The Day of the Triffids (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = The Day of the Triffids


caption = The Day of the Triffids
genre = TV drama
picture_format = (4x3)
runtime =
starring = John Duttine (Bill Masen), Emma Relph (Josella Payton), Maurice Colbourne (Jack Coker), Stephen Yardley (John)
network = BBC One
country = UK
first_aired = 1981
last_aired = 1981
num_episodes =
producer = BBC

"The Day of the Triffids" is a 1981 BBC television science fiction serial, based on the novel of the same name by English science fiction author John Wyndham.

Plot summary

The series takes place in late 20th century Britain. A spectacular meteorite shower unexpectedly renders most of humanity blind, leading to the breakdown of society literally overnight. Bill Masen (John Duttine), who by chance has retained his sight by virtue of being in hospital with his eyes bandaged, joins a small band of similarly lucky survivors. As British societal norms collapse and the human race turns against itself, the survivors must fend off attacks from roving bands of the blind, and a sinister military force.

They must also fight to stay one step ahead of the Triffids. These mobile carnivorous plants, armed with a lethal stinger, had hitherto been farmed for their oil. With the coincidental collapse of civilisation, they become free to run amok, and – with man's natural advantage, sight, gone – they begin to establish themselves as the dominant life form in Britain. The irony for Bill is that he was the first person in England ever to be stung by a Triffid, as a child (surviving because it was not fully developed) and was in the hospital due to another sting, received - despite wearing a safety mask - on the Triffid farm where he worked. The relentless plants force the surviving humans to abandon their cities and live in isolated rural hamlets and on islands.

The Triffid plants

A Triffid was operated by a man crouched inside, cooled by a fan installed in its neck; the 'clackers' were radio controlled. The gnarled bowl, based on the ginseng root, was made of latex with a covering of sawdust and string while the neck was fibreglass and continued down to the floor, where it joined with the operator's seat. The plant was surmounted by a flexible rubber head, coated with clear gunge.

After the end of the production one was displayed for a while in the Natural History Museum in London;They were designed by Steve Drewett who worked there [ [http://www.phantomframe.co.uk/triffids.htm In the Kingdom of the Blind BBC's The Day of the Triffids] ] . Some inferior copies of the props later threw a cocktail party for Angus Deayton during an episode of "Alexei Sayle's Stuff".

DVD releases

The series was released on DVD in the UK on 4 April 2005 and in Australia on 6 June 2005. A US DVD (through BBC Home Video) was released on 1 October 2007.

ee also

* The Triffid
* The Day of the Triffids, a Book by John Wyndham (1951)
* The Day of the Triffids, a BBC radio dramatization of Wyndham's book (1957)
* The Day of the Triffids, a film adaptation of Wyndham's book (1962)
* The Night of the Triffids, a sequel to Wyndham's book by Simon Clark (2001)

References

External links

*bbc.co.uk|id=cult/classic/triffids|title="The Day of the Triffids"
*imdb title|id=0081850|title=The Day of the Triffids (1981)
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Triffids/DayoftriffidsTV.htm "The Day of the Triffids"] at Clivebanks.co.uk
* [http://www.action-tv.org.uk/guides/dayofthetriffids.htm "The Day of the Triffids"] at Action TV
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/522142/index.html British Film Institute Screen Online (1981) series]