The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (2001)

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

this was such a intriguing television show it's too bad somebody didn't make it into a series. there are only four episodes here and i could have watched at least thirty more.that always happens to some of the best and most intriguing series potentials. ABC network canceled one of it's most promising new series 'Pan Am' because of lack of audience and critical interest. as far as watching a show about advertising ('Mad Men') Vs. a show about the old transatlantic Boeing airplanes, i'd rather watch the airplanes. funny though H.G. Wells himself was critical of areoplanes.this doesn't always happen with television. back in the 1980's, the movie 'Buckaroo Banzai' should have been made into a series of movies sequels and had great potential for it. i hate when this happens and more mediocre entertainment spawns one franchise after another.of all the authors i've read i've read H.G. Wells the most. my father loved H.G. Wells and had a collection of his stories which i've kept and picked up from time to time. i've always wondered why someone didn't make more out of Well's short stories. then i discovered this mini series and was impressed with what they made of them.i'm sure having Nick Willing involved with this project helped. Nick Willing is among the very best producers of made for television ventures. he's always original in his vision and has a way of making classic authors and stories feel fresh and vibrant.this story was great sci-fi with a turn of the century look and feel of the author's time period. it was also very whimsical and funny as in the episodes about the fat man who becomes weightless and the truth serum segment where the stuffy college Dean professes his amorous affections for a young professor by saying "is it possible for one man to feel this way about another?". hilarious as all hell.great show and great job from expert Nick Willing. it's says a lot when your main complaint is that there isn't more of it.

H. G. Wells has a sterling reputation based on a handful of brilliant works he composed between 1895 and the turn of the twentieth century. My favorite is THE INVISIBLE MAN, but others may prefer THE TIME MACHINE, THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, etc.Some of Wells' views were noxious. He was a long-time socialist and a believer in eugenics and dominant races. Several of his later books were pedantic over his theories of racial hygiene, as well as his obsession for developing a single world government. All this makes some of his later work unreadable today.Wells also composed numerous short stories. Though these are of variable quality, some are among the best creepy stories in the English language."The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells" is a three-part series culled from Wells' short stories. Wells himself is portrayed as an active participant in these weird events. Sometimes his role is vital to the stories, at other times his presence is tangential. The series has a framing device of Wells as an old man during World War Two, looking back over his long career and relating some of the strange things that occurred to a young journalist -- who herself might not be all she seems.Wells is presented as an eager young man desperately trying to mature as a successful author, balancing it with his growing love for a woman he calls Jane (though that is not her real name). The unsavory fact that Wells left his first wife for Jane, and he had several affairs and illegitimate children outside of his marriage to her, is fortunately by-passed for this dramatization. Only Wells' sunny side shines through here.Wells and Jane come off as a likable young couple whose worse strain comes from the bizarre situations they and their friends lurch into.Though some of the stories contain tragedy, the stories presented here come off as largely comic, as if Wells were a nineteenth century Douglas Adams. The stories are neatly rewritten to accommodate the author, and to make sure most have charming or happy endings. Strangely, one story that originally had a happy ending is played here for tragedy. And just be careful, if you are inordinately fond of dogs.The series is good for anyone who wants to add a little pleasant and ultimately unimportant weirdness to their lives.If you want to look ahead an see how the stories are altered from the originals, the stories dramatized include "The New Accelerator", "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper", "The Crystal Egg", "Story of Davidson's Eyes", "The Truth About Pyecraft" (changed much for the better) and "The Stolen Bacillus."

Happily, the screens - small and large - have (mostly) been kind to H G Wells. I'm a fan so I attribute it to the charming quality of "human-ness" and compassion that ran through his writing (and not just his sci-fi either). I'll keep clear of the Time Machine remake and the tragedy of casting Guy Pearce in the lead. What's intriguing is that H G Wells himself has often been written into period pieces as a character - always a sensitive new-age kinda guy - and why not?- he really was years ahead of the time he lived in. And "Infinite Worlds" does it well. The screenwriters do not let Wells' short stories down as they weave a gentle romance and equally gentle humour in with stories like The Stolen Bacillus, The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes and others. The period style is light and the well-directed cast play their parts with none of the embarrassment that often dogs smaller productions. Add a soundtrack that matches the mood of "Infinite Worlds" and you've got a warm evening's viewing (or two - the version I saw was in three parts on cable and even without the ads it was a few enjoyable hours worth).

Collection of six Wells short stories, ranging from time travel to martians to "acceleration", tied together with an ongoing romance between Wells and a female scientist, set toward the end of the 19th Century. It's not a bad production, overall, but most of what is good about the series is owing to Wells' stories themselves; the acting, makeup and effects can be dodgy at times, but that's what you'd expect from a TV miniseries from across the Pacific. Rating: 6/10.