What have they done to War of the Worlds?

[xetog]

I ventured a few words on here a while ago about 'His Dark Materials' but not having read the book(s?) I really did not feel altogether qualified to comment on the interpretation.  Last week I settled down to enjoy 'War of the Worlds'.  I have read the book a number of times and watched various interpretations which were not bad and even put up with that terrible Tom Cruise movie because Americans don't know any better, but even though I sat through the first episode of this latest BBC PC version and thought it a travesty, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself and give it a second chance.  What a mistake, it got worse!  The only things about the original were the tripod aliens and the title.

I appreciate that in todays BBC, no man can play the hero any more, that ethnic diversity rules the day, but it is a different story, why not give it a different name?  The storyline is almost impenetrable thanks to constant flashbacks/forwards depending upon where you pick up the story.  At one stage last night I thought I was watching the evacuation scene from 'Dunkirk'.

Will I watch the third and I think final episode? Probably not as I don't think I can stand anymore of that insufferably brave and brilliant heroine (who, lets face it galloped off to safety whilst leaving her male partner buried under a building).  I think the whole thing a sick travesty of the original story so why not call it something else?  I know.. 'Mars Attacks', oh no someone else thought of that, a brilliant film, far superior to this rubbish.  I've got it..'Venus Triumphs'.

Mike.X

[Michael Rolls]

Just as I refuse to watch a female Dr. Who, so I would not touch this travesty with a bargepole
Mike

[Michael Rolls]

Come to think of it - what next? The Midwich Cuckoos recast as the Shoreditch Sparrows?
Mike

[Cassandra]

I ventured a few words on here a while ago about 'His Dark Materials' but not having read the book(s?) I really did not feel altogether qualified to comment on the interpretation.  Last week I settled down to enjoy 'War of the Worlds'.  I have read the book a number of times and watched various interpretations which were not bad and even put up with that terrible Tom Cruise movie because Americans don't know any better, but even though I sat through the first episode of this latest BBC PC version and thought it a travesty, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself and give it a second chance.  What a mistake, it got worse!  The only things about the original were the tripod aliens and the title.

I appreciate that in todays BBC, no man can play the hero any more, that ethnic diversity rules the day, but it is a different story, why not give it a different name?  The storyline is almost impenetrable thanks to constant flashbacks/forwards depending upon where you pick up the story.  At one stage last night I thought I was watching the evacuation scene from 'Dunkirk'.

Will I watch the third and I think final episode? Probably not as I don't think I can stand anymore of that insufferably brave and brilliant heroine (who, lets face it galloped off to safety whilst leaving her male partner buried under a building).  I think the whole thing a sick travesty of the original story so why not call it something else?  I know.. 'Mars Attacks', oh no someone else thought of that, a brilliant film, far superior to this rubbish.  I've got it..'Venus Triumphs'.

Mike.X

Or

'There now follows a broadcast by the Liberal Democrat Party'

[digitalis]

Excellent comments Mike. And there you have it: tripe. I haven't dipped into it yet,and nor will I.
Sounds absolutely codswollop.

I wonder if theyre thinking of making a series called The Churchill years: stand ins could be Julie Waters(again!)as WC,or some 10 year old disabled kid. I mean no offence to minorities,but c'mon! whats with all the shape-shifting of the story and the people in it. Why not just call it something else.

WhatI would look forward to(and as has been mooted)is two gay contestants on the Dancing programme(forget its name) Maybe one could be black the other white,one in full Burka and t'other in a wheelchair. Maybe one of the £1 million salaried BBC celebs could compare the tripe.

Wottsit to be Mike: a week watching this torture or a week in Gitmo. I'm voting for Gitmo meself:  less suffering

[Michael Rolls]

Sounds a wise decision!
Mike

[Diasi]

I
I appreciate that in todays BBC, no man can play the hero any more, that ethnic diversity rules the day,

Mike.X

You have got to get to grips with ethnic diversity & sexual orientation, Mike.

Patient Access, that I use to order my wife's prescriptions, have embraced it 100% with mixed-race lesbians.

https://www.patientaccess.com/

[zoony]

  I haven't looked at it yet but, in principal, I don't object to new treatments of well-known stories. I've known them to be excellent and terrible..the plethora of Sherlock Holmes treatments is a case in point and I've liked them all until the latest 'comedy' version. That got very short shrift..

[xetog]

The only similarity ( apart from the name) is the start;  Martians land and (presumably) the end, humans triumph.  The rest is pure PC tripe and bears no resemblance to Wells' epic original.

Mike.X

[mick607]

In a nutshell all this PC [censored] has a lot to answer for.

[Michael Rolls]

If you are a fan of westerns and enjoyed the 1960 Magnificent Seven (must have seen it 20 or more times over the years) please don't watch the 2016 'version'. Appalling, a bit of 'inclusiveness'(of course) but above all it is just so wooden - or cardboard, if you prefer. Watched it once and gave the DVD to the charity shop
Mike

[zoony]

  I agree. Compleat bollix..

[xetog]

Of course even the fab Magnificent Seven was a remake of the 1954 Japanese movie of the seven Samurai, but I get what you mean.  The problem these days is that everything is a remake of some classic story, usually told with a huge slice of PC.  My wife loves US series such as Law and Order and can't understand why I prefer to read or write things on PF over watching such unimaginative rubbish.  One basic story retold 24 times over 24 episodes and then copied series after series.  Most repetitive tales change places, names etc to keep you guessing, but this regurgitated stuff can't even be bothered to do that.  Even books do the same thing these days, hit a formula that is popular and keep changing the details but retain the format and you can make $millions.  What I can't stand is ripping off a good traditional story with a new PC format and it is happening more often.

Mike.X

[Michael Rolls]

Of course even the fab Magnificent Seven was a remake of the 1954 Japanese movie of the seven Samurai, but I get what you mean.  The problem these days is that everything is a remake of some classic story, usually told with a huge slice of PC.  My wife loves US series such as Law and Order and can't understand why I prefer to read or write things on PF over watching such unimaginative rubbish.  One basic story retold 24 times over 24 episodes and then copied series after series.  Most repetitive tales change places, names etc to keep you guessing, but this regurgitated stuff can't even be bothered to do that.  Even books do the same thing these days, hit a formula that is popular and keep changing the details but retain the format and you can make $millions.  What I can't stand is ripping off a good traditional story with a new PC format and it is happening more often.

Mike.X

I did also watch the Seven Samurai several times, and even though I don't speak a word of Japanese I really enjoyed it
Mike

[zoony]

I never got around to watching Kurosawa's original as I find him a but impenetrable at times though I thought Torah, Torah, Torah was brilliant..