War of the Worlds: Dramatic change between 1st season and 2nd season

lrigsby
[1]Aug 12, 2006
member since: 08/01/06
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Does anyone know why the show changed so dramatically from 1st season to 2nd season?
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Invader_of_53
[2]Aug 23, 2006
member since: 06/16/05
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Long story... because I can't tell a short story:
It would seem that the ratings were intially high in the first season, but started to dip. Paramount didn't like this, and when the season ended they made a decision: rather than, say, let the show go another year and hope for improvement, or even do the merificul thing and simply cancel it, they demonstrated their typical suit mentality and thought that the best solution was to bring someone new to run the series. The new producer was Frank Mancuso Jr, who just happens to be the son of a Paramount bigwig.
But they didn't just put him in. They replaced virtually everyone behind-the-scenes. It was mainly the removal of the creative triumvirate of Herbert Wright, Greg Strangis, and Tom Lazarus that was the deepest hole, but I figure they only carried about a quarter of people from the one season to the next, even getting new soundtrack composers. So not only were the people who launched and built the first season gone, but Mancuso had no shame in casually admitting that he didn't watch the first season. I seriously doubt any of the new people did, either.
So a long story short: new people replace old people. New people don't know squat about previous season. No one bothers to consult anyone or refer to anything about previous season. New ideas boldly conflict with old story. Fanbase is alienated. Ratings sink. Show is put down like a wounded horse.
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lrigsby
[3]Aug 23, 2006
member since: 08/01/06
level: 10
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posts: 84
Thanks for the information, it makes a lot of sense. I couldn't watch the second season after they killed off half of the characters.
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Hoitash
[4]Sep 11, 2006
member since: 07/03/04
level: 7
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Invader's right. i was thinking of writing a book that took place ater the series, or maybe getting together 36 million dolalrs and starting it again.
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Johnracer
[5]Dec 25, 2006
member since: 06/26/05
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All I have to say is that it was good seeing those 1953 war machines again. Their emergence from the Military Hangar is truly a iconic moment.
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supperkat
[6]Jan 30, 2007
member since: 11/21/06
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posts: 397
Good sci-fi I'm crying
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mastersox
[7]Mar 5, 2007
member since: 02/25/07
level: 2
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First season was great. Im still waiting to finish watching 2nd season but even if it only slightly resembles season 2 it should be entertaining.
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marvelfan89
[8]May 12, 2007
member since: 06/15/05
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Having seen both the 1st and 2nd, I have to agree that the first was better. The intro for the second didn't do anything for me, the writing seemed average at best and inconsistent. The one thing that it has going is that it still has decent action.
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moogon
[9]Jun 3, 2007
member since: 12/14/04
level: 11
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posts: 173
lol, yep 1st season was better. anyway, this show is clasics.. reminds me a lot of my childhood days playing alien w/ hands inside stomach.. ;p
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hostilelifeform
[10]Jun 12, 2007
member since: 06/12/07
level: 3
rank: Soup Nazi
posts: 8
Does anyone remember the final episode? The Morthrans are almost defeated due to attrition. The alien boy Ceto has found love only to die. His mother the alien leader weeps for her loss admitting that her was her son. (Since when did Morthrans procreate like humans?) With Dr. Blackwood mumering in astonisment "We've won", the alien leader says "Both our peoples face extinction". Leaving one to assume that the two races learn to work together. The early stirrings of multiculturalism and earth worship. The first season was interseting. The second was a complete turnaround with a totally different approach to the alien technology. If either one had been left alone to develope it might have produced a following. But without instant gratification they must tinker. Much like the thinking that killed Enterprise.
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marvelfan89
[11]Jul 11, 2007
member since: 06/15/05
level: 38
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posts: 2,677
The ending had a rather upbeat ending though, what the alien says doesn't seem to phase Harrison or the team. That revelation that Ceeto was the alien's son was hard to believe like something that they threw in there as Ceeto is never really mentioned in the story following "Loving The Alien".
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