WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE SERIES

 WHY 

WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE SERIES 

SUCKED ASS 

1988: I was really looking forward when this Tv show first came out. But was left feeling rather disappointed. Like I felt something was missing.

Maybe it was the distinct lack of Martians and War Machines. That said, we get to see both fleetingly in the first episode before one and all are all blown to hell in some A-Team style bullshit.

Any cannon went out the broken window, by that first episode. Then it became this sorta generic aliens disguised as humans trope. Basically a rip-off of 1960s series The Invaders with no attempt to up the game.

Around this time, we already had this trope up and running with excellent Tv series 'V', which was by far a much more original premise and tons more money spent on it. Where as the WOTW show was shot on video and looked really cheap.

It merely used the original movie as a spring board and fell flat on its face after two seasons. There was just no effort to explore the original movie at all.

To explore the martian war machines and how they worked, the missiles they came in, or any conjecture about Mars. Nope. Nuthin.

The same could be said for Friday The 13th: The Series which capitalised on the Jason franchise. Except. THERE WAS NO JASON IN IT! 

It was like watching Halloween III and wondering where the fuck Micheal Myers was at. At least Robert England was Freddy in the Night Mare on Elm Street Tv series. But again it was shot on video and looked pretty cheap. 

I could go on. 

All that said, looking back at these shows, with an adults mind, it could have been worse. We could have not had any Sci-fi /horror /fantasy shows at all. What with most Tv channels taken up with Dynasty, Dallas, Falcons Crest and The Colbys. 

TV SHOWS TODAY 

Today, it seems like we've finally got into the swing of things. The Mandalorian and the Book of Boba Fett are (in my humble opinion) not only stick to the Star Wars cannon like glue but also honour and worship it. 

We get to see more of Tattooine, explore the Sand people's culture, Jawas and their Sand Crawlers. Heck we even get to look inside the Sarlacc pit and they even use that long metal rod thing, that Han Solo used in the trash compactor.  Now thats dedication to the source. 

Basically its just great fun for kids and brings out the kids in most adults. What I would say, catching the triple balance of Nowness, Pastiche and Nostalgia. 

NOWNESS, PASTICHE & NOSTALGIA 

This is why most remakes and Tv shows (based on old movies) fail miserably. They ignore these three inherent rules. Think of them like the three laws of robotics, Robo Cops prime directives or holy commandments. Ignore them at your peril. 

Nowness refers to the Zeitgeist of our times. The language we use or the technology we refer to. The politics and social graces of what is happening right now. Just look at any 80s Tv show: Shoulder Pads, synth music, crew cuts and buzz words like 'Excellent' or 'Totally.' This is Nowness in a nutshell. Apply this to the 90s with Nirvana and the Grunge scene or the naughties with its political correctness and screaming snow-flake liberals. 

Pastiche refers to the actual body of work being imitated or alluded to. Whereby the original material is acknowledged and reflected upon heavily in the rework. 

Finally Nostalgia: whereby the source material is referred back to with due care and fondness. Much like 'the good ole days'. Recapturing that nostalgia for a Tv show or movie is a tricky thing. 

Point in case, Rob Zombies The Munsters remake. I've only seen a few clips and it looks pretty dull. Yep its got tons of nostalgia and pastiche alright but no nowness to it.  If they had updated the costumes it might have worked. But sticking to the original done-to-death aesthetics, was in my humble opinion a hug mistake. But who am I to tell Rob Zombie? 

THE FUTURE 

Who knows. So long as we got the balance then all is right with the world of Tv shows and remakes. So if you see some remake or re-imagined Tv show that really sucks. Well, now you know.