[...] Uncompromising: Edwards safeguards scientific accuracy and realistic lab practice Management can veto entire stories – maybe there’s not enough tension, not enough human interest...or too much science. It must be a real pain in the ass to be a TV writer.

Editor’s note: Aled Edwards is a structural biologist, Banbury Professor at the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research at the University of Toronto and the Director and CEO of the international Structural Genomics Consortium. LabLit.com recently caught up with him to find out more about his role as a science advisor for ReGenesis, a Canadian TV series about crack team of scientists who police the biotech industry. 

Who is your favorite scientist in a work of fiction and why – not counting those in ReGenesis?

The Professor from Gilligan’s Island. Just kidding! I don’t have any. They don’t behave like real scientists. They’re not doing any experiments – when I see scientists on screen, I just turn off my brain. There’s no way they’re going to do it properly and convey how science is really done, and if you are expecting otherwise, you just get pissed off.

How did you get involved as a science advisor to ReGenesis?

Well, Shaftesbury Films wanted to pitch the idea to the Movie Network to get money to make a pilot. They hired three top writers to write three episodes – who quickly realized that they didn’t know anything about biotech. They started contacting biotech companies in Toronto and got in touch with the one I’m involved with. But our HR person said no: they were worried the show might be fear-mongering and it would be bad for business. But HR recommended they contact me at the university, giving me strict instructions: “Do not have them over to your lab”. So I invited them home for an evening! [...]