Doctor Clayton Forrester (The War of the Worlds) in Steven Spielberg's 2005 remake, as an homage to the original George Pal 1953 film. The "War of the Worlds" TV series (developed as a direct sequel to the film, not the original H. G. Wells novel) makes a number of references to Dr. Clayton Forrester, but does not actually feature the character. The show's back-story establishes that Forrester adopted a young boy, Harrison Blackwood, who was orphaned during the Martian invasion in the film. (Blackwood's parents were Forrester's colleagues at Pacific Tech). Forrester's discovery that the aliens, believed to have been killed by common bacteria and viruses, were still
The War of the Worlds (1953 film) by biological means. Steven Spielberg's 2005 "War of the Worlds", although an adaptation of the original Wells novel, does feature several references to the original film: Gene Barry and Ann Robinson have cameo appearances near the end, and the invading aliens have three-fingered hands but are depicted as reptile-like, three-legged walking tripods. There is also a long, snake-like alien camera probe deployed by the invaders in much the same manner as in the 1953 film. "Mystery Science Theater 3000" named one of its lead characters, the mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, as a homage to the 1953 film. In 2004,