The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells

This was truly an engaging series, a sensational treasure to view. I thought about Steven Spielberg's Young Sherlock Holmes from years ago, which didn't work for me. Infinite Worlds did work wonders on me and I was more of a Jeremy Brett/Sherlock Holmes fan than I ever was an H. G. Wells fan.

Infinite Worlds never gets too technical to leave someone out who may not grasp much about science and math, like me, nor does it get too ficticious, reminding one of Doctor Who. It was never campy either and never quoted Shakespeare. The acting never required going over the top, but it was right on level, no chewing up the scenery among these professionals. The feel, the imagery were all splendid.

Of the six stories, the first two bordered on the most tragic, especially the first one, which set the stage for the entire program. The third one was reminiscent of War of the Worlds. Try not to think of Aliens too much, but the ending with Mrs. Cave and Davey the dog was very surprising. The fourth story was truly an original one done in an original manner, the last two were very romantic, I think the final one was truly the funniest and had me wishing there was more to see when it ended.

An exceptional contribution that set the mood was undeniably Stanislas Syrewicz musical score, as it played each time to signify not that a movie was simply ending, but we were seeing closure in another H. G. Wells chapter.

I recorded this program off, not sure if it was going to be a documentary or docudrama, so I didn't know what exactly to expect. I was not disappointed at all.

Minus commercials, it runs about four and a half hours. How I would love to see more of this in some way shape or form. I would always say "there are worse things on you could watch" but in this instance I will say "there aren't many better things you can find to watch."

I did make a bad start with this six part series. On YouTube they are divided into three programmes, each of two episodes, the first and third shown in different order to the IMDb listing. So until the penny dropped I watched part of The New Accelerator wondering where is Mr Brownlow and his newspaper. The basic idea of The New Accelerator (which I score 8) was used in the Star Trek episode Wink of an Eye, as far as I know there was no plagiarism.

At the time of writing Mr Brownlow's Newspaper is the most highly rated, with which I agree, deserving a 10. Re-living past events, and returning again to try to correct the past when things fail to happen as they should, has a flavour of Groundhog Day and, how can I put it, takes less time about it.

The most light hearted, almost Chaplin slapstick, is The Truth about Pyecraft, a good 7. The lovelorn fatty, having decided on suicide, is meticulous enough to calculate the optimum length of rope but he attaches it to a chandelier, which probably wouldn't support a large dog. I'd award another 7 to The Stolen Bacillus. I'm not one to let plot hole pedantry prevent enjoyment of a good story. But I did wonder why the thief immediately poured it into the reservoir , without even knowing what it was, rather than demand a ransom for its return. The Crystal Egg and The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes aren't so good, I'd rate them 6 and 5 respectively.

Unlike one reviewer I thought Tom Ward perfectly acceptable as Wells, and completely convincing as an elderly man reminiscing about the past.

I managed to catch most of this 3 part mini-series on Hallmark just a couple of days ago, and I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since. I feel that it's a really great movie, partly because of the great special effects and interesting phenomenon mentioned, and also because of the relationship between the lead characters in the movie. For all those science buffs out there, this would definitely be a good show to watch and tease your little grey cells somewhat. Even though the characters in this show are mostly fictitious (except for H.G. Wells himself, of course), I feel that it's still worth watching if not for the science, then for the romance.

My wife and I watched this over 3 nights on the Hallmark Channel. It was a good way to present 6 short stories, and HG Wells short stories are a much neglected resource.

Good characterisations and nicely done in the late 19th century. Whilst some of the HG Wells Biography is ignored, I think that this was acceptable for what the programme aimed to achieve.

We do hope that they consider making more :)

I would say a 9/10

Ashamed to admit I paid a grand total of 44 cents for this collection (plus another in a dual pack DVD from the local dollar store on 88 Cent Day.) It was worth so much more~my husband and I have sat up late two nights in a row watching them all. Nearly as addictive as Downton Abbey, with music reminiscent of the Harry Potter Series, it was a fun escape from the news of the day a century later. The "journalist" was a particularly clever way to tie the lot together, one story blending into the next, so we didn't want to stop watching. We were both disappointed it was only six episodes.

We've started an American series now called Granite Flats, set in cold war 1961. It's hard to find, and more "family-oriented" but some nice mystery to it. We're looking forward to seeing it's second season start up this April.

It's always fun to discover these little-known, short-lived televised gems.