Import/Export: The Day of the Triffids (2009)

 Let's cover something classy for a change!  The Day of the Triffids is a 2009 TV Mini-Series made by the BBC.  It is based on the Book of the same name by the Writer of Village of the Damned.  Based on his preferred Title pattern, I assume he must have written Day of the Animals too.  Yes, I do know that the Book isn't called Village of the Damned- just accept the joke, one guy on the Internet!  This isn't the first time that the Story has been adapted, of course.  Hell, it is not even the second time (that was in 1981).  What stands out about this one is the amount of prestige and money they tried to put behind it.  They got big (for TV Mini-Series) Stars of varying degree here.  They make many changes to the Plot, but also keep true to its spirit most of the time!  To see how strange and different they get, read on...

In the Book and Mini-Series, the titular creatures are discovered to make an Oil that replaces the one we get from Dinosaur Bones (and such).  The usefulness of it is tweaked for the Film, since Global Warming/Climate Change wasn't a known entity at the time.

As such, they are mass-produced on Farms.

Unlike the Book (written in the '50s), the Cold War aspect is dropped.

In both versions, the World is blinded by a cosmic event that everyone witnesses without protection.

I'd laugh at the absurdity of this, but we did have Trump staring at the Eclipse now, didn't we?

Unlike in the Book, the Triffids have to be broken out by an ill-informed Eco-Terrorist.

If you're like me and are going 'Where do I know him from?!?', I can help.

He's the Pilot in The Rundown.

There- I saved you a Google Search.

A man- Eddie Izard- survives a crash and moves into power in London after a vacuum is left by the Royals' exit.

In the Book, a character named Beadley *mostly* matches this roll, but there are tweaks to the overall Character throughout.

As a 2-Part Mini-Series, there's a bit of filler and stalling, albeit well-acted and written filler and stalling.

As such, the title creatures are more of an existential threat after the first half hour...

To help fill out the parts, we get Jason Priestley as a well-meaning American (we do exist!) who helps the blind and Vanessa Redgrave as Mother Superior, a woman who thinks that we can live with the Triffids since we are all God's creations.

She also does bad stuff to keep said peace, but I won't SPOIL that bit too much for you.

As we get into Part 2, we finally get lots of the Triffids as they actually do stuff for more than a few minutes at a time.

Will they conquer everything (in and around London)?
Will our Heroes save the day?
Will they end on a vaguely-hopeful, but incomplete finale instead?

To find out, stream it on Tubi and like 60 other ways to watch it.

A decent, classy bit of a good time.  The Mini-Series is a bit long, but, you know, that's a Mini-Series thing.  Once someone says 'Your story has to take place over 4 Hours of TV,' things are set up a certain way.  There are some benefits to this format, obviously.  Back when I compared the Film Version of The Handmaid's Tale to the Hulu Show('s 1st Season), I noted how it is more condensed to fit the runtime.  The Show could expand more on Characters and their motivations.  In this case, you get some nice bits throughout with Bill and Jo, as well as the kids they semi-adopt in Part 2.  That said, the other Mini-Series issues come up.  As noted, the Triffids are nearly a non-factor in Part 1 once things are set up.  They only pop back up at the end to give us an action scene and the cliffhanger.  It is more like the The Day OFF of the Triffids!  I'll show myself out.  I do like the Triffid design, even if their CGI isn't always great.  It's never *bad* CGI- just spotty sometimes.  Their danger level does fluctuate a bit as the Plot requires them to be either a menace or truly deadly though.  I kind of wanted to see more of them all the same.  The Acting is good here, which should be no surprise given the people you get.  The odd pace and formula here does mean that some drop in and out of the story at random moments though.  If you can ignore the underuse of the Triffids and the usual glacial pace of a TV Mini-Series, there's some real good stuff to see here.  Speaking of good stuff, this actual Cover for the Book.  What...is going on here?!?

Next time, I dive into the pile of my random Films to watch.  I could go Sci-Fi or Horror or Action- let's see what happens!  Stay tuned...