If you haven't read the excellent "The White Mountains" trilogy by John Christopher, go do so now. I'll wait.
If you still haven't and want to proceed, pretend you didn't see the 2089 AD. Because if you didn't, it would look like a party getting started in the age of horse and cart. A bunch of villagers gather and congratulate a young man named Jack.
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| It's my special day. |
Or is it?
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| Ya gettin' excited bra? |
A high pitched electronic screech silences the crowd and they back the hell up. Then this happens:
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| What |
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| the |
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| fuck? |
Okay I realize they probably had fifty pence per episode to work with here but it actually makes it scarier, not being able to see the whole thing all at once. The 80's synth score certainly helps.
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| A tentacle emerges... |
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| and clamps around his body... |
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| and no one cares! |
He's going into that thing's anus and not one person is stopping him. They all seem fab dabby dango.
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| Hell no |
No doubt imagining all of the horrors going on inside, Will wants to know why he has to be "capped." His mother tells him he'll understand after it happens. It's nice to know that abstinence only education is still practiced in 2089 AD. Will is not comforted by this.
His mother sends him and his cousin Henry to feed the "vagrants" which is what happens to you if your capping fails.
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| On the plus side, you can volunteer at a festival. |
It's a full on party time as Jack is returned.
He takes off his hat and...
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| This would be a pain to explain at airports. |
The whole village claps and they eat.
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| Womyns doing all the cooking. |
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| We're all just ignoring that giant metal leg in our pond. |
Jack is now a man. He will now get his own 2089 AD cubicle.
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| He looks the same to me. |
Jack would rather gaze dreamily into the distance than tell Will what being capped is like. Will's all fuck it and grabs a beer.
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| 55 % ABV |
Will goes to visit Jack during his first day on the job. Upon realizing that work actually means work, Will screams and runs into the woods. (I'm with Will on this one.) However, he is grabbed by a vagrant.
The "vagrant" turns out to be a free man who stole a cap and goes around recruiting boys to join him at some distant mountains.
The fake vagrant explains that The Tripods aren't there to help men. The Tripods are hurting men by turning them into docile servants. Still there's no war any more, so I'm going to need more convincing. Will doesn't. He decides to escape and while loading up his backpack, gets busted by Henry who just wanted a little two minutes in the closet.
Henry persuades Will to take him along the journey, even though they admit they don't like each other. Sounds like a recipe for a fun road trip guys.
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| Maybe look up Geek Social Fallacy #5 |
Henry keeps Will talking so long that it is getting daylight, which isn't the best plan either.
What are their chances if they don't notice this behind them?
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| CAKE |
A
Man, I've not seen this since I was a kid but I had nightmares for weeks and weeks afterwards. I love seeing what can be done on such a limited budget, it really means there is no excuse for poor story telling in this day and age. I can't wait for the next!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I read somewhere that the Tripod only appears on screen for a total of 13 minutes throughout series one. Yet it works. That high piercing shriek helps.
ReplyDelete