"Brave New World" - Beauteous Mankind Quiz

Answer: Aldous Huxley

Huxley's now-classic novel depicts a Utopia challenged in its perfection from within and without. This television adaptation (there have been many adaptations -- radio, television, film) is only loosely connected to the text, which may be a blessing as the original is subject to criticism for being sexist, classist and racist.

This version only skims the philosophical issues raised by the book.

Answer: New London

This series reimagines London 500 years after it has been destroyed by an undisclosed calamity. The British architectural firm Studio Evans Lane was hired by the producers to design the new city. The city has a very 21st-century modern look to it, rather like Oscar Niemeyer's Brasilia.

Answer: No privacy, no family, no monogamy

In the novel, the perfect state had three cardinal values: "Community, Identity, Stability." In this television version, there are three cardinal rules: "No privacy, no family and no monogamy." As regards the latter two, it is emphasized that "everybody belongs to everyone else." The goal of these prohibitions is to ensure "perfect happiness" for everyone.

Answer: The Savage Lands

The Savage Lands is an amusement park in what was the United States. It is reached by rocket. Tourists see the least attractive parts of old life, from the safety of tour buses. At a recreation of a wedding, all hell breaks loose as the blanks in the actors' guns have been replaced by live ammunition as part of a protest.

The Savage Lands footage was shot at the Dungeness Estate in Kent; the Old Lifeboat Station was used as the home of John and Linda.

Answer: soma

In order to suppress emotion, residents of the Brave New World take a drug called soma. [This is mildly confusing in that the common name of the actual prescription muscle relaxant carisoprodol is soma.] The fictional soma is distilled in the city and comes in different strengths indicated by the colour of the pills. The drug works remarkably like Valium (diazepam), one of the most popular tranquilizing drugs. Valium was patented in 1959 and marketed in 1963. The term "tranquilizer" was first used in 1953. The author anticipated, in 1931, this whole class of drugs.

Answer: Demi Moore

Demi Moore is an American actor who made her mark on TV's "General Hospital" (1982-1984) and the motion pictures "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), "Ghost" (1990), "A Few Good Men" (1992), "Striptease" (1996), and "G.I. Jane" (1997). In "Brave New World," she played Mary, the mother of John the Savage, who live together in the Savage Lands.

She attempts to escape the amusement park but intentionally takes a bullet aimed at her son and dies.

Answer: a human fertilization/gestation centre

Crowne is a trained scientist and a patient of fellow character Bernard Marx. She works fertilizing designer human eggs to produce the various levels or sorts of people necessary to the community. These eggs are then artificially nurtured and children are born without a human mother. The entire operation is called "The Hatchery."

Answer: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon

There are five castes in "Brave New World": Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. The Alphas and Betas may be further subdivided into pluses and minuses, creating six sorts. Alphas occupy the top rung of society. They are intellectuals, professors and leaders. Betas are highly-skilled workers. Gammas are semi-skilled workers. Deltas are low-skilled workers. Epsilons are at the bottom of the hierarchy, have the most menial jobs, and can neither read nor write.

Answer: a version of movies with touch sensation

In the novel, feelies are movies (sight and sound) with an added component. By grasping knobs on the arms of the theatre seat, the viewer/listener also experiences touch. The result is calming and titillating, at the same time. In the TV series, feelies have progressed. One need not sit in a chair to experience them; they are more like a rave where lights flash and music pumps and people get worked up into an orgy.

A female character (Wilhelmina "Helm" Watson) replaces a male character in the novel (Helmholz Watson).

She is a hedonistic artist who produces feelies and tries to out-do herself.

Answer: one

"Brave New World" premiered on the NBC/Universal streaming service Peacock on 15 July 2020 and on Sky One in the UK on 2 October 2020. It was also released in Oceania and New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Germany, and Spain. It received mixed-to-average reviews on both Rotten Tomatoes (41% favourable; 5.68/10) and Metacritic (55/100). The series was canceled on 28 October 2020.