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.

As a child in the 80s, watching this on VHS, DOTTT scared the bejibbers out of me. I actually started avoiding the lilies in our garden (I thought they looked like the beeb's well-realised, if plasticy, rendition). Rewatching The Triffids in my 20s, I was disappointed; it seemed dated and flat to eyes that were at that time wowed by early CG, and disinterested in practical effects. I don't think I made it through the 1st episode. Fast forward a decade or so, and this time around, watching on @plex, I quite enjoyed the mini-series, and appreciate it as a well-crafted product of its time. The sound design & score are awesome, and the acting spot on. Smart and artful storytelling, that was aware of its own production limitations and worked creatively to excel within its capabilities. A 'what-if' for the ages. And I still call lilies Triffids.

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.

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.

This is the best ever version of this famous science fiction novel. Even the choice of John Duttine as Bill Masen is very close to how I imagined him to look like. An average 36 year old man, who is lying in hospital, with his eyes bandaged up. This was the result of a Triffid sting. In the 1962 film, we do not find out why Bill Masen has this treatment! The triffids themselves are spot on! in detail and you see the sting lash out about 10 feet long.That is how John Wyndham describes them. So the BBC and Douglas Livingstone ,got this spot on! and we see Bill Masen as a child experiencing his first Triffid in his back garden. This DVD that I now have, has been eagerly awaited by myself. The opening music, is composed and conducted by Christopher Gunning. and is very stirring. every part of the dialogue was also as spoken in the book, (Yes I have read the book) and I know just how the story should unfold on the screen. It is a pity that widescreen TV's did not exist in 1981! as this would of been a great widescreen production. This series was in 6 parts by the way. You get a collector's booklet and all 6 parts on the DVD! Number BBC DVD 1152!