Well readers I recently heard the CBC's presentation of the classic H.G Wells radio broadcast, War of the Worlds. I have to say that despite the medium of the message being the radio and the spoken word, it was thrilling! Contrary to flashy images on the screen, chiseled actors portraying grim heroes and big CGI budgets giving me a towering Martian tripod to stare at, my imagination proved to be a far more tantalizing mode for seeing the Martian invasion of the United States.
The narration, sound effects, and back and forth mode of depicting and showing the Martian attacks and landings in a narrative was fabulous! I could see B-17 bombers flying a doomed sortie at the Martian walkers, sat in horrified wonder as the brave artillery troops shot vainly at the advancing Martian war machines, felt the panic of the forlorn news caster in New York as the tripods arrived and the 'Black Smoke' descended upon the city choking thousands to death.
The vintage feel of the preformance didn't matter to me and made it all the more exciting! For a Halloween presentation I don't think you could have found something better! It was a wonderful treat to have on this pre-Halloween evening.
I can only imagine the shock and confusion some poor Americans must have felt when this first came over the radio and all the calls local police and civil service stations must have received as annoyed/panicked people called in to see if it was real or not!
This is a great historic repeat of the original broadcast long ago on October 30th 1938, made in a less jovial atmosphere as fears of a new war across the world spread, fears that would sadly be proven right. It was a scary thing for a new generation fueled by a new media source in the form of the radio.
I'm quite glad to have been able to listen to it and very pleased to have seen so many other versions of it, but I am even more pleased to say; now I've heard everything too!
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