Based on the old sci-fi novel by "John Christopher" The Tripods tells the tale of Will Parker (John Shackley), who lives an idyllic existence in a town straight out of Middle Ages England. But all is not as it seems in this peaceful hamlet in rural England. The year is 2089AD, and the Tripods rule the earth. Will's teacher tells of the dark times before the Tripods, when men waged war and disease was rampant. But then the Tripods came, and "cured" the disease of humanity, by enslaving humans with the silvery caps they make them wear, given as a rite of passage each "capping day" a glorious holiday in every village, where kids become adults, and grow up, all thanks to the Tripods. "We thank the Tripods." But Will senses there is something wrong. A girl he knew in school, who painted beautiful pictures, was "capped" the previous year, and now, she paints no more. His friend Jack, as rambunctious and intelligent as Will, is capped, and suddenly he is a "man" doing "man's work" and earning his keep. But that spark is gone from his young eyes. Will starts to ask questions..."Why do I need to be capped? I'd sooner stay as I am..." Enter Ozymandias, King of Kings, a "vagrant" living just outside the village. "Vagrants" are created when the capping does not work, and they are outcast from society. In the novel, Will says that capping rarely fails, although he goes on to mention that indeed 1 in 20 capping's produces a "vagrant". That's not really "rarely" if you think about it... "Ozzy" is not really a vagrant, he is a spy from a rapidly growing resistance movement, hiding in the French Alps (the "White Mountains"), people who have cottoned on to the notion that "capping" is really a form of slavery, and they will do anything, no matter how long it takes, to rid the earth of the scourge of the tripods... Ozzy befriends Will and Will's cousin, Henry, and tells Will of the fantastic cities and inventions men made before the Tripods, when they were free. This is all the naturally inquisitive and rebellious Will needs to hear. Soon after, he sets off with Henry to find the White Mountains, and the land where humankind is free.
I got this adaptation by Alick Rowe and director Graham Theakston to add to my "shows I loved as a kid" collection. I was really impressed by how the show holds up after over two decades. Of course the effects are what they are, although in its day this was one of the most expensive productions the BBC had ever undertaken. The story, however, is timelessly riveting from the very first frames. It is at once a great adventure story, with action, drama, a bit of romance, and plenty of tension set amidst beautiful rural and sea-side European settings, and also a powerful statement about free will and the right to choose your own fate and not have it proscribed for you. The premise of "capping" plays on basic fears of losing control over our lives, and the Tripods stand in the world portrayed here as silent, omnipresent guardians and watchers over all the lands of the earth, and indeed even the oceans. You can feel Will's inner struggle as he deals with his choices - stay in the village with his loving, though ultimately enslaved, parents, and be capped in 12 months, or risk his life in the faint hope of finding something better, and living his life free. Needless to say, he makes his choice and sets off on the journey, Henry in tow. Graham Theakston has done a great job building tension in the first part of the story, you can really sense the urgency and impending danger when Will and Henry are huddled beneath a hay-storage shed, while a Tripod stands guard behind, watching for the "runaways"...who will be capped immediately if they are discovered...but it's not just the Tripods in pursuit, but their servants and essentially their police force, the Gestapo-like "Black Guard" are out for them too.
I'm only up to the part where Henry and Will have just escaped from the French prison, with the aid of Beanpole (a wonderful character, great in the novel, but given real life and personality by Ceri Seel) Beanpole (aka Jean-Paul) works at the local inn, and brings a basket of meagre food for the prisoners of the Black Guards' dungeon. Much like Will and Henry, he fears the capping will rob him of his curiosity, and creative fire, and while outwardly willing, inside he is desperate to escape the capping and be free. He immediately sees Will and Henry as the "boys he has been waiting for", and helps them make their escape. I am going to spend many a quiet evening seeing Will, Henry and Beanpole through their journey once more, a riveting, exciting and surprisingly deep experience. Production values are such that it's basically a 12 hour movie, in great little 20 minute bite-size chunks.
Unfortunate fact: there were three books, hence the Tripods Trilogy, but sadly the third and crucial chapter in the series was never made. It's a shame, because the second part ends on a decidedly dark note. My solution to this is to read the third novel once I'm done with the series...that way, the characters are still very fresh in my mind and I can easily transplant them into the pages of the novel. It's not like seeing it for real, but it rounds out the story, which is an incredible one! So grab your provisions, anything you can carry, make sure you've got good walking shoes and some warm clothes, and c'mon, it'll be only a short while til the village awakes to another day, and we want to be long on the road by then...hurry...the Tripods are always just a step behind...
I got this adaptation by Alick Rowe and director Graham Theakston to add to my "shows I loved as a kid" collection. I was really impressed by how the show holds up after over two decades. Of course the effects are what they are, although in its day this was one of the most expensive productions the BBC had ever undertaken. The story, however, is timelessly riveting from the very first frames. It is at once a great adventure story, with action, drama, a bit of romance, and plenty of tension set amidst beautiful rural and sea-side European settings, and also a powerful statement about free will and the right to choose your own fate and not have it proscribed for you. The premise of "capping" plays on basic fears of losing control over our lives, and the Tripods stand in the world portrayed here as silent, omnipresent guardians and watchers over all the lands of the earth, and indeed even the oceans. You can feel Will's inner struggle as he deals with his choices - stay in the village with his loving, though ultimately enslaved, parents, and be capped in 12 months, or risk his life in the faint hope of finding something better, and living his life free. Needless to say, he makes his choice and sets off on the journey, Henry in tow. Graham Theakston has done a great job building tension in the first part of the story, you can really sense the urgency and impending danger when Will and Henry are huddled beneath a hay-storage shed, while a Tripod stands guard behind, watching for the "runaways"...who will be capped immediately if they are discovered...but it's not just the Tripods in pursuit, but their servants and essentially their police force, the Gestapo-like "Black Guard" are out for them too.
I'm only up to the part where Henry and Will have just escaped from the French prison, with the aid of Beanpole (a wonderful character, great in the novel, but given real life and personality by Ceri Seel) Beanpole (aka Jean-Paul) works at the local inn, and brings a basket of meagre food for the prisoners of the Black Guards' dungeon. Much like Will and Henry, he fears the capping will rob him of his curiosity, and creative fire, and while outwardly willing, inside he is desperate to escape the capping and be free. He immediately sees Will and Henry as the "boys he has been waiting for", and helps them make their escape. I am going to spend many a quiet evening seeing Will, Henry and Beanpole through their journey once more, a riveting, exciting and surprisingly deep experience. Production values are such that it's basically a 12 hour movie, in great little 20 minute bite-size chunks.
Unfortunate fact: there were three books, hence the Tripods Trilogy, but sadly the third and crucial chapter in the series was never made. It's a shame, because the second part ends on a decidedly dark note. My solution to this is to read the third novel once I'm done with the series...that way, the characters are still very fresh in my mind and I can easily transplant them into the pages of the novel. It's not like seeing it for real, but it rounds out the story, which is an incredible one! So grab your provisions, anything you can carry, make sure you've got good walking shoes and some warm clothes, and c'mon, it'll be only a short while til the village awakes to another day, and we want to be long on the road by then...hurry...the Tripods are always just a step behind...