While the TV shows like BSG turned out to be short-lived affairs that quickly disappeared from the schedule (and soured the broadcast nets on sci fi), the literary adaptations were first-rate productions that count among the upper echelon of genre television output (you can read my entry on Lathe of Heaven at this link).Īs with the PBS adaptation of Le Guin’s classic novel, NBC showed a great deal of respect for Aldous Huxley’s source material and produced a telefilm that stayed very close to the original story. Le Guin’s Lathe of Heaven which debuted in early 1980 as well as the NBC mini-series that brought Brave New World to the small screen. There were also some attempts to adapt classics of sci fi literature such as the PBS rendition of Ursula K. The Skinny: In the late 1970’s and into the early 80’s the broadcast networks were trying to ride the Star Wars wave that had made sci fi popular again and had brought big-budget shows like Battlestar: Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century to the airwaves. This is an excellent adaptation of a classic of science fiction (and dystopian) literature, and an important genre work for the television medium.

Why It Stands Out: This mini-series adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is faithful to the source material and offers a chilling look at the dystopia he created: Starring: Kristoffer Tabori, Bud Cort, Keir Dullea, Julie Cobb, Ron O’Neal A man from an outside settlement who is dubbed John the Savage is brought into this world and has a notable impact on its orderly and conformist ways.Īired: March 7 1980, NBC, Two-Part Mini-Series People live a well-regulated life consisting of consuming the latest products, having frequent casual sexual encounters, taking the calming drug known as Soma when they get too emotional, and not asking questions about their society and/or their place in it. What Is It? In a future world, humans are born in vitro and designated for one of several castes from the Alpha Plusses which are the brightest and usually among the ruling class to the Epsilons who are sub-intelligent workers.

A brave new world show