George and Amy are social pariahs in Edwardian society. Shunned by family and employer for breaking with convention, the couple are soon facing greater complications when a meteor from Mars hits Earth.

To say that there’s been a lot of anticipation for the BBC’s period-set version of The War of the Worlds is putting it mildly. Originally mooted as a Christmas 2018 highlight, it finally arrives nearly a year later, and overall it’s a success. The opening episode is probably 30% H G Wells and 70% invention, which is probably the right ratio, the book often sketching big events in sparse coverage.

Adapted by Peter Harness (Doctor Who, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell), the script wisely takes the original material and fleshes it out for modern sensibilities. Instead of being sidelined while the hero narrates the tale, Gerorge’s wife (now his lover) takes centre stage, with a spirited performance by Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) as Amy. This recalibration is evident from the outset, with the opening narration read by Tomlinson – it’s hard not to think of Richard Burton or that it will shortly burst into Jeff Wayne’s Eve of the War!

And if Tomlinson’s Amy is no damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, neither is George (Rafe Spall – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) a man bound by the conventions of the time. He won’t be blackmailed by his brother into returning to his estranged wife, and he’ll no longer be sidelined by his disapproving employer.

Don’t be concerned that Harness’ additional elements of human drama drown out the main story – all the key touch points and beats from Wells are here. From the observation of extraterrestrial activity on Ogilvy’s telescope to the meteor landing on Horsell Common (and a visceral deployment of the death ray), the big moments are present and correct, including the Martian fighting machines. We’ve come a long way since the BBC’s CSO-dependent The Tripods of the 80s, these new beasts towering machines featuring high tech sonic weaponry and design that is more Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival than Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation.

Director Craig Viveiros’ CV has most recently included period pieces – Agatha Christie drama And Then There None and drama Rillington Place – but he gets an opportunity to show his action chops here with some well choreographed sequences as the Martians start making their presence known.

Mentions also go to Rupert Graves (Sherlock) as George’s insufferable older brother and to the use of Liverpool’s civic buildings, making a convincing central London. The flash-forward scenes to a red weed-ravaged Earth make for interesting asides across the episode and it will be interesting to see how the main narrative catches up and integrates with them.

Verdict: A very British version of the Wells classic, focusing on the folly of a government that thinks it knows best and has everything in hand… ahem! The constraints of a TV budget are sometimes apparent in the world building, but most people are here for the tripods, and they’ve never been meaner. And by fleshing out two strong leads, the series gives us a separated couple that we can get behind. 8.10

Nick Joy