War of the Worlds is a
television programA television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. The series is an extension of the original 1953 film
The War of the WorldsThe War of the Worlds is a 1953 science fiction film starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. It was the first on-screen loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells classic novel of the same name...
, using the same War Machine, often incorporating aspects from the film,
radio adaptationThe War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
, and
original novelThe War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...
into its mythology.
Though the original film's producer,
George PalGeorge Pal , born György Pál Marczincsak, was a Hungarian-born American animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre...
, conceived of a TV series from the same film sometime in the seventies, it was not until the late eighties that a series was finally realized, this time by television producer Greg Strangis. The show was a part of the boom of first run syndicated television series being produced at the time. It was later shown in reruns on the
Sci Fi ChannelSyfy Universal is a family of television stations in countries around the world broadcasting science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural and paranormal programming, and owned or licensed by entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The first such channel was launched in...
.
The series was filmed in
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
,
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Premise
According to the series, rather than being killed outright by
germA microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
s at the end of the 1953 film, the aliens had all slipped into a state of
suspended animationSuspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
. Their bodies were stored away in toxic waste drums and shipped to various disposal sites within the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(ten such sites are known to exist in the country), and a widespread government
cover-upA cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
combined with a condition dubbed “selective amnesia” has convinced most people that the invasion had never happened.
Since the concept of vastly intelligent
life on MarsScientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. Fictional Martians have been a recurring feature of popular entertainment of the 20th and 21st centuries, but it remains an open question whether life currently exists on...
had lost its plausibility by the time of the series, the aliens are revealed to actually be from
Mor-TaxMor-Tax is the name of the planet on which the aliens from the first season of the War of the Worlds TV series, the Mor-Taxans, originate. While the show's existence as a continuation from the 1953 film would make the aliens Martians, the first season rewrites this origin due to the supported fact...
--a garden planet 40
light-yearA light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away in the
Taurus constellationTaurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is a Latin word meaning 'bull', and its astrological symbol is a stylized bull's head:...
orbiting a dying sun.
Thirty-five years later, in 1988 (modern day when the series began), a terrorist group calling itself the People's Liberation Party accidentally irradiates the drums containing the aliens while raiding dumpsite Fort Jericho. The radiation destroys the bacteria that are keeping the aliens unconscious. Once free, the aliens take possession of the bodies of the six terrorists who 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, three 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, consists of:
- Dr. Harrison Blackwood (Jared Martin
Jared Martin is an American film and television actor.-Acting career:Born in Queens, New York to Charles E. Martin a cover artist for The New Yorker, and his wife, Florence, Jared Martin began acting at the age of ten, when his parents gave him the choice of either learning to play the piano, or...
)--AstrophysicistAstrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
whose parents were killed in the 1953 invasion. He was adopted following the events of the film by Dr. Clayton ForresterDoctor Clayton Forrester is a fictional character in the 1953 science fiction film The War of the Worlds, the first film adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel of the same name. The character is played by Gene Barry...
and Blackwood's character is played very much to resemble Forrester down to his demeanor, dress, and even his speech and appearance. He is a pacifistPacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and a vegetarianVegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, and is often seen practicing many alternative health techniques such as yogaYoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
.
- Dr. Suzanne McCullough (played by Lynda Mason Green)--Microbiologist
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
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
Philip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active for over thirty years in stage, film, and television. He has had featured roles in major American films such as The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin’...
)--A long-time friend of Harrison, he is a paraplegic computer genius who is 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
-Career:Chaves helped write the critically acclaimed stage drama Tracers. In the early 1980s, he began work as an actor taking on various soap opera roles until he gained a notable role in 1987 as Poncho in the science fiction film Predator. Soon afterward his career received another boost with the...
)--Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
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.
First season synopsis
Opening narration (spoken in
voice-overVoice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
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, the aliens started taking over the world; today, they're taking over our bodies!
Along with other
sci-fiScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/
horrorHorror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
series that ran in syndication in the late 1980s (such as
Friday the 13th: The SeriesFriday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
and
Freddy's NightmaresFreddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger...
),
War of the Worlds constantly pushed the “acceptable content” envelope, regularly featuring violence on par with the
R-ratedThe Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
horror movies of the time. Gore is 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 gets 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
triumvirateA triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
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 pumps coolant to counteract the killing heat of the radiation they need, they stay in their base of operation: a cavern in the
NevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
desert, which is perfect due to the ambient radiation from
atomic bombA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
tests. Due to the risks to their lives, they rarely venture into the outside world because without the Advocacy 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
terraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
is to remove humanity from the planet. The aliens’ hatred of human beings goes beyond simple prejudice. Having come from a planet that can be compared to the
Garden of EdenThe Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
based on its 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, and 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 is countered in the first season by the addition of anomalous entities whose motives are 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 favor.
- The Qar’To--an unknown alien race represented by a synthetic life form sent to Earth, they have sinister reasons for wanting the Mor-Taxans dead and humanity preserved.
- Project 9--a shadow government organization 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 are presented for the Blackwood team. Sylvia Van Buren (a character from the George Pal film reprised by the original actress,
Ann RobinsonAnn Robinson is an American actress and stunt horse rider, perhaps best known for her work in the film, The War of the Worlds and in the 1947 to 1970 radio and television series, Dragnet, in which she starred opposite Jack Webb....
), who was a colleague of Dr. Forrester, has 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 has 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 MillGrover's Mill is an unincorporated area within West Windsor Township, New Jersey made famous in Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, where it was depicted as ground zero for a Martian invasion, on October 30th of that year....
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 are rooted in multiples of three: from their caste system (ruling class, soldiers, and scientists) to their bodies (three arms with three fingers), weaponry (in “The Resurrection”, they make
bolasBolas are a throwing weapon superficially similar to the surujin, made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs...
with three weighted ends), and even their mating cycle is 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)
BiblicalThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
titles, such as "The Walls of Jericho", "To Heal the Leper", and "Among the Philistines".
“To Life Immortal” (
too doe nakotae as it would be said in the aliens’
native tongueA first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
), 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 honorable self-sacrifice. It later became a popular catchphrase among the show's fans.
Second season
Opening voice-over:
"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?"
- –a news reporter on scene
Although the ratings for the first season were among the highest Paramount had of its syndicated series that year, it was still seen fit to replace the creative force of Season 1 with Frank Mancuso, Jr. (who was also busy producing
Friday the 13th: The SeriesFriday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
, which, interestingly enough, was actually rated just behind the first season of this show), who admitted that he never really watched many of the episodes of the first season. This combined with different writers made for a season that was terribly inconsistent with the first. Just about every detail of the first season was either changed completely or just deleted altogether (such as the Biblical reference and black humor). Even the show's name underwent change as it was now fully titled
War of the Worlds: The Second Invasion.
Countless changes are made in the second season. First, the modern-day setting has now been shifted to a not-too-distant future of “Almost Tomorrow” where the world has since spiraled into a dismal state with its economy, environment, and government all beaten down. Of the few characters that return for the second season, most are killed off in the season premiere. The two saddest demises are that of fan favorites Norton and Ironhorse. Also sent to their death are the aliens of the first season. The Advocacy and their lot (all incorrectly referred to as soldiers) are sent to execution by a new race of aliens, the Morthren. Despite the fact that their planet is clearly stated to be Morthrai, they are still inexplicably tied to the first season aliens of the planet Mor-Tax. Planet name change is but one aspect altered with the aliens. In fact, nearly every aspect of the season one aliens are either written out of the show or ignored altogether. The show is inconsistent in revealing whether or not the Morthren are indeed a new race of aliens, a sub-culture of the season one aliens, or something else altogether.
Whereas bacteria and radiation are constant problems for the Mor-Tax, the Morthren have quickly found a cure-all means for this by transmutating into human bodies, a process that is only noted in the first episode, but never explained in any detail. With this, they forwent the ability to possess human bodies, retaining only one human body. Their equivalent of body-swapping is a cloning machine that makes exact copies of someone, only differing in that the duplicates would be loyal to the Morthren cause and their existence tied to the original. Ironically, as sores are the telltale signs of alien possession in the first season, a lack of scars or any physical flaw was a telltale sign of a clone, as the Morthren are fixated with perfection. While the Eternal is their god, the Morthren are led by Malzor (played by Denis Forest, who had a large part in the Season 1 episode “Vengeance Is Mine”). Just under him was the scientist Mana (Catherine Disher, whose husband also played a major role in a Season 1 episode) with Ardix (Julian Richings who appeared briefly in “He Feedeth Among the Lillies”) as her assistant.
Meanwhile, with General Wilson missing, the Cottage destroyed, and two team members lost in battle, the remnants of the team, with mercenary John Kincaid (Adrian Paul), seek shelter. They take up base in an underground hideout in the sewers. And the aliens aren’t the only characters to change. Harrison seemed to have lost touch with his kooky nature (yoga positions, tuning forks, etc.), and for a man who turned down every offer of a gun from Ironhorse, he carries one with no second thought. Meanwhile, Suzanne, a microbiologist, suddenly seemed incapable of even baking a simple cake with her daughter Debi (Rachel Blanchard) who slowly becomes the star of the series. The friction between the militaristic Ironhorse and the other team members was not transferred with Kincaid who got along well with everyone who themselves became more militaristic in season 2. The show's theme of warfare between two races, and all the issues that come with it, had been taken over by a theme of a bleak life on a desolate world.
While the radical changes were often claimed by the producers to be for the better of the show, they also disappointed the show's regular viewers. One producer said that had he known about Ironhorse's popularity he would not have killed the character off. Ultimately, the series was canceled for low ratings just two episodes shy of a full season.
Series end
The story ends with the final episode of the second season. In desperation, Malzor makes a final attempt to eliminate all life forms native to Earth. Fearing for his human friend Debi, the young alien boy named Ceeto attempts to interfere. Blackwood and his team are introduced to a faction of aliens willing to make peace with the human race. Together, they use a device that stores the history of the aliens' homeworld.
In that history, Malzor is shown to be a scientist who creates crystals needed to power starships. The crystals provide a wealth of energy but require much energy to produce. Studying other planets, they discover on
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
the signs of an engineered nuclear explosion, suggesting the existence of a burgeoning technological society on Earth. The leader of the Mothren - Malzor's father-in-law - orders a major expedition to Earth, to be led by Malzor's wife and powered by large quantities of Malzor's crystal. Malzor is reluctant, not only because he fears for his wife, but also because he knows the dire consequences posed by large-scale production of the crystal. His fears are realized on both counts. The expedition is a failure - the Mothren are shown dying in large numbers, their ships failing. Worse, in mass-producing and empowering the crystals, the Mothren have severely altered their own planet's ecological and meteorological systems. Enraged by the Mothren leader's insistence on the expedition, Malzor murders him and usurps his position. Obsessed with Earth, and resigned to the destruction of Mothrai, Malzor accelerates crystal production needed to power a second invasion. The history comes to an end with Malzor preparing a last-minute escape from the doomed world.
Learning the truth, the aliens turn on Malzor. Ceeto is killed by Malzor, further alienating Mothrai. When the Blackwood group finds the aliens, Debi shoots Malzor dead, preventing his plans from reaching fruition. With this, the Morthren call off the war, and the heroes walk out into a suddenly sunny world.
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. Mothren are shown observing the catastrophic end of their
expedition of 1953The War of the Worlds is a 1953 science fiction film starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. It was the first on-screen loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells classic novel of the same name...
from the safety of their homeworld - but the images they observe are taken from the last few minutes of the 1953 film, suggesting that it had been the Mothren all along who had invaded the Earth, and not the Mor-Taxians. Many fans have also pointed out the contradiction posed by the finale - in which the clearly warlike behavior of the aliens in 1953 grew out of what had been a mission of exploration.
Loose ends
The first season's finale, "The Angel of Death", introduces a synth from the planet Qar’To (which is in the same system as Mor-Tax) named Q'Tara who arrives on Earth and begins killing aliens right and left in effort of finding the Advocacy, without whom the aliens would be lost and helpless. The Blackwood Team is happy to have such a powerful ally (who can shoot "atomic bullets" and can easily detect aliens) on their side who seems to be fighting the same enemy. In fact, after the aliens launch a surprise attack on them all, Q'Tara even goes the extra mile to heal the fatally wounded team members. Although she is shown to be doing well so far, she reports that she needs to bring in reinforcements.
Just as she is preparing to leave Earth, she makes a last report in a strange native language (subtitled), which states that her mission is incomplete, and that humanity as a future food source is still in danger. This cliffhanger—combined with the plans of the rogue alien Quinn vying for his own global dominance—would potentially bring millions of more aliens and their leaders to Earth in a short strand of years. Under these scenarios, the show painted a future in which many friends and foes would be battling for the planet. Ultimately, however, this potential was lost, as many plots, back-stories, and characters were never picked up and carried into the second season.
Another element that was being built was the issue of why no one remembers the invasion of ’53 (something that is the centre of the show's criticism). Many hints of the true explanation were dropped in many episodes, but this was something that season two never even acknowledged, much less answered. Some believe that, as the synth constantly says "Remember nothing" and appears to be able to change people's memories, the aliens are somehow involved in wiping humanity's collective memory. The first season also touches upon a government conspiracy as demonstrated in the discovery of a whitewash of the alien reconnaissance mission that took place in Grover's Mill in 1938 that was forgotten because of the infamous radio broadcast made by Orson Welles. A few online sources claim, unverified, that the 1953 film audiences know is also a film within the show's universe, and was produced for the same purpose on a wider scale. Though the show gives no clear evidence of such a thing, this would, however, explain some discrepancies, such as the noticeable difference in the aliens’ appearance, and would also leave room for the idea that the global destruction depicted in the film may have been exaggerated from the show's reality. Another theory is that the aliens were somehow able to manipulate human memory, possibly to ensure surprise in the future should they fail and recuperate or for the colonists when they arrive. This is supported in an episode in which an alien object, regardless of its original purpose, is capable of radically altering a human being's personality. How any of these theories tie into the real explanation (separately or even all together) remains unseen and the issue of debate.
The post-apocalyptic cyberpunk atmosphere for season two is never fully explained, although a radio newscaster in the first episode hints that the legalization of narcotics may have led to the deterioration of American society.
Notable guest stars
The first season made itself quite distinguished in that it managed to acquire recognisable actors in the series. Aside from getting
Ann RobinsonAnn Robinson is an American actress and stunt horse rider, perhaps best known for her work in the film, The War of the Worlds and in the 1947 to 1970 radio and television series, Dragnet, in which she starred opposite Jack Webb....
to reprise her role as Sylvia Van Buren from the film, the series also obtained
John ColicosJohn Colicos was a Greek-Canadian actor. He was a distinguished stage actor in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.-Career:...
(of
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
and
Star TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
fame) as rogue alien Quinn who, while only appearing twice, was no doubt intended to play an integral part of the series as it went on (the character's power-hungry nature and middleman status between two worlds is noticeably reminiscent of Colicos’ role as
Count BaltarIn the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, Count Baltar was a leading antagonist character who betrayed the human race to its enemy, the robot race of Cylons...
). The list of notable guests begins in the show's very start with
John VernonJohn Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada.-Early life:...
appearing in the first two episodes as General Wilson. Other actors throughout the series:
Patrick MacneePatrick Macnee is an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers.-Early life:...
,
Greg MorrisFrancis Gregory Alan "Greg" Morris was an American television and movie actor.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Morris began his acting career in the 1960s making guest appearances on many TV shows such as The Twilight Zone and Ben Casey...
,
Jeff CoreyJeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s.-Biography:...
,
John IrelandJohn Benjamin Ireland was an actor and film director.-Biography:Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was raised in New York City from the age of 18. He started out in minor stage roles on Broadway...
,
Colm FeoreColm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
, and
James HongJames Hong is an American actor and former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists . A prolific acting veteran, Hong's career spans over 50 years and includes more than 350 roles in film, television, and video games.-Early life:Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His...
; also
Gwynyth WalshGwynyth Walsh is a Canadian actress best known for her role of the Star Trek character B'Etor, one of the Duras sisters.She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1958 and raised in Vancouver. Walsh earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta and started her career appearing on stage...
(of
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
fame),
Michele ScarabelliMichele Scarabelli is a Canadian actress. She is probably best known for her role as Tenctonese Newcomer Susan Francisco on the Fox Network science fiction series Alien Nation and the 5 television movies that followed....
(of
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
fame),
Cedric SmithCedric Smith is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He played Alec King in the CBC television series Road to Avonlea and was the voice of Professor X in the X-Men TV series.-Music:...
,
Billy ThorpeWilliam Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and musician...
(who also scored the season's music),
Michael ParksMichael Parks is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came...
,
Alannah MylesAlannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter, the daughter of Canadian broadcast pioneer William Douglas Byles. In 1989, she released her eponymous debut album...
,
Vlasta VranaVlasta Vrána is a Canadian actor of Czech descent, known for playing Jack Richards in A Year in the Death of Jack Richards. His surname means "crow" in Czech and several other Slavic languages.-Career:...
,
Pat MastroianniPasquale "Pat" Mastroianni is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah on the Degrassi series of television shows.- Biography :...
, rock group
Platinum BlondePlatinum Blonde is a Canadian New Wave group in the mid 1980s-early 1990s. The band originally consisted of Mark Holmes from Scarborough on vocals and bass, Sergio Galli on guitar and Chris Steffler on drums. Scottish musician Kenny MacLean later joined the group as the bassist. The name of the...
,
Aki AleongAssing "Aki" Aleong is an American character actor and singer who has also been active in songwriting and musical production. He is probably best known for portraying Senator Hidoshi during the first season of the critically acclaimed series Babylon 5, as well as portraying Mr. Chiang, the aide to...
,
Elaine GiftosElaine Giftos is an American actress.Trained by George Balanchine as a member of the New York City Ballet, Giftos performed on the Broadway stage before moving to California to pursue a career in movies and television.Her first television appearance was in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie as a...
as synthetic alien Q'Tara in the episode entitled "Angel of Death", and
Von FloresVon Flores is the stage name of Valentin Andres Tanga Flores IV, a Filipino-Canadian actor. Flores has enjoyed leading roles in a number of television productions, including the series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and the Atlantis Films TekWar, TekJustice and TekLords TV movies...
(of
Earth: Final ConflictEarth: Final Conflict is a Canadian science fiction television series based on story ideas created by Gene Roddenberry, and produced under the guidance of his widow, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. It was not produced, filmed or broadcast until after his death...
fame). It also featured
Jill JacobsonJill Jacobson is an American actress, best known for her performances on television.Her credits include: Crazy Like a Fox, Falcon Crest, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Who's The Boss?, Murphy Brown and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-External links:...
(of
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
and
Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
) who played the alien Envoy in the
War of the Worlds episode "So Shall Ye Reap".
The series was also the early working ground for future stars. Aside from exclusive season two star
Adrian PaulAdrian Paul Hewett , better known as Adrian Paul, is an actor best known for his role on the television series Highlander: The Series as Duncan MacLeod. In 1997, he founded The Peace Fund charitable organization.-Early life:...
(of
HighlanderHighlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
fame), the second season also featured the first onscreen appearance of (a then very young)
Mia KirshnerMia Kirshner is a Canadian actress and social activist who works in movies and television series. She is best known for her portrayal of Jenny Schecter on The L Word and for her role in the 2006 crime film The Black Dahlia as Elizabeth Short.- Early life :Kirshner was born in Toronto, Ontario,...
. The second season also gave more screentime to
Rachel BlanchardRachel Elise Blanchard is a Canadian actress.-Early life:Blanchard was born in Toronto, Ontario, and graduated from Havergal College in Toronto, going on to Queen's University.-Career:...
, who only had minor play in the first season.
Home video releases
The series was not officially made commercially available for over 15 years, although VHS rental copies were released in the
U.K.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and have been sold on such markets as
eBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. Fans were doubtful of the series being released as many reported that since it ended its initial run Paramount seemingly denied the show existed, bootleg copies being the only means of viewing the series until early August, 2005 in which Paramount announced an official DVD release date of season one for November 1. The set's release coincided with the DVD re-release of the 1953 film from which the show was spawned (the
updated versionWar of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
from Steven Spielberg being released on DVD later the same month). A common criticism of the DVDs has been the poor image quality; fans in particular also point out the omission of the alien hand animation that had been inexplicably removed from every episode. The set contains no special features. It does, however, allow the viewer to jump to a chapter, which are divided by act, including the opening and closing credits, but are not available via any menu. It also includes
closed captioningClosed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
, but these may not be entirely reliable as there are several clear errors - for example, it is inconsistent in how it spells the name of the
aliens' homeworldMor-Tax is the name of the planet on which the aliens from the first season of the War of the Worlds TV series, the Mor-Taxans, originate. While the show's existence as a continuation from the 1953 film would make the aliens Martians, the first season rewrites this origin due to the supported fact...
, neither of which is the canonical spelling. By contrast, however, in a few episodes, the captioning refers to the Advocates by the name of their original host bodies from the pilot episode (i.e. Chambers, Urick, and Einhorn), even in the absence of the original actors.
The Second and final season was released on October 26, 2010, nearly five years after the release of the first season.
External links