The day of the Triffids makes its return

Some time ago I wrote about one of my favourite Sci-Fi TV Series “Day of the Triffids“. Made in 1981, much like “Blakes 7” it is a little known British gem of a show that never really seemed to get the regard it should have got. Over Christmas the BBC have finally shown the new version. With some excellent actors, and a more grown up feel it is an excellent addition to the growing catalogue of remakes of this classic story.

I have to confess I have not read the book, and now I am starting to think I should. Every remake of this story has something new, while the core story still remains as chilling as ever.

What’s new?

Once you have remade the same story a few times can you really bring something new to it this time round? Simply put yes! I personally find this a very strong story. It probably appeals to my love of zombie films. You have a very simple enemy, who is slow moving, unintelligent foes who can do very little. But their power is in their unrelenting progress . With no fear and lack of respect for the human race you have an unstoppable enemy that create a very tense and claustrophobic atmosphere.

This version is very much like the older series. The stories are surprisingly close, but I much preferred this version explanation of the event that blinds the majority of the population. I also enjoyed the more detailed look at the triffid farming and the explanation of why the male and female plants are kept separated.

Which do you prefer?

If I am honest I prefer the 1981 version. Not because I think it is a better telling of the story, but just because they had more time to go into the ideas. While the initial story is very straight forward, the stories that evolve from it are far more interesting. While the new version touched on these emerging stories, and even created a new one with the nuns sacrificing their useless residents. It never had the time to really explore any of these.

There is a whole six part series just in the idea of a safe haven the where the Triffids show no interest in attacking. Once you know the secret it makes perfect sense and that reveal could have been much more dramatic and thought provoking. Is it so wrong to sacrifice a dying old man to save a fifty more? Where do you draw the line? What if you could save a thousand for someone who would die anyway, or was no longer interested in helping the whole? This is actually something I miss from Dr Who.

British Sci-Fi Rant

You have to love David Tennant as the doctor, in fact you have to love the doctor in general, it is an amazingly clever and simple idea for a show. It exemplifies something I love about British Sci-Fi and Horror in general. In US shows you know the core people are safe. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are safe, they are definitely coming back. McGyver will get into a tough spot, but he will find away out of it (even if you do steal the whole ending to “The Italian Job”.. you bastard!).

But British work is not so simple (at least it never used to be.. but that’s a different story). You are totally entitled to kill your main hero and all his friends if you like. You can never be sure who is safe. “Blakes 7” has to be the epitome of that, your main hero doesn’t even appear in the last two series to the point you are sure he is dead. Only to have him pop up right at the end, only to be killed by his friend Avon (you Bastard!). If this is a spoiler to you… grow up! You should already know this stuff, there is no excuse, it was made in 1981 for god sake!

Dr Who is the pinnacle of that idea, you have a character that you can kill off at any point. There is no guarantee he will be about to help. Yes you know he can come back, but each iteration is a little different so you do lose one character and gain another.

This was the feel I got from the the old Triffid series, any one of them could go at any point. That unpredictability makes the show watch-able. With no clear villan you are never really sure who you should looking out for. Yes the acting is not the greatest, but I love that. Dr Who would be nothing without Tom Baker hamming it up for all he’s worth.

Failing

So this was the failing I felt in the show, Torrance was just there you make you dislike him, he didn’t serve much purpose apart from that. So there was no really need to spend as much time as they did on him.

Because of all the time lost to making you hate him, we lost a lot to Triffid time. Towards the end they talk about the Triffids using the sewers and over running the city. But we didn’t get to see any of that, and that was a real shame. It would have given a chance for Izzard to really make you dislike Torrance as he sacrificed his own men so he could make his escape.

Again this is something I miss from current Sci-Fi, Dr Who is the biggest culprit of this. It used to be that a single story would take six episodes to play out. It would start of all nice with some strange happenings, until the really weird stuff would come out, then the doctor would step in and save the day. Fairly standard stuff, but at least there was time to play with the ideas and come up with something with a little meaning. Admittedly not all the stories deserved all this attention but some of the classics are better for it. This is where I think Triffids could have done with being a few episodes longer. Rather than being a film cut in half they should have gone for more shorter episodes. But that is just my personal opinion.

My conclusion

This new version was excellent, the visuals were good, and the acting was excellent. But something was lost. There was too much time spent on the run, and not enough time to see the tragedy unfold. It is worth seeing, and I especially liked the new design for the Triffids.

Check out some other peoples thoughts on the new show:

• Den of Geek – A great in depth look. Points out some things I had not even considered.
• Dan’s Media Digest – Also talks about the rushed nature of the new series. But overall a good show.
• BCS – I think this sums up my thoughts.. it was good, but doesn’t quiet hit the mark.

All of these things should make this the best games? Until two weeks ago you were right and I was ready to fight to preserve it as the best game I played all year. But all that has changed. While it is still the high point for me in terms of stealth/action/super hero games there is now one game that does all of that, but only much better.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

This is how the game starts, and doesn't let up

I had seen (but not played) the original, and played a little of this one before I managed to get my hands on it. Both of the other two BGR’ers have been telling me for some time it is their favourite game, I was not convinced.

My initial reaction to this game was that it was OK, but nothing special. Right at the start while I thought it looked nice, I wasn’t getting on the the controls very well. But once I had got over that slight problem this game opened up to me and showed me what a true cinematic experience a game can be.

The Setup

You are following the fortunes of Drake. You start in the middle of incredibly well done train wreck and through the course of getting out of it you are taught the basic controls. From there the story goes on to explain you are on the hunt for Marco Polo’s lost treasure.

This games really does play out like an Indiana Jones story with travelling all over the globe looking for the clues that Marco Polo has left behind. On the way you are shown some of the most amazing scenes I have seen in computer game. But the thing that really got to me was not the stunning detail but the grandeur of set pieces.

But the best part is the game expects you to explore all the aspects of these huge scenes. They are not just window dressing, they are integral parts of the story with secrets for you to find and cinematic cut scenes which flow seamlessly into the game to let you explore them even better.

The actual story is so well done I would actually love to go and see it at the cinema, it puts Indiana Jones to shame. I especially enjoyed the various subtle touches and comedy that are woven perfectly into the story that really will have you laughing with the character and thinking “Oh crap!” just as they say it on screen.

Quality production

The quality of the voice acting in this game is second to none, I didn’t think Batman could be beaten but I could not have been more wrong. All of the characters are voiced perfectly, and I genuinely enjoyed listening to everything they had to say. Even the little pieces of in game dialogue were fun and I didn’t notice any glitch moments where it repeats the same phrase.

The most fun part of the game beside the great story are the excellent fighting mechanics. Running and gunning actually works perfectly, and I have found the most fun thing to do is to run up to your target shooting then beat the living crap out of them. This is especially fun because of the huge number of fighting animations that makes them a joy to watch.

Stealth can also be a big part of this game if you want it to be. You sneak about in most places and take out the guards silently. The actual stealthing mechanic is perhaps not as fluid as it could be, but again once you are used to the way it work you will not have any problems.

Extras

Beside the fact that I am going to play this game through again at least once there are all sorts of extras included for you. There is actually a very fun multi-player mode where you can play the normal array of game modes like death match and king of the hill. But they have also included some behind the scenes videos and various art galleries.

Conclusion

This is a must own game. I played the entire game through in 10 hours, and I was actually disappointed when it finished, I could have happily played it for twice that long. But its the tight story that keeps the game fun to play, so I guess I will just have to wait till Uncharted 3 comes out.