The Man in the High Castle is an controversial Australasian alternate history series based on Philip K. Dick's
Man in the High Castle created by British exile Ridley Scott, which showcases a world where Germany and Savinkovist Russia put aside their differences to defeat Syndicalism and the Entente, this led to the division of the Americas under a German occupation zone, which is formed into New Vinland, as well as the absorption of the pacific states, British Columbia, and Alaska into the Greater Eurasian State itself; New Vinland and the GES only being separated by a demilitarized "neutral zone". In both the novel and the series, the point of divergence is Garner winning the elections rather than MacArthur launching his coup. Without the Pacific revolt by Wallace and the more democratic elements of the Old US government, the Federal Government was able to put up more of a fight, thus while the CSA was able to destroy the AUS, the civil war stalemated and as a result, the CSA was unable to provide any support to the Synditern. In Germany, Kurt Von Schleicher was able to dissolve the reichstag and impose a dictatorship. In order to deal with Kruschev's deceleration of independence from Mittleuropa and the sucess of Siegsimund's coup in White Ruthenia, Schleicher made a deal with the devil--have Russian troops assist in suppressing nationalist and Syndicalist movements in Eastern Europe. This led to the absorption of White Ruthenia into Russia and East Ukraine being absorbed into the Russian State. The combined forces of Eurasia and Mittleuropa then turned their guns on the Synditern and the Entente, and this culminated in the destruction of the Union of Britain and the Commune of France, the unification of Italy under Italo Balbo, the absorption of National France into Mittleafrika and the invasion and division of the Americas.
The tv series itself is more of a loose adaptation of the original novel, taking place in an alternate 1959. The series focuses on several viewpoint characters, some present in the original novel, other not. One of these characters is Jennifer Crain(right), a New York women who becomes entangled with the resistance when her half-sister Trudy is killed by the Kamarilla just after she gives Jennifer a film reel that contains newsreel-style footage. Entitled
The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, the newsreel is part of a series of newsreels showing a reality different from the one that the characters live in. It is part of a series of similar newsreels being collected by someone referred to as "The Man in the High Castle". Jennifer believes the newsreel to reflect some sort of alternate reality and that it is part of some kind of larger truth about how the world should be, and her quest to find the truth behind these newsreels draws her into the heart of the anti-Savinkovist and anti-Mittleuropean resistance.
Another major character is John Smith(left), the puppet governor placed, along with the most extreme National Populists of the America First movement in charge of the parts of North America annexed by the Greater Eurasian State. Smith is a former officer of the Federal Government, through one with Longist sympathies, who joined the Eurasians and rose through the ranks to become a senior officer in the Silver Legion, eventually succeeding William Dudley Pelley as the leader of the collaborationist forces upon the latter's assassination in 1954 by a Syndicalist militant. In season 1, Smith sends double agent Richard Blake to infiltrate the resistance and to retrieve information on the films. Despite being an ardent National Populist at start however, Smith's growing disenchantment with his role and his growing inner conflict even as his political power increases is a key theme explored in the series.
As with the original book, a key subplot is the sucession crisis to emerge after the Vozhd's death. With Savinkov in ailing health, having lived longer than his death date in the real world, hardliners and extremists in the Eurasian government seek to use Russia's nuclear bombs against Germany to gain control of the rest of the former United States and all of Europe. Savinkov himself, due to the knowledge he gained from his own exposure to the film reels, is horrified at the prospect of nuclear war, but as his health worsens, hawks in the government seek to make their move....
While the series was never widely popular, it did have a cult following that allowed it to be renewed thus far for four seasons. However it is very controversial, particuarly in the Synditern, for it's implicit anti-Syndicalist stance. This anti-Syndicalist stance can be seen in the portrayal of the increasingly Syndicalist Resistance in season 2 and to some degree in season 1. It is also inferred in the world presented in the Grasshopper lies Heavy filmreels. In the original novel, the Grasshopper lies Heavy is a book implying German victory against Syndicalism in Europe, but the victory of Syndicalism in the Americans and both sides putting aside their differences to defeat National Populist forces in Argentina, Romania and Russia. This is followed by a Cold War between the "Fourth Internationale" vs. Mittleuropa with the implication that the Fourth Internationale would win the Cold War. The Grasshopper Lies Heavy filmreels however present a different picture: The victory of Floyd Olson in the 1936 election leads to widespread social reforms in America that avert the civil war altogether. The Second Weltkrieg still happens, however it is between the Entente and Mittleuropa putting aside their differences to defeat Jacobinist France, Totalist Britain, and Syndicalist Italy, as well as the National Populist Eurasian Alliance, thereby dividing the world between them. This has led to significant backlash within the Synditern for "pro-entente" bias.
