War of the Worlds 

Humanity must resume its war against the Martians when they revive after decades of hibernation following their defeat in the 1950s.

Creator:

Greg Strangis

Stars:

Jared Martin, Lynda Mason Green, Philip Akin

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jared Martin	...	Harrison Blackwood (43 episodes, 1988-1990)
Lynda Mason Green	...	Suzanne McCullough (43 episodes, 1988-1990)
Philip Akin	...	Norton Drake (24 episodes, 1988-1989)
Richard Chaves	...	Colonel Paul Ironhorse (24 episodes, 1988-1989)
Rachel Blanchard	...	Debi McCullough (23 episodes, 1988-1990)
Denis Forest	...	Malzor / ... (21 episodes, 1989-1990)
Adrian Paul	...	John Kincaid (20 episodes, 1989-1990)
Catherine Disher	...	Mana (20 episodes, 1989-1990)
Ilse von Glatz	...	Advocate #2 / ... (19 episodes, 1988-1989)

Storyline

At the end of the 1953 film "War of the World", earth is saved from alien invaders when they are apparently killed by common bacteria. However, what if the aliens weren't really dead? In "War of the Worlds" the aliens from the 1953 invasion are brought out of suspended animation when radiation kills the infecting bacteria. Now the aliens launch a genocidal war against an unsuspecting Earth, using their ability to take over human bodies to allow them to move freely. Dr. Harrison Blackwood teams up with microbiologist Suzanne McCullough, computer programmer Norton Drake, and army Lt. Colonel Paul Ironhorse to save the world from this alien menace. In the second season, Harrison and Suzanne are joined by mercenary John Kincaid, who help them fight in a post-apocalyptic urban wasteland against a second wave of invaders dedicated to the death of all life on earth.

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Plot Keywords:

bacteria | alien possession | black humor | alien language | satire | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

War of the Worlds: The Second Invasion

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hometown Films, Paramount Television, Ten Four

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min (43 episodes )

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jared Martin and Lynda Mason Green are the only actors to appear in all 43 episodes of the series.

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Goofs

In one episode, an actor dressed as an alien jumps down from an air duct onto a human. As he jumps, you can see his socks.

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Quotes

Advocate #2: The lower classes are all alike. Excuses for every shortcoming!

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Crazy Credits

Sylvia Van Buren is credited for writing the episode "Epiphany". Two other scripts ("The Walls of Jericho" and "The Good Samaritan") are pen-named under amalgams of her name and that of Clayton Forrester. This was because thee was a writers' strike going on at the time and the writers did not want to be credited.

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Connections

Version of War of the Servers (2007)

User Reviews

A classic example in how to screw up a great series

The first series of WAR OF THE WORLDS is great television and great TV SF-- rivetting, exciting, thought-provoking, well-acted, and well-written. Every week it was a delight to watch and worth talking about in the following week with other TV SF fans. And as I recall, it was more interesting that that other big name SF show at the time.... something about next generations, I think......

Then for reasons that will forever escape rationality, the producers were switched and the series radically, FATALLY revamped into a cyber-punk show. The off-hand killing of two main characters, the addition of an unneeded extra male lead, and a drastic switch in the series format from covert action to urban guerilla warfare..... I stopped watching it after a couple months. Most of its fans did too.

The first season is fascinating in retrospect for being one of the roots of X-FILES. But like EERIE INDIANA, it was just a little too ahead of its time. If the show had come along, say, three years later (and NOT had those idiots take over the series in Year Two), who knows what might have happened?