“When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.”
This is my 2019 Televisual Advent Calendar. I did a musical version in 2011 and a cinematic one in 2012. It is in no particular order and I make no apologies for the TV series that I am blogging about. These TV series have either made me think, I have enjoyed or have had some impact on me. These are scripted TV series, some are drama, some are comedy, some are both. I found it really hard to narrow this down to just 24.
This is one of those dystopian science fiction series, that felt too close to comfort. On one fateful night a meteor storm makes everyone blind. If that’s not bad enough, some carnivorous plants, the triffids take advantage of the situation to feed on the newly blinded population. A few sighted survivors try and make it through, and in the process have to deal with, not just triffids, but gangs, tinpot dictators, gangs and a disintegrating society.
This was the original BBC Version broadcast in 1981, starring John Duttine as Bill Masen. There were six episodes, each 30 minutes long. I remember watching the series and been enthralled by this horrific future, knowing in one way that it couldn’t happen, but fearful it might.
It was one of those series where I wanted to watch more, find out more about the world and how it changed and what happened to the characters. I felt there was a lot more to the stories behind the characters, and too much was missing from either passages of time between the episodes, and too much simple exposition on what happened to other characters and communities in passing comments.
Today you can imagine someone taking The Day of the Triffids and turning into an epic series of episodes like The Walking Dead. That way more of the world could be unearthed and more insight to what happened to the characters.
A new version was made ten years ago, but though it had some qualities, I didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as the 1981 version.
I really remember enjoying watching The Day of the Triffids and it was scary and well made television.
Get Day of the Triffids on DVD.
Get Day of the Triffids on Amazon Video.
Get Day of the Triffids on iTunes.