RELEASE: IMMEDIATE OCT. 21, 1997
CONTACT: ELIZABETH LUCIANO
UMASS PROFESSOR MAKES SCIENCE MORE REAL IN HIT TV SHOW "THE X-FILES"
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts biochemistry professor Anne Simon watches the hit television show "The X-Files" with particular interest. She's more than just an ordinary fan: Simon is a science consultant to the show's creator and executive producer, Chris Carter.
"The X-Files," which has developed a cult following, will launch its fifth season on Sunday, Nov. 2. The show chronicles the work of two FBI agents, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), who investigate unsolved cases relating to the paranormal and other unexplained phenomenon. The show was nominated for 12 Emmy awards in its fourth season, taking home two, as well as a Golden Globe Award. While Simon isn't at liberty to reveal the plot of the season premiere -- or of the movie that will be released next summer -- she does promise there's plenty of science in both.
Simon talks with Carter -- whose wife she has been friends with for about 15 years -- about the scientific plausibility of what she calls his "wonderfully creative" ideas. "What he's interested in is whether there's a scientific basis for his ideas," says Simon. "He asks, 'Could this really work?' So I rack my brain, then tell him how something would be approached with the proper scientific techniques." In addition to their occasional phone calls, five or six scripts each season are express-mailed to Simon, who reads them, then discusses changes with Carter. "Just a word or two, just a sentence can make a big difference."
For instance, Carter once wondered whether DNA and an egg could merge if, by some fluke, they were side-by-side in a sewer. Simon nixed the DNA, which couldn't survive in a sewer-like environment, but suggested that two egg cells might merge. That discussion grew into a sentence in the "Fluke Man" episode.
In another case, Carter asked what a scientist would do if faced with a bacteria sample that was thought to be of alien origin. After some musing, Simon offered that a scientist would culture the bacteria in an Erlenmeyer flask, examine it under an electron microscope, then try to determine some of its DNA sequence. She also suggested what the DNA of such a sample could look like. The result was the popular episode, "The Erlenmeyer Flask."
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UMass Professor Makes Science More Real on "The X-Files," page two
Simon's research currently involves the molecular biology of viruses, with past research experience in animal and plant cell biology, which, she points out, "covers a good deal of the show, with the exception of medical information." She teaches introduction to biology at UMass, winning a Distinguished Teaching Award last year. (The last class of the semester is devoted to the science of "The X-Files.")
Simon notes that her informal sideline gets enthusiastic attention from colleagues and students when she gives papers and attends conferences. "People get a kick out of it. I'm proud that the science on the show is as real as it is," she says, showing off a few autographed "X-Files" baseball caps.
"There are so many shows and movies with what I call the 'wince factor,'" she says -- imperfections in scientific techniques and terminology that are glaring to anyone with a scientific background, as well as to some mainstream viewers. "For instance, I wince when a show has someone using a light microscope to look at a virus, because you can't see a virus with a light microscope."
She also helps to locate appropriate images that are seen on the show, from what would make interesting-looking "alien bacteria" to a specific string of letters that represent the amino acid sequence in a cowpox virus protein, which along with the rest of the virus is used to immunize human beings against smallpox. Simon searched a database, pulled up the proper string of letters, and faxed it to the set, where it appeared on a computer screen. It was visible for just a few seconds. "Chris could have just put up any random sequence, but he didn't want to do that," Simon points out. "He wanted it to be accurate."
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For more information, contact Anne Simon at 413/545-0170, or [email protected]
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