The Tripods

The Tripods is a book series written by John Christopher (alias for Samuel Youd) in the late 1960s which were also filmed as a science fiction TV-series, produced in Great Britain.

The story of the Tripods is post-apocalyptic, most of humanity and all big cities have been destroyed by an alien colonization, The Masters who does not breathe our air, but travel around in three-legged walking machines. (Much like the machines in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.) The few humans left on earth are kept under thought control from the age of 15 by brain implants called "caps", and allowed to breed only in order to be used as slaves in a few cities controlled by The Masters.

Books

• When the Tripods Came (1988)
• The White Mountains (1967)
• The City of Gold and Lead (1967)
• The Pool of Fire (1968)

The book entitled When the Tripods Came was actually written after the three others, allegedly because science fiction author Brian Aldiss questioned the story of The Masters being able to overcome 20th century technology.

The Tripods were also released as a number of comic books.

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 canceled before the third season went into production. The first season is available on DVD whereas the second is not.

The Walt Disney Company owns the rights to make movies based on the Tripods, and rumors have been around that it would be filmed, yet this has failed to happen.

External Links

• A fan page (http://www.users.voicenet.com/~swyss/tripods.html)