War of the Worlds is a 2019 French series being released on EPIX.
4 out of 10 stars. It’s not the best series. It’s not the worst. There are good parts, bad parts. EPIX channel’s handling of the release was really botched, so I can’t recommend it.
War of the Worlds is one of the most beloved novels by H.G. Wells. This series does NOT do it justice. If you want to watch an excellent version of the novel in a film, watch the 2005 Steven Spielberg film version starring Tom Cruise. It’s terrifying if you can put with Dakota Fanning’s bad acting.
The series begins with watching four people: Catherine Durand, lead scientist in a mountain observatory in the French Alps who first discovers the aliens coming toward Earth; Bill Ward, an Oxford University professor and neurology scientist trying to reach his ex-wife Helen; Sarah Gresham, a London mother of two teenagers trying to get them to safety; and Jonathan Gresham, Sarah’s husband who is in France when the aliens attack and trying to get back to his family.
The aliens attack with some type of electro-magnetic pulse which kills everyone who is outside or inside near windows or open doors. The survivors appear to be less than one percent of the population.
Immediately before the attack, 2500 meteors fall to Earth. It’s unclear what they’re for. Immediately after the attack, small dog-like robots with organic brains kill everyone except infants and fetuses which they collect for their DNA.
There were some very plausible moments–the pulse is coming from Ross 128, an Earth sized exoplanet eleven light years from Earth. A year ago Arecibo heard the same signal from Ross 128B, but now it’s stronger. There’s also some eye candy in the form of Colonel Mokrani, or as we call him, Colonel Cutie. 😉 There are some terrifying moments–a child is killed by the doglike robots and there’s no way for her escape. And there are some truly dumb moments–the blind teenager having sex with the strange guy who held a gun to her head. Probably the worst part of the series is that EPIX decided to release the episodes one at a time and not on a regular schedule. 🙁
4 out of 10 stars. Worth a binge watch, but don’t pay for it. There are no answers in Season one because the producers spent the entire season setting up season two. I hope it gets cancelled.
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