Polar Reds
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| Directed By | Bert de Roos |
| Produced By | Charleen Avery |
| Written By | Hans van den Berg |
| Starring | Wietse de Santis Marcel Gomez Sebastian Clemens |
| Music By | Allegra Van Bokhoven |
| Cinematography | Ingrid Hardwick |
| Edited By | Ingrid Post |
| Production Company | South Sea Islands Broadcasting Association |
| Distributed By | South Sea Islands Broadcasting Association |
| Release Date | 25-04-1717 |
| Episodes | 4 series, 8 episodes each |
| Language | Britannic Istvanistani |
| Budget | 15,000 South Sea Denarii |
Polar Reds is a 32-episode television programme created by the South Sea Islands Broadcasting Association. The program is split into four series, consisting of eight episodes each.
The program is set in a dystopian future and follows the lives of six residents of the South Sea Islands as they face the trials and tribulations of their new circumstances.
Plot
Red Solar is set in the year 1725, in a dystopian version of the near future in which the Government of the South Sea Islands has been overthrown and replaced with an ideological Communist regime.
In the program, a revolutionary minority in the Commonwealth uses the election of a new president of Mercury as a pretext to ‘democratize’ the South Sea Islands monarchy.
Told through the lives of five individuals, with disparate views regarding the legitimacy of the revolt, Red Polar examines the actions and reactions that steer events under the new system.
Characters
While a host of characters appear in the show, the plot follows the lives of 5 primary characters, with the storyline focusing on their experiences with the new Communist regime. Each character is described briefly below, in order of appearance in the first episode.
Francis de Lange
As an ideological convert to Communism, Francis de Lange is heavily involved in the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy in the opening scenes of series 1, episode 1. We’re introduced to Francis as he breaks through the glass doors of Government House in Joseph Town, and we see his transformation from street revolutionary to low-level functionary within the new regime.
De Lange’s struggles to justify the regime’s actions over time, and the interplay between his beliefs and the realities of his life, dominate his character’s storyline.
Josephine Baas
As a maid and mail clerk at Government House, Josephine Baas is a mild-mannered social conservative, largely disinterested in the politics and processes of her employer. While she barely engages with matters of governance under the constitutional monarchy, she finds herself enraged by the excesses of the new regime, particularly following their ransacking of Government House in the first episode.
Over time Josephine Baas becomes an informant and spy for a counter-revolutionary movement within the Commonwealth.
Gordon Middleton
As a farmer in a remote region of The Camp, Middleton is seen to be broadly unaffected by the actions of the pre-revolutionary government. Living on a self-sufficient farm with no visible neighbours and no public services, Middleton is a widower caring for a large sheep farm and his teenage daughter.
As the storyline progresses and the Communist overthrow of the government takes place, George Middleton’s farm becomes caught up in plans to communalise agriculture. In a dramatic scene at the end of series 1, Middleton shoots and kills a government functionary and is seen trying to hide his crime.
Jan Vandervelde
An initially enthusiastic supporter of the constitutional monarchy, Jan Vandervelde is a primary school teacher in Joseph Town. In his early appearances on the show, Vandervelde is seen trying to undermine the education policies of the new regime and shield his class from what he sees as state propaganda.
However, as he begins to receive offers of promotion, financial bonuses and higher salaries from the new regime, Vandervelde begins to question his long-held beliefs.
Pieter Schaafsma
As the captain of a domestic ferry operating between Zuid-Richel and Joseph Town, Pieter Schaafsma is held at gunpoint in the first episode, as revolutionaries hijack his ferry as part of a campaign to severe communication links.
Following this initial trauma, Schaafsma is seen to continue his job and family life as normal under the new regime. However, in the middle of series 2, he is seen absconding with his family, taking the ferry and sailing for Craitland with the hope of claiming political asylum.
