China allowed me the opportunity to start watching a lot of foreign made television shows that I wouldn’t have even heard of while in the US. Excellent shows like the City of Men, Dr. Who, random Japanese Anime and the Canadian gem that is ReGenesis. ReGenesis follows David Sandström of a joint Mexican, Canadian and US task-force named NorBAC (North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission)—kindof like an international CDC.
I obviously don’t know anything at all about genetics, biotechnology or anything that they talk about on the show. But that’s one of the things that makes ReGenesis great, it makes a really alien academic/professional field accessible and engaging to the lay-person. It has fast-paced editing, interesting characters with their myriad problems that allow them to shine in their fields but alienate them from the outside world and engaging story-lines that keep one on the edge of their seats. I watched all of Season 1 while in China and have just downloaded the second season to catch up on David, Carlos and the rest of the team.
A side-note on the editing that makes this show a bit unique is that it runs parallel track stories on different individuals. For example, person A, B and C are in the room; they all speak, person C leaves the room and the camera stays on A and B but afterwards, we’ll backtrack to person C leaving the room and we’ll follow them around for a while. It’s a nice quirk that I appreciate although it does get a bit old after a while.
If you have the time and access to the show via the internet, black-market DVD stores or if you’re lucky enough to live in Canada, then I strongly encourage you to check out ReGenesis. It’s great.