The Man in the High Castle (TV series)

The Man in the High Castle
Genre
Created by Frank Spotnitz
Based on The Man in the High Castle 
by Philip K. Dick
Starring
Opening theme "Edelweiss", performed by Jeanette Olsson
Composer(s)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
Editor(s) Kathrynn Himoff
Location(s)
Cinematography James Hawkinson
Running time 48–60 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor Amazon.com
Release
Original network Amazon Video
Original release January 15, 2015 (2015-01-15) – present
External links
Website

The Man in the High Castle is an American dystopian alternative history television series produced by Amazon Studios, Scott Free, Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions and Big Light Productions.[1] The series is loosely based on the 1962 novel of the same name by American science fiction author Philip K. Dick.[2] The story is an alternative history of the world in which the Axis powers won World War II. The United States has been partitioned into three parts: The Japanese puppet state of the Pacific States of America, which comprises the former United States west of the Rocky Mountains; a Nazi puppet state that comprises the eastern half of the former United States; and a neutral zone that acts as a buffer between the two areas, called the Rocky Mountain States.

The pilot debuted on January 15, 2015 and was Amazon's "most-watched since the original series development program began."[3] On February 18, 2015, the series was picked up for a ten-episode season,[4] leading to the remaining nine episodes being released on November 20, 2015.[5][6] A second season of ten episodes has been announced for a 2016 release.[7]

Synopsis

The central characters are Juliana Crain, Frank Frink, Joe Blake, John Smith and Nobusuke Tagomi, and the series takes place in 1962.

The US divided into three parts: the Japanese Pacific States in the west, the Greater Nazi Reich in the east and the Rocky Mountain States (or the Neutral Zone) in the middle, as shown in the opening credits.[8]
Flag of the Greater Nazi Reich in America

Juliana Crain is a San Francisco woman who becomes entangled with the resistance when her half-sister Trudy is killed by the Kempeitai, just after giving Juliana a film reel that contains newsreel-style footage depicting an alternate history in which the Allies won World War II and Germany and Japan were defeated. The film is entitled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, and is part of a series of similar newsreels being collected by someone referred to as "The Man in the High Castle". Juliana believes the newsreel reflects some sort of alternate reality, and that it is part of some kind of larger truth about how the world should be. Her boyfriend, Frank Frink (who keeps his Jewish roots hidden in order to avoid extradition and death at the hands of the Nazis), believes that the newsreel has no relation to real-life events. Juliana learns Trudy was carrying the film to Canon City, Colorado, in the Rocky Mountain States, where she was going to meet someone. Juliana decides to travel there in Trudy's place to find out what her half-sister's mission was. When she arrives in Canon City, she encounters Joe Blake.

Blake is a 27-year-old New Yorker who is a double agent working for the Nazis under Obergruppenführer John Smith. He is pretending to be a member of the resistance while he searches for the resistance contact in Canon City, which is Juliana, substituting for Trudy.

Nobusuke Tagomi is a high-ranking Japanese official in San Francisco. He meets in secret with Nazi official Rudolph Wegener, who is traveling incognito as Swedish businessman Victore Baynes. Tagomi and Wegener are concerned about the power vacuum that will exist when the Reich's Führer Adolf Hitler dies, or is forced to step down due to his worsening Parkinson's disease. Wegener explains that Hitler's successor will want to use the Reich's nuclear bombs against Japan to gain control of the rest of the former United States. Currently, however, Japan and the Third Reich are engaged in a cold war full of tension but no open warfare, with the Japanese lagging behind the Germans technologically.

Frank Frink ends up being arrested when the Japanese and the Nazis become suspicious of Juliana's activities. He refuses to give her up, causing the Japanese to kill Frink's sister and her two children for being Jewish. This leads Frink to plan to kill the visiting Crown Prince and Princess, but he ends up backing out.

Alternate history

Within the show, many keys are given to reveal the details of its alternate history setting, which is similar to that of the novel. The point where the alternate history diverges from real life history is possibly revealed in a scene with antique store owner Robert Childan. He mentions to Frank Frink that Franklin D. Roosevelt was assassinated (possibly by Giuseppe Zangara). Moreover, SS Obergruppenführer John Smith mentions that "Decadence ruined this country before the war." Eventually, the U.S. had insufficient military capabilities to assist the Allies against Germany or defend itself against Japan in the Pacific. Germany developed an atomic bomb while the U.S. did not, leading to the Axis winning World War II. Characters within the show are shown as celebrating "VA Day", the day when the Nazis won the war in America in 1947, after having incapacitated the US government in 1945.

Some of the characters mention that Washington, D.C. was destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped by Nazi Germany, forcing America's surrender amid the surrender of the Allies. The bomb is later referred to as "the Heisenberg device," suggesting that in this reality, Werner Heisenberg was involved in the bomb's creation. This differs from reality in that Heisenberg told the Nazis in June 1942 that development of such a bomb would be prohibitively difficult. It is also mentioned that Stalin was executed in 1949. The Axis nations have become the world's superpowers. However, due to its faster technological advances and growing economy, Nazi Germany has become more powerful than the Japanese Empire. Meanwhile, Imperial Japan adheres more closely to its traditions. Little mention is made of Mussolini or Italy.

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy newsreels

Unlike the novel, "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" exists as a series of forbidden newsreels, rather than as a widely available novel-within-a-novel. A key thread in the series are the seemingly-impossible historical events depicted in the newsreels. Even though their importance remains unclear, acquiring films in this series of newsreels is a major goal of many of the protagonists. This includes the resistance movements, the enigmatic "Man in the High Castle," the security forces of Japan and the Nazis, and Adolf Hitler himself. The newsreels show a possible variety of timelines, which differ from both our history as well as the alternate history shown in the series. Major events shown in the newsreels include mass executions of people who are known to be alive, atomic weapons testing, a Nazi nuclear attack on San Francisco in the 1960s, and Stalin being alive in 1954, instead of his having died in 1953 in our world (while within the series' alternate world, it is believed that he was executed in 1949).

Cast

Main

Recurring

Smith Family

Juliana Family

Historical figures

Episodes

The pilot and the second episode were screened at a special Comic-Con event. The season premiered on November 20, 2015.[11][12]
No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date
1"The New World"David SemelFrank SpotnitzJanuary 15, 2015 (2015-01-15)
The series starts in 1962. The first episode follows the lives of three people: Joe Blake, a young man in the Greater Nazi Reich, who is later revealed to be an SS covert agent working for Obergruppenführer John Smith, tracking the transportation of a subversive banned newsreel in which the Allies won World War II; Frank Frink, a jewelry designer who lives in the Japanese Pacific States and conceals his Jewish roots, and Juliana Crain, a young woman who also lives in the Japanese Pacific States and a former fiancée of Frank. Crain makes her way to the Neutral Zone to deliver the film as part of a mission by the resistance. Along the way, her bag gets stolen leaving her with no money. Blake and Crain eventually meet in the Neutral Zone, while Frank is apprehended by Inspector Kido of the Kempeitai and may be extradited to Nazi America, where as a Jew he will be summarily executed.
2"Sunrise"Daniel PercivalFrank SpotnitzOctober 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)
While working in the Canon City diner, Juliana meets a man folding a paper crane and assumes he is the contact. Joe, having watched his own copy of the film, finds out from Smith that the contact is a Sicherheitsdienst agent trying to stop the resistance, and is ordered not to intervene. When Juliana meets the origami man at the nearby dam to pass on the film, he attacks her. Joe arrives to try to save her, but she uses her knowledge of aikido to throw the SD agent over a dam railing to his death. Smith himself is ambushed on his way to work, narrowly fending off his attackers. Meanwhile, in the Pacific States, Frank's sister and her two children are taken into custody by the Kempeitai and Frank is told they will be killed along with him for being Jewish if he does not cooperate. A prisoner in a neighboring cell convinces Frank to stand defiant. Just as Frank is about to be shot, the Kempeitai arrest the woman who stole Juliana's luggage. Frank is released. However, Kido informs Frank that this news came too late to save his sister and her children. Frank is enraged.
3"The Illustrated Woman"Ken OlinThomas Schnauz and Evan WrightNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Joe and Juliana must act quickly as a vicious bounty hunter known as "The Marshal" arrives in Canon City investigating the death of the origami man. Tagomi makes plans with Wegener to pass valuable secrets from the Reich, and Frank plots his revenge against the Japanese.
4"Revelations"Michael RymerThomas Schnauz and Jace RichdaleNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Joe is increasingly torn between duty and his growing feelings for Juliana. While Ed tries to stop Frank from making an irrevocable decision, Smith’s investigation is interrupted when he has trouble with his witness, and Tagomi's plan goes awry as events take a dramatic turn at the Crown Prince's speech.
5"The New Normal"Bryan SpicerRob WilliamsNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Juliana returns home, only to discover new clues that lead her closer to unraveling the mystery behind the films. Meanwhile, Joe faces a tough debriefing upon his return home. Kido begins his investigation into the events surrounding the Crown Prince's Speech, while Tagomi and Wegener make a last-ditch attempt to complete their mission.
6"Three Monkeys"Nelson McCormickRob WilliamsNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Joe celebrates VA day at Smith's house. Juliana accepts a job working for Tagomi as she continues her search for answers. Smith, who has received intelligence about Wegener's activities but also happens to be an old friend, intercepts him at the airport and invites him for dinner hoping to probe Wegener for answers. Smith has Wegener arrested. Smith catches Joe sneaking through his files.
7"Truth"Brad AndersonEmma FrostNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Juliana makes a startling discovery about her sister's death. Frank reflects on recent events and makes an important decision about his future, and Tagomi gains greater insight into Juliana's past.
8"End of the World"Karyn KusamaWalon GreenNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Juliana and Frank make plans to escape the Pacific States, only to be dragged back into danger by Joe as he tries to retrieve a new film. Meanwhile, Smith's loyalty is put to the ultimate test when confronted with a startling family discovery. The episode is named after the song of the same name, which is performed by Lini Evans during the episode with Japanese lyrics she co-wrote.
9"Kindness"Michael SlovisJace RichdaleNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
With time running out, a desperate Frank is forced to put his life on the line to help Joe. The pieces finally fall into place for Smith as he uncovers who was behind the assassination attempt. Tagomi is devastated when he is confronted with the consequences of his scheming, and Kido's investigation takes a dramatic turn when he makes an important discovery. Meanwhile, Frank and Juliana, after taking possession of the new film, decide to watch it, but they are shocked to find out that the film describes, apparently in the near future, a nuclear-bombed San Francisco where the SS are routing survivors and executing them; among the executed there is Frank himself, among the SS there is Joe.
10"A Way Out"Daniel PercivalRob WilliamsNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Frank and Juliana angrily confront Joe as a Nazi agent. He goes to the Nazi embassy with the film. Joe learns that Heydrich is preparing a trap. Kido acts on the information from the Yakuza and kills the Nazi sniper that shot the Crown Prince. Ed is caught with Frank's gun and is used as a scapegoat for the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince, averting the need for Kido to commit seppuku. Heydrich demands Smith's loyalty ahead of Wegener assassinating Hitler. Wegener says goodbye to his family and travels to Hitler's alpine castle, but after confronting Hitler, kills himself instead. Smith captures the traitor Heydrich and reports such to Hitler. Joe evades Lem's ambush and boards a boat to Mexico in Juliana's place. Frank finds out that Ed has been arrested and returns to the Kempeitai headquarters to find him being detained. Tagomi goes to Union Square to meditate with Juliana's charm and opens his eyes to find himself in an alternate 1962 where the Allies won World War II.

Background

The show has been in development for a number of years at a number of venues.

In 2010, it was announced that the BBC would co-produce a four-part TV adaptation of The Man in the High Castle for BBC One together with Headline Pictures, FremantleMedia Enterprises and Scott Free Films. Ridley Scott, who directed Blade Runner, a loose adaptation of another Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, was to act as executive producer of the adaptation by Howard Brenton.[13]

On February 11, 2013, Variety reported that SyFy was adapting the book as a four-part miniseries, with Ridley Scott and Frank Spotnitz as executive producers, co-produced with Scott Free Prods., Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd Prods.[14]

On October 1, 2014, Amazon.com began filming the pilot episode in Roslyn, Washington,[15] for a new television drama to be aired on their Prime web video streaming service.[16] This has been adapted by Frank Spotnitz and is being produced for Amazon by Ridley Scott, David Zucker and Jordan Sheehan for Scott Free, Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute for Headline Pictures, Isa Hackett and Kalen Egan for Electric Shepherd and Spotnitz's Big Light Productions.[1] The pilot episode was released by Amazon Studios on January 15, 2015.[17] Amazon Studios' production process is somewhat different from those of other conventional television channels. They produce pilot episodes of a number of different prospective programs, then release them and gather data on their success. The most promising shows are then picked up as regular series. On February 18, 2015, Amazon.com announced that The Man in the High Castle was given the green-light along with four other series, and a full season would be produced.[18]

Production

Production for the pilot episode began in October 2014. Principal filming took place in Seattle, with the city standing in for San Francisco and locations in New York, as well as Roslyn, Washington, which was the long-time shooting location for Northern Exposure. Sites used in Seattle include the Seattle Center Monorail, the Paramount Theatre, a newspaper office in the Pike Place Market area, as well as various buildings in the city's Capitol Hill, International District, and Georgetown neighborhoods. In Roslyn, the production used external shots of the Roslyn Cafe which featured prominently in Northern Exposure along with several local businesses and scenery.[15][19]

In April 2015, filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the downtown area of West Georgia Street, along the promenade of the Coast Capital Savings building.[20] In May and June 2015 filming also took place at the University of British Columbia.[21] Exterior shots of Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen, Austria were filmed in September 2015 for the tenth episode of the first season.[22]

Controversy

As part of an advertising campaign for the release of the first season, one entire New York City Subway car was covered with Nazi and Imperial Japanese imagery as seen in the show, including multiple American flags with the Nazi eagle emblem in place of the 50 stars.[23] In response to criticism of the ads, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released a statement saying that there were no grounds to reject the ads due to neutral content subway ad standards only prohibit advertising that is a political advertisement or disparages an individual or group. MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz stated that, "The MTA is a government agency and can't accept or reject ads based on how we feel about them; we have to follow the standards approved by our board. Please note they're commercial ads." Spokesperson Adam Lisberg said, "This advertising, whether you find it distasteful or not, obviously they're not advertising Nazism; they're advertising a TV show." After complaints from riders as well as New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, initial reports indicated that Amazon pulled the advertisement from the subway. It was later announced that the MTA pulled the ad due to pressure from Governor Cuomo, not Amazon.[24]

Reception

The Man in the High Castle received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the series an approval rating of 95% based on reviews from 57 critics, with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states, "By executive producer Ridley Scott, The Man in the High Castle is unlike anything else on TV, with an immediately engrossing plot driven by quickly developed characters in a fully realized post-WWII dystopia."[25] Metacritic gives the series a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Meredith Woerner from io9 wrote, "I can honestly say I loved this pilot. It's an impressive, streamlined undertaking of a fairly complicated and very beloved novel."[27] Matt Fowler from IGN gave 9.2 out of 10 and described the series as a "a superb, frightening experience filled with unexpected twists and (some sci-fi) turns."[28] Brian Moylan of The Guardian was positive and praised the convincing depiction and the complex but gripping plot.[29]

Amazon subsequently announced it was the service's most-streamed original series and had been renewed for a second season.[30]

References

  1. 1 2 "TV Review: The Man in the High Castle". Variety. November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ Cook-Wilson, Winston (2015). "'The Man in the High Castle' Struggles to Channel Philip K. Dick." Inverse.
  3. ↑ "The Man in the High Castle". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy. "Amazon orders 5 original series including Man in the High Castle, Mad Dogs". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ Spotnitz, Frank. "Frank Sponitz on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel. "Daniel Fienberg on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy. "The Man in the High Castle Season 2 announced". Slashfilm. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ map (stylized)
  9. ↑ Petski, Denise (April 6, 2016). "Bella Heathcote Joins ‘Man In The High Castle’; Warren Christie In ‘Eyewitness’". Deadline. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ Petski, Denise (April 15, 2016). "Callum Keith Rennie Joins Amazon’s ‘Man In The High Castle’; Rafael de la Fuente In ‘When We Rise’ ABC Miniseries". Deadline. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  11. ↑ "A New Trailer for The Man in the High Castle and Episode Two Preview". July 13, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (August 3, 2015). "The Man in the High Castle Creator Frank Spotnitz on Creating Alternate Histories". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sweney, Mark (October 7, 2010). "Ridley Scott to return to work of sci-fi icon for BBC mini-series". The Guardian. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  14. ↑ Marechal, A.J. (February 10, 2013). "Syfy, Ridley Scott, Frank Spotnitz set miniseries". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Muir, Pat (October 6, 2014). "Roslyn hopes new TV show brings 15 more minutes of fame: The Man in the High Castle". Yakima Herald-Republic. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (July 24, 2014). "Amazon Studios adds drama The Man in the High Castle, comedy Just Add Magic to pilot slate". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Amazon.com: The Man in the High Castle: Season 1, Episode 1". January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Amazon greenlights full seasons of Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle, The New Yorker Presents, and children’s shows Just Add Magic and The Stinky & Dirty Show". February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Amazon builds film sets around DJC Building". Daily Journal of Commerce. October 9, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Shoot: The Man in the High Castle’s American Nazi John Smith (Rufus Sewell) films at Vancouver’s Arthur Erickson-designed concrete tower". YVRShoots.com. April 21, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ Hauen, Jack (June 1, 2015). "The Man in the High Castle is filming at UBC". The Ubyssey. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Hakenkreuzflagge flatterte auf der Burg Hohenwerfen" [Swastika flag flutters on Hohenwerfen Castle]. www.salzburg.com. September 16, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  23. ↑ "New York Subway Pulls Nazi-Themed Ads For New Show, 'Man In The High Castle'". NPR.org. November 25, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Man in the High Castle subway ads, featuring Nazi symbols, removed from trains". CBS New York. November 24, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  25. ↑ "The Man in the High Castle Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  26. ↑ "The Man in the High Castle: Season 1 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  27. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (January 16, 2015). "Man in the High Castle is wildly different from the book but still great". io9. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  28. ↑ "The Man in the High Castle: Series 1 review". IGN. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  29. ↑ "The Man in the High Castle: the Nazis win, but so do viewers". The Guardian. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  30. ↑ "The Man in the High Castle is Amazon's most-watched Original". The Hollywood Reporter. December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.

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