Hey DOCTOR WHO has changed the face of British television . Not long ago BBC executives would have cut their own throats rather than commission science fiction . They commission Doctor Who probably as a one off series , find the public have fallen in love with the show and can't get enough of science fiction drama so start making it a staple diet of their schedules . Next up following the success of TORCHWOOD is an adaptation of John Wyndham's DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS one of the great sci-fi novels of the 20th century . Having enjoyed the 1981 BBC version I was looking forward to this big budget remake though I did have reservations that this might be dumbed down to a mainstream audience
When I say " dumbed down " what I mean is that DOTT isn't really a sci-fi horror story that DOCTOR WHO has a reputation for . The story revolves around mankind being blinded by a meteor shower and Bill Masen going through the narrative finding flawed attempts by different communes to keep the human race going and rebuilding civilisation from scratch . The Triffids aren't really what the story is about . The novel is rather slow moving but this is compensated by its intelligent premise and its brooding atmosphere . it is quite rightly a highly regarded novel and has been the inspiration for 28 DAYS LATER and both versions of the BBC's SURVIVORS
Unfortunately my fears were realised very quickly . Torrance is asleep on a plane , awakes after everyone else has been blinded but without a word realises what has happened and surrounds himself with life jackets in the plane toilet . Perhaps he's got supernatural powers of deduction , but more likely Patrick Harbinson has written this original scene badly . Director Nick Copus helps make it even more incredible when we see Torrance stagger from the plane wreckage . You know one of these scenes from The Road Runner cartoon where Wile E Coyote gets blown up ? Well that's what the survivor of the plane crash looks like . I wish directors wouldn't substitute spectacle for credibility
As for the Triffids themselves they're much more central to the plot in this version , as much as part of the story as a monster from DOCTOR WHO is central to that show . The only thing is they're kept very much in the shadows . It really is bizarre when we get Masen describing their threat only for them to appear off screen or seen very fleetingly from a distance . Since they're CGI creations one can't help thinking there's been some sort of FX failure and they've ended up looking terribly unconvincing so at the last minute Copus has reshot the scene
Apparently this version cost $15 million to produce and looking at the big names in the cast much of this went on appearance fees . Cox and Redgrave don't appear in the opening episode while Bremner is quickly killed off . Dougray Scott is actually quite terrible . True I can imagine hetrosexual women and gay men in the audience having heart attacks every time he's on screen but his " Hey ain't I a bit of hunk and watch as I give a smouldering look " expression ie his only expression gets very tiresome especially since Masen is a basic everyman character in the novel . In fact Scott comes over as so vain I kept expecting him to lament that there's very few women who can't gaze upon him anymore " That's worse than getting eaten by a Triffid girls "
Having said that Dougray is Daniel Day Lewis in comparison with Eddie Izzard . Who thought it was a good idea to cast a transvestite comedian in a dramatic role ? It's made even worse that much of the story revolves around Torrance's villain . I've never liked the guy and know him mostly as one of the world's most unfunny comedians and I genuinely think he must have been on drugs whilst acting his part . There's no gravatis to Torrance , no presence and no conviction . Really maybe the BBC should have cloned Izzard and made him play the Triffids and let a tree play Torrance . It'd definitely be an improvement
Part Two entirely goes its own way adding its own characters and subplots while forgetting the main subplot of the novel featuring a blinded population is entirely ignored . It's like watching a substandard RTD scripted episode of DOCTOR WHO . There's a due ex ma china plot twist that makes no sense while Torrance has the worst final line demise in television history . When all is said and done even the 1962 film version has its better points than this mega million dollar mega flop
When I say " dumbed down " what I mean is that DOTT isn't really a sci-fi horror story that DOCTOR WHO has a reputation for . The story revolves around mankind being blinded by a meteor shower and Bill Masen going through the narrative finding flawed attempts by different communes to keep the human race going and rebuilding civilisation from scratch . The Triffids aren't really what the story is about . The novel is rather slow moving but this is compensated by its intelligent premise and its brooding atmosphere . it is quite rightly a highly regarded novel and has been the inspiration for 28 DAYS LATER and both versions of the BBC's SURVIVORS
Unfortunately my fears were realised very quickly . Torrance is asleep on a plane , awakes after everyone else has been blinded but without a word realises what has happened and surrounds himself with life jackets in the plane toilet . Perhaps he's got supernatural powers of deduction , but more likely Patrick Harbinson has written this original scene badly . Director Nick Copus helps make it even more incredible when we see Torrance stagger from the plane wreckage . You know one of these scenes from The Road Runner cartoon where Wile E Coyote gets blown up ? Well that's what the survivor of the plane crash looks like . I wish directors wouldn't substitute spectacle for credibility
As for the Triffids themselves they're much more central to the plot in this version , as much as part of the story as a monster from DOCTOR WHO is central to that show . The only thing is they're kept very much in the shadows . It really is bizarre when we get Masen describing their threat only for them to appear off screen or seen very fleetingly from a distance . Since they're CGI creations one can't help thinking there's been some sort of FX failure and they've ended up looking terribly unconvincing so at the last minute Copus has reshot the scene
Apparently this version cost $15 million to produce and looking at the big names in the cast much of this went on appearance fees . Cox and Redgrave don't appear in the opening episode while Bremner is quickly killed off . Dougray Scott is actually quite terrible . True I can imagine hetrosexual women and gay men in the audience having heart attacks every time he's on screen but his " Hey ain't I a bit of hunk and watch as I give a smouldering look " expression ie his only expression gets very tiresome especially since Masen is a basic everyman character in the novel . In fact Scott comes over as so vain I kept expecting him to lament that there's very few women who can't gaze upon him anymore " That's worse than getting eaten by a Triffid girls "
Having said that Dougray is Daniel Day Lewis in comparison with Eddie Izzard . Who thought it was a good idea to cast a transvestite comedian in a dramatic role ? It's made even worse that much of the story revolves around Torrance's villain . I've never liked the guy and know him mostly as one of the world's most unfunny comedians and I genuinely think he must have been on drugs whilst acting his part . There's no gravatis to Torrance , no presence and no conviction . Really maybe the BBC should have cloned Izzard and made him play the Triffids and let a tree play Torrance . It'd definitely be an improvement
Part Two entirely goes its own way adding its own characters and subplots while forgetting the main subplot of the novel featuring a blinded population is entirely ignored . It's like watching a substandard RTD scripted episode of DOCTOR WHO . There's a due ex ma china plot twist that makes no sense while Torrance has the worst final line demise in television history . When all is said and done even the 1962 film version has its better points than this mega million dollar mega flop