War of the Worlds (BBC TV Series)

[Dave]

Excessive additional and unnecessary melodrama added to the story. Discuss?

 

[Elckerlyc]

I found it boring. The drama didn't work for me and what should have been the drama consisted of lengthy and vague shots. I am quite disappointed.

 

[Bugg]

That was terribly disappointing. Lots of needless padding, for sure, and absolutely no build up of suspense. Meh.

 

[HareBrain]

It passed the time OK, but that was about it. Not a patch on Jeff Wayne's musical version, which I think is easily the best adaptation. But that's quite illuminating, because the script for that could probably be compressed into five minutes -- and yet it told the whole story. There isn't enough scope in the source material for three hour-long episodes, so I can see why they felt the need to expand it.

 

[Dave]

The thing is, I think most people know the story already. There have been numerous adaptations of all kinds. This had to bring something very new to the mix. What I saw were: Edwardian costumes, gruesome dead bodies and a steampunk tea maker. The divorce/marriage part and the brother's guilt were all unnecessary for me. The book's description is excellent so that the aliens looked just like they always do. They used some nice sets for Woking, but they couldn't actually destroy them, so the houses and trees are left intact with bricks and timber thrown in between. But where was the Red Weed? Overall, I wasn't impressed, sorry.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Tis crap so far (I’m on Catch Up)

 

[Bugg]

They can redeem themselves if they flatten Barnet next week. Okay, maybe not, but still . . .

 

[Steve Harrison]

I was really looking forward to this series, but was bitterly disappointed. The standard was dreadful from start to finish. I'm thinking of buying the DVD for when I suffer from insomnia.

 

[Finch]

The thing is, I think most people know the story already.

I haven't watched it , but you make an impotent point. It is not the case that all adaptations turn out to be a disappointment to anybody that is familiar with the original .When the BBC did a bizarre comic version of Gormenghast I found it disappointing. But it was well received . I think most people on this site have an idea in there heads about what the war war of the worlds should look like . But I suspect the average Sunday night viewing public will see it as a period drama with aliens .

 

[Toby Frost]

It was fine, I thought, but then I've always found the prog version rather campy. The book is short, and any screen adaptation needs to fill out the characters. However, I thought that the divorce subplot was really too complex and thoughtful, especially since everything else would be blown to bits pretty soon. It needed a multi-episode family drama rather than this.

I've no problem with the slowness, or the acting. I didn't like some of the directorial tricks: turning the sound down and playing some pathos music seems to equal instant drama these days. I think any SF on the BBC always has the problem of having to be child-friendly or definitely not, and I'm pleased that they went the other way.

The period details were good (given that it seems to be set a few years after the novel) and it looked excellent. I think the red weed comes in later, as a by-product of the invasion.

 

[HareBrain]

However, I thought that the divorce subplot was really too complex and thoughtful, especially since everything else would be blown to bits pretty soon. It needed a multi-episode family drama rather than this.

Yes, I thought that stuff was quite well written and I would have been happy to just watch that being explored without any Martians at all. The two strands felt to have been "blended" by the same creative method by which a toddler smashes two wooden blocks together.

 

[Toby Frost]

I agree. There's a lot of "social" stuff they could have picked up on, which would have been easier to deal with. Something about the Fabians might have been a nice nod to Wells himself, while introducing sufficient "issues". The divorce stuff just felt rather too complex for something that would probably just get smashed aside.

 

[ryubysss]

But where was the Red Weed? Overall, I wasn't impressed, sorry.

you could see some in the flash-forward red-tinted scenes. the way that they presented it, it looked like blood red-colored crystals.

 

[Dave]

you could see some in the flash-forward red-tinted scenes. the way that they presented it, it looked like blood red-colored crystals.

I saw the crystals, but that isn't how I imagined it to be. Thank you.

Those flash-forwards must be several years in the future. She is pregnant now but not showing, and her child must have been six or seven.

 

[ryubysss]

Spoiler

I read ahead on the BBC website and I think she adopts a girl mid-story.

 

[Dave]

Re: your spoiler. That shouldn't be a spoiler then, it should be made crystal clear, because it is highly confusing otherwise. (Actually, I don't see the need for the flash-forwards at all.)

 

[HareBrain]

I found them confusing too. I assumed at first they were set on Mars. I think they were a bit of a cynical narrative attempt to maintain intrigue in a story that was not likely to pack many surprises given that everyone knew it already.

Spoiler

I read somewhere (in The Times?) that the Red Weed period lasts several years in this, so the child might well be the one she's pregnant with at the start

 

[Elckerlyc]

I found that confusing too. It took several of these future-set scenes for me to get that they were in fact future-set scenes. Well, so the series contained a surprise after all.

 

[CupofJoe]

I was surprised at how slow and boring it was. I'm going to record them all and then watch them in one go. I think seeing an episode a week will drag it out too long.
I remember the books being fast paced but the story the TV is giving me seems flat, almost stale. The only bit I really liked was the "Nothing-to-worry-about" speech that was in the trailer.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I never read the book. But I had Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds. It contained more suspense - and a better far better score - than this series. I loved that album.