The Day of the Triffids

1981

The Day of the Triffids

7.3 | en | Drama

After an unusual meteor shower leaves most of the human population blind, a merchant navy officer must find a way to conquer tall, aggressive plants which are feeding on people and animals.

Seasons & Episodes

EP1 Episode 1

Sep. 10,1981

Recovering in hospital from a blinding triffid sting, Bill Masen, wakes up to an uncanny silence...

EP2 Episode 2

Sep. 17,1981

His sight restored, Bill sees the new world of blindness and panic menaced by triffids...

EP3 Episode 3

Sep. 24,1981

Bill and Jo try to find refuge from the panic-stricken streets of London and the dangers of the triffids.

EP4 Episode 4

Oct. 01,1981

Bill finds himself kidnapped, imprisoned and separated from Jo.

EP5 Episode 5

Oct. 08,1981

Bill continues his search for Jo, through the spreading disease and maurading triffids...

EP6 Episode 6

Oct. 15,1981

Six years later in the Sussex farmhouse, Bill and Jo find themselves cut off by growing numbers of triffids...

7.3 | en | Drama , Sci-Fi | More Info

Released: 1981-09-10 | Released Producted By: BBC , Country: United Kingdom Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007vv66

info

After an unusual meteor shower leaves most of the human population blind, a merchant navy officer must find a way to conquer tall, aggressive plants which are feeding on people and animals.

Genre

Drama , Sci-Fi

Watch Online

The Day of the Triffids (1981) is currently not available on any services.

Cast

John Duttine , Emma Relph , Maurice Colbourne

Director

Victor Meredith

Producted By

BBC ,

The Day of the Triffids Videos and Images

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Top Credited Cast
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Crew

John Duttine

as Bill Masen

The Courtroom The Mallen Streak This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper My Night with Reg Out of the Blue Ain't Misbehavin' The Hawk Heartbeat Lost Property A Still Small Shout

Emma Relph

as Jo Payton

The Witches In the Secret State Eureka The Day of the Triffids

Maurice Colbourne

as Jack Coker

Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil Doctor Who: Attack of the Cybermen Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks Johnny Jarvis Venom Rating Notman The Day of the Triffids The Day of the Triffids Bloodline The Duellists

Victor Meredith

Production Design

John Daly

Assistant Camera

Peter Hall

Camera Operator

Ken Major

Camera Operator

Rita Reekie

Costume Design

Ann Ailes-Stevenson

Makeup Artist

Ken Hannam

Director

Stan Pow

Editor

Dick Allen

Editor

Brian Clemett

Lighting Director

David Maloney

Producer

Margot Hayhoe

Production Manager

Christopher Gunning

Original Music Composer

Norman Bennett

Sound

Steve Drevett

Visual Effects Designer

John Wyndham

Novel

Douglas Livingstone

Screenplay

Zanna Beswick

Script Editor

The Day of the Triffids Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

paul2001sw-1 This early 1980s adaptation of John Wyndham's 'Day of the Triffids' offers us global apocalypse on a shoestring budget: cue some decidedly unspectacular special effects and thin crowd scenes. The acting is also limited: the characters respond remarkably calmly to the near-end of everything. Yet the triffids themselves are surprisingly well done, with their venomous strings and menacing roots. And (especially knowing what was to come) I found the tension implicit in the opening episode, in which a temporarily blinded man comes to suspect that something in the world he can't see isn't what it's supposed to be, utterly unbearable. At the end of the day, a good story trumps special effects, and there's something in the believable human tragedy of this one that makes it more horrifying than any horror story. Indeed, some of the scenes had stayed with me since first watching it over thirty years before. It's proof you don't need exploding galaxies or evil geniuses to unsettle a complacent audience.

Master Cultist BBC adaptation of the John Wyndham novel which is both a character study, and an analysis of the basis of society:How long after the fabric of society deteriorates would the usual rules of social etiquette prevail? Or, would we all turn into a bunch of self-serving mercenaries, caring not at all for our fellow man.The plot - a comet passes close to the Earth's orbit, and most of mankind are eager to see it. They stare up at the sky and, for reasons that are never fully explained, they are rendered blind. Our hero, Bill Masen, has the good fortune to be in hospital for an operation on his orbs (can't remember the exact reason) so is immune to the effects. At the same time, vicious vegetation, Triffids, which had been safely housed in labs and zoos as subjects of study and curiosity are now able to break free of their captivity, and are hell-bent on claiming the Earth as their own.The Triffids themselves are well realised, and the cast performs well. For a small screen adaptation of such a profound concept, the BBC did a very good job, and it is noticeable the number of people who remember this, even so many years after its initial transmission.Flags towards the middle but, that aside, this is a fine effort indeed.NOTE - A new version is airing from 28th December 2009 in the UK

jan-erik-wahlberg-1 This series, being a rip-off from the 1962 movie with the same catchy title, made interesting viewing because it's very hard to determine whether it was made with a tongue-in-cheek attitude or not. The plot is obviously completely crazy - it contains the perplexing phenomena of 99% of the population going blind in the glow of a meteor shower and disregards the fact that roughly half the population has daylight. The glow also causes a vicious breed of plants called triffids to go berserk and in doing so they have the poor blind people for snacks. This of course leads to a number of chases and a survival story which rates among the most arbitrary in the history of movie or television fiction. So if you like to keep your viewing on a serious or artistic level don't watch this one. However, if you can digest a bit of kitch together with perhaps a trifle mediocre acting, you will find it entertaining.

Matt (iammatty) In 1962 came one of the worst film adaptations of a book in history. The plot was drastically changed, characters were eliminated, changed and new ones were added in altogether!And then, like a holy beacon of light, came the faithful, 1981 TV series by the BBC. Yes, even though they did change a few minor details, the plot was left intact, the story followed the same route as the novel, and the actors really got into their roles.Bill Masen awakes in hospital, with his eyes bandaged up to find that the majority of the population of the world has been rendered helpless when they blinded overnight by a spectacular comet shower. And, to make matters worse, a fairly new species of dangerous, carnivorous plants that have been kept under lock and key until now, are now free to roam, kill and eat to their own pleasure. You see, these plants aren't like your average, potter plants, that sit in a pot, grow, and die. These plants walk, they grow to great heights, they have ten-foot long poison whips, and feed on decayed human flesh. Surely we've seen the demise of the human population of Earth as the Triffids multiply their numbers with every year that passes...