I ended up with full access to NBC's new streaming service Peacock for a weekend, which is pretty bare at the moment. It has exactly one show that I wanted to watch, the new adaptation of Aldous Huxley's dystopian "Brave New World" from Davd Wiener and Grant Morrison. I had no trouble polishing off all nine episodes.
As a science-fiction fan, I've seen many attempts to update older classics with some pretty terrible results. The Ramin Bahrani take on "Fahrenheit 451" wasn't that long ago. Here, there are all sorts of additions and departures from the novel's troubling dystopian society that are sure to cause raised eyebrows. In addition to the class system of "Levels" that rank everybody from Alpha Plus to lowly Epsilon, and the endless popping of mood-regulating Soma pills, there's the internet-like surveillance network Indra. It connects everyone together through squicky optical devices and helps to guarantee that nobody has any privacy. There are also the Monds, the mysterious world-controllers who seem to be pulling the strings behind the scenes. The series uses them to explore the origins and past of the Utopian system.
The biggest change, however, is that John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich) is no longer the most prominent character. Oh, he's an important piece of the series and his origins are more or less kept intact. However, he doesn't have anything close to the same personality or character arc. The Shakespeare-quoting, morally upright John of the novel has been morphed into a broody, working-class youngster whose swears casually, and listens to pop songs with an ancient music player and headphones. More importantly, the two New Londoners who bring him back from the Savage Lands have seen their roles vastly expanded and changed. Lenina Crowne (Jessica Findlay-Brown), John's love interest, becomes more self-aware over the course of the series, pushing at boundaries and inciting trouble. Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd) is still jealous and insecure, but also much more active and ambitious. Findlay-Brown and Lloyd are both awfully good, maybe better than the material deserves.
In short, this take on "Brave New World" might borrow a lot of the world building and character names, but it's not telling anything close to the same story. There is a lot of invented material to fill out nine episodes, including several major characters and a completely new ending. And frankly, that's not such a bad thing. Sure, John inciting an uprising among the lower classes and Indra turning out to be an evil AI are completely unnecessary and cliche as hell, but the expanded narrative also helps the series to deliver characters that are far more nuanced, sympathetic, and relatable. The treatment of sex and relationships is updated to match modern standards, but still addresses Huxley's concerns about the breakdown of traditional bonds. Notable figures who get more of the spotlight include a troubled Epsilon, CJack60 (Joseph Morgan), the world-controller Mustafa Mond (Nina Sosanya), Lenina's friend and rival Frannie (Kylie Bunbury), and John's alcoholic mother Linda (Demi Moore).
"Brave New World" also finds ways to deliver some good social satire and critique. The Savage Lands, home to those who have chosen not to be part of the system, are now a garish theme-park version of America at its trashiest, featuring tours that allow New Londoners to gawk at live reenactments of Black Friday shopping sprees and shotgun weddings. And they do gawk, with undisguised enjoyment of the poverty porn and feigned brutality. There's a character named Helm (Hannah John-Kamen), who is essentially a professional party-planner/conceptual artist. Her events, or "feelies," are a parody of Hollywood blockbuster cycles. John's status as a novelty in New London is a good riff on celebrity culture. I like that the show has a sense of humor about itself, and it's genuinely fun to see some of the culture clash between John and the hedonistic New Londoners. The Soma dispensers being simultaneously clicked during awkward moments never gets old.
The show looks very expensive, with everyone fabulously dressed and constantly attending parties and orgies. The Indra AR interfaces and freaky contact lenses are also awfully convincing. This is the first adaptation of the novel that has a mature rating, allowing for the depiction of sex and mild nudity, which is perfectly appropriate thematically. There's also a lot of violence, which I found less so. Really, does every piece of dystopian fiction these days need to end with a revolution?
"Brave New World" is an entertaining watch, and I enjoyed its take on the themes of the book, in spite of some big, glaring flaws. Those wanting something more faithful, however, are advised to look elsewhere.
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