The BBC creates a whole world of woe

Peter Hitchens’s column on the BBC’s version of H. G. Wells’s The War Of The Worlds expressed exactly how I felt watching the first episode.

I was really looking forward to this mini-series but, as seems to be the norm when productions of classic books are adapted, new characters are added, and the storyline is altered to such an extent that it’s no longer recognisable if you have read the book.

In addition, the use of strange scenes of the future interspersed with the action made no sense, and just added to the confusion. This was a real opportunity sadly wasted.

Martin Bell, Manchester

I love The War Of The Worlds, starring Eleanor Tomlinson (above), precisely because it has altered the story. The tale has been told faithfully many times, so what’s the point in treading the same old ground?

Times change and so should interpretations of classics. You will rarely see a faithful staging of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, because we now deem the play to be sexist.

D. Cleary, London