I was a big fan of this BBC series when it played on PBS in the 80's. I had read the first book a year or two before and I didn't quite understand it then. My thought was, "Why are the Tripods getting away with capping people?" Being a little older and seeing the series made it clearer. I was able to tape both series when they did marathons of them, although I'd love to get the cast for each episode. I didn't bother to tape the ending credits for each episode, just the last one in the marathon. Anyway, there is so much to talk about, but right now I will mention the stuff in series one is pretty good. There are a lot of dialogue scenes that actors could use for scene study. I especially loved Will's angry monologue that occurs when he is talking to a black guard about ridding the world of Tripods. John Shackley was great in that sequence. Yes, there are differences between the book and series, but you have to do that when you adapt. Will talk more later about certain moments.
Review of The Tripods
