The War of the Worlds is a British three-part science fiction drama television series, produced by Mammoth Screen for the BBC and co-produced with Creasun Media and Red Square. The series is an Edwardian period adaptation of H.G. Wells' 1898 science fiction novel of the same name about a Martian invasion, and is the first British television adaptation of the novel. The War of the Worlds premiered in other countries before its UK broadcast on the BBC between 17 November and 1 December 2019.
The War of the Worlds | |
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Genre | |
Based on | The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells |
Written by | Peter Harness |
Directed by | Craig Viveiros |
Starring | |
Composer | Russ Davies |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 3 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Betsan Morris Evans |
Production location | United Kingdom |
Cinematography | James Friend |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 17 November 1 December 2019 | –
In 1905 Edwardian England, journalist George (Rafe Spall), who works as an assistant to local scientist Ogilvy (Robert Carlyle), and George's lover Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson) they both start a life together in the town of Woking, despite George's current marriage. They both faced a Mars' invasion of Britain, and possibly the whole of planet Earth, while also attempting to survive against a powerful enemy unable to be fought with human resources.[1]
No. | Episode | Directed by | Written by | Original UK air date | UK viewers (millions) [2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Episode 1 | Craig Viveiros | Peter Harness | 17 November 2019 | 6.92 |
2 | Episode 2 | Craig Viveiros | Peter Harness | 24 November 2019 | 5.80 |
3 | Episode 3 | Craig Viveiros | Peter Harness | 1 December 2019 | 5.49 |
The War of the Worlds was first announced in December 2015,[3] with the BBC confirming production of the series in May 2017.[4] The series was produced by Mammoth Screen for the BBC, co-produced with Creasun Media, in association with Red Square.[5]
Writer Peter Harness expanded the role of the narrator's wife from the novel, stating "I think the clearest choice that I made from the start of this project was to give the male character a wife who had strength of character in her own right [...] It was very important to me to make the female character three-dimensional".[6]
The three-part series was directed by Craig Viveiros and produced by Betsan Morris Evans. It was executive produced by Viveiros, Damien Timmer, Preethi Mavahalli, Peter Harness, and from Mammoth Screen;[1] Tommy Bulfin from the BBC;[1] Minglu Ma from Creasun; and Jamie Brown from Red Square.[7]
The interpretation makes use of time-shifting forwards and backwards in the narrative timeline in order to "upend audience expectations".[8]
Filming began in April 2018 in Liverpool.[1] Locations include St George's Plateau, Eldon Grove, Vauxhall (where an abandoned building was used as a London location), Sir Thomas Street, Dale Street, Ainsdale Woods, Delamere Forest, the village of Great Budworth in Cheshire,[9] the Palm House at Sefton Park, and Croxteth Hall.[10] Filming and post-production were completed by May 2019.[11]
The first footage from the BBC drama appeared in July 2018, followed by teaser trailers in January 2019, with the first full trailer for the drama being released in September 2019.[12][13][14]
Originally set to premiere in the UK during Christmas 2018,[11] The War of the Worlds actually premiered in Canada on T+E between 6 and 20 October 2019.[15] It was also broadcast in two parts instead of three on New Zealand's TVNZ 1 between 13 and 20 October 2019.[16] Mammoth Screen announced in September 2019 that the programme was expected to be released in the UK in late 2019;[17] the first episode had its UK premiere on 17 November 2019.[18] The three-episode programme was released weekly in the UK.[19]
ITV Studios Global Entertainment is responsible for the international distribution of The War of the Worlds miniseries.[1] It has been sold to major European countries and African territories.[20]
The War of the Worlds has received mixed reviews from critics. The series holds a 67% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 critic reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Respectful, if not exactly riveting, Craig Viveiros' reimagined The War of the Worlds wandering narrative undermines its strong performances".[21]
The Guardian gave the drama four stars, deeming it a "solid and reliable" drama, but criticized the plot's pacing, stating it had a "lack of urgency".[22] The Independent gave it three stars but complained about its attempts to speak to contemporary political issues, stating, "The real war here is not between humans and aliens, but between a classic tale and the perceived liberal expectations of audiences in 2019".[23] The Telegraph gave the first episode two stars and criticized it for appearing low budget and the performances by Tomlinson and Spall.[24] The Irish Independent was unfavorable to the first episode and called it a "massive disappointment".[25] The Telegraph was more negative towards the second episode, giving it one star.[26] The Independent was also more negative towards the third episode, giving it two stars.[27] James Delingpole for The Spectator responded negatively to the series, calling it “incredibly sad”.[28] Some critics questioned its political subtext, and criticized it for changing aspects of the novel. Eleanor Tomlinson and Rafe Spall's performances were both critically panned as well.[29][30][31][32]