rain-46 Two stars for effort of the cast with such a poor script. Started off OKay with a similar premise as the book, but totally, completely lost-the-plot early on. It turned into a very silly comic-book horror story full of very old and very tired clichés.The book was never meant to be a 'horror story' about man-eating plants, but about us, about humanity, or a commentary on "Human Nature". For example, even when faced with a common enemy and such destruction, 'Man is still his own worst Enemy', is just one of the many themes explored in the book.I will stick with the 1981 TV co-production version, which remains the best adaptation of this classic literary science-fiction novel.

Neil Welch Two things happen - lights in the sky make most people go blind, and the world is simultaneously overrun by Triffids, intelligent ambulatory carnivorous plants.Classic stories - of which John Wyndham's The Day Of The Triffids is one - are almost entitled to revisitation by the TV/movie industry every few years. This particular iteration is a two part, 3 hour co-production between the BBC and sundry others, and features Dougray Scott as major protagonist Bill Masen.In this instance, Masen actually works with the Triffids, which were harnessed by his father to produce Triffid oil to defeat global warming in an interesting tweak to the original. In a less pleasing tweak, Masen's mother was killed by Triffids when he was a child, which results in frequent and annoying flashbacks of African natives in frightmasks.Dougray Scott is a dour, unappealing, and frequently unintelligible protagonist. Joely Richardson is a solidly effective leading lady and Eddie Izzard is an entertaining but motiveless baddie.The scenes of a devastated London are very effective, and the Triffids are nicely realised.Which leaves the script, in respect of which one can only say "Oh dear." There are digressions which would be fine in an ongoing series, but which have no place in a miniseries like this. There are illogicalities aplenty. There are characters with no apparent motivation, and unbelievable motivations. The Day Of The Triffids is an easy story to make believable. This effort chooses not to.

philaulman I thought this adaptation was in large, good. I was only 5 when the original was on TV, so couldn't remember much about the story, save the giant man-eating plants and some blind people.I thought the actors did the best they could with a less-than-brilliant script. Dougray Scott was good as the main protagonist as was Eddie Izzard in his antagonist role.The real surprise in this version though was Joely Richardson. Although a talented actress, she must have been suffering an off-day, as her acting was dreadful. Could've been the script, but then again, most of the other actors managed okay. Top marks for the BBC though for managing to secure Brian Cox and "A Redgrave".All in all, good fun but with a few weak bits.

TheLittleSongbird I was disappointed with Day of the Triffids, it wasn't absolutely awful, but disappointing is the best way to describe it. I confess I have not read the book a shameful admission I know, but my dad who saw it with me has, and noted that the second half of the adaptation especially is completely different. I also do feel that it was not the best thing on Christmas television, Cranford Christmas was absolutely exceptional, and in terms of dramas of the year it is a major step down from the unforgettable Occupation which was one of the best dramas I'd seen the BBC produce in years.Okay, so what were the good things? The production values certainly. The special effects were above average making some scenes exhilarating visually to watch, and there was some good scenery particularly at the beginning. Joely Richardson was the redeeming feature of the cast, making the most of a clunky script and doing her best to breathe some life into the proceedings. I thought the first fifteen minutes were good, and the Triffid Attacks were well done.However, everything else disappointed me. The thing is it didn't grip or excite me; the pace was very uneven throughout, some parts were very slow and others were too rushed. The script as I've mentioned before was clunky and underdeveloped, and the plot while truly intriguing was rushed through without giving much thought to detail or explanation. The direction was rather lazy, and there is some wooden acting going on. Dougray Scott could have been so good here in the lead, instead he seems to be phoning in his performance. Eddie Izzard tries his best, but he lacks menace and his presence is sometimes jarring, and Brian Cox and Vanessa Redgrave are given little to do.In conclusion, had a great idea but some of it didn't work for me. Some good things certainly, but it was disappointing in terms of script and acting, and I can understand why some people who love the book disliked this. Even from having not read the book, I could tell it was underdeveloped. Oh well, can't please everyone I guess. 5/10 Bethany Cox