The Day of the Triffids

Greetings, ‘The Day of the Triffids’ is a 1981 Television adaptation of John Wyndham’s classic science-fiction novel of the same name which was published in 1951. Wyndham was also the literary mind behind ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’ which is perhaps better remembered by the more ominous title of its silver screen counterpart, ‘The Village of the Damned’. This particular ‘Triffids’ adaptation was directed by Ken Hannam for the BBC and consists of 6 episodes with a 30 minute runtime for each instalment. The main cast consists of John Duttine, Emma Relph and Maurice Colbourne. None of them had went on to lead particularly notable careers in the decades since in my own opinion. They appear to be mostly known for acting on stage or for taking on roles in old British institutions such as ‘Doctor Who’. The music was composed by the late Christopher Gunning who would go on to score the soundtracks for the long running ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ series starring David Suchet.

The plot begins in a hospital room where the blindfolded Bill Masen is waiting for a nurse to arrive and remove his bandages. Bill is recovering from an operation as he was attacked by a titular Triffid, a mobile and carnivorous plant, which nearly cost him his sight. Masen works on a farm that cultivates Triffids as they contain an extract that is used as an energy source. As Bill waits patiently in his bed, he becomes increasingly frustrated that no medical staff are tending to him and he notes how eerily quiet it is outside with no traffic to be heard. The hours pass and a fed up Bill leaves his room by feeling around and calls out for assistance once he is in the hallway. There are no replies to his shouts which causes Bill to become worried and he decides to remove the bandages himself. It takes him a little while to adjust but with his sight returned to him, it is confirmed that the corridor is deserted. Bill walks around the abandoned hospital which was seemingly left in a panic.

As he tries to understand what happened, he recalls the previous night when everyone bar himself were marvelling at a fantastical meteor shower that lit up the night sky. Bill comes across a doctor during his search who was stumbling around blind. After a brief moment of surprise in learning that Bill can still see, the doctor states that he and all the others who watched the spectacular display were blinded by it. He asks for Bill to serve as his eyes and guide him around the hospital until he can contact the emergency services. Bill does so until he realises that the emergency services won’t come when he discovers many staff and patients are roaming around helplessly. He decides to leave the hospital grounds and explore the wider world to see how far this horrifying event reaches. It doesn’t take long for Bill to understand that civilization is falling apart as he rescues a woman, named Jo, who had been taken captive by a blind man with a knife. The two try to survive London’s dangerous streets by avoiding the desperate mobs of the blind and the man-eating Triffids.

I have yet to read the novel although I do intend on perusing both it and ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’ at some point. The adaptation reportedly sticks close to the outline of the source material with one notable difference in that the show is set in what was then contemporary 1980s Britain. It was well regarded by critics when it first hit the airwaves and there is enough menace from multiple sources of antagonists to keep it fresh and interesting. Speaking of threats, I like the colourful design of the Triffids and the notion of flesh-eating plants is what drew me to the show in the first place. They had probably frightened some younger viewers at the time but they come across as a bit stiff and hokey nowadays. It struck me as very much in the vein of those classic Doctor Who monsters when budgets were tight but that all adds a certain charm that I find appealing. ‘The Day of the Triffids’ had a fairly short run time but I enjoyed the hours I spent watching it.

Plot=8/10

Characters=6/10

Special Effects=6/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the Day

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