I have fuzzy memories of this series from when I was a child in the early 1980s. Some lines and imagery stuck with me, but I never got around to actually seeing the whole thing (and if I did I don't remember it).
I'm glad then that I decided to give it a bash, because it is superb!
The series starts off quite slow. The first episode isn't exactly gripping, but it does the job of setting everything up. The subsequent episodes really start to ramp up the tension, and each one becomes more exciting as it progresses.
It's funny that, for a series called "Day of the Triffids", the Triffids themselves are actually more of a background character and a secondary threat. The main focus is on the collapse of society and grouping of people into small power groups - each one trying to retain that power by any means that it can. All of them have different views on how the world and society should be, but there's no real authority there to police any of them.
The series has a great look as well. In the 80s, TV shows weren't shot on film, but rather SD Videotape, and that gives the show a very gritty edge with its retro washed out look. The deserted streets of London look even more bleak with the muted palette, and it all adds to serve the brilliant tension.
A special mention must go to the score by Christopher Gunning. It is a phenomenally sinister mix of chaotic low end piano and synthesisers. It's a very unique score, and one that really adds to the atmosphere of the show.
As a whole the show is fantastic, but it does feel a little short. The sixth and final episode is a little anticlimactic, and it feels like the series should have had two more episodes to follow on to the character's journey to the Isle of Wight. Instead, it just stops in what seems like right in the middle of a story thread, and we get no more, which is a little frustrating.
Regardless, this is a really fantastic and tension filled miniseries with some memorable monsters and a very clever message about the disintegration of decency in society when faced with an global event.
Highly recommended!
I'm glad then that I decided to give it a bash, because it is superb!
The series starts off quite slow. The first episode isn't exactly gripping, but it does the job of setting everything up. The subsequent episodes really start to ramp up the tension, and each one becomes more exciting as it progresses.
It's funny that, for a series called "Day of the Triffids", the Triffids themselves are actually more of a background character and a secondary threat. The main focus is on the collapse of society and grouping of people into small power groups - each one trying to retain that power by any means that it can. All of them have different views on how the world and society should be, but there's no real authority there to police any of them.
The series has a great look as well. In the 80s, TV shows weren't shot on film, but rather SD Videotape, and that gives the show a very gritty edge with its retro washed out look. The deserted streets of London look even more bleak with the muted palette, and it all adds to serve the brilliant tension.
A special mention must go to the score by Christopher Gunning. It is a phenomenally sinister mix of chaotic low end piano and synthesisers. It's a very unique score, and one that really adds to the atmosphere of the show.
As a whole the show is fantastic, but it does feel a little short. The sixth and final episode is a little anticlimactic, and it feels like the series should have had two more episodes to follow on to the character's journey to the Isle of Wight. Instead, it just stops in what seems like right in the middle of a story thread, and we get no more, which is a little frustrating.
Regardless, this is a really fantastic and tension filled miniseries with some memorable monsters and a very clever message about the disintegration of decency in society when faced with an global event.
Highly recommended!