H.G. Wells


H.G. Wells
Aliases:	Herbert George Wells
Type:	Writer
Gender:	Male
Place of birth:	Bromley, Kent, England
Born:	September 21st, 1866
Died:	August 13th, 1946

Herbert George "H.G." Wells was an English author, novelist and futurist born in Bromley, Kent, England on September 21st, 1866. He is considered by many to be a grandfather of modern science fiction and is famous for writing several notable works including The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man - all of which have become staples of the genre and have been adapted into numerous films, television programs, novels, comic books and video games.

Fictionalized accounts[]

In the 1960 film adapation of The Time Machine, the role of the time traveler, who was nameless in the original novel, is attributed to H.G. Wells. He was played by Australian actor Rod Taylor.

Nicholas Meyer made his directorial debut in 1979 with Time After Time. The film starred Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells, a futurist who actually invents a time machine. Wells' colleague, John Leslie Stevenson, better known as the infamous Jack the Ripper steals the machine and Wells has to track him through time to the modern era to stop him.

H.G. Wells appeared in the original BBC television series Doctor Who. Played by actor David Chandler, he was introduced in the two-part "Timelash" storyline in series 22. A young Wells, addressed only as "Herbert" in the story, is found traveling on holiday in Scotland when he came upon the Sixth Doctor and a woman from the planet Karfel named Vena. Wells accompanied the Doctor and Vena back to Karfel and assisted them in overthrowing the despotic ruler, Borad. Afterward, the Doctor returned Herbert to Earth and inspired him to pursue a writing career in a genre that the Doctor defined as "science fiction". ("Timelash")

In the pilot episode of the Timecop television series, H.G. Wells is presented as a young aspiring writer who meets time traveler Jack Logan in the year 1888. This version of Wells is the nephew of a Scotland Yard Inspector who is working to solve the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. Jack Logan inspires Wells to pursue a career in writing. The episode was obviously inspired by the 1979 film Time After Time. ("A Rip in Time")

In an episode of The Visitor, a radio personality recreates Wells' War of the Worlds broadcast for a special Halloween event. After the broadcast, the DJ witnesses an actual UFO landing, but nobody believes him. ("Teufelsnacht")

Several references have been made to H.G. Wells in the Star Trek television franchise. A passing reference to Wells was made in the "Far Beyond the Stars" episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in which the character of Kay Eaton posits that Wells might have enjoyed White Rose Redi-Tea. Two references to Wells were made in the Star Trek: Enterprise TV series. Having experienced the complexities of time travel first hand, Captain Jonathan Archer commented that it was nothing like what Wells had described in The Time Machine. ("Shockwave (Part II)") Archer's second-in-command, Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker, III, once remarked that he had read Wells' War of the Worlds when he was a child. ("Similitude"). Another reference to Wells' work was made in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The 37's" as well as "Spirit Folk".

A female version of H.G. Wells named Helena Wells was the main antagonist on season two of the Syfy television series Warehouse 13. Played by actress Jaime Murray, the character was introduced in the premiere episode of season two, "Time Will Tell". Ironically, this was also the thirteenth episode of the series overall.

Major works[]

Novel	Year	Publisher
The Time Machine	1895	William Heinemann
The Island of Dr. Moreau	1896	Heimemann, Stone and Kimball
The Invisible Man	1897	C. Arthur Pearson
The War of the Worlds	1898	William Heinemann
First Men in the Moon, The	1901	George Newnes

Actors who have played H.G. Wells[]

Actor	Source
Rod Taylor	The Time Machine (1960)
Malcolm McDowell	Time After Time (1979)
Jeremy Irons	From Time to Time (1992)
David Chandler	Doctor Who (1963 TV series)
Terry Kiser	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Hamilton Camp	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Unknown	Timecop: A Rip in Time
Tom Ward	The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (TV series)
Jaime Murray	Warehouse 13 (TV series)

Notes & Trivia[]

A biography page for H.G. Wells was presented on the first page of Marvel Classics Comics #25, which adapted The Invisible Man in illustrated comic strip format.

In Star Trek one of the franchises many starship classes is named after H.G. Wells. ("Future's End")

Unofficially, the Doctor Who iteration of Wells could be considered a one-time "companion" of the Doctor.

External Links[]

References[]

War of the Worlds Actor or Crew member
This article relates to actors or production crew members pertaining to the War of the Worlds franchise. This template will categorize articles that include it into the War of the Worlds crew members category.