H.G. Wells wrote a masterpiece in 1897 that basically invented the modern alien invasion trope. Since then, we've seen everything from Orson Welles' heart-stopping radio broadcast to Steven Spielberg's high-octane blockbuster. But when the BBC The War of the Worlds adaptation finally dropped in late 2019, the reaction wasn't exactly a universal standing ovation. It was more of a confused murmur. People expected the definitive, Edwardian-era faithful adaptation they’d been craving for decades. What they got was something way more experimental, gloomy, and—depending on who you ask—either deeply moving or frustratingly slow.
It’s weird.
Usually, the BBC nails period dramas. They have the costumes, the foggy London streets, and that specific British gloom down to a science. But this three-part series, written by Peter Harness and directed by Craig Viveiros, took some massive swings. It didn't just want to show tripods smashing stuff; it wanted to talk about colonialism, doomed love, and the literal end of the biosphere.
What Really Happened With the BBC The War of the Worlds Adaptation?
Most people forget that the production was actually filmed in Liverpool, not London or Surrey, despite what the screen tells you. They used the St. George’s Hall and various local spots to recreate that stifling Victorian atmosphere. The story follows George (Rafe Spall) and Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson), a couple living in "sin" because George can't get a divorce from his estranged wife. This bit of social commentary is actually very H.G. Wells—he was a massive socialist and quite the rebel regarding Victorian morality—but some viewers felt the romantic drama ate up too much screen time that should have been spent on giant death rays.
The pacing is the first thing you notice. It’s not a sprint. It’s a crawl through the mud.
Unlike the 2005 movie where the action starts almost immediately, the BBC The War of the Worlds spends a long time on the "shooting star" landing and the initial curiosity of the townspeople. When the Martian cylinder finally opens, it isn't a sleek machine. It’s a spinning, gravity-defying orb that looks more like ancient tech than a spaceship. Honestly, the design of the tripods was one of the few things almost everyone agreed on. They were spindly, terrifying, and felt genuinely alien rather than just being "tanks on legs."
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The Red World vs. The Gray World
One of the most controversial choices was the non-linear timeline. The show jumps between the initial invasion and a "future" segment where the Earth has been terraformed into a red, dusty wasteland. In this future, Amy is wandering a dying world with her son.
This is where the show diverges most from the source material.
In the book, the Martians just die because of bacteria. Evolution wins. In this version, the victory is... pyrrhic? The Martians are dying, but they’ve basically succeeded in killing the planet first. It’s a much bleaker take on the "Heat Ray" and the "Red Weed." It turns the story into a survival horror rather than a sci-fi adventure. Some fans hated this. They felt it stripped away the triumph of the original ending. Others argued it was more realistic. If an advanced civilization decided to wipe us out, they wouldn't just leave the plumbing working.
The Cast and the Chemistry
Rafe Spall and Eleanor Tomlinson carry a lot of the emotional weight. Robert Carlyle also shows up as Ogilvy, the astronomer. His performance is great, but he's underused, which is a common complaint for a lot of the secondary characters.
The relationship between George and Amy is the heart of the show. It’s supposed to make the stakes feel personal. When the tripods start vaporizing people, you aren't just looking at a crowd; you're looking at a couple trying to find a reason to keep running. But here is the kicker: Wells wrote the narrator as a fairly detached observer. By making it a domestic drama, the BBC changed the "vibe" of the story entirely. It became less about the "War" and more about the "Worlds" colliding—socially, romantically, and biologically.
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Why Does It Still Feel So Divisive?
If you go on Reddit or old forum threads, the debate about the BBC The War of the Worlds is still alive.
There are three main camps:
The Purists. These folks wanted the book, word for word. They wanted the artilleryman, the curate, and the specific sequence of events from the 1897 text. For them, the time-skips and the focus on the Red World felt like a betrayal.
The Cinematography Fans. These viewers loved the visuals. The lighting is moody. The tripods are scary. The scene where the first tripod rises out of the pit is genuinely top-tier television. If you watch it for the "look," it’s a 10/10.
The Bored. Let's be real. Three hours is a long time for a story that feels like it’s stuck in second gear. The middle episode is notoriously slow. You’ve got people hiding in a basement for what feels like an eternity, and while that’s claustrophobic and "realistic," it doesn't always make for "exciting" TV.
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Comparison With Other Versions
| Version | Focus | The Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 Film | Cold War Paranoia | Classic Hollywood Sci-Fi |
| 1978 Musical | Rock Opera / Atmosphere | Iconic but campy |
| 2005 Spielberg | Post-9/11 Trauma | High-budget horror/action |
| 2019 BBC | Colonial Guilt / Drama | Gloomy, slow-burn period piece |
The 2019 BBC version tries to lean into the idea that the British Empire was essentially doing to others what the Martians were now doing to them. It’s a "chickens coming home to roost" narrative. Wells actually wrote about this in the first chapter of his book, comparing the Martians to European colonizers in Tasmania. The BBC series leans hard into this, making the British military look incompetent and arrogant.
Practical Takeaways for Fans of the Genre
If you haven't seen the BBC The War of the Worlds yet, don't go in expecting Independence Day.
Go in expecting a tragic period drama that happens to have aliens in it.
If you're a writer or a creator, there’s a massive lesson here about adaptation. You can be faithful to the spirit of a book (the social commentary) while changing the plot (the time skips), but you risk alienating the core fanbase. The show is currently available on various streaming platforms like BritBox or through the BBC iPlayer depending on your region.
If you want to dive deeper into the Martian lore, here is what you should actually do:
- Read the original text. It’s short. You can finish it in a weekend. It’s surprisingly modern for something written over 120 years ago.
- Listen to the Jeff Wayne Musical Version. No, seriously. It’s the most "accurate" version of the story's structure, and the music is incredible.
- Watch the 2019 series with a "period drama" lens. Stop waiting for the next explosion and look at the way the characters react to the collapse of their social standing. It makes the experience much more tolerable.
- Check out the "War of the Worlds" (2019) French-British series. Don't confuse it with the BBC one! This one stars Gabriel Byrne and is set in the modern day. It’s a completely different beast, focusing more on the "biological signal" aspect of the invasion.
The BBC The War of the Worlds isn't a perfect adaptation. It’s messy. It’s dark. It’s probably a bit too long. But it’s also one of the few versions that actually tries to grapple with the heavy, depressing themes H.G. Wells originally intended. It’s not about winning a war; it’s about surviving the end of your world.
Whether you love it or hate it, it’s a bold piece of television that refused to play it safe. In a world of cookie-cutter reboots, maybe that’s worth something. If you're looking for a weekend binge that will make you feel slightly uneasy about the sky, this is it. Just don't expect a happy ending. Wells didn't give us one, and neither does the BBC.