I'm an American in his late 50s, and I first read "Day of the Triffids" about 45 years ago. All these years later, John Wyndham is still my favorite science fiction author. He thoughtfully combined crowd pleasing pulp concepts (man-eating plants, monsters under the sea, mutant children) with some really interesting ideas, tied together with writing that was elegant but not self-consciously literary. Just a great writer.
Great upload thanks. Considering the contribution of John Wyndham (a significant influence on many writers including Stephen King novellas) its a shame we don't see more programmes like this documentary or more of his stories converted into TV productions and radio plays - there have been a few over the years although not readily available - even on the BBC archive. I'm at a loss why more haven't been filmed - the Kracken Wakes would be achievable with todays film techniques and special effects - Ridley Scott. Maybe it's a rights issue with the estate - not sure the two major film conversions Children of the Damned and Day of The Triffids did the books justice. Thanks again though - this is a gem.
I've been reading Wyndham on and off since the mid-60s. Each time I read one of his novels I get something different out of them - particularly as I've got older. Very English but also universal.
To this day John Wyndham remains my favourite SF writer.Although his postwar output was quite small all of his novels are thoughtful,well paced and exciting.My favourite is The Kraken Wakes.
Village of the damned was a favorite scary mivie to my sis and I as children. I very much enjoyed learning of its author. Quite an interesting and brilliant man.
Sadly , his books are mostly found in charity shops today. He was charming and modest which , of course , prevented him from becoming a " celebrity "..! He was genuinely - a gentleman. A species now almost extinct in yob culture Britain .!
@@inamorata966 A fine writer/actor/comedian, he appeared often on British films and TV (including "The Life of Brian"). However, he was imprisoned for sex offences in 2007, and that virtually ended his career. Google his name for further information.
This was great,, and long o overdue retrospect/doc about this writer.. Like Nigel Kneale, Wyndham new that good storytelling needed good interesting characters in order to bring the ideas to life. The one thing I wish this doc had done was discuss his novel THE KARKEN WAKES (aka OUT OF THE DEEPS) at greater length.. With so many reports about USO's in the news (lUNIDENTIFIED SUBMERGED OBJECTS I think is the term) it seems Wyndham once again was seeing future possibilities come to life....and raising a LOT of questions and controversy. (BBC has done 3 different radio adaptations of this book well worth listening to).
The most thought provoking of all his novels which stayed in my mind is "Consider her ways" that short story of a future society of women only where women are the survivors of a virus which wipes out almost all males..just a few men left for procreation and have no other purpose..at the top of the hierarchy are the "Mothers" extra large women just bred for childbirth..all starting from a laboratory research to kill rodents..covered this story at school around 1970..a manufactured virus..I've been half expecting a super virus for decades..Coronavirus was no surprise to me..I thought it would be worse..thankfully not
I think of COVID as the "baby bear" virus. Deadly enough but not too deadly. Just enough to introduce and accelerate some social engineering. Just right!
@@WattisWatts yes you may be closer to the reality of the intention behind it...I tend to look at Coronavirus with even more doom and gloom...was introduced to reduce the populations around the globe but was less effective than expected..we humans became more resistant than their experiments indicated..we know the world cannot support 10 or more billions..it can barely supply the resources for the 7.5B we have now..third world countries keep breeding out of all proportion..while western societies remain fairly stable..and only grow by adding third world people to its own communities..I can imagine the planet graph model for world population 2050 and 2100 projecting an upward line to 10 and 12 plus billions.. those who really run the planet are dedicated to preventing this by whatever means..what next? Another more deadly virus?? I only just survived the Delta variant last year..I needed pure oxygen in hospital..all variants are pretty damn good at killing the weaker amongst us..the figures that the media published indicate that more men than women are vulnerable to fatality..2 to one or even 3 to one made me think of the Wyndham novel..I'm sure they think better luck next time..
@@markianclark9645 Can that difference in male/female mortality ratio be due to women having the children and so they have good reasons to keep off booze and other drugs which reduce the inmunity. So the guys drink beer and end up with hang-overs for breakfast where as the child bearers eat a sensible meal and maybe also refrain fron somking cancenogens.
I do like the sequel to Village of the Damned called Children of the Damned which was shown, in 1964 and also a book of the film came out under the same title by A.V. Sellwood.
This is great because there's nothing else like it on YT but it's nowhere near as good as Hidden Wyndham by Amy Binns which is far more in depth and far more incisive than this. Thanks for the upload though!
In 1951, we might not have known the detailed structure of DNA, but by that time the consensus among molecular biologists was firmly that it must be the hereditary centre of the cell as nothing else fitted and they could not work out its function. Thus the race was on to discover that structure, which happened in 1953. DNA itself had been isolated in the mid 19th century. It's perfectly possible to write about principles of biology, and other aspects of science without knowing the details at the time. The term gene as the unit of biological heredity had been coined in 1909.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Excellent documentary on this elusive science fiction writer!
I'm an American in his late 50s, and I first read "Day of the Triffids" about 45 years ago. All these years later, John Wyndham is still my favorite science fiction author. He thoughtfully combined crowd pleasing pulp concepts (man-eating plants, monsters under the sea, mutant children) with some really interesting ideas, tied together with writing that was elegant but not self-consciously literary. Just a great writer.
He had a great deal in common with Ray Bradbury ....both great storytellers .
Great upload thanks. Considering the contribution of John Wyndham (a significant influence on many writers including Stephen King novellas) its a shame we don't see more programmes like this documentary or more of his stories converted into TV productions and radio plays - there have been a few over the years although not readily available - even on the BBC archive. I'm at a loss why more haven't been filmed - the Kracken Wakes would be achievable with todays film techniques and special effects - Ridley Scott. Maybe it's a rights issue with the estate - not sure the two major film conversions Children of the Damned and Day of The Triffids did the books justice.
Thanks again though - this is a gem.
Glad you enjoyed it.
One the best Science fiction writers of all time .
Agreed. Thanks for your comment.
Based on the fact this has 10k views, I'm guessing not
One of the great ones of British Sci-fi. A treasure!
I've been reading Wyndham on and off since the mid-60s. Each time I read one of his novels I get something different out of them - particularly as I've got older. Very English but also universal.
To this day John Wyndham remains my favourite SF writer.Although his postwar output was quite small all of his novels are thoughtful,well paced and exciting.My favourite is The Kraken Wakes.
My favourite sci fi author.
Such a great documentary and only 2766 views ? The world is not just rich but ignorant about the riches it has....
Thanks for your comment.
Village of the damned was a favorite scary mivie to my sis and I as children. I very much enjoyed learning of its author. Quite an interesting and brilliant man.
Really good to know anything more about such a private man (and excellent writer.)
Great documentary.
chrysalids is my personal favourite.
Glad you enjoyed it
The two films Village and Children of the Damned are both awesome.
Great documentary. My only gripe is that there is no mention of "Chocky." Thanks for uploading.
Sorry!
Chocky is great isn't it?
Thanks. That was really good.
Thank you too!
Sadly , his books are mostly found in charity shops today. He was charming and modest which , of course , prevented him from becoming a " celebrity "..!
He was genuinely - a gentleman. A species now almost extinct in yob culture
Britain .!
This actor played George Orwell in another one of these. He's good.
Chris Langham.
@@shortcuts-YT Oh that's his name! He should be in movies. Maybe he is and I just haven't seen him. Also, the production of these docs is first rate.
@@inamorata966 A fine writer/actor/comedian, he appeared often on British films and TV (including "The Life of Brian"). However, he was imprisoned for sex offences in 2007, and that virtually ended his career. Google his name for further information.
@@shortcuts-YT Oh my. I'm disappointed because he is so good in these docs, but those offenses come (and ought to) with a tough penalty.
This was great,, and long o overdue retrospect/doc about this writer.. Like Nigel Kneale, Wyndham new that good storytelling needed good interesting characters in order to bring the ideas to life.
The one thing I wish this doc had done was discuss his novel THE KARKEN WAKES (aka OUT OF THE DEEPS) at greater length.. With so many reports about USO's in the news (lUNIDENTIFIED SUBMERGED OBJECTS I think is the term) it seems Wyndham once again was seeing future possibilities come to life....and raising a LOT of questions and controversy. (BBC has done 3 different radio adaptations of this book well worth listening to).
man, George Orwell was Wyndham?
DAmn
Same actor!
Excellent. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it.
The most thought provoking of all his novels which stayed in my mind is "Consider her ways" that short story of a future society of women only where women are the survivors of a virus which wipes out almost all males..just a few men left for procreation and have no other purpose..at the top of the hierarchy are the "Mothers" extra large women just bred for childbirth..all starting from a laboratory research to kill rodents..covered this story at school around 1970..a manufactured virus..I've been half expecting a super virus for decades..Coronavirus was no surprise to me..I thought it would be worse..thankfully not
I think of COVID as the "baby bear" virus. Deadly enough but not too deadly. Just enough to introduce and accelerate some social engineering. Just right!
@@WattisWatts yes you may be closer to the reality of the intention behind it...I tend to look at Coronavirus with even more doom and gloom...was introduced to reduce the populations around the globe but was less effective than expected..we humans became more resistant than their experiments indicated..we know the world cannot support 10 or more billions..it can barely supply the resources for the 7.5B we have now..third world countries keep breeding out of all proportion..while western societies remain fairly stable..and only grow by adding third world people to its own communities..I can imagine the planet graph model for world population 2050 and 2100 projecting an upward line to 10 and 12 plus billions.. those who really run the planet are dedicated to preventing this by whatever means..what next? Another more deadly virus?? I only just survived the Delta variant last year..I needed pure oxygen in hospital..all variants are pretty damn good at killing the weaker amongst us..the figures that the media published indicate that more men than women are vulnerable to fatality..2 to one or even 3 to one made me think of the Wyndham novel..I'm sure they think better luck next time..
@@markianclark9645 Can that difference in male/female mortality ratio be due to women having the children and so they have good reasons to keep off booze and other drugs which reduce the inmunity. So the guys drink beer and end up with hang-overs for breakfast where as the child bearers eat a sensible meal and maybe also refrain fron somking cancenogens.
I do like the sequel to Village of the Damned called Children of the Damned which was shown, in 1964 and also a book of the film came out under the same title by A.V. Sellwood.
Damn the man! Because of him I will never see a meteor shower.
This is great because there's nothing else like it on YT but it's nowhere near as good as Hidden Wyndham by Amy Binns which is far more in depth and far more incisive than this. Thanks for the upload though!
It’s good to hear the story of a good and decent man who was also a good writer. Sort of like Charlotte.
Aldiss! - always bringing 'penetration' into it!
In 1951, we might not have known the detailed structure of DNA, but by that time the consensus among molecular biologists was firmly that it must be the hereditary centre of the cell as nothing else fitted and they could not work out its function. Thus the race was on to discover that structure, which happened in 1953. DNA itself had been isolated in the mid 19th century.
It's perfectly possible to write about principles of biology, and other aspects of science without knowing the details at the time. The term gene as the unit of biological heredity had been coined in 1909.
His wife sounds so like me! 🤣
if seems saramago read this novel and made his own blind pandemic story.
After all, triffids only are showed in a very few pages,
can't but laugh when a manual lawn mower is referred to as requiring physical labour, near the end.
Wow I know these titles but really have never known the author. Cool. 👍👍
🤓