Tripods - The Complete Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

I watched some of this series on BBC in the 1980s. In the 1990s, I saw some episodes of the series on German, Swiss and Hong Kong television but I have never seen the entire series (one and two that is).
I have now watched both series on this DVD-set and I must say what a great story.

Earth is occupied by the Tripods with humanity existing in middle-age-type farming communities. Nobody rebels against this because humanity is mind-controlled via a cap which becomes compulsory from the age of 16. Will and his cousin Henry are not so keen on being capped and run away to the White Mountains to join the free people. On the way, they are joined by a French chap called Beanpole. The first series deals with the three friends making their way to the White Mountains to join the uncapped (and free) people.

In Series Two, Will via a process which is not dissimilar from the Olympic Games is picked to enter the Tripod City. Serving his Tripod master in his free time he discovers a lot about the Tripod's plans for Earth. Will manages to kill his Master - although in a court of law he could probably claim self-defence - and with the help of another infiltrator manages to leave the Tripod City. He then meets Beanpole and they make their way back to the White Mountains, where they find that the Tripods have destroyed the free men's camp. This is where Series Two ends.

As I said earlier, it is a marvellous story and I really enjoyed watching it. What I find annoying is that Series Two ends in the middle of nowhere. In the last sequence, Will says: "has it all been for nothing" and I wondered if that is indeed the case. With the `beancounters' in the BBC refusing to produce the third series the whole project has been decapitated. The Producer quoted in the `The Cult of the Tripods - a BBC Four Documentary' - one of the extras on this DVD - gives you a good idea what he thought about what happened to Series Three. Whether a movie will be made in 2012 as is indicated on IMdB we will have to wait and see.

So here it is. Series One and Two is a solid 5 stars (and the BBC is a solid zero).

I've never read the books that this series is based on, and I came to it with no idea of what to expect. All I can say is I was blown away!!! Dispite it's badly ages special effects, this series is a deep and thought-provking story that makes me wonder why such an incredible example of television was allowed to be cancelled and the third & final installment never made.

VIDEO:
The BBC video release team have done there usual excellent job here. Considering the age and the atempts to reduce cost of it's production at the time (use of cheap videotape and such like)the video transfer is very good and definatley stands the test of time. Watching it Up-scaled did make some of badly done effects look pretty bad, but other than that it is a wonderful tranfer of a 26 year old television series.

AUDIO:
As one would expect, the audio has been treated just as well as the video and we're left with an excellent stereo mix. No complaints from me as the 80's synth soundtrack booms out of my surround system.

BONUS MATERIAL:
As well as the usual retrospectives that the beeb have gotten used to putting on their better DVD releases, we also get treated to a special audio presentation which represents what the soundtrack for the cancelled third series "pool of fire" would have sounded like. it just seems a shame that nothing of the series was made to go with it.

SUMMARY:
This series ended the year I was born so I missed out of the first run. This DVD series is an excellent presentation of a sci-fi series that deserves alot more attention than it gets.
A must buy for classic sci-fi fans!!!

When I saw this box set on Amazon I jumped at the chance to relive some of my childhood. As a child I loved the BBC series, which I found really scary, right from the opening title sequence to the closing credits.

I was somewhat apprehensive that this might turn out to be one of those things that was best left as a childhood memory, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, the special effects are now badly dated and the acting is a bit wooden, especially in series one. That said I've just finished a weekend marathon of series 1&2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed series 2 which had much less filler, was more menacing and had better acting. I wasn't intending to watch them all in one go, but it drew me in.

As a Welshman I was amused by the 'Alps', or Snowdonia as we Welsh like to call them!

I doubt that a child of today would enjoy the TV series, as modern special effects and production standards are much higher, but I'm sure they would enjoy the books just as much as I did. That's if you can get hold of them.