Tripods title, one of the very first computer-generated titles The Tripods is series of books written by John Christopher (alias for Samuel Youd) in the late 1960s which were also filmed as a science fiction TV-series, produced in the UK.
The story of the Tripods is post-apocalyptic: Humanity has fallen into an age of decadence, with technology in decay, and the population living in a society reminescent of the 1700s, or even the Middle Ages, depending on places. The Humans live in total, naïve and ecstatic adoration of the "Tripods", huge metalic-looking alien creatures, which they see as their saviours. They are kept under thought control from the age of 15 by brain implants called "caps", which leave them with a life of modesty and serenity by preventing curiosity and creativity.
Books
The White Mountains (1967)
The story is seen through the eyes of two young boys from England who are about to be "capped". Feeling uncomfortable with the idea of losing their creativity, they follow the advice of a mysterious wanderer who goes by the name of "Ozymandias", and undertake a long journey to some mysterious "White Mountains" (actually, the Mont Blanc, litterally translated from the French). After crossing the Channel, they join forces with a young, geniously inventive French boy, and proceed to the South. They go through the remains of Paris, abandonned and ravaged by some ancient war, and finally arrive to the General Quarters of the Human resistance, not without having (by sheer luck) destroyed a Tripod.
The City of Gold and Lead (1967)
The City of Gold and Lead The Resistance charges the narrator, the French boy and a young German boy to infiltrate a Tripod city by competing in a sporting event, whose winners are to be offered to the Tripods. The narrator and the German boy win, and are taken by a Tripod, which they discover to be a machine. Inside the city, the boys are confronted with the actual Aliens, which call themselves the Masters: three-leged, one-eyed, toxic gas breathing creatures who live in a stronger gravitation and hotter temperature (hence the name "City of Gold and Lead"). The boys are considered as slaves and pets, but since they are supposed to be capped, the Masters never consider the possibility of hostile behaviour. Thus the boys are able to spy on a significant portion of the City. They learn that the Masters have initiated a project to replace the Earth's atmosphere with their own, thus dooming Humanity; the spaceship which carries the equipment is already on its way, and is due in a few years. Eventually one of the boys is discovered, kills his Master and flees the City.
The Pool of Fire (1968)
The boys report to the Resistance, which has significantly grown and joined with similar movements in Asia and America. They undertake tasks aimed at the destruction of the three alien cities which control all the caps and tripods on Earth. The first of these is the ambush of a Tripod and capture of a living specimen. Having discovered that alcohol has a very strong effect on the Master, the Resistance schedules simultaneous commando attacks on the cities, which succeed in destroying two of them. After air bombing attempts because the Masters can disable motors from a distance, the third city in eventually destroyed in a kamikaze balloon attack. Technology is rediscovered at a vertiginous rate, and the Alien spaceship finally arrives, only to launch nuclear devices on the remains of the Cities to prevent the Humans from reverse-engineering the technology. Humanity is saved, but the saga ends on the rebirth of nationalist sentiments.
When the Tripods Came (1988)
When the Tripods Came is actually a prequel written twenty years after the publication of the original "trilogy", allegedly because science fiction author Brian Aldiss questioned the story of The Masters being able to overcome 20th century technology.
We learn that the Masters were afraid of the technological potential of Humanity and decided on a preemptive strike. Unable to defeat Humanity in a conventional war, the Masters use their superior mind-control technology to enslave part of Humanity through television, and rises factions against each other. They eventually land and use the caps to intellectually castrate the survivors.
Comic Books
Multiple adaptations to comic books form have been done, including one in the BBC Magazine, and one in Boys' Life magazine which was illustrated by Frank Bolle.
TV Series
Season one of the Tripods covers the first book, The White Mountains, and the second season covers The City of Gold and Lead. The project was cancelled before the third season went into production. The first season is available on DVD whereas the second is not, and hopes that it will become available in the future have faded.
The series features one of the very first computer-generated credits, as well as the very remarkable soundtrack by Ken Freeman. It can be noted that the series introduce several minor changes from the book, notably the shape of the Masters and Tripods, which have no tentacles; the introduction of "cognoscents", spiritual life-forms vastly superior to the Masters themelves; and more interesting main characters, notably on the sexual respect. The series is also notable for featuring outright non-humanoid aliens, which was uncommon at the time.
All the photographs on this page are taken from the BBC series.
The Walt Disney Company owns the rights to make films based on The Tripods, and rumors have been around that it would be filmed, yet this has failed to happen.
See also
External link
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