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From: brucec@orca.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: The Day of the Triffids - ARTS TV
Message-ID: <921@orca.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 2-Jul-84 12:52:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: orca.921
Posted: Mon Jul  2 12:52:12 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 4-Jul-84 00:25:39 EDT
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Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 41

The ARTS cable network broadcast a dramatization of John Wyndham's "Day of
the Triffids" last Saturday.  My advice to those who missed it is: if it
comes on again, SEE IT!

This version, unlike a Hollywood version done back in the 60's (I think), was
very faithful to both the letter and the spirit of the book.  It was
emphatically not high-budget, special effects, movie-type sf.  The emphasis
was on character and theme.  The central characters were well developed and
well acted (I believe that the actor in the leading role was the teacher in
the BBC series "To Serve Them All My Days," which is currently being re-run
on Masterpiece Theater on PBS).  Although the story involves the deaths of
billions of people, this is shown in the deaths of a few, making the impact
much greater, because it is focused.

The basic theme of the story is survival: what it is worth, and how expensive
it is to the survivors and the victims.  The theme runs thrrough this entire
program, rather than being tacked on as a message at the end.  It never gets
preachy or dull, because the story really is suspenseful: it is never clear
until the end whether anyone will survive, let alone the main characters.

I've always been partial to this book as just about the best end-of-world
story to come out of the gloom of the 40's and 50's (well, with the exception
of "Earth Abides," of course).	 The producers of the program have done a
beautiful job of adapting the book to the screen.  The production values are
good, though not as good as if it had been done with a large budget.  What
keeps the visual aspect of the film going is the "look" of the program: a
good use of light to aid the mood, and the immediacy of tape.  The score is
also quite good, providing a brooding dissonance for the nasty parts, and
good suspense music for the creepy parts.

This is easily the best thing I've seen on TV this year.

				Bruce Cohen
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