# Brave New World (TV Series)



## AE35Unit (Oct 10, 2020)

Anyone watching the new series?
Just on the first episode now. Funny but I had planned to read the book but I shall wait now...









						Brave New World (TV Series 2020– ) - IMDb
					

Created by Grant Morrison, Brian Taylor, David Wiener.  With Alden Ehrenreich, Jessica Brown Findlay, Harry Lloyd, Nina Sosanya. In a utopia whose perfection hinges upon control of monogamy and privacy, members of the collective begin to question the rules, putting their regimented society on a...




					www.imdb.com


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## Karn's Return (Oct 10, 2020)

Oh, great, another dystopian film adaptation. Yeah, that's all we need-another batch of grimdark depression in our media. :| I might be against the majority of humanity these days, but give me the fairy tale. I would rather have a happy lie than a depressing truth, because truth is always depressing. We need joy, not more oppression and despair.


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## nixie (Oct 10, 2020)

I'm watching, not having read the book I'm finding it quite interesting.


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## Venusian Broon (Oct 10, 2020)

I've read the book. So when I see '...members of the collective begin to question the rules...' 

Mmmm. You should read the book 'cause this doesn't look like it is a version of it. It looks like they have taken many liberties with the source material. 

Oh and the book definitely isn't grimdark. Dystopian, yes, but not grimdark.


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## BAYLOR (Oct 10, 2020)

Venusian Broon said:


> I've read the book. So when I see '...members of the collective begin to question the rules...'
> 
> Mmmm. You should read the book 'cause this doesn't look like it is a version of it. It looks like they have taken many liberties with the source material.
> 
> Oh and the book definitely isn't grimdark. Dystopian, yes, but not grimdark.



In the book , The denizens of Brave New World were for the most part,  a bunch of empty vessels too preoccupied with empty  sex, drugs to numb reality other assorted abysmally mind-numbing   pleasures. (The had a popular  game called magnetic golf )  For the most , everyone blindly accepted their place in society , didn't question, didn't read , didn't think , didn't care.  The Zombies in the walking dead had more life in them the smiling  stiffs in Brava New World.


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## Venusian Broon (Oct 10, 2020)

BAYLOR said:


> In the book , The denizens of Brave New World were for the most part,  a bunch of empty vessels too preoccupied with empty  sex, drugs to numb reality other assorted abysmally mind-numbing   pleasures.



Ahh, an accurate rendition of reality then.


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## Dave (Oct 10, 2020)

Venusian Broon said:


> You should read the book 'cause this doesn't look like it is a version of it. It looks like they have taken many liberties with the source material.


I've read the book but not seen this yet. SFX magazine says it has been sanitised. No longer is Mexico a haven for degenerates as that would be unacceptable in todays political climate. Also, they have social media in the TV series- something Huxley would not have predicted. So, it is a thoroughly modern take on the story - something that is often done with many other classics. Not something that I like though, I'd rather they stayed true to the originals.


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## BAYLOR (Oct 10, 2020)

Venusian Broon said:


> Ahh, an accurate rendition of reality then.



It's a clear  case of life imitating art.


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## AE35Unit (Oct 11, 2020)

Made it to the 4th episode and that was enough. Dull, boring, miserable. Hope the book is better.


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## BAYLOR (Oct 11, 2020)

Dave said:


> I've read the book but not seen this yet. SFX magazine says it has been sanitised. No longer is Mexico a haven for degenerates as that would be unacceptable in todays political climate. Also, they have social media in the TV series- something Huxley would not have predicted. So, it is a thoroughly modern take on the story - something that is often done with many other classics. Not something that I like though, I'd rather they stayed true to the originals.



The book is great, except I would change the  ending . I would have had  asteroid hit the earth.


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## AE35Unit (Oct 11, 2020)

BAYLOR said:


> The book is great, except I would change the  ending . I would have had  asteroid hit the earth.


Not read it but I hope its better than Orwell's 1984


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## BAYLOR (Oct 11, 2020)

AE35Unit said:


> Not read it but I hope its better than Orwell's 1984



There exists a sequel to 1984 .    *1985* by Gyorge Dalos


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## Dave (Oct 11, 2020)

AE35Unit said:


> Not read it but I hope its better than Orwell's 1984


You'd need to explain what you don't like about _1984_ but while both are about totalitarianism, lack of free will and government surveillance, I would say that _1984_ is much more about "historical negationism", propaganda and perpetual war, where as _Brave New World_, _We_ and _The Perfect Day, _they all instead feature the ideas of eugenics and population control via soothing, happiness-producing drugs. Personally, I'd say that the idea of soothing drugs like Soma isn't very likely, nor even Larry Niven's "Wireheads", and has now been superseded by the idea of living plugged into a _Matrix_-like virtual reality. On the other hand, most of _1984_ has become true, with many of the terms used in the novel entering common usage.


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## BAYLOR (Oct 11, 2020)

Dave said:


> You'd need to explain what you don't like about _1984_ but while both are about totalitarianism, lack of free will and government surveillance, I would say that _1984_ is much more about "historical negationism", propaganda and perpetual war, where as _Brave New World_, _We_ and _The Perfect Day, _they all instead feature the ideas of eugenics and population control via soothing, happiness-producing drugs. Personally, I'd say that the idea of soothing drugs like Soma isn't very likely, nor even Larry Niven's "Wireheads", and has now been superseded by the idea of living plugged into a _Matrix_-like virtual reality. On the other hand, most of _1984_ has become true, with many of the terms used in the novel entering common usage.



*1984 *is a great novel and a very grim read.   I liked the film adaptation with John Hurt.

Dave, there is a novel you find of Interest 

*In Caverns Below *by Stanton Coblentz    He was historian , a satirist and a Science fiction writer. He largely forgotten by most of today's  readers but this book by him has become relevant again. Its a science fiction dystopian type of novel written 1935 two men exploring the caverns under Nevada encounter two waring super civilizations of albino humans who don't believe that there are people living on the surface of the earth .  Actually,  this book is surprisingly prescient in some of its observations.


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## Dave (Oct 11, 2020)

BAYLOR said:


> *In Caverns Below *by Stanton Coblentz He was historian , a satirist and a Science fiction writer. He largely forgotten by most of today's readers but this book by him has become relevant again. Its a science fiction dystopian type of novel written 1935 two men exploring the caverns under Nevada encounter two waring super civilizations of albino humans who don't believe that there are people living on the surface of the earth . Actually, this book is surprisingly prescient in some of its observations.


I haven't read that but just looked it up. Also known as: Hidden World (novel) - Wikipedia

If you mean by "surprisingly prescient", you mean the control of the population by endless war, and that it provides big profits for large corporations, then he would not have been the first to notice that by any stretch. I've heard that the Crusades were very profitable.

However, I think we are taking this thread very far off-topic, but before it returns back to topic, there are two Ferengi _Rules of Acquisition_ from _Star Trek _that are relevant:

Rule 34. says, "*War is good for business*."  (DS9: "Destiny", "The Siege of AR-558")
Closely followed by Rule 35. that says, "*Peace is good for business*."  (TNG: "The Perfect Mate"; DS9: "Destiny")

You choose your shovel and takes your pick!


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## BAYLOR (Oct 11, 2020)

Dave said:


> I haven't read that but just looked it up. Also known as: Hidden World (novel) - Wikipedia
> 
> If you mean by "surprisingly prescient", you mean the control of the population by endless war, and that it provides big profits for large corporations, then he would not have been the first to notice that by any stretch. I've heard that the Crusades were very profitable.
> 
> ...



Airmont books 1964  reissued it under the title *The Hidden World.    *That's the edition I had .  I read it 40 years ago and  never forgot it . Never could nor the vacuous inhabitants of two waring nations.  Yes Dave, I think this book has thing or two to say.


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## AE35Unit (Oct 11, 2020)

Dave said:


> You'd need to explain what you don't like about _1984_ but while both are about totalitarianism, lack of free will and government surveillance, I would say that _1984_ is much more about "historical negationism", propaganda and perpetual war, where as _Brave New World_, _We_ and _The Perfect Day, _they all instead feature the ideas of eugenics and population control via soothing, happiness-producing drugs.


Well I just found it dull, a slog, and it had a very disappointing ending. I guess I'm not keen on books focussing on dystopian society


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## Fried Egg (Oct 12, 2020)

Does anyone still watch Sky?


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## Dave (Oct 12, 2020)

I've watched the first episode. It was a little like a soap opera with additional sex scenes. Hannah John-Kamen is wasted in this. It's a "no" from me!


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## AE35Unit (Oct 13, 2020)

I'm gonna try watching it again from the start. I wasn't feeling so good the other day (full of cold).


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## REBerg (Oct 14, 2020)

Spoiler



Loved the Savage World enactment of what looked like Black Friday at Walmart, as well as the entire wedding crowd killing each with handguns they believed to be loaded with blanks. Very Westworld.
Alas, after watching the first two episodes, the wily people at NBC marketing have demanded payment to continue. Do I want to add yet another streaming bill to my monthly total because a single offering interests me? Hmm...


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## AE35Unit (Oct 14, 2020)

Yes I did think it was similar to Westworld, which can be a blessing and a curse, as WW did get muddy, confusing


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## Dave (Oct 14, 2020)

Okay, I watched some more. There is little else new to watch at the moment. It is slow, but it does have some merits - the Savage Lands Wedding, but also John mentoring Bernard to punch the new Director. It isn't much like the novel, _Brave New World. _The AI Indra makes it more like _This Perfect Day, _which I think is a problem, because to bring the system down they will need to bring Indra down, and not merely stop taking Soma. I didn't see the _Westworld_ connection, but the yes, the wayward AI system in the TV series is similar. As I say, it is too slow for me, and why all the sex? Isn't there some coloured pill they could take to simulate that?


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## TheEndIsNigh (Oct 14, 2020)

Now, I'm glad others have questioned the book versus program integrity. 

Age being  what it is, this isn't how I remember the book. (In fairness it must over 50 years ago so the memories are well and truely shot)

However, I'm sticking with it. I found it watchable. There are a few plot errors but nowhere near as glaring as Doc Who.


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## Dave (Oct 28, 2020)

So, I watched this to the end. What I took away was this:


Spoiler




Indra could have been turned off/set free at any time, without all the civil unrest and murdering, but only that Mustafa Mond has some scruples about disconnecting her friends - people who were to all intents and purposes, just brains in a jar anyway.
There wasn't much wrong with the world before they began living on platforms in the sky controlled by an all-powerful AI - just as long as a free man is happy to live on roasted fish everyday. 




And that was it. Nothing remotely like the book. Much more like the Uni in Ira Levin's _This Perfect Day, _but without the weather control.


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## Dave Vicks (Nov 17, 2020)

1984,Brave New world & WE are great SF Classics. There is a sequel to 1984 by Anthony Burgess titled 1985.
1984 by Orwell ,the setting is supposed to be London in the year 1948.


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## AE35Unit (Nov 17, 2020)

I read 1984 and I started to enjoy it, if that's the right word. But then things turned sour really quickly and the ending was terrible. It went on bookmooch.


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## Dave Vicks (Nov 17, 2020)

London's 1948 ,The Olympics, economic depression, The BBC. Foreign interventions, 
Political grammer.


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