Il était une fois... la vie (1987–1988): Season 1, Episode 16 - L'usine du foie - full transcript

[lively music playing]

♪ Is life, is life, that's life ♪

♪ Sing a song of life ♪

♪ Every heartbeat's a miracle ♪

♪ Feel the rhythm growing ♪

♪ Day by day as we go ♪

♪ Look inside, your body is humming ♪

♪ With a million drums that are drumming ♪

♪ Fill your lungs, get ready ♪

♪ Celebrating the joy
That's life ♪

♪ Is life, is life, that's life ♪



♪ Is life, is life, that's life ♪

THE FACTORY OF THE LIVER

[cheerful music playing]

[narrator]The liver: this is
the chemical factory of the body.

Although the liver
is only 2% of the body's mass,

it consumes one-quarter of the oxygen
brought in by red blood cells,

almost as much as does the brain.

[indistinct chattering]

[Jumbo Jr.] Ah! Sugars, amino acids,
that’s good!

-Digestion is going very well.
-[cop] Where are they going, Lieutenant?

To the liver, of course.

It's a big sugar store the liver,
and it's a protein factory.

Protein? What’s that?

Protein is the main building material
for many parts of the body,



like bricks for building a house.

Is the body going to build houses?

Oh, don’t be such an idiot!

Proteins are used to make red corpuscles,

blood plasma, and lots of other things
besides.

Even those antibodies are made of protein.

And look! Vitamins.
The liver will hold them in reserve.

Is there anything the liver can’t do,
Lieutenant?

Of course! It has its limitations.
And you've got to keep a good look-out,

because the liver is sensitive,
it picks up infections easily.

[wicked laughter]

-You can handle that one for me.
-[bright music playing]

-[groans]
-[shrieks]

Hm.

[customs] Uh-oh! Al those
with something to declare, over there!

All right then! Who are you,
and where are you from?

I'm a fat globule
who's just been digested.

I can well believe it! In you go!

-We're amino acids, officer
-That's all right, go straight in.

-[laughing]
-We are peptides, don’t you know?

Useful chaps to have around
if you are making protein!

-[laughing]
-Hm-mm.

What sort of a load
have you got in there today, son?

[driver] Well, it's like this, sir...

They're toxins, aren't they? Thought so!

[whistle blows]

[tires screeching]

We don’t tolerate toxins!
Please take them for disposal.

Ah, the sugars. Please come on board.

[traffic cop] Stop! Stop!

You fat globules can go to
the bile production unit; it's over there!

Wait! You're needed
by the protein assembly units:

the ribosomes. Over there!

Aha! Just what we’ve been waiting for:
some sugar!

You can go straight in,
stocks are getting a bit low.

Halt!

[muttering]

-[assistant 1] Hey! Look!
-[assistant 2] What?

-Tell me, am I seeing things?
-Huh?

-What?
-Look!

[soft moaning]

-[Maestro muttering]
-[shushing]

[rattling]

[assistant moaning nervously]

-[shrieking]
-[Maestro moaning and shouting]

-Oh, Chief, I'm sorry.
-What the...? Hey!

[Maestro] What the dickens
do you think you're doing?

[shrieks]

[nervous moan]

[alarms beeping]

[lab asst. 1] Suspicious substances
are coming through, Chief.

What are we going to do, Chief?

[lab asst. 2] And millions of amino acids.
What’s our next step, Chief?

[lab asst. 3] Sugar, Chief! Tons of it!

[lab asst. 4] Oh Maestro, I'm absolutely
overloaded with cholesterol!

[lab asst. 5] And there's iron
being delivered by the cartload!

[all] What shall we do, Chief?

All right! To begin with,
we take in the chemicals,

we store them, we convert them, and we
supply them again when they're in demand.

Now, get on with it, gentlemen.
We are not going to panic, are we?

We've had a big order for bile, Maestro;
they need it for dissolving fat.

That's one of our main jobs, you know,
to help with the digestion.

You'd better deliver it right away.

[shouting]

[Speedy] Oh.

[racing noise]

[clears throat] Mm.

Wait. I like to practice my reading.
Here's what it says:

"Dear Liver, please send a lot of sugar
urgently. Signed: the Brain."

Oh, Maestro!

The brain needs sugar urgently,
I'm afraid, sir.

And I'm afraid
that it's quite a normal request,

because the brain
has no reserves of its own.

And it's our job
to send sugar upstairs on demand.

-So get busy.
-Yes, sir.

[bright music playing]

[Speedy panting]

Mm.

Bye!

[snoring]

Oh. [sighs] I see you want
an urgent sugar delivery to the brain,

to be sent via the hepatic vein. [mutters]

Vroom!

Wakey, wakey! We have got
an urgent delivery for the brain.

Who's available?

I am ready, normal rates.

You can send it express, if you want to.

We're always ready for urgent deliveries.

Well, I'm cleared for take-off!

Well, it's for the brain,
which automatically gets priority.

Okay, Pilot, you've got the job.

[gasps]

[bright music playing]

[sighs] You know, Fred, I wish I knew
why the brain needs so much sugar!

He works a lot.

[chuckles] Yes, I suppose so.
Just like us!

[snoring]

[pilot] Sugar for the brain,

via the hepatic vein
and general circulation.

Let her go!

[chattering]

-We all do the wibberly wobberly walk.
-[Globus] The liver is one of

our biggest customers and suppliers too.

[Hemo] I don't give a hoot. I hate working
with carbon dioxide, it makes me sick.

[Globine] Don't panic, Hemo,
we've nearly reached the heart.

Soon we’ll be in the lungs
and you'll get oxygen.

I'm sure that you can manage
to hold out till then.

Hope so. It's only the thought of oxygen
that keeps me going, you know.

-[shouting]
-[cowboy laughing]

-Yeehaw!
-[platelets laughing]

Whoa!

[choking noise] No wonder I feel sheepish
being roped in for sugar like this!

[indistinct chattering]

[Jumbo Jr.] Hey! Halt!
That's exceeding the speed limit, friend.

-[cowboy screaming]
-[horse neighing]

Now, what could be eating you, partner?

Listen, you're interfering
with the smooth flow of traffic

in my vein. That's what's eating me.

Hold your horses.

[stutters] You're a federal marshal!
I had no idea.

Yep! I got a whole herd of sugar
to drive up to the brain.

You take priority, sir.

Okay, boys, get along! [shouting]

[bright music playing]

[yawning]

[bright music playing]

[Peter] Hello, Jumbo.
Come on, show me you can do it.

It’s easy. I'll even do it twice running.
Watch.

[moaning]

Oops. [grunts and moans]

Jumbo, you hurt yourself!

-No, it's okay.
-What happened?

[Jumbo] I lost my grip, that's all.

[lively music playing]

[Peter Jr.] We'll take no chances.

Any wound, no matter how slight,
can be a source of infection, Lieutenant.

We need platelets, but I don't see any.
Where are they, do you think?

[Claire] They've been alerted.
They should be along any minute.

[Claire] There they are. Look!

[indistinct chattering]

Not too firm underfoot, huh?

What we need is plenty of fibrin.

You are quite right. The wound will never
heal without fibrin to bind it together.

-Look over there!
-[gasps]

-We're slipping away!
-Hang on, guys!

Hold on! The fibrin's coming any minute.

[shouting] I'm losing my grip!
-Don't give up!

-Too late!
-We'll never manage without fibrin.

Oh, why on earth don't they send some?

[platelets gasping]

Hold on for as long as you can.

We're going to see about the fibrin.

[sobbing, moaning]

[gentle music playing]

[bright music playing]

[alarms beeping]

-[soft moaning]
-Oh! We will have to wake him!

Disturb the Chief? Must we?

Oh, I wish you blithering idiots
would stop your dithering!

We need fibrin, fibrin, fibrin!
Understand?

[shouts and gasps]

We have got a nasty scrape that won’t
stop bleeding. Where's the fibrin?

Now, who woke me up?
This had better be an emergency!

What's this about fibrin?

Oh, Chief, we've got a nasty scrape
that's not healing up.

Stop dithering then.

Get over there and place an order
for fibrinogen.

Oh, fibrinogen, Chief?

-Not fibrin?
-Hm-mm. Hm-mm.

Right away.

[sighs]

[assistant] We need fibrinogen, urgently!

[assistant] Maestro, why do you order
fibrinogen, when we're short of fibrin?

I don't understand.

-[Maestro] It's very simple, really.
-[assistant] Is that so?

Fibrin resembles a strong web of fibers,
which holds everything together.

And this web is woven on the spot
out of individual strands of fibrinogen.

Now, what could be simpler than that?

[bright music playing]

We wave those wagons through
before the other traffic.

Because they carry emergency supplies
of fibrinogen to repair the blood vessel.

Whoa!

[grunts]

Yup!

Hey!

[indistinct chattering]

[bright music playing]

Hm-mm.

[screeching]

Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Chief!
The arms are tired.

There's not a moment to lose!
We need more sugar for energy,

and protein for the muscles.

Don't hang about, then! It is our job
to produce sugar and protein

It’s all beyond me. Huh?

Come with me!
I'll show you something fascinating.

Look at all the things that go on here

Good. Water for making bile.

[chattering and laughing]

Oh.

-There we are!
-Thank you.

[laughing and cheering]

Oh!

Ah, good.
I've been expecting some more salt.

Take it straight in.

Well, that's more salt.

Ah, yes.

Fine! That's good, more water.

Takes a lot of water, does bile.

[bubbling]

[chief] Is that the sample?

Yes, Chief, it conforms to all
the standards specified by the body.

It's very high-quality bile, this.

That's very gratifying!
You can send it off right away.

[puffing sounds]

-Oops!
-[shouts]

[puffing sounds]

Here I am, Chief. Don't worry.
I've got it.

-Hot stuff, isn't it?
-You, idiot! Take it out of my sight!

[laid-back music playing]

Here's the sample of bile
you ordered, sir.

We're ready to start production
at short notice.

Sir, this is an important matter.
The whole bile plant is standing by.

Huh? Oh.

-Oh.
-[shouts]

Huh?

And just what do you two think
you're playing at?

You've gone and smashed
an item of laboratory equipment.

You're going to have to wake your ideas up
in future, young men!

Now, let's put all that behind us.

What was in it, by the way?

Well, sir, it was the bile sample
for your approval, actually.

In that case, you can start production
without delay. Hm?

Yes, sir.

-[laid-back music playing]
-[panting]

All systems go, Chief!

Perfect. Get on with it!

[alarm sounding]

This always makes me feel so bilious.

We will take care of it, Chief.
Why don’t you have a little nap?

I'm doing myself a favor, really.

When the boss gets bilious,
he vents his spleen on me. [laughs]

Good. We’re almost ready to pour.

Stand by, everyone.
I'm about to open the main valve now.

[grunts]

[liquid running]

Hey! My cap! Oh!

[enzyme panting]

-[bright music playing]
-[munching sounds]

Gee, I love butter.

I could even eat it without the bread.

[apprentice] What are they?

[Maestro] Cholesterol,
that's what they are.

[stutters] What's it for, sir?

Oh, we use it
to make a multitude of things:

bile, cell walls, even hormones.

We only use a little,
but we'd be lost without it.

[indistinct chattering]

Salt! Salt wanted!
Salt molecules this way!

Sugar needed in this cell. All aboard.

This way, all you cholesterol units.

You're needed for building up
the nuclear membrane.

Just step this way, won't you?

Aha! So you've brought me
some cholesterol?

Yes, and it's nice and fresh,
straight from the liver.

[enzyme] Look out below!

Load it up!

Take it up!

That's progress! A few more fats
and we'll finish the job

[indistinct chattering]

Hey, what do you think you're doing?

You'll cause a blockage
if you're not careful!

[voice] Your attention, please!

There is a blockage developing
in coronary artery number 4!

Blood flow is restricted. Liver will cease
cholesterol production immediately.

-I repeat: liver will cease...
-[Maestro] This is ridiculous!

All that cholesterol
wasn't manufactured in the liver!

[munching sounds]

Did you wash your hands, Jumbo?

[mischievous, playful music playing]

I bet you forgot. You always do.

Mm.

[Foxy] Ah, ah.
Shh, it's the cops! Follow me.

[Foxy] At the right moment,
we'll multiply. Hm? Mm.

[green horn] Why don’t we start now, Foxy?

-Huh?
-I'm glad you asked me that question.

Because it reveals
your profound ignorance.

We are hepatitis viruses, you numbskull!

We are going to stage a coup in the liver
and take over all the chemical works!

Now, follow me!

[indistinct chattering]

Hey, you amino acids!

I'll give you a lift. Hop in!

-[amino acid] Where are you going?
-[enzyme] Direct to the liver,

-along the hepatic portal vessel.
-That's great.

[indistinct chattering]

You there! You have anything to declare?

-[enzyme] Well...
-Well?

A barrow-load of amino acids,
they've just been digested.

Have a look at them!

Okay, take them to a ribosome.

And look lively!

[wicked laughter]

[narrator] Inside the cell
are the ribosomes,

little assembly lines
for the manufacture of proteins.

The ribosomes duplicate them strictly
according to the coded instructions

on the long RNA molecule,
sent out by the nucleus.

-[shouts]
-[laughs]

Do you see what I see?

That strip of RNA has been sent out
by the nucleus of the cell,

and they're making an exact copy,
a protein.

So we grab the protein and run, do we?

Dimwit! Proteins don’t interest me
in the slightest.

All right! Then what does interest you?

-Do you see that? That's a ribosome.
-Hm?

[Foxy] A ribosome is a factory.

[green horn] But we're not interested
in what it makes!

Granted! Until we issue it
with a new set of instructions:

our very own DNA molecule. Look!

We will use this to reprogram the factory

and you'll be really amazed
at what it starts turning out!

[wicked laughter]

-[mischievous music playing]
-Ah, yeah.

Cut. Ah!

Aha! [cackles]

-Huh?
-Hey?

I hope they know
what they are doing upstairs.

I just follow orders! That's all.

Hey! Ha.

[bright music playing]

[groaning]

[indistinct shouting and babbling]

[alarm blaring]

This is a general alert!
The situation is serious.

The liver has been invaded by
Type A hepatitis virus.

Calling security force.
The situation is deteriorating.

All units respond immediately!

[moans]

Peter, I feel sick. I don't know what's
the matter. Maybe I ate too much.

-Maybe, but sounds to me like jaundice!
-Huh?

[cheerful music playing]

The infected cells
have notified their neighbors,

who have already begun
to produce interferon

to defend themselves against the virus.

That's great. We could do
with some help from interferon.

-[beeps]
-Greetings, interferon heroes!

We have need of your super-powers.

This cell is threatened
by the forces of evil:

a horde of Hepatitis A.

[cheerful music playing]

[grunts, laughs, groans]

[moans]

[Claire] The interferon has stopped
their expansion, Captain.

-The multiplication rate is slowing.
-Now is the time for us to strike!

Order the ships to divide
before we counterattack.

Calling all lymphocyte ships!
Commence multiplication exercise.

[panting]

Poor old Jumbo! How are you getting on?

You've been ill for days.
Don’t you get bored with it?

-It's a shame.
-Yes, Peter.

Jaundice makes you feel awful,

but not quite as awful
as the special diets they put me on!

[laughs]

[lively music playing]