TV REVIEW: Brave New World (Peacock, 2020)
From the very first description of genetic engineering, called “decanting” in Aldous Huxley’s 1932 book Brave New World, I was hooked. It was only a small part of what would become a wild ride for a kid brought up on Star Wars and other 70’s and 80’s sci-fantasy programs. The name seemed hopeful, and to this day I always wonder what that world would be like: to have your every need taken care of, to never be unhappy — with yourself or your situation, NO WARS OR VIOLENCE, and to find pleasure in social interactions with others. As an awkward child, it would be a dream and I imagined they would make a movie about it someday. They actually made two for TV: one in 1980 for the BBC , and another for NBC in 1998. This new 2020 version can be found on NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock.
The Premise: No longer a movie, the narrative is now a mini-series divided over 9 episodes. It follows a re-imagining of the novel, not only as the story of a stranger in a strange land and their accompanying rebellion against the established system but also a new accompanying narrative: interconnectivity through technology.
The Show: I came for the architecture and set design, and was hooked by the Goldfrapp song. Then came the show: While the novel and earlier TV movies replace organized religion with Fordism (a worship of early 20th-Century industrialist Henry Ford), the closest we get to the name in the 2020 version is “Henry Foster”, played by newbie Australian-Japanese actor Sen Mitsuji (“Altered Carbon” [Netflix], “The Man in the High Castle” [Amazon]). Without Fordism, the AI called INDRA — built by the World Controllers to monitor every citizen with carefully-measured algorithms— exists. Its attractive ease of use provides the perfect people of New London with an optical interface to access the city’s technology and entertainment by simply looking at it with a removable corneal overlay. Said overlay is a contact with a short, thin tentacle that attaches to the wearer’s optic nerve…triggering my fear of contacts.
The 2020 version makes the world of New London attractive and inclusive, while also being exclusive: it does away with the sexism (John the Savage has both hetero- and homo-sexual encounters) and racism (the idea of Epsilons as dark-skinned Pygmies is replaced by clones of every color with buzzcuts and matching khaki jumpsuits), replacing it with the Greek-letter caste system and separating the world between New London and the “Savage Lands”(more on that later). There’s even some gender-switching: artist Helmholtz Watson is now Wilhelmina “Helm” Watson as played by Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp, “Killjoys” [SYFY]), and World Controller Mustapha Mond is played by veteran British actress Nina Sosanya (“Doctor Who” [BBC], Hercules and the Amazon Women). There’s plenty of Caucasians, South Asians, East Asians, African, and multiracial people to fill out New London, a culture all its own without the dividing forces of the “before times” (again, more on that later).
Speaking of making the version of the novel attractive, everyone is physically fit, conventionally attractive, and pleasant to be around. This is embodied in the performance of Kylie Bunbury (“Tut” [SpikeTV], “Under the Dome” [CBS]) as Frannie— a long-legged chocolate angel who’s always ready for anything. Ever since Miss Bunbury’s performance on “Tut” I wanted to see more of her. This show, while showing her off as eye candy, did not meet my needs. I did not find out Frannie’s fate in the final episode, despite being part of a conflict with the strikingly beautiful Lenina Crowne (played by amazing British actress Jessica Brown Findlay; “Misfits” [E4], “Downton Abbey” [ITV]).
The latter of the two women does get involved in a love triangle with Counselor Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd, “Doctor Who” [BBC], “Game of Thrones” [HBO], The Theory of Everything) and John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich, SOLO: A Star Wars Story, Beautiful Creatures).
Instead of leaving the Savage Lands (the areas outside New London that misrepresent the state of the world and its vices in the “before times”, long after some unexplained catastrophe laid low society as we know it) on their own, they are chased out by radical Savage elements who don’t like being used as amusement parks for the New Londoners. They are guided out by John’s mother Linda — a Beta-Plus who was abandoned by John’s father in the Savage Lands when she got pregnant. Played by a criminally-underused Demi Moore (Striptease, Ghost, Nothing But Trouble), she is a street-smart addict who would do anything to dull the pain of abandonment and motherhood. Sadly, she dies early in the series before reaching New London (as opposed to the book version where she dies of a Soma overdose in a hospital late in the story).
The Verdict: I’ve read a few reviews and people did not like this series. I am inclined to disagree, if the length of my review is any clue.
There are times when the show tends to get caught up in the more physical aspects and the constant drug use or “abuse”, depending on your point-of-view (the ratings are accurate — children should not use this version for their book reports). The miniseries goes to great lengths to reinterpret or change the ending(s) for modern audiences. I don’t necessarily approve, but I understand why it was done. It was very nice to see the phrases from the novel in the miniseries, as well as a few new ones. Practical effects were amazing — costume design, lighting and set design were great. Some of the CG was dodgy, but perhaps my judgment is because I didn’t understand what I was observing. Episode 9 is a clear example of this — I had to look up what was shown on Wikipedia. I haven’t touched on some of the other elements (the empathic link through INDRA, the Epsilon uprising, the Savage revolt), because this review is long enough.
It’s sad to see the show end on a cliffhanger for a possible season 2, which won’t happen — because where can they go from here? If the creative team follows the novel, John dies by suicide (spoilers for an 89-year-old book that’s required school reading). I truly wish this show could get another chance and at least bookend the series…because I love this show.
