- The Control Voice: It is said that civilization began when man first became capable of changing his environment. What will happen when man has the ability to change himself, when no human need be cursed by heredity? Will it be the beginning of a glorious new kind of civilization... or the end of everything we know?
A man develops a drug that seems to cure any disease. His brother attempts to keep the discovery for himself.
- The Control Voice: There is an old proverb which says: "Be Careful What You Wish For, for it might come true." And if your wish is for immortality, it is something you will have to live with for a very long time.
Blood Tropes:
- Age Without Youth: Michael Deighton, a Corrupt Corporate Executive uses an experimental regenerative drug on himself in an attempt to cure his Huntington's disease and become biologically immortal. It renders him unable to die but degenerates his body into a fragile husk.The Control Voice: There is an old proverb which says: "Be Careful What You Wish For, for it might come true." And if your wish is for immortality, it is something you will have to live with for a very long time.
- And I Must Scream: Occurs at the end. Michael Deighton, fearing death by Huntington's Disease, takes the newly discovered wonder drug Deighton C to live forever. However, it turns out the drug has the side effect of using up all of the user's cell energy, thus leaving him with an incapacitated and aging body similar to Tithonus.
- Cain and Abel: This episode features two brothers running their late father's pharmaceutical company to discover cures against various fatal diseases, with Spencer (a scientist working in a hazardous chem lab) as Abel and his big brother Michael (one of the company's directors) as Cain. Spencer wants to develop the cure for the general good of mankind, while Michael wants to limit it to the wealthy few to make more profit. Michael eventually attempts to murder Spencer and Spencer's girlfriend so he'll be the only one who knows the secret of the drug. Michael then takes the drug to cure his own Huntington's and his body soon starts to decay due to the side effects, with Spencer unable to cure him.
- Cure for Cancer: A scientist tries to develop an effective Knockout Gas to be used by the riot police. However, despite the numerous trials, the gas still has a 20% lethality rate. One experiment results in the test monkey not only surviving but also becoming immune to any and all disease or poison. The scientist's Corrupt Corporate Executive brother wants to withhold this cure-all from the general population, pointing out that this would result in overpopulation. However, he uses the drug himself to cure his hereditary condition. In the end, though, it's revealed that the drug's effect is extremely temporary. In fact, it rapidly drains all the body's resources, leaving the person a frail shell only surviving through the use of life-sustaining machines.
- Karmic Twist Ending: Michael Deighton tries to kill his own brother to steal a valuable drug. Earlier on Michael had lied that he didn't have the gene that would lead to him developing Huntington's disease, but in fact does have it. He takes the wonder immortality drug Deighton C in hopes of being eternally young and biologically immortal. Unfortunately his brother finds that monkeys given the same drug earlier on lose their regenerative ability after a short period of time. The same happens to Michael who accelerates into a real life version of Tithonus... being immortal but rapidly aging.
- Lock Down: This episode has a secure medical experiment lab that could be sealed and sterilized with microwaves.
- Murder by Cremation: This episode involves a scientist working in a sealed lab with a gas meant to be used to pacify riots. As a side effect, the latest batch ends up turning the lab monkey immortal. When the scientist's assistant attempts to steal the monkey's biological culture, the scientist's Corrupt Corporate Executive brother traps him in the lab. The angry assistant slams the door with his fist, which results in a bloody fist. The culture in his blood triggers the decontamination system, which "flashes" the lab, killing the guy. The brother later tries the same with the scientist and his girlfriend, who have discovered that the culture makes you temporarily invincible, only to kill you in a few days.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Martin Kemp's British accent slips through constantly.
- Painful Transformation: It is believed that Deighton C is capable of curing any disease and is resistant to any poison. However, it turns out that it uses up the body's natural ability to heal within days, leading to the complete collapse of the immune system.
- Power Degeneration: A scientist accidentally develops a serum that appears to give people (and monkeys) a Healing Factor (a monkey took a dose of cyanide without a problem). His brother, the Corrupt Corporate Executive, refuses to reveal the miracle to the world but uses it on himself to cure a hereditary disease. However, the scientist then realizes that the serum doesn't give you healing powers after all but merely forces the cells to use up all their energy on healing, leaving behind a withered husk. His brother is destined to spend the rest of his days on life support.
- Trapped in Containment: A scientist accidentally creates what appears to be a cure-all for anything ailing a person (while working on a safe Knockout Gas). This trope occurs twice. First, his research assistant punches the door in the lab after injecting himself with some of the compound, causing the containment system to activate in the presence of chemicals in the air. He is incinerated, as his boss refuses to open the door. The second time is caused intentionally by the scientist's brother, who activates the containment system, but the scientist and his girlfriend manage to escape just before they are incinerated.
- Withholding the Cure: Played with, when an attempt to create a safe and reliable Knockout Gas for crowd control results in drug that seems to boost body's ability to fight off any disease or toxin up to eleven. The chimp that it's tested on is able to take several shots of cyanide without a problem. The scientist's brother is a Corrupt Corporate Executive, who immediately clamps down on the supposed panacea, claiming that it's likely to cause overcrowding, as people will no longer be dying at the same rate, while still breeding like rabbits. The scientist treats it as an attempt to make money, even though it's a clear case of Jerkass Has a Point (i.e. without Population Control, any such cure would be really bad for humanity). The exec brother then uses the drug on himself in order to treat his Huntington's. However, at the end, it's discovered that the supposed "cure" extends the user's lifespan but also takes away the body's ability to heal itself. The exec brother spends the rest of his life in a sterile life support chamber, unable to move, as his body is no longer able to sustain itself.
