Day of the Triffids

[flounder]

Was it just me, or did anyone else wath The Day of The Triffids thinking 'what they need is a Trend Airshield Pro!'?

 

[Smudger]

Yes. I thought that. Sad, isn't it?

I also wondered why they didn't use flamethrowers. Wasn't that in the original?

Good production, though. I missed the first part, and I'm going to watch it on iPlayer later today.

 

[flounder]

I am too young to remember the original :roll: and I have never read the book, but certainly a flame thrower and the odd petrol bomb would have been my weapon of choice rather than trying to shoot them with a hand gun!
And what happened to the 12 million population of London, blind or not? It seemed within a few days they were reduced to a couple of hundred people! Still, musnt grumble, it passed a couple of hours and at least it wasnt Strictly Come Dancing or the bloody X Factor!

 

[Philly]

The first episode started well, but the second was a bit "hollywood"

I found it a little difficult to believe the whole planet went blind - wouldn't the folks on the "night-side" of the planet be out of trouble? :lol: And what about everyone on the underground? :lol:

Wasted another couple hours, anyway,
Philly :lol:

 

[big soft moose]

The first episode started well, but the second was a bit "hollywood"

I found it a little difficult to believe the whole planet went blind - wouldn't the folks on the "night-side" of the planet be out of trouble? :lol: And what about everyone on the underground? :lol:

Wasted another couple hours, anyway,
Philly :lol:

in the book the blindness comes from people watching the pretty green flashes from "a comet" or as it turns out a deorbiting satelite weapon which is why everyone one the planet except those underground, passed out drunk, or otherwise unable to see it (the hero is in hospital with his eyes bandaged) is effected.

and re flamethrowers , they are indeed the weapon of choice in the latter parts of the book - once the survivors have got organised , but they arent the easiest to come by so initially the most useful weapon is a shotgun.

 

[rileytoolworks]

Sorry fellas. I thought it was utter dung.
There were more holes in it than a tramps vest.
For instance, there were no references to any sort of timescale. At times, the main characters were talking as though it had been going on for months, the next scene showed people (attacked by the conifers :wink: ) still lying on the floor.
In one scene, Joely Richardson breaks the window of a restaurant (with no other apparent way of getting in), and finds a chef dead, apparently attacked by a triffid. Yet he's not been eaten and there's no sign of a triffid in the locked building. Then when the scientist returns to the triffid farm, there are security guards outside, lying dead but un-eaten.
I spent both nights ripping it apart.
For a story with such potential, one which was eagerly anticipated by myself, I think the Beeb have let themselves down. Not a patch on the original, and not even in the same field as the book.
And as for Eddie Izzard surviving the plane crash because he was wearing a few extra armbands - don't get me started on that.

It's a bit like that bloody 'Survivors', where there are no cars on the roads. Did the dying REALLY drive home and park them neatly in their garages?

Sorry. Rant over.

Adam.

 

[big soft moose]

i didnt watch it but by the sounds of it i agree with you - however one point

Triffids, being plants, arent equiped to "eat" dead bodies - the modus vivendi would be to sting the victim to death then sink their roots into the ground next to him and wait for him to decay , which would take months.

 

[RogerS]

i didnt watch it but by the sounds of it i agree with you - however one point

Triffids, being plants, arent equiped to "eat" dead bodies - the modus vivendi would be to sting the victim to death then sink their roots into the ground next to him and wait for him to decay , which would take months.

Umm.. Venus Fly Trap ?

 

[big soft moose]

i didnt watch it but by the sounds of it i agree with you - however one point

Triffids, being plants, arent equiped to "eat" dead bodies - the modus vivendi would be to sting the victim to death then sink their roots into the ground next to him and wait for him to decay , which would take months.

Umm.. Venus Fly Trap ?

yep i know - but thats not how Wyndham envisaged the triffid - in the book he actually describes the advantage of their feeding in the manner I explained above.

 

[Digit]

The first Sci-Fi book I ever read. That's the third offering on the box, the first one was with Howard Keel, and the less said about it the better, even John Wyndham disowned it, and the BBC version a few years ago was good IMO.
Anyone ever read any of his other offerings?

Roy.

 

[Smudger]

The first Sci-Fi book I ever read. That's the third offering on the box, the first one was with Howard Keel, and the less said about it the better, even John Wyndham disowned it, and the BBC version a few years ago was good IMO.
Anyone ever read any of his other offerings?

Roy.

I read Triffids when I was at school, after we did The Kraken Wakes as a set book.
I also read (and saw the film of) The Midwich Cuckoos, The Seeds of Time (short stories) and (I think) The Chrysalids - though I might have seen a film/TV of that.
I think he has good (though derivative) plots, but writes a little woodenly. Entertaining if you are in the mood to overlook the flaws!

 

[RogerS]

Iain M Banks for anyone?

 

[BMac]

'The Wasp Factory' was good.

Did Iain Banks use 'Iain M. Banks' for his science-fiction type stuff?

Brendan

 

[mailee]

If I remember correctly in the original Movie didn't they kill the Triffids with sea water? :?

 

[matt]

Just gave up watching a recording of this... Silly plots can work well when they're not executed poorly, with bad acting, and scripts that suck.

 

[cambournepete]

I thought it was really good - my wife and I enjoyed it immensely.

I think it's all too easy to pick holes in these things rather than just enjoy them.

 

[cutting42]

Iain M Banks for anyone?

Hi Roger

I am a huge Ian M Banks fan and have read most of his scifi books. Just finished Matter for the second time and am starting Inversions.

Favourite so far is Player of Games but Against a Dark Background runs it close. How about you|?

 

[matt]

I thought it was really good - my wife and I enjoyed it immensely.

I think it's all too easy to pick holes in these things rather than just enjoy them.

You're right - this one was particularly easy to pick holes in...

My "problem" is I find it really hard to sit in front of the TV. If the program is bad (IMO) then my put-up-with-and-enjoy versus go-do-something-else urge is automatically pre-disposed-to-go-to-something else. Most other things are more enjoyable than most programmes on TV for me.

 

[RogerS]

Iain M Banks for anyone?

Hi Roger

I am a huge Ian M Banks fan and have read most of his scifi books. Just finished Matter for the second time and am starting Inversions.

Favourite so far is Player of Games but Against a Dark Background runs it close. How about you|?

That's a hard one. Probably Consider Phlebas as it was the first one that I read. I have all of his books (in both genres) in hardback and have started to re-read them.

To my great delight, i discovered that I had two that I'd never got round to reading. Unlike many of the other paperbacks that i read, such as Wallender and the Inspector Banks series, I need to sit down and find the time to read Iain Banks (or Iain M Banks) solidly for a couple of hours as i find his writing so eloquent and to get the most out of it, not something that you read for 15 minutes dropping off to sleep.

 

[studders]

I particularly enjoyed the dead body taking a nice deep breath in part two.