Robot fights Peter’s war
IT’S ironic that PETER: THE HUMAN CYBORG (C4, 9pm) is being shown just a mere 24 hours after BBC One’s The Truth About Cosmetic Treatments. Last night’s BBC programme revealed how far we’re prepared to go these days, in terms of fixing bits of our bodies that we’re unhappy with, when the situation demands it.When we desperately need the approval, for instance, of thousands of strangers on Instagram, or urgently need to look like a Kardashian.
This evening’s Channel 4 documentary is the story of a man having himself entirely overhauled, head to foot, undergoing the most alarmingly radical, frighteningly invasive surgical procedures, putting himself at horrific risk – and yet coming across as infinitely sounder of mind.
Peter is Peter Scott-Morgan, a robotics expert who in 2017 was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. And a human cyborg is what he decided to become in response to this diagnosis.
Refusing just to bow to the inevitable, the gradual shutting down of his entire body, Peter chose to turn himself into “a scientific experiment”.
This dramatic experiment, as you’ll see, includes having his stomach replumbed, his brain rewired, his face replaced by an avatar and his real voice replaced by a synthetic one.
And while he’s obviously putting a brave face on a truly horrendous set of circumstances, there’s hardly a moment when you’ll find yourself questioning his decision. It’s not just the fact he has little to lose: Peter’s love of technology means he’s genuinely fascinated by its possibilities “not just for me but for everyone with MND.”
Earlier, the new series of THE SECRET LIFE OFTHE ZOO (C4,
8pm) is a greatest hits affair, as an awful lot of television is having to be right now.
Rummaging through the archives (and who doesn’t like a good rummage?), the makers have dug out a section of their favourite clips. Episode one is called Extraordinary Births.
Of course, “extraordinary” can mean whatever you want it to, but for me it’s the reproductive process of seahorses that’s most impressive. (Now, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d find myself writing.)
Did you know (and please don’t say yes, it’ll make me feel quite stupid) that in seahorse world it’s the male who gives birth?
At Chester Zoo, they’re hoping that a creature called Seabiscuit can fulfil this role. But if Seabiscuit is going to find himself a partner, his keepers need to fatten him up.
Yes, apparently that’s what female seahorses find most attractive in a male — a pot belly.
They clearly have excellent taste.