The Andromeda Strain, Lost in Adaptation ~ Dominic Noble

[@pushinguproses]

Thanks for having me in my video. I have now fulfilled a life long dream of becoming a scientist sex line operator.

[@AriosQarsute]

Honestly, there's probably some money to be made there...

[@DeaconTaylor]

yeah took me a moment but then... hang on, thats PUR. haha. nice one.

[@oldschool3424]

PushingUpRoses At the end of the day, isn’t that everyone’s dream?

[@count_bodies_like_sheep9296]

Talk to me about biomechanics any day of the week lmfao

[@helRAEzzzer]

That sketch was flipping awesome!

[@carlrood4457]

It's called a "Batman Deduction". The 60's Batman series was renowned for huge leaps in logic by word association that turned out to be absolutely correct.

[@quentingilanian8045]

Go on TVTropes much?

[@jasonblalock4429]

Hey, their moon logic solutions to the Riddler's puzzles were always one of the best parts of the show!

[@joshyoder871]

Holy pizza pie, Batman! Indeed, old chum.

[@AkutomiNamikaze]

The attack happened at sea...C! For Catwoman!

[@SupremeViola]

Reminds me of the "Tears, idle tears?" line in Murder Must Advertise. Now *there's* an obscure book-to-miniseries adaptation to examine.

[@pixlepotumus]

The House feeling you are getting is probably from the fact that Michael Crichton was a medical doctor and also the creator of ER, the granddaddy of all medical dramas. So the trope of an innocuous word or phrase leading to a huge breakthrough was basically something Crichton invented.

[@stapler942]

I mean I'm sure it was a trope played very often in detective fiction and thrillers before that, of the kind Crichton was writing under a different name to pay for med school.

[@SovereignAure]

It also happened in the 1960s Batman series with Adam West.

[@IsaacIsaacIsaacson]

I think Agatha Christie did that decades earlier

[@jrpipik]

The Andromeda Strain didn't have a House vibe; House an Andromeda Strain vibe.

[@ElizabethWilliamsBushey]

Also Sherlock Holmes

[@donsample1002]

Another minor change from the book to the movie: the book had automated anesthetic dart guns to shoot escaped lab animals, while the movie had _frickin laser beams_

[@grumpyoldman3458]

Laser beams are TIGHT! (wrong channel, whoops!)

[@Toneill029]

Both are pretty awesome.

[@buffstraw2969]

But light sabers are cool, right?

[@JumbledEye]

@@grumpyoldman3458 whoopsie!

[@JonathanRossRogers]

Crichton was playing around with those ideas. Congo had automated submachine guns to shoot mutant gorillas and a frickin laser beam.

[@donsample1002]

Crichton _was_ an MD Doctor, and it really shows in his attention to detail in all the medical and biological stuff.

[@robyndaniell434]

Don Sample Yes, it was interesting that Dom seemed surprised at Crichton's interest in science (given that MD Crichton also did a fellowship at the Salk Institute; surprisingly, MDs tend to be science nerds)

[@ajerqureshi6411]

@@robyndaniell434 It's possible he's aware of it, but decided to let it slide for the sake of a joke. Or perhaps his comment is how even for an MD interested in science, Crichton is known for REALLY going into the science in his books.

[@texan-american200]

It's been a year, but if you read his semi-autobiograpy, "Travels," you get a good glimpse of his travels around the world and his experiences and war storied when he was studying medicine.

[@SewingAMess1189]

Thisis the one of the best shows on youtube

[@alyssaagnew4147]

It really is. Keep it up Dominic Noble!

[@yojamiejo]

I agree

[@alicethemad1613]

Rewatched this movie last night and I’ve gotta admit, Ruth is hands down my favorite character. She’s the most memorable one with well developed personality flaws and quirks that immediately distinguish her, dry sense of humor, always pushing forward, and she definitely gets the most comedic lines out of the four. Basically she’s iconic and I love her.

[@annnichols3091]

Do you watch the most recent seasons of "Midsommer Murders"? My favorite character is Dr. Fluer Perkins, the patholigist. She, too, gets some of the best comedic lines. Her offhand comments about her private life, past and present, are delightful.

[@jrpipik]

Exactly!

[@Nupetiet]

we stan a grumpy queen

[@MsDefectiveToaster]

"...wailing like that stupid child!" "Oh my God. I've got it." "What?" "Whales. They are the secret that's gonna bust this thing wide open."

[@GiubileiFernando]

Esperemos a tito

[@linkshaoran2891]

No, no, it's definitely got something to do with Wales. I think the Welsh are immune to it!

[@TotallyHuman]

maybe it's just cause I'm on a Dishonored 2 kick right now, but that is exactly what I thought at first to. I'm like, "This is a really stretched metaphor, whatever it is. oh wait, crying, no that's more believable."

[@SarahElisabethJoyal]

Only man's arrogance would assume that the message was meant for man.

[@edithelgee5044]

The science hotline bit made me a) laugh and b) wonder what you'd think about Andy Weir's novel The Martian.

[@TotallyHuman]

anyone else love that he's still going so far as to call people 'new beautiful watchers?' there's just such a sense of... decent goodness in this man that I think even youtube can see.

[@brightwriter419]

That's cool that a major publisher asked you to review a book. Just means you're becoming a more notable KZbinr. :) Keep up the good work, Dom!

[@gepisar]

10:50 im soooo glad you pointed out that all the negative attributes were dumped on the female scientist. When i watched this film for the first time , i must have been, 10 years old, my parents were quick to point this out at the time. AND that was a significant learning point in my life in terms of being aware of social inequalities. Bravo!

[@skylx0812]

To be honest I found that to be one of the more realistic parts of the film. In my personal experience I've worked around women and men that had similar kinds of personalities. It just goes with the territory of learning to work with varying personality types. But as for the character she was brought into a high tech facility possibly confronted with more blinking light sources than she was confortable due to her epilepsy. She became stressed from having to hide it and she vented it in the guise of a difficult persona. She did contribute nonetheless. But even the older scientist was becoming just as brusk and short tempered as the stress began to build. In fact the woman reminded me of the stern argumentative Reverend Mother Bellonda, head of archives from Chapterhouse: DUNE.

[@gunsort3242]

Just saw this video. I always felt that her character was overcompensating because she is a woman in that period of time. She was a very good scientist and perhaps felt that she had to create a tough exterior to be taken seriously. She was, in fact quite vulnerable because of her affliction. I thought that James Olson nailed the MD personality of superiority as well.

[@BinturongGirl]

I really appreciated the imaginative approach this film took, with the computer-noise scoring (a bold but annoying choice) and the split screen etc. It really highlights the "declassified government report" style. The decontamination process, the experiments, the practicalities, even down to the guy on the World-Saving Team of Awesome being in surgery at just the wrong time is a bit of realism most films wouldn't bother with, but it is something that we would find in a recreation of something that actually happened.

[@Jayfive276]

So Rising Sun is "Humanity! Do not play God with....the Japanese?"

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

Japan will destroy you with anime.

[@tinahawley320]

@@KitchenSinkSoup And we enjoy every minute of it.

[@OverLordRyan]

Maybe The Dom can review it's 1993 film adaptation.

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

@@tinahawley320 That's how it gets you, you keep on watching until you become the animes.

[@stapler942]

Airframe is "Humanity! Do not play God with...journalism!" Disclosure is "Humanity! Do not play God with...human resources!" Sphere is "Humanity! Do not play God with...imagination!" Eaters of the Dead is "Humanity! Do not play God with...Vikings!" The Great Train Robbery is "Humanity! Do not play God with...keys!"

[@wilsonkierankitsune]

Hey nice, Pushing Up Roses Cameo. Great review.

[@Landibert]

I knew I had heard the voice before but I didn't put it together until he showed her on screen.

[@roefane2258]

I like the new look!!! You look very nice. If I may recommend some Mom advice, if you want the collars to lay flat against each other first put them on a hanger and use a hair straightener to “iron” them. You can use a hair straightener on cotton and other kinds of materials because the temperature goes lower then a normal iron does.

[@marshalinehamismother]

💗💗💗

[@ABLEARC]

What great mom advice.

[@carlrood4457]

You know it's kind of refreshing to see a movie that has the characters take proper precautions with this sort of thing. It's usually, "touch the mysterious space goo with bare hands". It's like a sane version of Resident Evil, where they deliberately broke containment on the super dangerous lab.

[@93MANIAC]

It's more like a sane version of Prometheus

[@victorhugodeoliveiraborges786]

​@@93MANIAC Ironic. Ridley Scott was the producer of a 2008 miniseries readapting The Andromeda Strain.

[@Endigo_Vandane]

What's the number to that Science Hotline? I need that in my life...

[@jonsnor4313]

Even if its a joke, science porn a niche to be filled, and would be educational.

[@bretsheeley4034]

I was never into porn, but if Roses were to put together a hotline where she read the Feynmen Lectures... my bank account would be empty much faster than I'd care to admit.

[@edisonlima4647]

Ugh, I absolutely loath when audio book read time stamps, e-mail headers and other stuff we skip when reading. Is there ANYONE who enjoys that?

[@lydias376]

I agree it's so annoying

[@caitlin6587]

I assumed it was for people with vision impairments who couldn't read them anyway. still annoying I'm sure but having information redacted must be worse

[@liannedegraaf2616]

Hi, visually impaired person here who only uses audiobooks to read, if they were to cut out the time stamps and stuff they are editing the book which legally is not allowed :)

[@Rocketboy1313]

This reminds me of when I was listening to John Scalzi's "Redshirts". The book is cute, but it is read by Wil Wheaton who is 'meh' at best. There is a section where a bunch of emails are being read and the names have been removed. Instead of just beeping out a name... They have Wil read out all the X's. "Dear, Ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex" Fucking stupid.

[@gorvarhadgarson5227]

I enjoy the credits for the Alien books Audible made audio dramas for.

[@MsZeeZed]

This is one of the most accurate descriptions in novel / film of how scientific teams actually work. So much so only people with a BSc tend to enjoy it. Use this as a gold standard for accurate dramatisation & 95% of CSI inspired BS becomes as real as Doctor Who. One exception is BBC’s Silent Witness, which does indeed seem to take notes from Andromeda Strain in this aspect, and sometimes dramatically too, that show’s middle years best described as “Witness Silence”!

[@sabrinaloizides-merideth9874]

I was 10 years old when I read this book. My dad was adamant about reading the books before watching a film. I came into the film about 30 minutes before the end and he wouldn't let me rewind the VHS tape and watch the film until I read it. I had to read it with a dictionary (late 80s, no Google) but I did it in about two or three weeks. It set off a lifelong appreciation for Crichton's work and I was super-sad when he died.

[@chuckhainsworth4801]

The novel was first popular among hard science fiction fans, as was most of Crichton's early work. Hard SF authors tended to work in the field that they wrote in, at least at the beginning of their careers. Crichton has an MD, and was working at the time he wrote the novel. One of his early tricks was to write an MD character in for him to identify with. "Terminal Man" was replete with places for him to hide and report.

[@MythrilShotgun]

I'm sure it's very hard work, and I want you to stay healthy, but I genuinely am enjoying the uptick in production rate. You're doing a great job, Dom, and I look forward to your videos!

[@tacitus7797]

Actually despite the book ending ... its shocking how well the Andromeda Strain holds up. FYI they kind of had to tweak the ending since the movie came out after we landed on the moon.

[@OptimusPhillip]

I had no idea Michael Crichton was active as a writer before the first Moon landing. Honestly, it's quite impressive.

[@c.argelfraster1291]

I can just hear Roses' cackle when Dom pitched the Naughty Science Appreciation Line bit to her 😂 Perfect cameo! 🏆

[@simonesalvatore9345]

Michael Crichton: writing asshole characters long before George RR Martin made it cool.

[@Rognik]

Yet not killing off nearly enough of them.

[@simonesalvatore9345]

@@Rognik To be fair about half the cast of the Jurassic Park books got eaten by the end.

[@kimifw58]

Who thought that was a new thing?

[@Rognik]

@@simonesalvatore9345 Exactly. *Only* half the cast.

[@johnoneil9188]

I knew the voice on the phone sounded familar! That science hotline bit is wonderful surreal and one of those moments you can not easily explain if somebody were to just walk past the screen at that moment.

[@PKMNResearcherSkyler]

I love the weird random reasons shown at the end for not being able to support him on patreon, always brings a smile to my face.

[@AlanRogers250]

Dominic, Michael Crichton was a medical doctor before he turned to writing full time. His first book, published under his own name, was, "The Five Patients". He wrote five or six thrillers about a sort of James Bond type of guy while in medical school under an alias. He was an interesting man. Taken from us way too early.

[@texan-american200]

Dr. Levid's personality kind of reminded me of Star Trek's Dr Leonard McCoy with her very abrasive attitude.

[@ThomasTalbotMD]

The Andromeda Strain book was really ahead of its time as medically oriented hard science fiction - the film is a triumph and is timeless. The slow pace is what makes it great and the sets are amazing. The 'annoying' sound track was one of the first electronically generated soundscapes for a film. I really think this film had held up very well over a half century later. Crichton liked the movie very much.

[@alexfranklin7833]

You didn't even talk about how this is the only film michael had cameo in And because of this film he met Steven Spielberg

[@RXMXB227]

YES! The "hysterical/flawed female" character in this is just as upsetting as the "Lambert" character in "Alien." And MAJOR brownie points for featuring PushingUpRoses!

[@bengoslin2246]

Dominic: Guys I changed my channel name as a way to help mature my show and try to help myself with the algorithm. Also Dominic: *creates the skit at **4:10* All joking aside though, great video!

[@anitanielsen1061]

Wait, what was it before???

[@seamusomorain6244]

Levitt was the only epileptic character I had ever read and had not come across any other fictional epileptics. So when I read the book I audibly yelled with joy. So, even though Levitt was a MAJOR dick in the film I was still happy to see epilepsy on screen. Still love both the book and film tho.

[@marccolten9801]

One of Crichton's novels, Binary, published under the pseudonym "John Lange" was made into the TV movie "Pursuit" with Crichton directing. It might be good for LIA.

[@charischannah]

I remember reading The Andromeda Strain when I was in high school and reading as fast as I could, at the edge of my seat, because it was so dramatic...and then the virus mutated and it was all fine. Had I been using the phrase at the time, I probably would have been shouting, WTF, Michael Crichton, WTF? During English class.

[@mrcheesemunch]

I just read Jurassic Park recently and I really loved the diagrams and whatnot the author put in, I'm the kinda guy that likes a picture here or there for reference since I find it hard to visualize everything in a book but having what at times were essentially little puzzles was really cool, I liked trying to figure out what was going on with the computer screens before reading what the characters said. Also I really love how Crichton makes technology such a believably fallible thing, the machines not working in this movie/book because of a tiny bit of paper feels so hilariously true to life. It's the sort of thing that in many stories would feel like Deus Ex Machina but Crichton always sets it up perfectly. When throughout the book it's regularly explained how ramshackle Jurassic Park is it makes it totally believable that such an insane amount of things go wrong, the machines we create as as fallible as we are and we should always remember that when trying to play God.

[@mikemcateer3531]

This may sound odd but The Andromeda Strain was one of my favorite movies as a kid! I'll have to remember to add The Andromeda Strain to my list of books I intend to read.

[@12kidder1]

The Dom: the way this is written doesn't translate well to audiobook. Me, a litRPG fan: You have no idea...

[@bretsheeley4034]

As someone who has listened to the Ars Arcana sections of Brandson Sanderson's Cosmere novels, I got a crick in my neck from nodding too much.

[@stapler942]

Two words: Math textbooks.

[@stapler942]

Scratch that: Computer science textbooks.

[@theguardian8317]

I'm no scientist but the realism and detail in both the book and the film (or any Crichton book for that matter) makes me feel tingly and warm on the inside

[@annnichols3091]

Loved your skit to illustrate how much Mr. Chrichton's love of science.

[@l33t9r0u93]

15:00 this line aged so well I giggled

[@hopperwolf2]

I love this movie so much. I would come across it at like midnight on a Saturday while channel surfing back in the old timey days and put the remote down every time, regardless of how far along it was. I still find it gripping and chilling in a strangely sterilized kind of way.

[@Gappasaurus]

This is one of my all-time favorite classic sci-fi movies, and i think that’s *because* of its procedural nature. There’s plenty of “grrrr, shoot the aliens!” films, but in this case it’s “hey, LETS DO A SCIENCE!” 🤓 ps: hi PUR! 😙

[@LadyJinni]

Thank you Dominic for reviewing this. This was one of the movies I watched with my dad when ever I was sick as a kid.

[@bigtallpap]

Only just discovered this channel, and delighted to see The Andromeda Strain featured. I love both the book and the film, and you covered both excellently.

[@christophergoan9888]

congrats getting contacted by the publisher! keep it up

[@rowanquinn9978]

When he sang about the middle aged men and their back sides- I fell in love. ♥️

[@sekaihatsu]

I wasn't aware of this book or movie until this episode. Thanks for another review!

[@elizabethsullivan1894]

Commenting even before I've watched the video to say I'm so excited to see you do this! This is one of my favorite movies, and very few people know about it.

[@ariellakahan-harth8831]

The science hotline bit is the funniest thing I've seen all day. Your facial expressions, sir, were absolute gold.

[@baileycavender4478]

I love the fact that Crichton wrote Andromeda Strain while in med school (it came out during his las year). As if the man couldn't get any cooler...

[@ChrisMaxfieldActs]

Right? Because medical students have so much free time for writing fiction!

[@baileycavender4478]

@@ChrisMaxfieldActs Exactly! Because medical students are so bored with tons of free time...

[@zenagitana]

Your comment about skim reading is so true with Crighton. I've read all his novels and, without fail, found myself skimming through multiple paragraphs that get detailed and boring.

[@brycevo]

I absolutely love Crichton's novels. Thank you for the awesome work

[@GoatAndDog]

You've just uploaded it and I can't get to stop buffering but I'm still going to say you did a good job on this episode 👍👏

[@neilprice513]

there is a bug with KZbin at the moment, it's not the video but a problem with an advert not playing. Just keep "reloading" the page and it usually fixes itself after a few goes.

[@Myoron]

I really liked the book, and man this movie blew me away with how close it hewed to the plot of the book. Probably one of my favorite movies because of it, even with all the slow bits.

[@potterfreak63]

FIGHTING THE ALGORITHM ONE COMMENT AT A TIME! The phone call made me laugh way more than it should have. Thank you for your hard work

[@The_Early_Gamer]

Another good episode, and an interesting book from the sounds of it. I went by the local book swap box the other day that we have next to our commuter train. To my surprise I found a book by Terry Pratchet, "Mort". Haven't read it but I have a sneaking suspicion I'm gonna like it.

[@jonsnor4313]

It has everyones favourite grim reaper it, i have yet to read the discworld books, but from the summary, it would be a miracle not to like it.

[@HyperionHelstrand]

I only just found your channel today, and I have to say, I am greatly enjoying it so far! Not just for the waistcoats, but the content as well!

[@whtyc]

One of my favorite films. I find procedurals really satisfying and this film scratches that itch. I also love all that late mid century tech and security.

[@robertparker6280]

I remember I had to read this book for Biology class in the 10th Grade. I read it TWICE! This is one of my favorite books of all time.

[@dianamerchant1026]

I love the attention to detail. His books are always fascinating to me. God. the book seems more important now with the joys of COVID.

[@Saezimmerman]

I love this Lost in Adaptation. Usually, my faves are the ones that wildly deviate, but Andromeda Strain has long been a favorite for me.

[@grumpyoldman3458]

I like that they introduced a female character and didn't put in a romantic sub plot.

[@davidwindfeldt9009]

Hi Dom I LOVE you’re intro. Its definitely top 3 if not the best intro of all Chanel’s that I subscribe to

[@JazzMstrGeneral]

The older film scared the hell outta me. It is honestly one of if not the most suspenseful films I have ever seen.

[@superturkeylegs]

The soundtrack was made by Gil Melle. I thought it fit perfectly, he worked on music for Columbo. He used an instrument he invented (the percussotron) to do the soundtrack for The Andromeda Strain.

[@diddymuck]

The addition of deliberate acid rain as a world-wide antidote for Andromeda would have been a great add-on to the plot, however not particularly easy to film with emotional impact. Having it modify itself as a bit too DEM, but did encourage a sigh of relief to the audience.

[@softyspectre8125]

I hope you don't mind me saying your new outfit looks rather ravishing mate

[@rjmayo]

I LOVE your vest in this video, it’s seriously amazing.

[@mattlucente3571]

I really enjoy this book, and I am very happy to see it being talked about. Also I like how Dom said he likes to make the video at least 10 minutes long about 12 minutes in.

[@Vaati1992]

Clever segue to remind me to comment on the video ^^ Also you just gotta appreciate Roses' vocal work in this, she has such a pleasant voice

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

That 'science ohhh~!' face you did there at the end was *amazing.*

[@jo.comics]

Thanks for being awesome! Greetings from Switzerland!

[@DoctorInk20]

Damn, Dom, that waistcoat and shirt combo rocks!

[@hrhamada1982]

not only is he hugely talented as a writer and director. He was a Medical Doctor. Which explains the basis of his early books, A Case of Need, The Andromeda Strain, Terminal Man and five patients.

[@squeethemog213]

This book seems really interesting. I'll have to give it a read. Pushinguproses is always a delight to hear and having her cameo this way was fantastic XD

[@grahamcann1761]

I first read the book in the 70's, and have re-read it at least twice since. And I still enjoy watching the movie. I did watch the mini-series, and if anything I think you observations about it were too kind. (I had such hopes... I was so disappointed.) I believe I've read most, if not all Crichton's books, including some non-fiction, (and all his fiction I think,) and I find the man's curiosity, and knowledge fascinating. (Gone too soon.) Thank you so very much for your video.

[@brianandrews6124]

Damn it Dominic! I can't watch your shows as much because I end wanting to read them myself first. You provoked me to read. Thank you.

[@cybernet3000]

I got seriously excited when I heard PushingUpRoses' voice on the phone.

[@skylx0812]

The miniseries was just. Wow. The Love Boat version of Andromeda Strain. Guest starring every out of work veteran tv character actor you can shake a stick at. The only thing that piqued my intrest was the obit view of the earth at the end. You can see what appear to be several hurricanes headed for the US.

[@Taliysin]

It’s the cross over special I never knew I needed!

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

That movie scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid in the 1970s. It would run on tv in the late evening, and I'd lie in bed hearing it play on the big television downstairs and thinking the world really would come to an end if they didn't stop the nuke. Now you know I am old. *g*

[@DezMarivette]

Omg love that you included PushingUpRoses!

[@boradis]

Great job. I've seen this movie in parts many times as it was frequently played on local tv back in the 70s.

[@TheMimiSard]

This movie is something of a nostalgic favourite of mine, due to it coming on TV and Mum being really interested.

[@stapler942]

To this film's credit, it's very rare in movies that you see the scientific process portrayed somewhat realistically (i.e. as slow, careful, repetitive, and rigorous). It's not the greatest film, but an interesting experiment, probably of interest to certain academics if nothing else.

[@josephde-haan1074]

When the book was published, lots of people thought it was true. It was pretty interesting. When Bob Wise set out to make the movie, his researchers assumed that everything was true, too, so they went out and found all the things the book talked about - the underground laboratory, the computer programs, the biometrics security. After a while I stopped telling people that I had made it all up, because it turned out that it was based on true things. But I didn’t know that when I was writing the book.

[@madegeeky]

This was great. I'd love to see you do more Chichton. From what my husband has said, all his books are very science-oriented (apparently all he does is read about science and write science). I'd be interested in seeing how that evolved in both his books and his movies.

[@msnorringtonsims6536]

a week late but engagement is important on youtube, so I'll do anything to support my favorite creators

[@UltimateKyuubiFox]

One of the best cutaway gags you’ve ever done.

[@ewaldkostergunnsisko3491]

Loved the PushingUpRoses cameo, she just has a perfect voice for such role, and who knew that science could sound so sexy.

[@thaumatomane]

I am watching this during the pandemic. You released this a year too early.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

When I was a boy, I always pronounced his name "crick-ton." There was nothing "different" about split screen in the '70s. It was the shaky cam of that era.

[@hotplanofaction3219]

I hope you're not kink shaming the love of electron microscopes Dom. Also, having Roses do the operator's voice was A+.

[@anttibjorklund1869]

That "Science Hot Line" skit was great!

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Crichton's 'State of Fear' is also a book with several graphs and footnotes to it. It's beyond the scope of this show [as it was never adapted] but would be an interesting book to examine in some format.

[@marezesim8119]

I was just a teen when I first saw this movie and loved the intense science delve

[@jaymartin8273]

Read this book in elementary school (on my own, it wasn't part of the curriculum) absolutely loved it! :=)