Tripods: The Complete Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

This program scared me as a kid those Tripods were terrifying in the 80’s I always thought they would be perfect vehicles for the Cybermen in Dr Who walking about turning people into cybermen with that scary 1980’s music , Even the titles were terrifying when I was a kid and yet the BBC decided to end the series after seasons two leaving us with the darkest ending of all time where the base of the freemen is destroyed yet in the next series there was gonna be this big ending but the BBC ruined everything, Personally I don’t think you should be allowed to cancel a show once it’s been made because there’s always gonna be fans of the show and since the BBC makes money by taxing the people it’s not like they need a show to be a huge commercial hit ! But if they had any sense they would do what they have done with DW and make models and t shirts because the tripods got a decent rating of about 5 million the same that DW was getting on average in the 80’s so they could of done the final series but to do two and cancel it was unbelievable and they got loads of complaints from fans and it’s that same BBC arrogance that saw them record over episodes of DW so now they are lost forever well unless you’re reading this and you got the whole of Wheel in Space on film or any of the lost episodes but it’s bad enough the BBC were so careless and didn’t have any respect for their own tv shows that they recorded over them missing the whole point of repeating a show for another generation but it seems by the 80’s they were still short sighted cancelling shows that would become cult classics because despite the wooden acting the shows theme and Lord of the Rings boys on an adventure style is still capturing the hearts of fans today plus the tripods and effects still hold up really well thanks to that giant prop leg they had and the bit where they blow one up with a grenade is still as brilliant as I remember, In the end this was the most ambitious tv show since Dr Who and the Survivors and like those cult classics they all got cancelled too at some point by the boring suits at the BBC because they didn’t understand what the shows offered people I mean War of the worlds was a piece of genius and yet the BBC had their own creative brilliant shows yet they can’t them all in favour of game shows because they are more popular, Maybe so but they have no artistic creativity and that was the point the Tripods Dr who the survivors these shows were 100x more important than the generation game or Noel’s House Party I mean nobody wants to watch that BS now do they but they still buy Tripod DVDs

If you love classic British Sci-Fi television, you'll love the Tripods. It IS worthy of your time!What the critics said about it can be true - Yes, they never finished it. Yes, the first season can be slow moving, yes, the acting is at times very theatrical. But the positives the show has to offer totally outweigh the negatives.This is still quality children's television entertainment full of engaging characters, challenging ideas, powerful messages and not in the least bit patronising. This would absolutely be considered a sci-fi masterwork had it not fallen foul of internal BBC politics that were rifting the corporation through the 80s.Nevertheless, For 1984/5 this was a top of the line BBC production with lavish sets and costumes, contains some genuinely impressive special effects for the era, has an expansive ensemble of great character actors, gorgeous location work and a killer soundtrack by synthesiser legend Ken Freeman. Speaking of whom, the 3rd season musical suite composed especially for this DVD is an inspired idea and a great piece of retro-composition work.Just be ready with a copy of the third novel by John Christopher when you reach the end of Season 2 because you'll want to know how the story ends!

The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher (real name Samuel Youd) were probably my favourite books from childhood. Every other year I still read them. Very brief plot summary; humanity is enslaved and under the rule of The Tripods, metallic monsters that walk the earth and rule by capping, the fitting of devices to the heads of humans upon them reaching adulthood. This device suppresses mans aggression and initiative, making him subserviant and without free will. Two boys not far from capping age have serious doubts about the whole capping/tripod business, and so begins the quest to try and rid the world of the Tripods, whatever they may be. Needless to say I was as happy as a Tripod in a fifth form classroom when the television series was originally announced then aired. I've long awaited the DVD release of both series that were made, now finally here they are at last. Has it been worth the wait? Largely yes, although there are negatives.Several other reviews refer to the fact the series would have been far better served as maybe 6 rather than 12/13 episodes, and I completely agree. Both series suffer from the same fault. The first 4/5 episodes of each are engaging and well made, where as the middle to latter episodes do not progress the storyline and are therefore largely pointless. In series 1 this relates to the chateau and vineyard episodes, which are quite dull. In series 2 this relates to the introduction of higher forms of life that are not in the book (completely undermining the story) and episodes where characters run around The City of Gold (and lead) for very little apparant purpose. Both series (especially series 1) do pick up again for the last episode or two.The narrative of the second series, maybe deliberately due to the timeslot and target audience, doesn't convey very well the fundamental points which made the book a classic, that the alien city takes a horrible toll on the humans that enter due to the gravity, atmosphere and working conditions. Also, that The Masters are hideously cruel. So as not to sound overly negative about series 2, I won't be too critical of the inadvertant campness, Fritz on occasion sounding nearer Welsh than German and Will's brain seemingly being bypassed for most if his time in the city (maybe it's the false cap that does it).The positives are the special effects, especially The Tripods and The City Of Gold, which for their time were state of the art. So they've dated a bit, but I can only attribute the indelible mark the series left in my memory to them, the excellent atmospheric musical score during the opening sequence and end credits, and maybe the chilling noises made by the Tripods themselves. The Masters could easily have been laughable, however they are passable, without managing to convey the repulsion imagined from the books. The acting and script has received criticism in other reviews, however I thought all three leads played their part well, and the script only really suffers due to the longevity of each series.In summary, a worthy addition to my DVD collection. Really enjoyable despite (or maybe because of) all the aforementioned flaws. Alas, they never made the third and final series. Only due to this release have I realised I haven't read any of John Christopher's other works, which over the forthcoming months I'll seek to redress. Judged purely on the Tripods, he must be one of the most underrated and overlooked science fiction authors around. All hail the Tripods!