Topic: War of the Worlds.. BBC TV Series

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Onto the second one now.

Quite a slow, easy, measured take on the story - I keep getting put off with St. Georges Hall, alleys in the City Centre and also Port Sunlight (Not to mention Formby Beach!) popping up all over the show, but stars Eleanor Tomlinson, Rafe Spall, Rupert Graves and others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(British_TV_series)


Not sure if anyone else has been watching it?


As I'm a big fan of H.G. Wells, I've found it an interesting take on this tale.

[jillcwhomever]

Never read the book to be honest, though saw the musical of it. I know what you mean seeing the alien come over St George's Hall was pretty weird to be honest. Having said that, I'm quite enjoying it in a strange way. It is pretty slow, but its been quite impressively shot with plenty of scenes which keep the interest going. I'm quite enjoying the Sunday nights, His Dark Materials followed by this.

[Fairytale of 2005]

Episode two was much better than episode one. Looking forward to seeing how it concludes, as we already know the ending is not the same as the book.

[Son of Spion]

I loved the original film and tend not to like remakes, so I was going to give this a miss until I read where most of it was filmed. I enjoyed episode one and will watch episode two on catch-up tomorrow.

Liverpool, Sefton Park Palm House, Ainsdale woods etc look great on television.

[rob1966]

Enjoyable Sunday night telly. Missus doesn't usually watch this kind of thing, but she saw clips on Gogglebox and liked the look, so at least I get to swerve I'm a celebrity now.

It is strange seeing places you are very familiar with on the telly, bit distracting at times.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

I loved the original film and tend not to like remakes, so I was going to give this a miss until I read where most of it was filmed. I enjoyed episode one and will watch episode two on catch-up tomorrow.

Liverpool, Sefton Park Palm House, Ainsdale woods etc look great on television.

Yeah saw the Palmhouse with the telescope - looked more like Formby Woods to me, but I could be wrong.

[So… Howard Philips]

I loved the original film and tend not to like remakes, so I was going to give this a miss until I read where most of it was filmed. I enjoyed episode one and will watch episode two on catch-up tomorrow.

Liverpool, Sefton Park Palm House, Ainsdale woods etc look great on television.

Was the original film the one set in California with Gene Barry?

This is the first version set in the Edwardian era and the BBC has got the settings spot on. They are obviously heading for an alternative ending. I thought last night's episode had a pretty retro feel in that the Army's feeble field guns were ineffective the broadsides from the cruisers we're bringing down the tripods. Or maybe that it my ex RN gunner dad's prejudices coming out!

[Zeppelin]

Yeah saw the Palmhouse with the telescope - looked more like Formby Woods to me, but I could be wrong.

It was Formby Pinewoods - there was a feature on it on BBC Local News a week or so ago.

[Dr. Beaker]

I loved the original (Gene Barry) version but always wanted someone to remake it in the correct period - so I'm enjoying it. About to watch second episode now.

[Son of Spion]

Yeah saw the Palmhouse with the telescope - looked more like Formby Woods to me, but I could be wrong.

I'd have said Formby myself until I read a piece on the programme in the paper that said it was Ainsdale. I'm assuming the article was wrong though. Lovely place up there. We used to have a caravan right by the woods on the Formby/Ainsdale border. Used to love watching the planes at RAF Woodvale and the baby rabbits running around the place.

[Son of Spion]

Was the original film the one set in California with Gene Barry?

This is the first version set in the Edwardian era and the BBC has got the settings spot on. They are obviously heading for an alternative ending. I thought last night's episode had a pretty retro feel in that the Army's feeble field guns were ineffective the broadsides from the cruisers we're bringing down the tripods. Or maybe that it my ex RN gunner dad's prejudices coming out!

That's the one. You can't beat the original.

I'm watching episode two of the new one on catch-up tonight. 👽

[Dr. Beaker]

This second episode looks very much like a post Brexit apocalypse.

[rob1966]

That's the one. You can't beat the original.

I'm watching episode two of the new one on catch-up tonight. 👽

Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds on vinyl, with Richard Burton narrating, David Essex, Phil Lynott and Julie Covington was my first introduction to War of the Worlds

[Dubred]

Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds on vinyl, with Richard Burton narrating, David Essex, Phil Lynott and Julie Covington was my first introduction to War of the Worlds

Me too.

What a classic classic album.

[Buck Pete]

Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds on vinyl, with Richard Burton narrating, David Essex, Phil Lynott and Julie Covington was my first introduction to War of the Worlds

Fucking brilliant.  Grew up with it myself and remember my old man had the double album on cassette.

Loved the track 'Spirit of Man' with Phil Lynott as Preacher Nathaniel.   Just read a YouTube comment and someone says the ladies voice on this track is the most beautiful he's ever heard.  I have to agree the girl can sing and didn't know the preachers wife was voiced by Julie Covington until just now.

NO NATHANIEL!!

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/w6qEB5g8S2o" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/w6qEB5g8S2o</a>

[Kekule]

Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds on vinyl, with Richard Burton narrating, David Essex, Phil Lynott and Julie Covington was my first introduction to War of the Worlds

Scares the bejesus out of me that.  My Dad played it loads when I was a nipper, the music and sound effects coupled with Richard Burton's voice and an overactive imagination terrified me.  I still can't listen to it now, I have some sort of Pavlovian response to it.

It came up in conversation several years back with a couple of mates and I mentioned it in passing. A couple of weeks later driving down the motorway, with me in the back of a car and them two in the front seats, they stuck it on.  The bastards had gone out and bought a copy deliberately.  There I was feeling rather iffy in the back whilst those two were pissing themselves laughing. 

[Nobby Reserve]

Scares the bejesus out of me that.  My Dad played it loads when I was a nipper, the music and sound effects coupled with Richard Burton's voice and an overactive imagination terrified me.  I still can't listen to it now, I have some sort of Pavlovian response to it.

It came up in conversation several years back with a couple of mates and I mentioned it in passing. A couple of weeks later driving down the motorway, with me in the back of a car and them two in the front seats, they stuck it on.  The bastards had gone out and bought a copy deliberately.  There I was feeling rather iffy in the back whilst those two were pissing themselves laughing. 

My best mate's mum & dad had the record and played it for us once when I was round there; I'd have been about 5 or 6. It had me in a right fucking state. Can still remember it now. They had to sit me down and convince me it couldn't happen nowadays with all the missiles and fighter jets we have, before they took me back round to ours. A few days/weeks later at school, we had to write a story and I wrote what would have been a jumbled version of WotW's and tried to pass it off as my own work; even when the teacher asked if I'd copied the story, I denied it. I got a bollocking for lying.

Thankfully, no long term psychological issues  and love it now.

[redgriffin73]

Scares the bejesus out of me that.  My Dad played it loads when I was a nipper, the music and sound effects coupled with Richard Burton's voice and an overactive imagination terrified me.  I still can't listen to it now, I have some sort of Pavlovian response to it.

It came up in conversation several years back with a couple of mates and I mentioned it in passing. A couple of weeks later driving down the motorway, with me in the back of a car and them two in the front seats, they stuck it on.  The bastards had gone out and bought a copy deliberately.  There I was feeling rather iffy in the back whilst those two were pissing themselves laughing. 

I'm the same, my older brother had the album and it totally shit me up.

[Buck Pete]

Same as you lads, parts of it literally terrified me. 

The bit on Horsell Common when all the townsfolk are gathered around the cylinder

The sound effects of the screws being undone haunt me to this day then we Burton's voice

"THE LID FELL OFF"

[Nobby Reserve]

Same as you lads, parts of it literally terrified me. 

The bit on Horsell Common when all the townsfolk are gathered around the cylinder

The sound effects of the screws being undone haunt me to this day then we Burton's voice

"THE LID FELL OFF"

It was Thunderchild biting the dust that tipped me right over. Even in my ickle mind I kinda knew the good guys always won, so when Thunderchild blew the fuck out of that evil Martian machine and the singing went all cheerful, I figured the happy ending of the story was upon us... then they go melt Thunderchild's valiant heart and Richard Burton pipes up with "Thunder Child had vanished forever, taking with her man's last hope of victory" and I couldn't cope.

[Kekule]

It was Thunderchild biting the dust that tipped me right over. Even in my ickle mind I kinda knew the good guys always won, so when Thunderchild blew the fuck out of that evil Martian machine and the singing went all cheerful, I figured the happy ending of the story was upon us... then they go melt Thunderchild's valiant heart and Richard Burton pipes up with "Thunder Child had vanished forever, taking with her man's last hope of victory" and I couldn't cope.

If you ever want to see me run screaming from a room all you need to do is get one of those electronic voice changers and sing "oooooh-laaaaaah" into it.

You won't see me for dust.

[Nobby Reserve]

If I didn't have Ian 'Snods' Snodin to laugh at on the radio as I'm driving home from work, I'd put War of the Worlds on. Perhaps tomorrow.

[RAWK Meltdown #1]

Love HG Wells and his work was a staple diet for me as a young'un...

Totally loved Jeff Wayne's musical adaptation...and still play it regularly..."Noooo Nathaniel..."

As for this latest bit of "woke" BBC tosh, me and the missus have just been laughing at it and ripping it....and I'm sure this wasn't what the writers and producers envisioned as an audience response, but what can you do? Do they really want us to take it seriously as a credible adaptation? So this is how we find our fun. It gets "watched" but mainly for piss-taking reasons the production team at the BBC is likely oblivious to.

I'd hate to have any work of mine scorned and ridiculed the way me and the missus go at it, but then I also like to think that I'd never put "woke" before quality and/or integrity....which the BBC now do in spades. We're "entertained" by this adaptation, but not for the reasons the BBC would ideally like to believe. We're entertained because of the all too obvious "woke" stamp which permeates this work like the letters inside a bar of Blackpool rock.

We kind of think:

"Ahhh bless them...they can't touch anything without turning it to shit....it must be so agonizing and difficult to try and preach woke values to audiences who just want to be entertained, whilst knowing that they're likely going to fail with both the preaching AND the entertaining by the time a project gets rubber stamped as being worthy BBC fayre..."

But they just can't help themselves nowadays, so "woke" ripping has become an amusing pass-time for me and the missus, and War Of The Worlds has been an absolutely transparent "belter" to this end...and has not disappointed!!

 

 

[Son of Spion]

Yeah saw the Palmhouse with the telescope - looked more like Formby Woods to me, but I could be wrong.

I was sure I'd read that the crash scene in episode one was filmed in Ainsdale woods. Anyway, I came across this tonight, and it was actually Ainsdale. The beach scenes were Formby.

https://www.liverpoolfilmoffice.tv/made-in-film-liverpool/war-of-the-worlds/

Anyway, I watched episode two last night on iplayer. I'm quite enjoying it even if it's nothing much like the original film. It will be interesting to see how they round it off next week.

[Buck Pete]

/snip

Haha. I've never come across the phrase 'Woke'.  But a quick google tells me all i need to know and I too find myself 'woke' ripping/cringing myself lots these days at TV programs and adverts.

Go on, give me a couple of Woke examples from this show.  Surely the Martians didn't provide disabled parking bays for their broken fighting machines?   I'm guessing the BBC added a feisty confident woman to the mix who wasn't there in the original novel?

[So… Howard Philips]

It was Thunderchild biting the dust that tipped me right over. Even in my ickle mind I kinda knew the good guys always won, so when Thunderchild blew the fuck out of that evil Martian machine and the singing went all cheerful, I figured the happy ending of the story was upon us... then they go melt Thunderchild's valiant heart and Richard Burton pipes up with "Thunder Child had vanished forever, taking with her man's last hope of victory" and I couldn't cope.

I'm sure it was Thunderchild that brought down the tripod on Sunday.

I must admit I thought the end of civilisation was a bit jingoistic as it was England that was being destroyed and the refugees were fleeing to the Continent.

[So… Howard Philips]

Haha. I've never come across the phrase 'Woke'.  But a quick google tells me all i need to know and I too find myself 'woke' ripping/cringing myself lots these days at TV programs and adverts.

Go on, give me a couple of Woke examples from this show.  Surely the Martians didn't provide disabled parking bays for their broken fighting machines?   I'm guessing the BBC added a feisty confident woman to the mix who wasn't there in the original novel?

I'm sure that's generated much fume in the Daily Mail comments section.

[Son of Spion]

Haha. I've never come across the phrase 'Woke'.  But a quick google tells me all i need to know and I too find myself 'woke' ripping/cringing myself lots these days at TV programs and adverts.

Go on, give me a couple of Woke examples from this show.  Surely the Martians didn't provide disabled parking bays for their broken fighting machines?   I'm guessing the BBC added a feisty confident woman to the mix who wasn't there in the original novel?

I absolutely loathe the word 'woke'. It's just the latest trendy buzzword for some people, and also a now derogatory term used by those who don't give a shit about anything in order to close down anyone who has the slightest social conscience.

I, too, would be interested in hearing examples from this series, though. I'm not seeing anything glaring in there myself. I suppose there is, thankfully, a lack of hysterical females falling, then being helped up by heroic males as they flee the Martian invaders. I always hate that pathetic and cliched scene from so many older films.

[RAWK Meltdown #1]

Haha. I've never come across the phrase 'Woke'.  But a quick google tells me all i need to know and I too find myself 'woke' ripping/cringing myself lots these days at TV programs and adverts.

Go on, give me a couple of Woke examples from this show.  Surely the Martians didn't provide disabled parking bays for their broken fighting machines?  I'm guessing the BBC added a feisty confident woman to the mix who wasn't there in the original novel?

Well the first "rip" on encountering the above, involved me saying to the missus:

"There she is, the feminine implant who's been shoe-horned into the narrative entirely for YOUR sake, because you wouldn't watch it if they hadn't "fixed" it to reflect YOUR modern sensibilities...I hope you're happy that HG Wells has been given the affirmative action treatment...? "

The missus is a "proper" strong woman you see, always has been, and hates [and can spot] tokenism within modern culture, especially when it arrives from the woke pen-strokes of people with an agenda.

We then went on to muse about what would happen if something like "Pride & Prejudice" was deliberately masculine-ised in order to draw in [and validate] a male audience. Perhaps Elizabeth Bennett could become young "Eddie Bennett" who had a penchant for steam engines and industrial innovation? The point being, why on earth would men derive anything of value from a period drama which had so obviously been fucked with..... supposedly for their sake?

I think the missus mounts a strong argument, and is well within her rights to spurn and take the piss out of the BBC's 'woke' tokenism as it pertains to her own gender. So rather than feeling empowered by the adaptation fuckery which abounds within the BBC, she simply looks at them with mocking contempt and disdain.

 So yes...an entertaining adaptation, but for reasons the BBC are likely oblivious to within a certain section of their audience. I'm sure they didn't do this adaptation to invoke piss-taking and ridicule, and I'm sure in their own minds, they feel quite progressive and expect viewers to just overlook their alterations and get with the plot....lol

Bless them!!

 

[Son of Spion]

Just out of interest, what did Mrs Anything Will Do make of Dr Who now being female?

Personally, I think it's ridiculous, as is the notion of making James Bond female.

Just make some good female characters in their own right in good films/series, you lazy arses.

My partner is also a very strong, intelligent and independent woman, and she also hates the way females are often portrayed these days. They all seem to have to be 'in control, be witty, over-confident, supposedly strong, while males are now often portrayed as needy and hapless in comparison. It's all utter bollocks. Times may change, but the desire to stereotype never seems to go away.

[Ziltoid]

Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds on vinyl, with Richard Burton narrating, David Essex, Phil Lynott and Julie Covington was my first introduction to War of the Worlds

And me.  First Vinyl my dad bought for his Sanyo Music Centre

[RAWK Meltdown #1]

Just out of interest, what did Mrs Anything Will Do make of Dr Who now being female?

Personally, I think it's ridiculous, as is the notion of making James Bond female.

Just make some good female characters in their own right in good films/series, you lazy arses.

My partner is also a very strong, intelligent and independent woman, and she also hates the way females are often portrayed these days. They all seem to have to be 'in control, be witty, over-confident, supposedly strong, while males are now often portrayed as needy and hapless in comparison. It's all utter bollocks. Times may change, but the desire to stereotype never seems to go away.

The missus has an interesting take on the Dr Who/James Bond and Marvel Universe notions of "progressiveness."

She likens it to a young child (A) who sees another young child (B) playing happily with a toy, who then proceeds to act out and demand that toy from the other child....not because child A wants to play with that toy themselves, but merely because they just don't want child B to have it, and wants child B to know that they have the power to take that toy away from them.

She distrusts the motives of "overwriting" male stereotypes just to make a point, and wonders why women don't appear to [instead] crave fresh and original female characters who stand tall in their own right without piggy-backing on established characters who have already legitimately earned their own market-share by means of their original incarnation.

The missus regards the likes of Gemma Teller [Sons Of Anarchy] Ltnt Ripley [Alien] Judy Sheindlin [Judge Judy] etc...as believable women of strength and intuition, who have a good handle on their own power and femininity without any recourse to the world of men whatsoever.

As a male, I have to agree. Skillfully obviated female strength proper... is a huge turn on, whereas female "strength" which has merely been begged, borrowed or plagiarized from an established male franchise just smacks of laziness and "woke" frustration....and far more points are lost than the very BIG point that progressives are attempting to make when they do this.

It's a free country however, and if progressives are determined to take men's "toys" off them out of spite, then so what? Men are extremely resourceful and will just find something else to crack on with...lol

The first rule of "fight club" is....

     

[Mutton Geoff]

maybe its because i am a massive fan of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds that i am finding this quite boring and badly made, special effects are like Dr Who circa 1960's or Blakes Seven, acting is ok but as i said for me too slow and torturess ,

[Mutton Geoff]

And me.  First Vinyl my dad bought for his Sanyo Music Centre

I bought it again last month as i have converted back again to Vinyl

[Son of Spion]

...

Thanks for the reply. 

Your Mrs sounds pretty cool. I like her thinking. 

[RAWK Meltdown #1]

Thanks for the reply. 

Your Mrs sounds pretty cool. I like her thinking. 

LOL....she'll be made up with that. I deffo think she prefers the praise of the "level headed" over the "woke" handouts of BBC adaptations...which kinda makes her a diamond in the rough in this day and age. Anyway, apologies to anybody who's watching The War Of The Worlds in the "spirit" the beeb want it to be watched and deriving enjoyment from their endeavors. It takes all sorts to make a world and we all see things through our own lenses as it were.

[rob1966]

     

Your missus sounds cool.

I expressed similar thoughts as your missus in the Dr Who thread and got shit for it - Dr Who is an established male character and loads just came up with all kinds of excuses for them changing the gender. As your missus says, create a strong female character, don't try to re gender a male character.

[Red Beret]

Your missus sounds cool.

I expressed similar thoughts as your missus in the Dr Who thread and got shit for it - Dr Who is an established male character and loads just came up with all kinds of excuses for them changing the gender. As your missus says, create a strong female character, don't try to re gender a male character.

Me too.  She's bang on.

EDIT: It seems to be far easier to "appropriate" existing culture than go to the effort of writing something new and original.  They're not being edgy, they're being lazy - and fearful.

[Spongebob Redpants]

Was looking forward to this when it was announced , but not what I expected . Shite is the word that springs to mind . How can they turn such an inteesting story into something soo dull ?

Watched the first 2 episodes and only sticking with it for the Liverpool ( and area ) filming locations . Good to see Eldon Grove in there - for some reason thought this had been demolished .

[RAWK Meltdown #1]

Your missus sounds cool.

I expressed similar thoughts as your missus in the Dr Who thread and got shit for it - Dr Who is an established male character and loads just came up with all kinds of excuses for them changing the gender. As your missus says, create a strong female character, don't try to re gender a male character.

Me too.  She's bang on.

EDIT: It seems to be far easier to "appropriate" existing culture than go to the effort of writing something new and original.  They're not being edgy, they're being lazy - and fearful.

There are definitely certain male roles within cultural fiction which have become extremely ripe... "low hanging fruit" for the progressive agenda. Dr Who and James Bond being two very obvious ones, but Marvel comics and Star Wars have also been getting the "treatment" too, as many will be well aware.

It seems to be an agenda which is very uptight in nature and won't be argued with so it's probably just best to let them "have at it" in their attempts to reconstruct the fictional world in a way which makes them feel they've got the "win" they're seeking. There's only so many well established masculine 'icons' or franchises they can appropriate and eventually they'll be forced to construct original material which will either stand or fall entirely on it's own merit, without any of the props in place which [currently] guarantees them that vital bit of market share, because they're borrowing from established branding which has already developed an audience. This approach is just not sustainable and once it's been saturated and "done to death" to the extent that everything which CAN be given the woke treatment HAS been given it....well then we might just see some originality and credibility creeping back in to fiction writing and characterization in a way that truly serves the female audience rather than subjecting it to "lazy" regurgitations and over-writes of established masculine tropes.

Until this time however...it's probably best to just hunker down and expect much more of the same until the "woke" bandwagon eventually runs out of road.....

Which it WILL....