Day of the Triffids on BBC 1 (UK)

[Neil]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43452

Mon/Tue nights at 9:00pm.

PLEASE let it be dark and horrible and not all Dr Who!


ps: WTF is Eddie Izzard doing in it :( Why put someone in with so much 'baggage'. Use an unknown!

[Rottedfreak]

Let it be similar in feel to the 1981 series which was bleak.

[capncnut]

Loved the ye olde BBC adaptation. Here's hoping!

[kidgloves]

3hrs in total. Also on the HD channel. Looking forward to it

[Neil]

Right... Let's predict an apocalypse rating for this new prediction. How dark and horrible will it be? Given say the 80s version was about a 7-8?

I'm predicting about a 6-7 at best?


If you think about it, not only will 95% of the worlds population be blind and slowly dying, but a huge proportion of those non-blind survivors will be 5yrs and younger (asleep during the event). As our survivors walk around for the first couple of weeks, countless babies will be heard starving to death, followed by them encountering numerous ill/starving young children unable to find supplies/food as they're too young. Imagine the new-born and childrens wards in hospitals for example...

I bet it won't dare touch on that!

[Rottedfreak]

The original had dogs barking in the days after before they likely starved to death or escaped.

A clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ_W9b9E0DA&feature=channel

I hope they have a more approriate soundtrack for the post apocalyptic scenes. That's what made the 1980's BBC version work, you can find the original episodes on BBCWorldwideTV Youtube channel to see for yourself.

Even though I read the synopsis and had a good idea of what was happening the first episode was still unsettling in that the character was confined to his hospital room hearing the occasional noise such as glass shattering, a wail, he observes no sounds of traffic and unnerved from all this he barricades the door before taking off his bandages and venturing out.

[kidgloves]

Survivors turned out ok ish but im pesimistic about this one. 5/6

[Rottedfreak]

I enjoyed it more then I thought I would.
They definitely drew inspiration from the original and took things to new heights with the plane crashing into the city, the scene of the two leads on the rooftop hearing screams, watching as parts of the powerless city burned was great.
The recently blind staggering around the Hospital lobby/entrance and hearing one infant wail was enough of a reminder for what Neil brought up, a small girl leading her dad was another.
I give it a 9/10 for apocalypse thus far.
The let downs were the Triffids themselves through being CGI, I liked the concept of them snagging people and restraining them but not with roots! The other let down was the blinding event itself, it lasted a minute which I guess is long anough to arrouse curiosity of others to condemn them but there would be loads more shielded from it, I suppose they'd have bailed town or something.

[krakenslayer]

Shat alllllll over the book. They turned an intelligent, gripping, slow build apocalyptic thriller into an absurd action piece about groups of people scrapping with each other. Won't be watching any more.

[Neil]

I enjoyed it more then I thought I would.
They definitely drew inspiration from the original and took things to new heights with the plane crashing into the city, the scene of the two leads on the rooftop hearing screams, watching as parts of the powerless city burned was great.
The recently blind staggering around the Hospital lobby/entrance and hearing one infant wail was enough of a reminder for what Neil brought up, a small girl leading her dad was another.
I give it a 9/10 for apocalypse thus far.
The let downs were the Triffids themselves through being CGI, I liked the concept of them snagging people and restraining them but not with roots! The other let down was the blinding event itself, it lasted a minute which I guess is long anough to arrouse curiosity of others to condemn them but there would be loads more shielded from it, I suppose they'd have bailed town or something.
I thought it was average at best...

- Eddie Izzard waking up... Doesn't ask a single question about why the plane is in trouble - "oh dear"...
- Just gets into a cubicle full of inflatable vests - "oh dear"...
- Happens to crash land (in all the world) right next to/ontop off the lead characters - "oh dear"...
- In a crazy moment equalling Indiana Jones surviving an a-bomb by jumping inside a fridge, Izzard comes out of a plane crashing into a city at X hunderd miles an hour, alive, with stupid looking comedy character clothes in tatters and trouser legs missing - "OH DEAR!!!"...
- Then news lady comes out of the underground, wonders around for a minute or two before bumping into our hero and proclaims, "I thought I was the only one"? What in the 2 minutes you've looked love? - "oh dear"...
- Our hero and news lady go to the Triffid farms, and off they go into the middle of the farm for no reason other than to risk their lives - "oh dear"...
- At the triffid farm where X hundreds/thousands of triffids were. They have escaped killing everyone there. Not a SINGLE triffid was still there just by random, or sitting by the person it had killed, feeding - in the end that's why the Triffids kill, they then sit there feeding for X days or weeks... But no, these new Triffids have other agendas, like getting out of the way of our heroes so they don't appear in the episode too soon - "oh dear"...
- And then we have ninja tree triffids attacking swiftly from the air and scooping folks up...
- Why cart Mason and Coker mile and mile away to kill them? What's wrong with a back alley? Other than to allow the Triffids to get involved?

Silly ill-thoughtout weak writing!



And what the hell is the point of Eddie Izzard? We need some other protagonist in a world where virtually everyone is blind, dieing, the world is crumbling and the triffids are on the rampage? Is that backdrop not enough for the writers to work with? When did we lose the ability to write good solid sensible scripts where the events and characters have some thread of common sense and realism to them?

It's akin to the new BBC Survivors series. The new one rushes around and they feel they need to add some big bad organisation to maintain interest? Why not like the original concentrate on the characters and the simple day to day events which in themselves are more than interesting (& realistic) enough? We don't need helicopters with soldiers flying around to maintain our interest, if the script is good enough.


Also why the need to throw a big name into every major role? Put unknowns in!


I've got a horrible feeling they're not even going to bother with the "diseases" from the book, and 1981 TV series... I fear they'll instead be rushing around making room for Izzard to ponce around on screen.

I think I'll dust off my 1981 BBC adaptation, which although it has far lower production value, is written seemingly far far better.

---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------


Shat alllllll over the book. They turned an intelligent, gripping, slow build apocalyptic thriller into an absurd action piece about groups of people scrapping with each other. Won't be watching any more.

Watch out for those ninja triffids!

[Rottedfreak]

Either Eddie Izzard is as bored as he looks and no one had the guts to tell him to act or his scenes are poorly edited.

Another criticism should go to Jo's fathers home, it shows every picture has been slanted rather then broken ornaments and crockery and what are the odds the Triffids made it there? I can understand the original and the novel for this scene as the Triffids were pets and seeded everywhere but in this one they were confined to a farm miles away, them getting that far overnight is unlikely.

[Neil]

Second episode was probably even dummer than the first... Terrible writing...

[AcesandEights]

Well, I've finally got the original television (81?) version in my Netflix queue, so I may stream it over the long weekend. :)

[capncnut]

I never saw it, but it's weird to see so many slagging the new adaptation off. Most of the folks I know who watched it said it was fookin' great!

[AcesandEights]

I never saw it, but it's weird to see so many slagging the new adaptation off. Most of the folks I know who watched it said it was fookin' great!

Well, sentimentality may play a role. *shrug*

[Neil]

I never saw it, but it's weird to see so many slagging the new adaptation off. Most of the folks I know who watched it said it was fookin' great!

Just poor writing - Just so many times characters do silly/daft/unnecessary things, or stupid events occurring...

[paranoid101]

It was ok, nothing special and not a patch on the 80s series.

Plus points -

Special effects were very good, the scenes in London where very well done, I quite liked how the new triffids looked.

Dougray Scott as the main character was a good choice as were most of the main cast were just fine.

Better than Survivors

Not so good points -

Eddie Izzard as the big bad, errr no, I was half expecting him to go "look im the bad guy" the go Grrrrrrrrr and go off on some whimsical talk about curtains, I mean I could just about believe Jason Priestley of Beverley Hills 902......56790474 or something, as the tough American airforce guy, but Eddie as the bad guy, no I can't say I was keen.

Too many coincidents of the main characters bumping into each other, I suppose they had a tight time scale with the book being put into a 3 hour run time, so had to get the cast together.

The black lad that help Joe escape the city, now could'nt he make his mind up whether to be a good guy or a bad guy?, I mean one minute he helps Joe escape London, Next scene he is in He's found out where our hero's are heading to and passing the file to Eddie.

When Eddie the big bad of London decided that our hero's were no longer required, did he just pop them 2 in the back of the head?, oh no he decide to make sure they had a chance to escape everytime by giving the kill mission to the Doctor Evil School Henchmen, this is what happens when a comedian wants to rule the world.

Shame some of the special effects budget couldn't have been spent on the script writers

Theres probably lots more but that will do for now, I did enjoy it more than the survivors remake but only just.

On another point anyone read Simon Clarks Night of the Triffids?, now that book is a good companion to the Original Book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Triffids-Simon-Clark/dp/0340766018/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262191874&sr=8-20

[Neil]

My comments/review on IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1332653/usercomments-7

[paranoid101]

I think a more plausible reason for the world going blind is the Plot holes rather than a solar storm.

[kidgloves]

Enjoyed the 1st part and had high hopes for the 2nd but it was appalling. Sloppy and was completely uninterested by the end. Just terrible.
Roll on 2nd series of Survivors and Being Human

[krakenslayer]

I think a more plausible reason for the world going blind is the Plot holes rather than a solar storm.

If the adaptation follows the book AT ALL, the blindness turns out be caused by... well, the flashes are not "meteors" per se.

[slickwilly13]

Anyone have an image on what they look like? I really could not find anything.

[Andy]

I Really didnt understand the ending.. maybe someone can explain it to me?

Somehow, pouring triffid venom into your eyes through a wooden mask dosnt blind you but also stops triffids from attacking you? Explain please..

[paranoid101]

I Really didnt understand the ending.. maybe someone can explain it to me?

Somehow, pouring triffid venom into your eyes through a wooden mask dosnt blind you but also stops triffids from attacking you? Explain please..

Think its because triffids wont attack Alice Cooper:D

[Rottedfreak]

Look what I found:

Patrick Harbinson purposefully avoided watching the two previous screen versions and closely followed Wyndham's book – albeit not too slavishly. "There's the famous scene in the hospital where he's asked to open the blinds by a ward full of blind men, and I had that in there because I thought it was good, but I also did another scene where recently birthed mothers are looking for their babies, which was more horrible. Not better... more horrible."


http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/seeds-of-destruction-the-day-of-the-triffids-1846152.html

I remember the original novel being alot more dark with:

Masen is in a hotel on the highest floor he observes a young man opening a door to a balcony, he then leads his partner, a young woman, out there reassuring her and then takes her over the edge with him.

At the start he leaves the Hospital and goes into a pub across the street, he finds two blinds inside, he helps one get a whisky and the other is knocking back enough to brave suicide, he tells Masen that his wife took the kids to the bedroom and left the gas running.

[Neil]

I watched episode 4 and 5 of the original (1981) series last night...

Episode 4 alone IMHO contained far more interest, depth and insight than the entire 3hrs of the recent remake. After watching it, I couldn't believe it was only 27 minutes long TBH due to how much content was in there. The pace seemed to not rush in the slightest, giving time where necessary to people/events. Most notibly people actually talk a lot to each other about things, giving insight into themselves and events surrounding them (this seemed lacking in the modern version). No massive explosions, huge battles or gun fights were required to keep it interesting and intriguing. It's feet were kept firmly on the ground, giving a more solid/realistic feel.

Even my partner, who was watching at times as she came in/out of the room, commented on how much went on in such a short space of time, and how much deeper and more interesting it seemed than the recent remake.

Also interesting how of that 27 minutes, Torrence - appearing for the first time - was given about one minute of screen time... He appears again in the final episode for about just 5 minutes, and that's it...

Episode 5, again seems to offer so much in its 27 minute running time, with Bill and Coker spending much of the episode togethor. And here again, insightful conversation (not action or explosions) gives depth to the characters, triffids and apocalypse.


I hadn't watched these old episodes for years, but I see my recollection of them was fair - Yes, the acting is a little wooden in places, and the effects not maybe upto modern day standards*, but as a piece of drama - which at the end of the day is what it's trying to be - it's outstanding!

* - I find the triffids in the original series far more imposing and believable than the modern CGI counterparts we saw. They are better explained in the original, are simpler (less mobile, less moving parts, less ninjary) and therefore more believable. Even little bits of attention to detail as explained and shown, that the triffids find cities like deserts, as they don't like concrete etc... Where as in the modern adaptation, short of seeing them driving golf karts, they seemed to be as mobile as they like (even climbing trees).