Brave New World

Brave New World
Episodes:	2
Year:	1981
Country:	United States
Seasons:	1
Seasons Breakdown:	(1) 2
Category:	Earth Future
Colour:	Yes
Format:	Mini-Series
Company:	AN NBC/ UNIVERSAL/ MILTON SPERLING PRODUCTION
Creator:	ALDOUS HUXLEY (based on novel)
Run Time (mins):	95
Language:	English
Type of Show:	Live Action
Status:	Ended
Broadcaster:

Summary

The production is a United States adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World, set approximately six centuries in the future in a highly controlled, technologically engineered society. In this dystopian world, Henry Ford is venerated as a deity, and human reproduction has been replaced by industrialised hatcheries in which infants are produced in batches and conditioned to desire only what their predetermined social roles permit. Individuality, artistic expression, and personal freedom have been eliminated in favour of social stability and chemically induced contentment.

Society is organised into a rigid caste hierarchy, maintained through the mass production of test‑tube embryos. These range from the intellectually superior Alphas, through Betas, Gammas, and Deltas, to the lowest caste, the Epsilons, who are engineered for menial labour. Promiscuity is socially mandated, while natural procreation is prohibited; familial terms such as “mother” and “father” are regarded as obscene.

Keir Dullea, known for his role in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), portrays the Director of Central Hatcheries. His visit to the so‑called “Savage Reservation”, marketed as the ultimate exclusive holiday, has unforeseen consequences, resulting in the birth of a son, John. Years later, John is rediscovered by the disaffected Alpha Bernard Marx and brought back to the World State. Educated through Shakespeare and steeped in romantic ideals, John proves unable to assimilate into the artificial, hedonistic society, and his emotional turmoil ultimately leads the narrative to a tragic conclusion.

Cast

Linda Lysenko JULIE COBB, Bernard Marx BUD CORT, Thomas Grahmbell KEIR DULLEA, Mustapha Mond RON O'NEAL, Lenina Disney MARCIA STRASSMAN, John Savage KRISTOFFER TABORI, Helmholtz Watson DICK ANTHONY WILLIAMS, High Priestess DELIA SALVI, Maoina Krupps TRICIA O'NEILL, Miss Trotsky CAROLE MALLORY, Henry Exxon REB BROWN, Chief Disposer SAM CHEW JR., Hochina SHEREE BREWER, Chief Warden VALERIE CURTAIN, Gamme Male PATRICK CRONIN, Gamme Female BEATRICE COLEN.