War Of The Worlds
Who let the robo-dogs out?
UK Fox, Thursdays from 5 March
US Epix, Sundays
Creator Howard Overman
Cast Elizabeth McGovern, Gabriel
Let’s be clear from the start: this is not an adaptation of the HG Wells classic. Not even loosely. Not even in a sorta-vaguely-homage-ish Independence Day kinda way. It’s nearer to a remake of Battle: Los Angeles, given the utter dearth of tripods, Martians, heat rays, viruses, ironclad battleships or bonkers artillerymen.
So what does it offer to justify its cynical use of a handily out-of-copyright title? Not an awful lot, to be brutally honest. It’s a French/US co-production (partially subtitled) from Urban Myth Films, the production company set up by Merlin showrunners Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy, and Misfits creator Howard Overman.
It’s pretty bog-standard alien invasion fare. Aliens wipe out the majority of humanity using a pulse that kills everybody except those shielded by being underground, underwater, hidden inside metal tankers or whatever at the time.
The aliens then send out killer robot dogs that immediately remind you of that Terminatoresque pooch in Black Mirror’s “Metalhead”, except these guys seem remarkably dim. Across a number of parallel storylines we follow various groups of survivors in France and the UK as they struggle to survive and work out what makes the invaders tick and how to fight them.
Sadly, there’s little of Misfits’ anarchic energy and a lot of reliance on hackneyed plotting. The series is clearly going for a Walking Dead vibe, but few of the characters are interesting enough to enliven the intense, overwrought, glacial storytelling. Some great acting is on offer, but there’s only so much Gabriel Byrne, as a creepy scientist, or Elizabeth McGovern, as his resourceful ex-wife, can do with such one-note roles. There are a couple of intriguing ongoing mysteries, but they don’t take any steps forward for episodes on end, with the screen time taken up instead with family issues, bickering and samey sequences of actors running from robot dogs.
There are some effective effects set-pieces and moments of genuine tension, though the horror of living under the threat of alien invasion is dampened somewhat by a rather tame approach to gore. There’s also some gorgeous location photography in the French Alps, but the deserted, body-strewn London shots, while eerie and well achieved, are overfamiliar from films such as 28 Days Later. You also can’t help wondering why the survivors are so scared and cowering, when the streets and countryside aren’t exactly awash with killer robo-mutts. Dave Golder
It’s pretty bog-standard alien invasion fare