mtbc | Tripod alien invader productions (Reply)

I watched The Cult of The Tripods (2006) about The Tripods (1984). It provides some good brief interviews about the show and its making. I enjoyed the original at the time and probably still would. After the series was canceled at least we had the books but it is certainly an example that comes to my mind when I wish that the BBC would not end a series on a cliffhanger without first committing to make the next. I wonder if it is ripe for a remake, perhaps with less of a stay on a French farm.

On a closely related note I also watched Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds Alive on Stage (2013). I certainly enjoy the music of the original 1978 release: I am a fan of artists trying out different things with concept albums and in that case I think the experiment succeeds admirably. I wouldn't say that the modern theatrical production really adds much but I couldn't resist wondering how on Earth they stage it. It turns out that a fair bit is prerecorded background on a large screen with the live actors in our foreground on stage, with some cheesy dialog to glue proceedings together. For me the highlight of the DVD was probably the shots of the lead musicians, seeing exactly what they were doing to play the music on a variety of instruments. It was especial fun to watch Julia Thornton: it's hard not to like a lady who so confidently and diligently beats things with sticks but I was intrigued by her dual role of harpist and percussionist. Do the two skills somehow go together? Does one tend to need either one or the other at any particular moment? I don't know but for this production it worked well.