BBC The War of the Worlds

BBC The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds written in 1897 is a novel by HG Wells, it’s one of the earliest books to tell the story of a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. In the book the aliens are Martians who fight in three legged walking fighting machines.

Back in January 2018 I blogged about the forthcoming BBC production of The War of the Worlds.

The BBC’s interpretation of the HG Wells 1897 classic will begin filming in spring 2018 and air later on BBC One.

Unlike more recent interpretations this will be set in the period it was published, so faithful to the Victorian era.

We do know that it will be three sixty minute episodes.

BBC One have announced the show will be arriving on our screens Autumn 2019 – not during the Christmas period as many expected.

BBC The War of the Worlds

Director Craig Viveiros said. “This is the first version to be set in London and [its environs] during the Edwardian period.”

BBC The War of the Worlds

This version stars Eleanor Tomlinson and Rafe Spall. Robert Carlyle and Rupert Graves are also set to star alongside them.

The trailer arrives on Sunday!

One of my favourite Osprey books is about the War of the Worlds. This is a historical record of the Anglo-Martian war of 1895.

War of the Worlds (Dark Osprey)

On one terrible night in August 1895, the world changed forever. Grey metal cylinders, launched from Mars and hurtled through space, came crashing down in southern England. The next 15 days were marked by courage and despair, hope and shock, defeat and fleeting victory as Queen Victoria’s army struggled to contain the terrible alien threat. The war, man against machines from space, was fought without mercy on both sides. And the outcome would be decided by the smallest of things. This book covers the whole of the Anglo-Martian conflict, beginning with a look at the relative strengths and weakness of the two armies, both English and alien, and comparing the different strategies employed. It then takes a detailed look at the actual military struggle, covering all of the major engagements between the tripods and Victoria’s army.

I have been thinking about since purchasing the book gaming scenarios pitting Edwardian Brits against the Martian invaders.




BBC Production of War of the Worlds

War of the Worlds
The BBC’s interpretation of the HG Wells 1897 classic will begin filming in spring 2018 and air later on BBC One.

Unlike more recent interpretations this will be set in the period it was published, so faithful to the Victorian era.

Since the news was announced last summer we’ve heard very little about the production. We do know that it will be three sixty minute episodes.

It’s being made by the same production company, Mammoth Screen, which made Victoria for ITV. Now I’ve watched a few episodes of that series and there are some great production values there, I was especially impressed with the CGI recreation of Victorian London.

We know now that pre-production is now underway with filming set to take place in Liverpool and Cheshire. There is also going to be filming in Surrey which is where the invasion starts in the book.

Personally I think it’s a great idea and I am really looking forward to the series when it is transmitted later in 2018.

Why has ‘God save the Queen’ been scrawled on the surface of Mars?

Really looking forward to Saturday’s episode of Doctor Who, The Empress of Mars, where we see Victorian era British soldiers on Mars fighting the Ice Warriors.

‘God save the Queen’ has been scrawled on the surface of Mars. What are Victorians doing on the home of the Ice Warriors? And what will they find beneath the Martian soil?

I’ve had a fondness for Victorian Science Fiction for many years, though I was aware of HG Wells War of the Worlds and the Time Machine, what really got me interested was GDW’s Space 1889 game. I did buy some of their 25mm miniatures and played a few games.

As well as the British soldiers I also had a few of the Martians.

As you can see they don’t look like the Ice Warriors.

Since then I have expanded my awareness and interest in Victorian Science Fiction beyond Space 1889 and looked at steampunk and other sources.

I really did enjoy The Difference Engine and I published an article about gaming in that universe.

“In the mists down Knightsbridge a procession of some kind was moving steadily across the road. Ghostlike, blurred by distance and the fog, they appeared to be military gurneys, the squat treaded monsters of the Crimean war. Fog muffled a heavy chugging and the faint repeated clank of jointed iron. One after another they passed. Each gurney hauled a linked articulated caisson. These wains appeared to be canvas-shrouded cannon, with men, footsoldiers in canvas coloured drab, clustered atop the cannons like barnacles, with a sea-urchin bristle of bayonetted rifles.”

Though there have been many Doctor Who stories set in the Victorian era and the Doctor has even met H G Wells, but I can’t recall an episode of Doctor Who that had such a Victorian Science Fiction background to the episode.

I really like the idea of Victorian British soldiers, more use to fighting in the Sudan or down at the Cape fighting Martians (well Ice Warriors) on Mars. You can see they have some kind of steampunk weaponry, but I am curious about how they got there, what was their space ship like? Well all will be revealed on Saturday.

This may be just one such episode of the Doctor, but if it goes down well with the audiences then we may see more.

Spielberg’s War of the Worlds Trailer now online…

I mentioned in a previous post that Steve Spielberg was making a film version of War of the Worlds.

You can now watch the trailer online and visit the official website.

Alas it is set in the modern day (and there I was hoping it would be a 19th Century version) and the trailer does not tell you much at all….

…oh and the film stars Tom Cruise!

Spielberg's War of the Worlds Trailer now online…

I mentioned in a previous post that Steve Spielberg was making a film version of War of the Worlds.
You can now watch the trailer online and visit the official website.
Alas it is set in the modern day (and there I was hoping it would be a 19th Century version) and the trailer does not tell you much at all….
…oh and the film stars Tom Cruise!