The Day of the Triffids (2009 TV series)
| The Day of the Triffids | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Horror |
| Written by | Patrick Harbinson |
| Directed by | Nick Copus |
| Starring |
Dougray Scott Joely Richardson Brian Cox Vanessa Redgrave Eddie Izzard Jason Priestley Jenn Murray Julia Joyce |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Michael Preger Stephen Smallwood |
| Running time | 90 minutes / episode |
| Budget | $15,000,000 (estimated) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC One BBC HD |
| Original release | 28 December – 29 December 2009 |
The Day of the Triffids is a BBC miniseries adaptation of John Wyndham's novel of the same name. The novel had previously been adapted in 1962 as a theatrical film and by the BBC in a 1981 series.
Triffids are large carnivorous plants capable of vicious and intelligent behaviour, and are equipped with venomous stingers that they use to stun and immobilise their prey before feeding on them. In the late 1970s in the jungles of Zaire, a woman is killed by a Triffid. In 2009, Bill Masen (Dougray Scott) - the son of the woman killed - is a Triffid expert and tells the story of how the oils the Triffids produce came to be used as a new alternative fuel, effectively putting an end to man-made global warming. Triffids are now kept in warehouses in countries worldwide. Some, however, protest the treatment of the plants. One of these activists breaks into a compound for male Triffids outside London, and is arrested. Bill is injured by an undeveloped plant in the attempt, having given his safety goggles to another worker, Lucy (Nora-Jane Noone), a security officer and friend of Bill. Lucy rushes him to a local hospital, where he is told that he has a 50–50 chance of going blind permanently. With his eyes covered in bandages, he misses witnessing a massive solar eruption which occurs that same night, the bright light of which is seen all over the world. The rays prove to be more dangerous than first thought, as they suddenly intensify to a horrific brilliance, and all those who see the flares are blinded—more than 95% of the world's population.
Meanwhile, a plane heading toward the capital is brought down when the solar storm blinds the pilots and all but one of the passengers on board. The sole sighted man (Eddie Izzard) clambers into the toilet, covers himself in life vests, and braces for the worst. The plane eventually crashes, and the man, narrowly escaping death, takes the name Torrence, after the now-destroyed Westminster road. Back at the hospital, Bill has finally regained his sight, but has no idea of how the world has changed overnight. Chaos reigns in the streets, with many of the blind now struggling to find their way. Bill finds Radio Britain personality Jo Playton (Joely Richardson) being ambushed by a throng of desperate blind citizens, who have realised that she can see, and are attempting to use her as a guide. Bill saves her from further harm. Jo was in the London Underground at the time of the solar flare, and therefore was not rendered blind. The pair teams up to find out what has happened, but Bill's only concern is the Triffids, knowing that the catastrophe must have caused the electricity at the compounds, the only thing keeping the populace safe, to go down. Bill and Jo soon spot a signal from a university tower, a message to the remaining sighted people. Upon arrival, they find that a group of surviving members of the civil service and armed forces has been assembled to continue the human race as best it can. Bill is angered by how little warning there is of the encroaching Triffids. He attempts to escape, but is captured by Coker (Jason Priestley), who uses him to round up survivors and supplies for the cause, oblivious to the disaster that is about to unfold.
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