We recently attended the preview screening of the new Fox series War of the Worlds in Chapter Arts Centre. This is the newest instalment of the World of the Worlds franchise and so it follows the narrative of all the other incarnations of the story but this series is a unique interpretation which is set in the present-day and reflects the fears and anxiety of this modern world we live in.
This was also a Bafta Cymru supported event which had networking drinks to start, the actual screening and ended with a Q and A with the creative team who helped create this show. The networking section gave attendees a chance to chat with the crew, Bafta representatives and other Bafta members. This took place in a small area in Chapter which was crowded and hard to navigate through this was a minor drawback to this section of the event. The Q and A at the end of the event was very interesting as it allowed the attendees to see the thought process behind this series specially the opening episode. Although it was not BAFTA or Chapters fault there were a group of people who loudly chatted throughout the whole screening and Q and A which was incredibly frustrating as it was at certain points hard to hear what the professionals were talking about. But apart from these minor issue, this event was enjoyable and interesting.
Most people are familiar with War of the Worlds story whether it’s from the H.G. Wells Book or the Tom Cruise film or any other version of the story and this series fits into the general idea of the story. It is incredibly dark and mysterious which keeps the audience of the edge of their seats throughout.
This show hyper-relevant and extremely relevant which I think helps with the tense nature of the show. The way this show is set in places that we are familiar with and the fantasy elements are stripped back to base this series in a realistic and relatable world. The creative team described this show best as “a science fiction show without the science fiction” which allows us to relate to the characters and also makes the audience think about what they would do if, what was happening in the show, happened in real life. The focus on this episode is the characters and their reactions, and even though it was only the opening episode, the characters are very relatable. The icing on the cake, if you will, is that the majority of this series is filmed across places in Wales (specifically Cardiff and Newport) and wider Europe which obviously can only benefit these places and their economy.
Overall, this is an exciting new reinterpretation that has a solid focus on human nature rather than the fantastical elements of this franchise. It is relatable and tense which makes for a fantastic series that I cannot wait to watch on television. I would rate the episode itself 5 out of 5 stars but the event would get 4 out of 5 stars. I would recomend this to anyone who is interested in an alternative side of Science fiction and how this can be blended with the real-world.
Rhysreviews 