The Day of the Triffids

When I was seven years old, Day of the Triffids scared me so much that my parents sent me to bed early, and banned me from watching later episodes. With a lifetime of memories of a few images, I was stunned to find the show rerun on British satellite telly, and nervous about watching it again.

As so many have commented here, the joy of DOTD is its concentration on the breakdown of society. With humanity rendered blind, there are some nasty images here: a starving woman struggling to open a box, unable to see that it's washing powder; another woman struggling to get into a tin of coffee; a crowd of blind people surrounding a car, desperate to grab hold of the sighted people inside it. Nasty, unsettling, realistic stuff.

The Triffids are kept to a minimum, and wisely so, as their appearance is a bit early-80s-BBC. They look a bit plastic. Careful camerawork highlighting their roots, shadows, lethal stinging "tongues"; and the eerie Triffid soundeffect, are supremely effective in keeping the horror of death by walking vegetable on the edge of screen throughout. With horrendous disease sweeping the land, a dictatorial self-imposed government planning to seize control, the breakdown of modern society is uncomfortably close. The first meeting of the group Bill meets up with, explaining that "women will be expected to have babies, men will be expected to work", could be real.

A few scary Triffid moments, and a lot of very believable "what if" issues ensure that DOTD is as special now as it was when I was sent to bed early, and woke with nightmares, all those years ago.

I remember watching this on TV when I was little and being terrified of the triffids. I watched a lot of sci-fi but this stood out. I've always liked those survival stories like dawn of the dead or 28 days later. If you like those kind of movies you'll probably enjoy day of the triffids. When I saw it was now available on DVD I ordered it with plenty of enthusiasm and a little trepidation. Often those shows you watch and enjoy as a kid just don't hold up and watching them as an adult kind of takes the shine off those memories. I mean, how good do those special effects in Doctor Who look now. But, in this case I need not have worried. I've just watched all six episodes of Day of the Triffids in a row and I loved it. Yes, the special effects do look a little dated but all things considered, they're not that bad, and they don't interfere with your enjoyment. The story is great, well written and well paced, you never know what's going to happen next. Plus it throws up lots of little ethical questions. Also, the acting by all of the main cast is excellent. Forget about the old movie version, read the book or watch this mini series. 8/10.

I remember watching this when i was a child and still enjoy it as much now as i did then,the breakdown of morals were shown very quickly with the main character trying to save a girl from being raped and it made me think what would happen if there was no more law and order and the sighted could do whatever they wished.OK the triffids are very 1980's (but that is when it was made so what do you expect) But if they made a remake now it would be all CGI and no story (war of the worlds being a major case).All in all i would have to say get it (not the rubbish film but the bbc version) settle down on a Sunday afternoon and go back in time to when a programme had to keep you hooked by the story line and not the special effects and maybe make you worried about your garden at night lol.

A night of wonderful meteoric activity wows all on Earth, until that is, it blinds most of the population, the disruption allows the manufactured plants, The Triffids to take over.

Forty years after it was transmitted, it still manages to entertain, wow and chill. Set over six episodes it gets more and more bleak with each episode, and a mounting death count adds to the feeling of doom.

The Triffids still look good, and still cut a menacing figure, they bring terror to all that come across them.

Very atmospheric, it features some great shots of a run down country, they manage to create a very bleak environment. It's similar in tone to The Survivors series, there are several parallels.

Very nicely acted, John Duttine as always is first rate. It features a good cast, I was impressed by Maurice Colbourne.

Still the best adaptation, miles better then the film before, and The BBC's later remake.

Very good still, 8/10.

A vivid adaptation of John Wyndham's classic novel. Nearly everyone in the world has been blinded, and humanity is at the mercy of the triffids, a genetically engineered breed of carniverous plants. The last time this was shown on television was back in 1987, when I was in Grade 6. I taped each episode and watched the serial so many times I knew the script off by heart. Regrettably, it was taped over a few years ago. I enjoyed the programme so much I read the novel, which I still have (in fact I have two copies), and I've also collected John Wyndham's other books. "The Day of the Triffids" was the first story that got me thinking about the end of civilisation. For once television can't be blamed as a medium that stops people reading.