BBC Plans New ‘Day of the Triffids’ Adaptation
With the global ecology a hot topic these days, it’s little surprise the BBC is planning a new version of the classic tale The Day of the Triffids. It all started with the 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by John Wyndham.
The story, according to the BBC tells of “Bill Masen, who awakes in a hospital after treatment for temporary blindness caused by a sting from a genetically modified plant, a triffid.”
"The first 45 minutes of 28 Days Later are the first three chapters of The Day of the Triffids, marginally modified with the addition of zombies," said Dr Barry Langford, senior lecturer in film and television at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The novel received immediate acclaim was first adapted for BBC radio in 1953, 157 and 1958 before the 1962 feature film. The BBC did subsequent productions in 1971, 1973 and 1980.
It was also adapted by Marvel in 1975 for an issue of their Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction while a British television series was produced in 1981. The new production is being written by Patrick Harbinson (ER).
"The triffids are perhaps to us a more potent threat than even in Wyndham’s time," Dr Langford added.
Andy Sawyer, librarian at the Science Fiction Foundation Collection at the University of Liverpool, told the BBC. "It has become relevant. There is a lot more anxiety about bio engineering now."
The images of empty cities was a haunting one in the book and one which continues to resonate in post-apocalyptic fiction including next year’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
I'm so thrilled about this.I read DOTT as a teenager and it was one of the most compelling scifi horror stories I've ever read.TV and film versions were always a bit disappointing as the triffids looked like rabid gladioli.Nowfinally we have the technology to create a truly outstanding triffid.YAY!