Distributor:
Roadshow Home Entertainment Certificate: M15+ | 157
minutes Extras: No
ANYONE
IN IT WE KNOW?
John
Duttine, Emma Relph, Maurice Colbourne, Jonathan Newth, Stephen Yardley,
David Swift, Gary Olsen
WHAT’S
IT ABOUT THEN?
Resolutely
downbeat in the best BBC scifi
tradition The Day of the
Triffids, based on John
Wyndham’s post apocalyptic
novel of the 1950’s, is superb
stuff, similar in tone to the
legendary Survivors it follows
ex-Triffid farmer Bill Masen
(John Duttine) who, thanks to
being
in hospital with bandaged eyes following a Triffid sting (Triffids are a
kind of carnivorous plant with a huge tendril that launches out to sting
and disable its prey), misses out on an amazing cosmic phenomenon that
leaves most of the worlds population blind, in the aftermath of the
collapse of normal society that follows the Triffids emerge as the
dominant species, quickly wiping out million of now blind people.
One
of the few people still able to see Masen finds himself first having to
lead a team of blind scavengers and later setting up the process for a
confrontation with the Triffids.
Sticking
pretty faithfully to Wyndham’s material this is classic BBC scifi
adventure at its best, its 6 half hour format allowing plenty of room
for cliff-hangers in best Dr Who style.
Originally
broadcast in 1981 Day of the Triffids belongs to that canon of classics
that also includes Survivors (when is that going to get a region 4
release?), Blakes 7, First Born, The Changes and The Nightmare Man,
absolutely essential to any fan of British Telefantasy and fantastic
viewing in its own right.
This
single disc set from Roadshow doesn’t contain any extras but does
include an informative 12 page collectors booklet. Great stuff!!
