[Edit]

top

According to the series, rather than being outright killed by germs at the end of the 1953 film, the aliens had all slipped into a state of suspended animation. Their bodies were stored away in toxic waste drums and shipped to various disposal sites within the United States (ten such sites are known to exist in the country), and a widespread government cover-up combined with a condition dubbed "selective-amnesia" convinced most people that the invasion had never happened. Since the concept of vastly intelligent life on Mars had lost its plausibility by the time of the series, the aliens were revealed to actually be from Mor-Tax - a garden planet 40 light years away in the Taurus constellation orbiting a dying sun. Thirty-five years later, in 1988 (modern day when the series began), the appropriately named terrorist group The People's Liberation Party accidentally irradiate the drums containing an alien while raiding dumpsite Fort Jericho. The radiation destroys the bacteria that were keeping the aliens unconscious. Once free, the aliens take possession of the bodies of the six that overran the site. From there they use a series of human bodies and crudely adapted earth technology to find means of appropriating the planet both in purging the plague that is humanity and developing a permanent means to inoculate themselves against the planet's indigenous bacteria. Their attempt to successfully make Earth into their new homeworld is imperative for in roughly five years, 3 million colonists from Mor-Tax are expected to arrive. An eclectic group is formed by the government to deal with the new alien threat, and the series follows their missions and adventures (and, often, failures) in fighting the aliens. The Blackwood Project, named after its central member, consist of: Dr. Harrison Blackwood (Jared Martin) - Astrophysicist whose parents were killed in the war. He was adopted following the events of the film by Dr. Clayton Forrester. He is a pacifist, vegetarian, and is often seen practicing many alternative health techniques such as yoga. Dr. Suzanne McCullough (played by Lynda Mason Green) - Microbiologist and single mother to Debi. She firmly embraces standard procedure in her work, which causes friction with Blackwood and his chaotic and eccentric work habits. Norton Drake (played by Philip Akin) - A long-time friend of Harrison, he is a paraplegic computer genius granted mobility via a voice-activated wheelchair named Gertrude. He is often portrayed as being cool and laid back with a good sense of humour. In earlier episodes he had a pseudo-Caribbean accent; this was later dropped. Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse (played by Richard Chaves) - Native American military man. He is very conservative and often clashes with the other members of the team, especially Blackwood who is his political and philosophical opposite.

top

Opening narration (spoken in voice over by Martin in character as Blackwood): In 1953, Earth experienced a War of the Worlds. Common bacteria stopped the aliens, but it didn't kill them. Instead, the aliens lapsed into a state of deep hibernation. Now the aliens have been resurrected, more terrifying than before. In 1953, aliens started taking over the world; today, they're taking over our bodies! Along with other sci-fi/horror series that ran in syndication in the late 1980s (such as and Freddy's Nightmares), War of the Worlds constantly pushed the "acceptable content" envelope, regularly featuring violence on par with the R-rated horror movies of the time. Gore was commonplace in the first season: dead aliens and their tossed away hosts' bodies melt in a grotesque puddle and the malicious Mor-Taxans have no compunctions about mutilating any person who got in their way. One of their trademark methods of murder would be gouged out eyes courtesy of the third arm that would often burst out from their chest. During the first season, the aliens are led by a triad known as the Advocacy. They are a part of their society's ruling class, overseeing the invasion force on earth while their leaders, the invisible and never heard Council, remain back on Mor-Tax. Outfitted throughout most of the season in contamination suits that pumped coolant to counteract the killing heat of the radiation they needed, they stay in their base of operation: a cavern in the Nevada desert, which is perfect due to the ambient radiation from atomic bomb tests. They rarely go into battle because without them, the lower classes would have no guidance and be useless. Their goal is to pick up where they left off in 1953 by making way on Earth for the three million colonists heading in exodus from their dying world. Their major objective in order to accomplish this terraforming is to remove humanity from the planet. For the aliens' hatred of human beings goes beyond simple prejudice. Having come from a planet that can be compared to the Garden of Eden based on description, the aliens see that humans do nothing but desecrate what they would call a paradise, and most importantly, a new home. Without humans in the way, they can restore the vegetation, and better replicate the conditions of their deceased world. To carry out a successful war, they seek out weapons (some of which are their own left behind from previous visitations), help amass their army, engage in infiltration, and all sorts of acts of warfare. But to make things more problematic, they must also find immunity against the germs that befell them in 1953. The simplicity of the alien invasion storyline was countered in the first series by the addition of anomalous entities whose motives were only partially explained: Quinn - an alien trapped in a human host since the invasion of '53, mysteriously immune to bacteria, and ready to play both of the major warring factions against each other for his own favour. The Qar'To - an unknown alien race represented by a synthetic lifeform sent to Earth, they had sinister reasons for wanting the Mor-Taxans dead and humanity preserved. Project 9 - a shadow government organisation much like the Blackwood Project, but more interested in alien research than in resisting or countering the Mor-Taxan invasion plans. A number of recurring allies were presented for the Blackwood team. Sylvia Van Buren, (a character from the George Pál film reprised by the original actress, Ann Robinson) who was a colleague of Dr. Forrester, had since the end of the war developed the ability to sense the aliens and is prone to fairly accurate precognitive visions. The aliens' scientific arsenal had little power over the supernatural powers of shaman Joseph Lonetree (whose presence is seemingly foreshadowed in the first episode). The team even makes friends with the remaining Grover's Mill militia of 1938 who had their own run-in with the aliens. A recurring element in the series is the number three. This is an extension of the film, wherein the aliens' physiology, technology and society were rooted in multiples of three: from their caste system (ruling class, soldiers, and scientists) to their bodies (three arms with three fingers) to their planet (the third from their sun), weaponry (in "The Resurrection", they make bolas with three weighted ends), and even their mating cycle was every nine years (three times three years). The appearance of the number in some form is sprinkled throughout the season in reference to the aliens. The episodes all had (often ironic) Biblical titles, such "The Walls of Jericho", "To Heal the Leper", and "Among the Philistines". "To Life Immortal" (too do nakatae as it would be said in the aliens' native tongue), a phrase by which the aliens seem to sum up their belief system, is a common exchange between aliens, as a pledge to their shared goal or as a battle cry before honourable self-sacrifice. It later became a popular catch phrase among the show's fans.

top

"There's rioting breaking out through the city. Fire is continuing to burn everywhere. Troops are shooting people. My God, I... I don't know why! There's a woman dying in front of me, and no one's helping her! There are conflicting reports about who or what started the chaos. Will someone tell me what's happening? This is madness! What is this world coming to?"

- character and voice actor unknown

top

It is important to note that many facts concerning the Morthren past revealed in the episode contradict various aspects of the mythology established both in previous second season episodes, and especially those from the first season. Many fans have also pointed out the odd insertion of footage from the 1953 film depicting the assault of the war machines in association with what we are told is a research mission.

top

top

top

top

Over the course of the series, the Advocacy appeared in all but one episode of the first season, and only one of the second season. In these episodes, many different actors portrayed them, mainly relegated to simply providing the voices. The parts originally started with Richard Comar, Ilse von Glatz, and Michael Rudder who played half of the six-piece terrorist group that frees the aliens and then were themselves host to the Advocates. Halfway into the first season, Comar left, shortly followed by Rudder; Glatz also left, but only long enough to miss two episodes, making her the long-running actor in the collective role. Many other actors came in, most notable were the very three actors who played the other half of the terrorist group from the pilot. In their final appearance in the Season 2 premiere, they were played by uncredited and unidentified actors. In addition to these and the two sets of actors playing temporary hosts to the Advocacy, the triumvirate part was played by a whopping eighteen actors.

The teleplays for three episodes were credited with notable pen names: Forrest Van Buren, Sylvia Clayton, and Sylvia Van Buren. The true author(s) of these scripts are unknown.

Originally the character of Little Bobby from "Thy Kingdom Come" was to be the start of a running gag where in which we would see him in various places with his "family." He was also to be the centre of an advertising campaign entitled "Save Little Bobby" to help the show. Paramount rejected both ideas and the Little Bobby character never appeared again with even the ending of his sole appearance being altered as it originally set up his appearance for future episodes. However, the writers made up his future as far as a rough draft of "Eye for an Eye" where he appears in Grover's Mill.

In the closing credits for every episode in the first season is a reference to The Far Side cartoons by Gary Larson, courtesy of Chronicle Features. Several cutout Far Side comic strips are seen briefly in "The Resurrection", tacked onto a bulletin board in Suzanne McCullough's university office; however, since this is only seen in one episode, it's unknown why the credit remains throughout the season.

When the three war machines fly at the end of the pilot episode, the weapons effects, allegedly not able to be reproduced by modern computer-generated optical processes, were "lifted" from the original movie.

Gene Barry was approached to reprise his role as Dr. Clayton Forrester, but was uninterested.

The number 23 is repeated throughout the first season. It is Jack Sawyer's floor in "So Shall Ye Reap", the number of victims the Advocacy kill at a beauty salon in "To Heal the Leper", the number of the suana room Cash meets Quinn in "My Soul to Keep", the floor from which an alien jumps in "The Angel of Death", and the number of the first vault in "The Second Seal" is 23-A-46. Although the number appears too often to be coincidence, its significance is unknown. It is also of note that the entire first season comprises of 23 episodes.

When aired on television from 1988 and on through the years in numerous airings, a traditional Paramount logo is used in the closing credits. Curiously, however, this is replaced in the DVDs by a Paramount Television "split rectangle" logo that was used from 1969 to about 1975.

top