The Day of the Triffids

Although science fiction and horror fans are more likely to remember the 1962 film version of The Day of the Triffids, this six-episode BBC miniseries version is widely considered to be the superior adaptation of John Wyndham's classic sci-fi novel. Originally broadcast in 1981, it suffers from a too-modest budget (typical for British TV productions at the time) and occasionally borders on camp with its plot about killer plants on a rampage, but the miniseries benefits greatly from its eerie atmosphere. Proliferating in the wake of a meteor shower that leaves most of Britain's population blind and helpless, the fast-growing Triffids look like overgrown rhubarb stalks with venomous stinger-tongues that whip out and poison their victims (the Triffids "talk" to each other with a tapping language that grows increasingly unsettling as the plot progresses). It's pretty goofy when compared to more recent post-apocalyptic films like Children of Men, but Wyndham's chilling premise remains fairly compelling in its depiction of societal collapse, and series director Ken Hannam (working from an adaptation by Douglas Livingstone) maintains a steady pace as Triffid-attack survivor Bill Masen (John Duttine) recruits other Londoners to fight back and preserve what's left of civilization. The production values leave much to be desired, but this series boasts moments of genuinely memorable suspense, and sci-fi fans will want to see it. Recommended. (J. Shannon)