Martian War Machine lands in Mississauga
by Rob - May 28th, 2015.Filed under: Milestones, Pop Culture, R.I.P..
My great friend Michael Lennick, who passed away November 7, 2014, was a special-effects supervisor for the 1988 War of the Worlds television series — a direct sequel to the George Pal film. For the series, this Martian War Machine was built, exactly copying the move version.
This original screen-used fiberglass miniature — 45 inches wide — is now in my collection, thanks to Michael’s widow, Shirley Gulliford. It will soon be hanging in my office (just as it used to hang in Michael’s own office, as you can see in the picture), with a plaque honouring Michael on the wall near it.
Below is a screen capture of the miniature being used in the TV series (one miniature, optically composited to represent three Martian War Machines).
I am so, so thrilled, and so very honoured, to have this spectacular piece of TV history in my home as a daily reminder of my dear, dear friend. Below are Michael and Shirley — with the love.
Robert J. Sawyer online:
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July 7th, 2016 at 12:48 pm
Sorry to hear about your friend. I haven’t seen an episode of WotW:TS in some time. I was surprised to hear that they used models – I’d always assumed that they just somehow did a digital capture of footage of the machines used in the movie, and just sort of “shopped” them in. Since there was so little screen time for the machines in the series, I just assumed that there was no need to actually make real models. The 53 WotW Machine has always been one of my favorite sci-fi vehicles.