The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells

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The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells
Country of origin United States, United Kingdom
No. of episodes 6
Production
Running time 265 min
Release
Original network Hallmark Channel
Original release August 5 –
7, 2001

The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells is a four-hour miniseries conceived by Nick Willing and released in 2001 by the Hallmark Channel. It is based on a number of short stories by H. G. Wells, and in some territories was titled The Scientist.

Production

Each episode adapts two of Wells' short stories. The first episode adapts "The New Accelerator" and "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper." The second episode adapts "The Crystal Egg" and "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes," and the third, "The Truth About Pyecraft" and "The Stolen Bacillus". Each episode is written as if it were a "real" incident that Wells investigated with his girlfriend, Jane Robbins, and served as an inspiration for the stories.

The London Underground scenes from Brownlow's Newspaper were shot at the disused Aldwych tube station.

Plot

The short-story adaptations are set as flashbacks to 1893 within a frame story set in 1946, near the end of Wells's life, when he is interviewed by members of a military research institute interested in his past exploits.

In 1893, Jane is shown to be a student, with Wells initially one of her two potential suitors, the other being a member of the college staff. Wells is portrayed as a single man, a journalist and aspiring fiction writer, who is not scientifically trained. Eventually their friendship becomes more intimate, and they move in together, despite the social conventions of the day.

Actual historical events

In 1893 Wells was neither scientifically untrained, nor single. He had studied zoology and geology at the Normal School of Science in London, gaining a second-class zoology degree in 1887, but failing the final geology examination. He then taught science in schools in Wrexham and London whilst studying to re-take both subjects, gaining first-class Honours in Zoology and second-class in Geology in 1890. He then secured a teaching post at the University Correspondence College, and in 1891 married his cousin, Isabel Mary Wells. Wells began writing to supplement his teaching income, and in 1893 met Amy Catherine Robbins, one of his students. Disliking the name "Amy", he called her "Jane". In 1894 Wells left his wife to live with Jane, and they married later that year, after his divorce from Isabel.

The Imperial College of Science did not exist in 1893. In 1890 the Normal School of Science — where Wells had studied — became the Royal College of Science, which in 1907 was amalgamated with other institutions to form the Imperial College of Science and Technology.

Cast

Main cast

Episodic cast

The New Accelerator:

Brownlow's Newspaper:

The Crystal Egg:

The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes:

The Truth About Pyecraft:

The Stolen Bacillus:

DVD releases

A Region 2 DVD of the series in non-episodic form was released in the Netherlands in 2004 with the original English language soundtrack, and optional Dutch and French subtitles. A Region 1 DVD in episodic form was released in 2005. It was released in the UK in 2006.

See also

External links

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