Some time ago, I wrote a feature for the long since scuppered HMS Beagle on BioMedNet.com on the subject of science in the movies. I interviewed various scientists and people in the movie industry about the role of experts in advising on plot lines and details. It was quite a departure from the usual research reporting and was part of my once-monthly “Adapt or Die” column for the webzine. Sadly missed, for a short time, by many life scientists.
One thing that strikes me repeatedly is the lack of chemistry in the movies, other than the chemistry of weapons of mass destruction, of course. Carl Djerassi attempted to bring chemistry to the fore in his Nobel play, Oxygen, but that was a one-off and was in a sense a test-bed for his ethical and moral debates which he embeds in many of his science in fiction scripts. UPDATE: Of course, there was the wonderful Breaking Bad that came much later than this blog post from 2007!