The Tripods

When this show came on, I found it so interesting. The special effects were excellent and the story line well done and it flowed with ease.

When I went to the bookstore to buy the novel version, to my surprise they were in the children's section. So if anyone wants to get some good books for their children I would highly recommend them (it is trilogy). Also, try to get a copy of the TV series.

I know what you're thinking. What the----? Let me enlighten you. Once upon a time in the 1980s, there were two series. The long-running Doctor Who, which in its first incarnation, ran from 1963 to 1989, and The Tripods, which was, at it said in the opening: "Based On The Tripods Trilogy By John Christopher." The first two seasons, (series in Britain), were based on the first two books of the Trilogy, The White Mountains, (1967), The City of Gold and Lead, (1968). However, before the third season, (third series), could begin, there was a strike at the BBC. Doctor Who now had low ratings. Doctor Who was on the verge of being canceled. So what could be canceled instead of the venerable Doctor Who? The Tripods. The third season, if it had been produced, probably would have been based on the third book of the Trilogy, The Pool of Fire. Would there have been a fourth season? I don't know. Maybe. If so, it probably would have been based on the fourth book, When The Tripods Came, (1988), which was the prequel to the original Trilogy.

I've only recently seen the whole series, and read the three books, though I remember watching some of the stories when it first aired, close to 20 years ago now.

The trouble with the series is that they added far too much filler material - plotlines absent from the books - and instead of making a really good single series, of perhaps 12 hour long episodes, they opted to make one series per book - and then had themselves cancelled before they could televise the rather crucial third book.

The first series has some excellent moments, but far too much filler material added, and acting (and/or scripting) is at times very wooden. The special effects are very good, considering budget, and are the saving grace of the whole series.

The second series seems to make far too much of the journey to and from the Tripods' city, introduces an irrelevant second tier of power in the city, while eliminating some of the feeling of hardship and brutality imposed on the human slaves, and then the series ends on a sour note, quite unnecessarily, since in the book, there is a happy and surprise ending.

There are some huge errors of judgement in the second series. The French language is lost altogether, whereas it is at least partially used in the first set of stories - they are in France after all! And then in the masters city, where we've established that by 2089 that peasant life is a simple affair, with country dancing, and no electricity - we have a blasted 1980's style Disco, with flashing lights, and pop music - good God, what possessed the idiot director to put that scene in there? How are the humans dancing, when the masters installed extra gravity, and wear their subjects into the ground?

Overall, I'd recommend reading the books (even as an adult), and forget the TV version. The books are well-written, and have a certain nobility and charm.

Tripods is set at the end of the 21st century. The world was successfully invaded by aliens is three-legged machines and the humans not killed have been pacified by the use of a cap, a device fitted to the skull that removes aggressive and inquisitive thoughts.

Two boys Will and Henry come from a village in England. Having seen what capping did to their friend they decide to run away rather than go through with it. They meet a vagabond called Ozymandius who tells them of a band of uncapped people called freemen, who live in France on a white mountain. The boys set off in search of this mountain. Once in France they meet a French boy called Jean Paul and this trio forms the main part of the story.

They meet and befriend various people, there are love interests, and they fall foul of the various authorities. Always, in the background, is the menace of the Tripods. Eventually they manage to infiltrate the Tripods' city and learn the true nature of things.

The locations, scenery and costumes were of excellent quality, making the series very watchable. Opinions as to the acting vary from good to awful (I think they did a good enough job).

Unfortunately the BBC cancelled the series before the third part could be made, so we are left hanging at the end of series 2. A wasted chance to round off what was a serious journey into high-quality futuristic drama.

I saw this series when it first came out, and I was hooked! I arranged my schedule each week, to make sure I wouldn't miss an episode. It was riveting and menacing and sinister. My only complaint was that the series seemed to peter out at the end. Perhaps PBS in the USA simply stopped running the series. I really wanted some closure, some final battle in which the evil tripods were defeated, once and for all! It's really well done and very well written... worth watching, if you can ever find it (in the US, anyway).