'The worst kind of space imperialism!' makes the best kind of story. Love it! (Tripods, The)

Member Name: 20thcenturycat

Product:	Tripods, The
Date:	29/03/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A fantastic premise and story. Great special effects for the time.

Disadvantages: Plot drags a bit especially in series 1. Some patchy acting.

The Tripods is a trilogy of books by John Christopher about a future earth where humans are subservient to creatures they call the Tripods, actually aliens called the Masters which march about in massive three legged metal machines (uncannily similar to the aliens in War of the Worlds). The Tripods have destroyed all human technology and forced us to live in a peaceful, insular, agrarian society. Humans love and worship the Tripods, and are kept subservient by means of a metal cap which is fitted to the skull around the age of fourteen.

The trilogy tells the story of Will and his cousin Henry, their struggle to avoid capping, join freedom fighters called the 'Freemen' and overcome the Tripods rule on earth. The first two books were turned into 2 BBC TV series in the mid-eighties, somewhat successfully given the techological constraints of the time.

The BBC gave the Tripods 13 episodes per series to fill, which led to extra scenes having to be written and a tendency, particularly in the first series, for the pace to lag.

Series one is based on the first book, The White Mountains. It covers Will and Henry's escape from their village, their meeting with Jean-Paul (Beanpole) a young French inventor who has managed to avoid being Capped, and their journey to join the Free Men in the Alps. This series suffers a lot from the slow pace of the 13 episode format, and at times you wonder if they will ever make it to the Alps or if they will remain stuck in yet another chateau, farmhouse or vinyard in the French countryside. To me this detracts from the highlight of the plot which is their stay in the Chateau Ricordeau and the introduction of Will's love interest, Eloise, which seriously threatens to derail their plans to escape Capping.
Because series one is mainly set in the countryside it also lacks opportunities for special effects - the tripods are occasionally glimpsed and once or twice seen close up.

Series two follows Will, Henry and Beanpole's attempts to get into the Master's city (called the City of Gold in the TV series) and introduces a new character, Fritz. The depiction of the Master's city uses fantastic model work and quite impressive special effects for the time, such as animatronic Masters and the laser-tastic Pool of Fire. However some of the departures from the books are ludicrous. Slaves brought up in a technologically backward, agrarian society, are suddenly dancing to disco music in a nightclub called the Pink Parrot. This series also introduces an entirely pointless extra set of alien intelligences called the Cognosc who hate the Masters and call their plans to colonise Earth 'the worst kind of space imperialism'. If they were to play a major part in Series three we'll never know, because the accountants at the BBC pulled the plug and it was never made.

This is a shame because Tripods received veiwing figures which today would be entirely respectable. It showcased special effects which were truly groundbreaking for the time. What really let it down was all the padding.

Series 1 and 2 are now finally available on DVD, in a box set which is a bit thin on extras - just a documentary that's been on TV before, and the music score for the unmade series 3. However it is just good to finally have it on DVD. Well worth a watch, and I do wish they'd made series 3. But make sure you also read John Christopher's wonderful trilogy, The White Mountains, the City of Gold and Lead, and the Pool of Fire. I hear there are also rumours that a film may be in the offing.

Summary: Well worth a watch but you may want to fastforward series 1!