r/scifi • u/Mundane-Patience-394 • 1d ago
General War of the worlds radio drama remake
Anyone know of any modern day remake of the original 1938 war of the worlds. I’m looking for something that I can put on during a holiday party. That’ll play some music and then will do the radio drama much similar to how it was done in 1938. The goal is hopefully freak some people out.
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u/MEGAT0N 1d ago
If the holiday you're talking about is Halloween, you might take a look at The Peoria Plague.
https://archive.org/details/ThePeoriaPlague
"Recorded in the early 1970's by WUHN radio in Peoria, Illinois, The Peoria Plague is an audio dramatization of a zombie outbreak presented through a series of fictional news casts."
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u/DavidDPerlmutter 1d ago
Have you watched some of the older ones which were "Found Footage" adjacent? I guess you could call it the WAR OF THE WORLDS type "We interrupt this broadcast..." genre. (Unfortunately the latest variation of this is the Ice Cube movie.)
- SPECIAL BULLETIN.
Extremely high production values, a production in the "War of the Worlds" type from an actual network of the time. Science fiction in the sense that it posits terrorism with a certain famous weapon.
Luckily, it's on YouTube in pretty good resolution.
https://youtu.be/cDZQsVNZ3SE?si=ZGK08Y7JRE4mxfJL
I am providing the wiki entry for informational purposes, but I highly recommend watching it without reading spoilers!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Bulletin
- Separately, another one with a very science-fiction bent is WITHOUT WARNING.
https://youtu.be/6J4pfT2qLb4?si=_tdxS_N5QD0ps7rv
Both of them are really excellent productions, great acting, twisting plots, and use actual news people and actors who later became famous.
The Mom from MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE.
"Q" from STAR TREK: NEW GENERATIONS.
They never break character; it all feels and looks "real."
Two absolute Classics of the genre.
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u/Separate-Scene2813 1d ago
Without Warning is a classic. Very well made and, for the time, extremely convincing. A shame I knew who John de Lancie was!
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u/pemungkah 1d ago
The Firesign Theater did an updated version of the original broadcast in 1988. Essentially the NPR reporting the fall of civilization.
https://archive.org/details/thewaroftheworlds50thanniversary
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u/chompchomp1969 1d ago
Love the idea… but if the folks in 1938 had cell phones, no one would have taken it seriously. We did a “Listening Party” with it years ago. Made dinner, drinks, and all agreed to not talk until it was over. So fun. Whatever you do, enjoy!
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u/stopped_watch 1d ago
Why not try it with a modern twist? Actually use tech to your advantage.
Say there is some developing news of an alien invasion somewhere far off. Then have the host say "Hey I know someone in Australia, let's give them a call." Then they play their side of the event in real time.
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u/evermorex76 1d ago
They'd just party harder and be saying "Finally! Thank God!" and "Heat blast me, alien daddy!"
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u/RiversSecondWife 1d ago
Just in case you love David Tenant, you should know he narrates the audiobook.
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u/Hagelblass 1d ago
In the 90s, L.A. Theatreworks did a remake with Leonard Nimoy in the Orson Welles role. Other Star Trek actors were also involved.
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u/ShootingPains 1d ago
Surely Jeff Wayne's album version? No one can beat Richard Burton's voice over.
https://youtu.be/6YwFvmnbj3E