Smithsonian Channel Exclusive U.S. TV Home For Story of Bionic Man

The London Science Museum unveiled to the public today a complete 'bionic man,' which was Built from $1 million-worth of state-of-the-art limbs and organs - the products of billions of dollars of research - borrowed from some of the world's leading laboratories and manufacturers.

Smithsonian Channel is the exclusive U.S. television home to the story and will premiere the two-hour special CYBORG/FRANKENSTEIN this October. It will also be bringing the bionic man to the States to Go On display to the public.

CYBORG/FRANKENSTEIN follows psychologist Bertolt Meyer, who has a bionic hand himself, as he meets scientists working at the cutting edge of research to find out just how far this new technology can go.

The bionic man was Built by leading UK roboticists Richard Walker and Matthew Godden from Shadow Robot. It uses artificial body parts designed by scientists around the world, including a spleen-on-a-chip from Yale University and a kidney from the University of California, San Francisco.

In the two centuries since Mary Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein brought his 'monster' to life, the subject has fascinated science fiction in books, comics, film and TV. From Star Wars' Darth Vader to Robocop, and from Dr. Who's Cybermen to Blade Runner's replicants, most stories focus on the potentially dire consequences of 'playing God.'

Now, thanks to research on advanced prosthetic arms and legs, as well as artificial eyes, hearts and lungs - and even hybrids between computer chips and living brains - scientists can finally replace body parts and even improve on human abilities.

CYBORG/FRANKENSTEIN is a Darlow Smithson Production for Smithsonian Channel and Channel 4 in association with Endemol Worldwide Distribution and The Welcome Trust.

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