“The Second Wave” – How the Season 2 Opener Shook Up “War of the Worlds”

Reviewing the opening episode of the second season of “War of the Worlds” (1988 – 1990), a shocker that shook up the shows fans.

“War of the Worlds” (1988 – 1990) became the series sequel to Byron Haskin’s landmark 1953 movie. The Canadian-American show brought the aliens back to the screen with the explanation that they were never completely eliminated but were instead in a state of deep hibernation. In the present day (i.e. 1988), they are accidentally resurrected by a group of militants rebels and soon start going after humans so as to take over Earth.

The first season, spanning 24 episodes, ended in May 1989 over the death and miraculous resurrection of the protagonist team of four: Harrison Blackwood (Jared Martin), Suzanne McCullough (Lynda Mason Green), Norton Drake (Philip Akin), and Colonel Paul Ironhorse (Richard Chaves). The second season, opening with the episode “The Second Wave,” came with a number of notable changes to the composition of the show.

Directed by Francis Delia, “The Second Wave” was aired on October 2, 1989, and fans knew at once they were up for a different ride even if on the same boat when they saw a different opening credits sequence. Many perhaps were uncertain where they were heading. But hardly any fan of the show escaped the shockwaves by the end of the episode. And for those watching the show for the first time, the following summary of the episode’s key features DOES contain spoilers.

The opening sequence of “The Second Wave,” which would then stay until the end of the season (meaning the end of the show), is an aerial shot moving over and around a nighttime cityscape with the voiceover (seemingly of a reporter) sounding confused and aghast at the scenes of chaos and riots on the streets. In contrast to the first season’s intro that featured a voiceover by Harrison’s character followed by a collage of shots of the four protagonists, the new intro presets the viewer’s mood for a more dystopian presentation.

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The transition from a more regular world under the open sky of the first season to an underground web of tunnels later in the second season is still pretty gradual in this episode. Instead, “The Second Wave” hits the show’s storyline and characters with blunt force. The Martians of the first episode are raided and eliminated by a more sophisticated tribe – the Morthrens. But what’s in a name anyways? Aliens are aliens – except that the new aliens came with a different plan and notably different technology to execute it.

Instead of infecting their targeted humans by grabbing (typically in the throat) as the Martians did, the Morthrens brought large membrane-bound pods wherein captured humans can be replicated, producing an alien version of the original’s body and memory but with an alien soul. Such replication is meant to infiltrate and eventually replace the human leadership. The concept’s similarity to Donald Siegel’s sci-fi horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) is hard to miss. In a way, the domination through replication game of the Morthrens seems darker and more destructive in the long run; at the same time, it lacks the visceral fright of instant capture in a single grab – which gave close encounters with Martians their chills.

For die-hard fans of the show, however, “The Second Wave” flooded them emotionally. The drastic shift in the show’s protagonist team cost “War of the Worlds” its most beloved character – Colonel Ironhorse along with Norton. Both die in this episode though not without a chance to claim a hero’s credit. Ironhorse’s place is filled with a younger former soldier John Kincaid (Adrian Paul) as the combatant in the team for the rest of the show. Harrison and Suzanne also look rebranded with Harrison sporting a beard and missing his quirky humor while Suzanne carrying a fatigued and dry mien. Fighting aliens doesn’t seem as fun anymore as the physical makeover of the two protagonists seems to reflect.

The transformation of the alien characters is even more pronounced than the human side. The Morthrens look entirely human, very neat and acting perfectly normal. They are led by Malzor (Denis Forest) and Mana (Catherine Disher) in their war on humanity. Equivalent to hand-guns, they carry spheres that shoot green laser beams; and when shot (or cut), the Morthrens bleed green; those falling dead get disfigured and burn down to a viscous liquid, much like the Martians of Season One.

TV Zone (Issue 89, April 1997) rightfully credited the second season with cleaning up the first season’s storyline and filling in many of the plot holes. It started with “The Second Wave” and continued into an uncertain future of the humanity as well as the show.

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