History Series / TheDayOfTheTriffids

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/day_of_the_triffids.PNG]]

''The Day of the Triffids'' is a 2009 miniseries produced by Creator/TheBBC, based on the [[Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids 1951 novel by John Wyndham]]. The series is a remake of the 1981 miniseries of the same name (also produced by BBC).

Bill Masen (Dougray Scott) is a researcher of Triffids, a type of plant life that is carnivorous and intelligent, and are being harnessed by civilization for a rare type of oil that stops global warming. When Bill is attacked by one of the Triffids at a containment site after an activist breaks in, he is partially blinded and sent for surgery. At the same time, a massive solar eruption takes place that blinds everyone who looks at it.

When Bill awakes from surgery, he finds that the world is descending into anarchy. On a commuter plane, the only passenger not affected by the solar flare (Creator/EddieIzzard) survives it crashing and adopts the name "Torrence" for himself, while Radio Britain deejay Jo Playton (Joely Richardson) misses the flare and finds Bill, and they travel together to seek help. At the same time, the Triffids break free from their containment gardens and start ravaging the population.

Bill and Jo, along with fellow sighted survivor Coker (Jason Priestly) begins looking for a way to combat the Triffid outbreak, while Torrence begins to amass power for his own evil means and the Triffids start moving closer to London...

The series was broadcast over two nights, and changed several elements of the films to fit in with modern issues (including the fight against global warming).

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!!As an adaptation of the [[Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids original novel]], many of the tropes on that page still apply. This miniseries also provides examples of:

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: This version of Bill Masen has many underlying issues, including the death of his mother at an early age to a Triffid, his hatred towards his father, and the death of his co-worker and associate Lucy at the beginning of the series on top of it.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Compared to the mousy Emma Relph in the 1981 miniseries, Joely Richardson is a marked step up, and the series has several moments that emphasize her beauty.
* AdaptationDistillation: The remake has many alternate scenes and explanations for various events, including the man who would eventually become Torrence being on a plane that crashes into London, a greater explanation for why Triffids were bred in the first place (to harness their oils to combat global warming) and a subplot involving Masen's family, which eventually provides the [[ChekhovsGun means]] to escape the farmhouse in the finale.
* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: The compressed timeline and the promotion of Torrence to chief villain leave a bit of an error on Coker's story. The original storyline contrasted the actions of Coker trying help those affected and those of the Beadley Group who wanted to make a fresh start away from London. However in this version Torrence and Coker either completely remove or disrupt the Beadley group (Its never made clear). Coker manages to get away from Torrence and sets up an effective base for survivors on the Isle of Wight. Which he can't have done because the Beadley Group is not there to help. The original book/series took place over the space of years. In this version, he somehow manages to do it in weeks.
* AerosolFlamethrower: Bill Mason uses one in the warehouse scene.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: During the climax at the estate, Masen and Troy thwart Torrence and his men by sabotaging the electric fence, thus allowing the Triffids to overtake the barricade and kill the guards while they escape in the confusion.
* AnimalWrongsGroup: The dangerous male Triffids (who can release spores, vastly increasing triffid numbers) are released by a ''plants' rights activist''.
* ApocalypseHow: Masen explains that there are thousands of Triffid gardens all over the world, and it assumed that no help will be coming from the United States or any other country. At the end of the film, the only location known to be Triffid-free is the Isle of Wight, which Masen, Jo, Imogen, Susan and Troy sail to after the farmhouse is overrun.
* BadassAdorable: Susan and Imogen — two cute little girls in CoolShades, [[CoolHat helmet and red beret]], packing [[MoreDakka automatic weapons]].
* BittersweetEnding: Masen, Jo, Imogen, Susan and Troy all manage to escape London and sail to Coker's settlement on the Triffid-free Isle of Wight, but as far as they know, the rest of the world is overrun and there's no foreign help coming.
* BlackCloak: The triffids draw on the creepiness of this trope by having purple cowl-like hoods which they unfurl cobra-like before striking.
* TheCaligula: Torrence, after he takes over London.
* TheCharmer: Torrence is a pretty charismatic leader, though not quite the ladies' man he fancies himself to be.
* ChekhovsGun: The mask Bill dreams about/sees in his flashbacks later saves the group when they're besieged at his father's house. Bill uses the mask and a torn-off Triffid appendage to put plant poison in his and everyone else's eyes, which makes them immune to the Triffid attacks and causes them to be ignored by the plants while they escape.
* ChessMotifs: Chess pieces on a map of London show the expansion of Torrence's empire.
* ChildSoldier: Masen eventually finds a pair of girls, Imogen and Susan, hiding out in their parent's house, armed with guns. Bill brings them along to his father's house, and Imogen is later seen using pots for target practice.
* CombatTentacles: The Triffids blind and immobilize people with their roots before dragging them away to be eaten, although sometimes they don't even bother before attempting to grab them.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Triffoil conceals knowledge of how dangerous the triffids are.
* CoveredInGunge: The bodies of those killed are covered in triffid venom.
* DeadStarWalking:
** Ewen Bremner (Walter Strange) shows up for two scenes at the beginning of the first part, just long enough to break the containment lockdown on the Triffid gardens, and is only seen afterwards when Masen finds his corpse in the aftermath of the Triffid breakout.
** Brian Cox (Dennis Masen) appears for a handful of scenes to give more background on the Triffids and reconcile with his son, then dies 20 minutes later when the specimen he was working on reacts to a recording and fatally attacks him.
* DeathByAdaptation: In the original novel and the 1981 adaptation, Torrence was a member of a ruling government that was seeking to forcibly conscript Bill and Jo to help them restore order. Here, Torrence ''is'' the human antagonist leading a group of villainous survivors, and gets much more screentime (and a KarmicDeath) as a result.
* DrivenToSuicide: Bill and Jo witness a blinded violinist play a final piece on his instrument before walking to his apartment balcony and leaping to his death.
* DullSurprise: Dougray Scott as the hero was a particular offender, delivering lines like "we have to warn everybody" with all the urgency of someone reminding their wife to pick up milk on the way home.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When Torrence realises the airliner is going to crash, while everyone else panics he calmly grabs every lifevest he can find to cushion the impact, including taking one from a child.
* EvilBrit: Averted, due to it being set in Britain. But also, kind of toyed with, given that the EvilBrit is Creator/EddieIzzard.
* FalseReassurance: Torrence convinces Jo to continue sending radio broadcasts imploring everyone (sighted or not) to head to London, not knowing that Torrence is looking to steal their supplies and give the Triffids an even greater food supply.
* FeetFirstIntroduction: Thanks to the distinctive trousers on his Saville Row suit, the audience instantly knows who's back the moment Torrence's feet stride into view in the final act.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Torrence, who goes from a random passenger on a crashing plane to the leader of an upstart government that is looking to forcibly conscript others and take control of London.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: The triffids are stated to be genetically-engineered to have more oil but this made them more aggressive. Kind of ruins the "nature will find a way" aesop when the apocalypse was because of genetic engineering.
* GladToBeAliveSex: Implied, as Masen and Jo start kissing passionately when they're alone at his father's house.
* GreenAesop: Exploited killer plants eat humans and TakeOverTheWorld - it's begging for it.
* GunAccessories: The torches attached to the weapons wielded by Torrence's mooks are fully justified — for those who still have their sight, [[DarknessEqualsDeath being able to see an enemy that doesn't use sight]] is one of the few advantages they have.
* HateSink: The token human bad guy Torrence is clearly intended as this. The Triffids are scary man-eating plants, but are unlikely to attract the audience's hatred. Throughout the entire crisis Torrence keeps showing himself as a DirtyCoward, power-hungry, deceitful, and egomaniacal, to the point where he's possibly a bigger threat to the heroes' survival than the actual monsters.
* HeelFaceTurn: One of Torrence's men, Troy, eventually becomes a double agent and starts helping Bill and Jo after the latter escapes from London. He's also the only member of Torrence's army that survives the Triffids sieging the estate.
* HopeSpot: Dennis Masen develops a Triffid which will produce sterile spores... and then the specimen is accidentally killed when it attacks Dennis and his son tries to free him.
* HumanSacrifice: How the group led by the nun keeps the triffids at bay. They tie up their old and infirm for the triffid to eat and in return triffids have learnt to keep their distance from the buildings.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Durrant tells Bill and Coker that she unrepentantly sacrifices the old and weak blinded individuals to the Triffids to keep the church and the rest of the young sighted/blinded residents safe.
* IdiotBall: So much so that it could qualify for an IdiotPlot.
** The entire plot is motivated by the actions of Walter Strange, an activist who breaks into the Triffid garden where Bill works and later releases the lockdown so they can escape.
** Mason's father plays a recording of a wild Triffid in a room connected to his captured Triffid's cage. It reacts badly.
** The survivors who follow Torrence decide to stay in London. Because an entire city filled with rotting corpses isn't going to cause a lot of outbreak of disease? Or you know, attract a horde of Triffids who eat the dead?!
* ImprovisedWeapon: When Masen runs to save Jo from a Triffid trying to drag her towards it in the warehouse in Part 1, he grabs a flamethrower and aerosol can to create a makeshift flamethrower and drive it off.
* InfantImmortality: Imogen and Susan are put in danger several times and are always saved, while the young boys and girls seen with their blinded parents are almost never directly shown in harm's way, although there are many deaths (young and old) inferred from the Triffid's siege on London and the plane crash.
* JerkAss: A member of Coker's team is not above leaving injured civilians to be killed by the Triffids while he escapes, and thinks more of himself than anyone else, which eventually leads to his KarmicDeath later on.
* KarmicDeath:
** Masen finds Walter Strange's half-consumed corpse, a short while after the latter broke the lockdown seal and opened the Triffid gardens.
** Torrence's lieutenant is killed by the Triffids after he attempts to leave Bill and Coker stranded in the forest while he drives away in a truck.
** Torrence is also killed by Triffids after attempting to shoot Bill when he has the unconscious Susan in his arms.
* KickTheDog:
** Torrence's first scene where he's awake involves him realizing that everyone on the plane is blind and it's about to crash. He goes about stealing everyone's lifejackets so he can cushion himself from the impact with them.
** After Jo broadcasts a message warning people about Torrence's reign before escaping, Torrence empties his pistol into the man operating the radio station.
* LargeHam: Creator/EddieIzzard plays Torrence with evil relish.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Walter Strange (a plant-rights activist) releases the Triffids from their farms, then is the first to get eaten by them.
* LastStand: Subverted - Torrence sees himself in this light and often admires statues or paintings of UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, but he's just a {{sociopath}} with delusions of grandeur.
* LineOfSightName: We never discover Torrence's real name — he took it from Torrence Lane, where the airliner he was in crashed.
* LittleStowaway: Susan tags along on Bill's mission to find a male Triffid specimen.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: When Torrence [[TheStarscream takes over Major Coker's organization]], he has TheDragon take Mason and Coker out to the woods to be fed to the triffids, then tells Jo they've been killed by a triffid attack.
* ManipulativeBastard: Torrence. Subverted, in that he always slightly overdoes his lies, and Jo and Bill can see right through him.
* OhCrap: Torrence gets this after Troy turns on him and doesn't enable the electric fence, which causes the Triffids to break through and start massacring his few remaining soldiers.
* OminousFog: The Triffids are often preceded by fog in forested areas, which conceals their approach.
* ParentalSubstitute: Imogen and Susan adopt Bill and Jo as their foster parents.
* ProductPlacement: The BBC radio tower itself is promoted to great effect, as it is used by Jo to broadcast several radio messages to the populace of London and the surrounding countryside.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Jo tells Torrence that without the Triffids he's nothing. He yells at her to shut her face and threatens to shoot her.
* RelationshipUpgrade: Bill and Jo finally kiss after they reunite at his father's house in Shirning.
* SharpDressedMan: Torrence steals a Saville Row suit and wears it from then on.
* ShoutOut:
** Several shots are almost identical to iconic scenes from ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' — which itself, while not an official adaptation of ''[=tDofT=]'', openly reused several plot-points.
** Torrence in the airliner crash is probably a reference to a similar crash in the 1962 movie (though no-one survived that one). Likewise, Susan's Sterling submachine gun is a modern version of the Sten gun wielded by Janette Scott in the movie's publicity material.
* {{Sociopath}}: Torrence -- superficially charming while showing LackOfEmpathy and delusions of grandeur, his [[FauxAffablyEvil facade quickly disappears]] once things start to go badly.
* SoundtrackDissonance[=/=]WhileRomeBurns: A man is shown playing the violin while panicked policemen who've lost their sight fire blindly at civilians and [[UnfriendlyFire fellow officers]]. After he's finished playing, the man calmly walks to the balcony and [[DrivenToSuicide throws himself off]].
* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: Amusingly inverted — Jo and Bill are doing a DanceOfRomance after being apart for so long; the music they are dancing to contains the lines: "Mother Nature and me are the best of friends."
* TooDumbToLive: Walter Strange ignores Masen's warnings about the Triffids (he doesn't even know that you need to wear eyewear to protect yourself from being blinded) and immediately opens up their garden after the power fails in the facility, being the first person killed by the Triffids for his trouble.
* TownWithADarkSecret: The convent is protecting itself by sending out expendable members of the community to be eaten by Triffids, thereby keeping them docile.
* VillainousBreakdown: Torrence loses it after Jo wises up and sabotages the broadcasts so that survivors will stay away from the city, leading to the Triffids stepping up their attacks and slowly overtaking the barricades. When Troy goes to alert him to his army's status, Torrence is sitting in a room looking out in near-catatonic shock.
* VillainousRescue: Torrence's final attempt to kill Masen is unbelievably thwarted by the Triffids themselves, who snag his arm and prevent him from firing at the former twice before killing and consuming him.
* WeaksauceWeakness: It's revealed in the climax that Triffids ignore anyone that has Triffid venom in their eyes, for some reason. One even sidles up to Masen and strokes his face with its stinger before backing off.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** When Bill is walking out of the hospital, he meets the doctor who operated on him (who tells him some information on what's happening) and promises to bring help. The doctor (and the other patients) aren't seen again.
** Durrant (the abbess at the church) abandons Bill, Coker and the other residents, claiming that her departure will cause society to collapse. She isn't seen again, and her fate is left unknown.
** The group of sighted government officials aren't heard from again after Coker and his team kidnap Bill and Jo.
** Neither is it mentioned what happened to the blinded woman with the broken ankle who Coker rescued at the warehouse when he, Masen and Jo escaped, especially considering she was probably still in London when it fell.

* {{Sociopath}}: Torrence, especially when he starts to lose his sanity.

* HateSink: Torrence is clearly intended as this. The Triffids are scary man-eating plants, but are unlikely to attract the audience's hatred. Throughout the entire crisis Torrence keeps showing himself as a DirtyCoward, power-hungry, deceitful, and egomaniacal, to the point where he's possibly a bigger threat to the heroes' survival than the actual monsters.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/day_of_the_triffids.PNG]]
''Day of the Triffids'' is a 2009 miniseries produced by Creator/TheBBC, based on the [[Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids 1951 novel by John Wyndham]]. The series is a remake of the 1981 miniseries of the same name (also produced by BBC).

* BadassAdorable: Susan and Imogen — two cute little girls in CoolShades, [[CoolHat helmeta and red bereta]], packing [[MoreDakka automatic weapons]].

* EvilBrit: Averted, due to it being set in Britain. But also, kind of toyed with, given that the EvilBrit is EddieIzzard.

* LargeHam: EddieIzzard plays Torrence with evil relish.

* BadassNormal: Jo is a radio presenter with no combat experience, but still manages to escape Torrence and flee through the Triffid-infested boundaries of London, even chopping one in the stalk with a butcher's knife when she's cornered in a restaurant.