The 1984-5 series The Tripods (seasons 1and 2) is to be released on DVD region 2 in January 2009.
The series was a BBC/Channel Seven adaption of the John Christopher trilogy. Frustratingly only the first two books were adapted, and the previous 2001 DVD comprised the first season.
The cancellation prior to an adaption of The Pool of Fire has been attributed to Michael Grade, which if true, would be the real incidence of what he has often been claimed to have done to Doctor Who -- killed it off in mid-run.
Comments
Didn't the BBC divert a heap of cash to this series that would (and should have) been better spent on Doctor Who?
Yes and no--it cost a lot despite having Seven as a co-producer (who buried it by the way; I was meeting Christopher fans who hadn't heard of the adaption for years afterwards), but considering it and seasons 21 and 22 were made at the same time made no appreciable dent in Who's budget. Unless you want to mount a case in favour of Timelash. Brrr.
This leads into something I've asked previously in the forums; what hasn't been made because Who has filled its slot? Alternately, if the BBC was a Doctor Who producing machine we wouldn't have Out of the Unknown, Survivors, Doomwatch or Blakes 7. The adaptions of Hitchiker's, Day of the Triffids or The Nightmare Man. Or Red Dwarf.
I can't see anything else having the same success as Who has, just inevitable revivals as tv maker's imaginations run dry. However I enjoyed Tripods, and I'd like to see someone (BBC Wales, step up!) make the final book.
