 7).
- Caroline Morrison (Maxim Roy) (seasons 1—2) — American. NorBAC's Executive Director. Speaks at least four languages: English, French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
- Jill Langston (Sarah Strange) (seasons 1—2) — American. 1st replacement as Lead Virologist at NorBAC.
- Bob Melnikov (Dmitry Chepovetsky) — Canadian. Biochemist at NorBAC, and a former student of David Sandström. He is deemed a genius, with an IQ score of 162 (Season 1, Episode 5) and has attained two PhD's (Season 1, episode 11). He has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.
- Rachel Woods (Wendy Crewson) (seasons 3—4) — American. 2nd replacement as Lead Virologist at NorBAC and estranged wife of Carleton Riddlemeyer.
- Mayko Tran (Mayko Nguyen) — Canadian. Bioinformatics Researcher and later NorBAC's 2nd replacement as Executive Director.
- Weston Field (Greg Bryk) — American. Caroline Morrison's assistant and later NorBAC's Executive Director after Caroline Morrison.
- Carleton Riddlemeyer (Geraint Wyn Davies) (seasons 3—4) — American. Science Advisor to the White House and estranged husband of Rachel Woods.
- Enuka Okimba (season 4) — American. 3rd replacement as Lead Virologist at NorBAC.
Recurring characters
- Hira Khan (Mishu Vellani) (season 1) — Original Lead Virologist at NorBAC.
- Lilith Sandström (Ellen Page) (season 1) — David's 15-year-old daughter.
- Mick Sloane (Mark Rendall) (season 1) — A boy Lilith's age who believed he was cloned (in actuality he was born using early in vitro fertilization techniques).
- Owen (Michael Seater) (seasons 2—3) — A homeless 17 year old living in the subway of New York City who shows David Sandström to his subway home after stealing David's bag. He lives with David for a while, but leaves after he gets arrested for criminal negligence, after a 14 year old girl he was involved with dies of a drug overdose. David defends him in court during his bail hearing, but Owen is incarcerated for detention until his trial. Having a hard time in jail, he tries to hang himself and then he agrees to a treatment that should alter his brain chemistry in order to overcome his addiction and possibly get him free. However, he suffers from side effects of the experiment laving him mentally damaged and physically handicapped.
- Dr. Gordon Petras (Jim Allodi) — Therapist to whom the NorBAC team consults after traumatic events.
- Dr. Simon Jessup (Darren Boyd) — British Neuroscientist visiting NorBAC. He assists Mayko with a case in Texas involving Mad Cow Disease and IQ spikes and later assists Caroline and Bob with Caroline's nephew Glenn.
Music
The main title theme song for ReGenesis is "Anywhere But Here" by the Montreal band Behavior. Behavior is an alias for producer / composer Michael McCann. The show's score is primarily composed by Tom Third, with numerous contributions throughout by film/TV composer Rob Carli.
A comprehensive list of all the music played in the first two seasons can be found at the ReGenesis:ReMixed site.
Episode list
DVD releases
On November 11, 2008, Season 1 was released in North America on DVD by Entertainment One. The four-disc set includes all 13 first season episodes presented in a letterbox format. Special features include a making of, photo gallery, and "The Facts Behind the Fiction" (the white papers published by the Ontario Genomics Institute). Shaftesbury Films claimed that Seasons 2, 3, and 4 would follow through-out 2009 and 2010, but as of August 2011 no such releases have emerged.
The first season has also been released in the UK through Universal Studios UK. The second season was later released to European countries by Buena Vista Home Entertainement, though it was presented in a Pan and Scan format.
International broadcasts
Country TV Network(s) Canada The Movie Network, Movie Central (first run)
Global (second run), ShowcaseFrance Arte, Sci Fi Channel (France), 13ème Rue Mexico FX Latin America Brazil FX Latin America Germany Arte Spain Calle 13 Portugal SIC Radical United Kingdom SciFi (UK) (first run) and FX (UK) (second run, premiering 22:00 on Wednesday, 22 October 2008). Belgium Canvas (Flanders), RTL TVi (Wallonia) Korea Science Channel Japan WOWOW United States of America Syndication, Halogen TV, MAVTV, Hulu (Seasons 1-3 only) Poland AXN / AXN Sci-Fi Italy Mediaset Premium 1 Bulgaria Fox Crime Hungary AXN Romania AXN / AXN Sci-Fi Serbia Fox Crime Finland YLE FST5 Philippines Maxxx, Studio 23 South Africa Mnet Action References
- ^ "FITC Awards -2005". FITC.ca. http://www.fitc.ca/awards/2005/. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ [1]
External links
Categories:- 2004 Canadian television series debuts
- 2008 Canadian television series endings
- Canadian drama television series
- Movie Central network shows
- Canadian science fiction television series
- The Movie Network original programs
- Global Television Network shows
- Television series by Shaftesbury Films
- First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
- Television shows set in Toronto
- Television series produced in Toronto
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