(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] After watching the Borg Queen
begin assimilating her new army
in the recent "Star Trek: Picard" series,
it got us thinking about viruses.
No, being assimilated by Nanoprobes isn't a virus,
but it sure acts like one.
- They take over the blood cell functions, like a virus.
- [Narrator] The horror at the thought of being assimilated
by virus like Nanoprobes got us thinking about the viruses
in our favorite science fiction TV shows
that would even make Worf nervous.
- With all due respect, sir.
- [Narrator] After taking a deeper look,
we found a few that may have killed billions.
From "Star Trek" to "Battlestar Galactica,"
and "Stargate" to "Firefly,"
these are the top five TV viruses that make our skin crawl.
Let's be grateful they exist somewhere in the future,
in another reality, or on the other side of the universe.
You don't wanna miss this episode.
And if you haven't already subscribed to our channel,
please do so now, and give us a thumbs up
if you want more news about your favorite shows.
Also click the notification bell to never miss an episode.
And make sure you stay tuned to the end
to see how to get this awesome "Firefly"
I Aim To Misbehave inspired graphic design
from the amazing artists at MixedTees.com.
Science fiction writers just love to bust out a good virus
when looking for new ways to punish the worlds they create.
Let's face it, you rarely have good science fiction
without teetering on the brink of some new dystopian future.
So here are five viruses that we are glad
are science fiction instead of science fact,
and make sure you stick around to the end
to see if our number one
gives you the same heebie-jeebies it gave us.
Number five, the Star Trek Klingon Augment Virus.
What could be worse than getting killed
by an out of control virus?
How about being turned into a monster by one?
Think of those poor Klingons
being horribly transformed into hideous looking humans.
- Put it on viewer.
It's working.
(aliens speaking foreign language)
(intense music)
- Human females are so repulsive.
- [Narrator] For this to properly terrify you,
you need to imagine that this virus turns you into a Klingon
and you'll be forced to eat gagh
for the rest of your life; yuck.
But if you were a Klingon in 2154,
this was no laughing matter.
The Augment Virus spread quickly, infecting millions,
and threatened to wipe out the Klingon race completely.
- My targ won't even recognize me.
- [Narrator] While most viruses are totally unavoidable
as a result of natural evolution
or chomping on a tasty bat,
the Klingons could have totally avoided the plague
that nearly wiped out their civilization.
- Oh my.
- [Narrator] After human Augments
easily took over a bird of prey,
the bat'leth wielding warriors
decided to bioengineer their own enhanced warriors
using DNA from genetically modified human embryos
left over from Earth's eugenic wars.
Little did our Kahless loving empire realize,
a small side effect of their creation
would be a loss of their forehead ridges
and alterations to their personalities.
- They are Klingons, and it is a long story.
- Some kind of genetic engineering?
- A viral mutation?
- We do not discuss it with outsiders.
- [Narrator] Yes, the Klingon test subjects
did develop enhanced strength and intelligence,
but they were also starting to look like humans.
And if that wasn't terrifying enough,
the test subjects started dying agonizing deaths
when the foreign DNA created a neural system breakdown.
And while this sounds bad, up to this point,
it was still a controlled experiment
unaffecting the rest of of the Empire.
But then Klingon researchers enhanced a test subject
who was unknowingly infected with the Levodian Flu.
And as we all know, that pesky flu virus
can have a mind of its own.
During the augmentation process,
the flu merged with the Augment DNA
and the carefully controlled experiment
turned into an epidemic,
and the like any reasonable government
that realizes they can't stop the pandemic,
the Klingon empire launched into a sterilization program
to destroy all of their infected planets.
I bet you're glad you aren't a Klingon right now.
Luckily, Star Fleet intervened,
a cure was found and distributed throughout the Empire
resulting in millions of disfigured Klingons.
Better than death, right?
- Either death or dishonor will visit us this day.
- [Narrator] Number four, Stargate's Ori Virus.
It's one thing for a person looking for answers
to get tricked into joining a cult.
- Again.
- [SG-1] Seth is life, Seth is happiness, Seth is almighty.
- [Narrator] But what happens when the cult
comes looking for you?
That's exactly what happened to the residents of PBX 412,
who were just the latest target
of a malevolent race of aliens called the Ori.
But the Ori weren't satisfied
with getting everyone to drink the Kool-Aid.
Their victims had to want to drink the Kool-Aid.
The method of delivery, a messenger called a prior
who brought with them the teachings of Origin
and something that makes smallpox look, well, small.
Residents of the planets the prior visited
would fall victim to the powerful effects of a plague
that had all the symptoms of a super flu virus.
The message from the Ori was clear,
if every man woman and child
didn't bow down and accept Origin as their new religion,
the consequences would be
the death of the entire population.
And people thought Catholics in the new world were pushy.
Needless to say, the method was effective.
The priors conquered world after world for the Ori.
That is, until they got to Earth.
Daniel Jackson to the rescue?
Not this time.
With the help of a few awesome aliens,
including our favorite Jaffa Teal'c
and the knowledge of the ancients,
the plague was stopped and earth protected.
And what does any disease wielding
religion thumping messenger do
when his biological weapon no longer works?
That's right, he takes his alien Bible and goes home.
Thank you for your sacrifice, Louis Gossett Jr.
(soldiers shouting)
- What, what?
(Teal'c laughing)
- You heard me! - Jaffa, Kree!
Number three, "Battlestar Galactica"'s Cylon Virus.
Why can't artificial intelligence and humans get along?
Is it like kids who have to prove to their parents
that they are better than them or what?
When it comes to galactic space invaders,
it's usually us humans shoving a virus
where the alien sun doesn't shine.
Isn't that right, Jeff Goldbloom?
- Good night.
- Peace!
(dramatic music) (explosion booms)
- [Narrator] Well, in the case of "Battlestar Galactica"
2004 to 2009, it's humans who have to worry about a virus,
and not the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing
and stuffy head fever sort of virus either.
This is a machine virus, and it comes courtesy
of the cybernetic lifeform nodes humans created.
Of course, you know them as Cylons.
Imagine being home right now
and the only thing keeping you
from being attacked by cybernetic soldiers
is that your computer isn't connected to the internet.
And as soon as you connect to the web
and click on your favorite Popcast video
those cybernetic creations will hit you with a virus,
shut down your defenses, and attack.
Yikes, no internet, no wonder Commander Adama
is always so grumpy.
Because the toaster's and skinjob's
computing and robotics technologies
are far superior to their creators, their use of viruses
to shut down the colonial defense mainframe,
nearly results in distinction of humankind.
And what causes the single-minded,
sentient artificial intelligence
to want to exterminate the human race?
Apparently religion.
- God, are you God? - Possible.
- [Narrator] Sometime after becoming self-aware,
the Cylons developed a religion
that considered humans to be sinful
and flawed creations who don't deserve to survive.
But Cylons and other artificial intelligence
will learn quickly that karma is a real thing
when they become infected with an encephalitis virus
that is no longer lethal to humans.
And while neither the humans nor the Cylons
seem to be able to finish one another off,
as we all know, they would eventually find their way
to a mostly non-lethal, virus-free conclusion.
- Are you alive?
- [Narrator] Number two, "Firefly: Serenity"'s Pax Virus.
would a government release a virus into a populous
in an attempt to control them?
Let's consider that a rhetorical question.
- And when I realized that the laboratory
was having the same name.
- [Narrator] But for the citizens under the control
of their inner planetary alliance,
being controlled is only the beginning.
While it was our goal to only cover viruses
from science fiction TV shows,
we decided Serenity basically a movie based version
of the only season of Firefly.
And since the show was stupidly canceled
after only one season in 2003.
- I'm trash.
- [Narrator] And fans got the short end of the stick,
"Firefly" is worth breaking the rules for.
And the Pax Virus they had to endure,
well, let's just say we hope our few future Disney overlords
don't get any crazy ideas.
- Who here thought they had permission
to say anything critical of Chinese politics?
- [Narrator] with the Alliance's desire
to control the entire solar system,
Their effective control measures became extreme and cruel.
Whether trying to turn children
into weapons against their enemies,
or psychological reprogramming people
in an effort to control them better,
the Alliance will stop at nothing for total domination.
But what they did on the planet of Miranda was over the top.
The Alliance was so horrified by what they'd done,
they tried to hide the planet to cover up the horror.
The crew of the Serenity were able to follow clues
to find the planet
that was now considered fictional to most citizens.
They learned that the Alliance had added
an experimental chemical compound
to the air processors on Miranda.
This G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate
was intended to calm the population of the planet
and remove aggression to make them easier to control.
And it worked, but it worked too well.
99.9% of the population became so lethargic,
they stopped working, talking, and eventually moving,
sort of like Brian after a large pepperoni pizza.
(Therman laughing)
- [Ralph] (laughs) I'm in danger.
- [Narrator] but on Miranda, they stopped moving for so long
they just laid there and allowed themselves to die.
The remaining .1% of the 30 million people on the planet
had the opposite reaction to the Pax Virus,
they became mindlessly violent and extremely aggressive.
These animalistic humans became known as Reavers
and they lived on the fringes of civilized space,
looking for humans to rape, torture, kill, and eat.
- Oh wow!
- [Narrator] Although it cost them dearly,
the Serenity crew would eventually broadcast the truth
to everyone in the solar system,
uncovering the Alliance's horrific experiment.
Take that Alliance, and Firefly, keep flying.
- I'm a leaf on the wind.
Watch how I soar.
- [Narrator] Drum roll please.
And the number one scariest sci-fi virus
is the "Star Trek" Borg Nanoprobe Virus.
The Borg are fascinating, complicated,
and terrifying all by themselves.
But when you give them an assimilation virus
that could turn half of a planet into drones
before anyone realized what was happening,
well, that's next level scary.
The Nanoprobe Virus was created by the board queen in 2375
as a way to gradually assimilate the human race
after failing to do it directly twice.
Her plan would be to detonate
a Biogenic charge in Earth's atmosphere
and let the virus infect everyone on the planet
without putting up a fight.
But first she would need the help
of our favorite Borg, Seven of Nine,
whom the Borg Queen captured
during the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode Dark Frontier.
Planetary virus aside, as we said in the beginning,
Borg assimilation already has a very virus feel to it.
Once the Nanoprobes get inside of you
they infect your entire body
and black webs sprout under your skin.
The Nanoprobes then create implants in your body
and link your mind to the hive
and you fall under the collective's control.
We won't even go into amputating limbs, a painful eye piece,
or the fact that you are going to lose all of your hair.
Yeah, you save money on and haircuts
and you don't have to think for yourself anymore
which is sometimes nice.
- It is awesome.
- [Narrator] But that's not a fair trade
for being turned into a techno space zombie.
In the end, Seven of Nine, refused to help the queen
prepare the Nanoprobe virus to target humanity.
Her decision not only saved humanity,
but solidified her choice to remain an individual
and say goodbye to the Collective forever.
"Star Trek" fans say thank you.
So what do you think
of our top five science fiction viruses?
Can you think of some others we missed?
Which one is your favorite?
Let's talk about it in the comments below.
Also, check out this incredible "Firefly"
I Aim to Misbehave inspired graphic design
from the artists at MixedTees.com.
Get 20% off your purchase by using coupon code ThePopcast.
The link is in the description below.
- I aim to misbehave.
(dramatic music)