The Andromeda Strain Is on Tonight

UPDATE: Okay, we're one hour in and this is bad, bad, BAD. The actual story--a killer virus and the effort to figure it out--is completely lost in a seriously boring Conspiracy Theory plot with too many characters that we don't care about at all. I don't know what it is about Hollywood--or viewers--who think that a government conspiracy theory is per se compelling television, but I wish they'd all knock it off. One shadowy conspiracy too far made me quit Prison Break and Jericho. This one just made me switch off Andromeda Strain.

Don't watch this. I'm sorry I brought it up.

Original Post:
A&E's reenvisioned Andromeda Strain is on tonight at 9/8 Central. The story has been updated for the 21st century. Though it's been somewhat panned, I'll be watching just because the novel scared the crap out of me as a kid.

Come to think if it, I used to love all that "biological thriller" stuff. Richard Preston's The Hot Zone comes to mind, as well as a MacGuyver episode rip-off of Andromeda Strain that kept me from falling asleep for a week. Anyone have suggestions for more recent novels in the genre?

Personal Anecdote: Preston's books The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event had a hand in inspiring me to major in cell and molecular biology when I started school. A few years later I graduated with a double major, neither of which constituents were science-related. I did have a helluva lot of extra biology and chem credits, though.

This will be my last post of the day, so please consider it an Open Thread.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 05:13 PM

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