War of the Worlds: The Complete Series - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

War of the Worlds: The Complete Series

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I don’t think there’s a human alive who hasn’t been exposed to the H.G. Wells story of War of the Worlds, whether that be his initial novel, the 1938 broadcast of the radio show (which is still debatable over it’s authenticity of “scaring everyone to death), or the Tom Cruise remake some years back. Unless you’re a TRUE sci-fi aficionado though, you’re very likely not to have heard much of the 1988-1990 show of the same name that CBS aired 30 years ago this year. Back then most new sci-fi shows were not on the SyFy channel, or on a major cable network, but rather aired late, late at night on the regular broadcast networks. This way new shows got introductions, and the regular heavy hitters weren’t taking a beating in the ratings department. This allowed for a lot of shows to gain momentum before shifting to an earlier time slot, but that also meant that it was the perfect arena for low budget schlock to be allowed broadcast time, much to our chagrin.

War of the Worlds is unfortunately one of those shows. Aired in 1988 (50 years after the airing of the original radio broadcasts of 1938, 80 years ago this year as well) the show started with a lot of promise. A creepy sci-fi oriented show that took the premise of the original novel (Martian’s invading Earth) and turned it on its ear with a much more “intimate” look. Instead of giant robotic craft coming from the sky with tentacles, we have glimpses of martians coming from a bunch of radioactive goo and stealing human bodies to hide in (no idea how they fit inside them, but who cares). However, the show was also the epitome of low budget schlock from the get go. Filmed in America and Canada, it starred a bunch of no name actors, with a no name creator, and a budget that looks like was given to your average boy scout to buy candy.

I will give them credit for ingenuity though. The 1953 movie is incorporated into the show by having a terrorist group accidentally open up the barrels of toxic waste containing the leftover aliens from 1953, which in turn unleashes them out on the general populace. Starting right where the old 50s movie left off, the aliens inhabit human hosts and utilize their bodies to try and contact their brethren in space and continue their mission of conquering Earth that they started 35 years ago. Each episode is extremely formulaic, with the aliens trying to balance the issues of their bodies decaying from the radiation they use to keep the deadly earth bacteria from killing them, while balancing that with their mission to conquer Earth. The military isn’t much different, and refuses to believe that the Aliens are back (even though they have knowledge of the 1953 incursion), instead treating the human bodies as the seeming terrorists that they originally were. This naturally drags out the show as each opposing force refuses to move in for the kill due to their limitations (the humans with their ignorance and blindness, the aliens with the physical limitations due to being our atmosphere).

While the premise is cool, and some of the actors give it their all, War of the Worlds (both seasons) was an abysmal failure on TV, and still is pretty much a horrible show in real life. The actors over act to the extreme, and the budget given to the show keeps the aliens mostly in the shadows, with only a three fingered hand coming out of the shadows when they grab another human host (and sometimes done so in sped up motion with hilarious results). Honestly, it looks like someone wearing a glove most of the time, and even when the aliens are seen in the flesh, it’s usually just a make and a cowl, with anything below the chest not being shown in the frame. The human protagonist ability to just defeat every one of the alien ventures as they try and dig up one of the old warships in deep storage just feels cheesy and rather unrefined.



Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

The 1.37:1 Mpeg2 encoded DVDs look like they are ripped directly from a VHS tape. Or at least poorly kept studio tape recordings that have not had anything done to them besides being put in storage 28 years ago. Paramount/CBS’s DVDs are the same discs as the original season boxset’s released back in 2010, so naturally they look the same as they do now. Images are smeary, and the resolution looks upscaled from the tapes. Clarity is spotty at best, with green highlights thrown into the film, with artifacts all over the place. Lines and creases in the tapes show up often, and macroblocking is not uncommon. Blacks are murky and distorted, with general detail levels looking decidedly sub par.






Audio:

Audio fares just about as well, with scratchy dialog on the broadcast 2.0 Dolby Digital track being a bit of an annoyance. Ambient sounds are fairly center heavy, with not a lot of panning effects or imaging in the two speakers. The track is definitely thin, with not a lot of oomph or power to it. The dialog is intelligible and well done, but the scratchy nature of the recording is a bit irritating as an autio purist. I can’t complain too much, as from what I’ve been able to gather the low budget for the show limited how well they could record, and the sound is very similar to what was broadcast years ago.






Extras:

• Trailers

Final Score: ​

War of the Worlds: The Complete Series was cannon fodder for late night TV in the late 80s, and sadly hasn’t gotten better with time. The show had some fun initiatives, but was horribly campy, fully of cliches, and really didn’t try to delve into the intricacies of the H.G. Wells story very much. It didn’t help that it was basically a no name production, with limited budget and nobody of appeal in the acting market. The video and audio look ripped from a VHS tape (probably the best they could do with degrading studio tapes meant only for late night TV) and the lack of any extras but a few trailers and promos from CBS. While I hate to give something a bad review, especially classic television, War of the Worlds was one of those camp fest series like The Nightmare on Elm Street series that just are better as nostalgic chuckles then as actual entertainment. Nostalgic watch only, in my opinion.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jared Martin, Lynda Mason Green, Philip Akin
Created by: Greg Strangis
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 MPEG 2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH (season 2)
Studio: Paramount/CBS
Rated: NR
Runtime: 2005 Minutes
DVD Release Date: February 6th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Nostalgia only​

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I can't remember if I ever saw this in the 80s.. I do remember the movies.. Will see it if available online for streaming.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I don't think I ever watched this... and, frankly, I don't think I ever will.

If you want a real trip... find the original radio broadcast. That's quality! ;-)