Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what the solution would be that wouldn't completely pervert it, it'd still have to be something relativley passive on our part; our victory can only be serendipitous. The TV show just said "screw it" and used the set up and then went in a new direction.
But facing that, my view is you either just leave it on the table until you figure out how to get around it (as they tried to do with the equally silly plot point from the original that the invaders were from Mars) or you go back to basics and do the book and keep everything grounded in a thoroughly Victorian sensibility.
Of course, it is the modern-day stupidity of the conclusion to War of the Worlds that provides the humor of Mars Attacks!
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