PSA: THREADS, 09 Oct, 10 pm, BBC4

I thought it was a documentary about everyday life in Gaza.

This is in a similar vein. Possibly even grimmer as it focuses on an entire country

Bit of light bed time reading

Read this recently too and it’s clearly based on a lot of the same historical information that informed Threads. At points, she kind of trips over herself to cram all the facets she wants to examine into a single scenario, but they’re all chillingly pertinent.

Particularly worrying were the “Mad King” dimensions associated with North Korea which may render traditional notions of MAD deterrence redundant.

Other nightmare fuel included the possibility of a single warhead attack on a nuclear power/waste storage facility; the inadequacy of Russian early warning systems (likely to wrongly interpret the number and trajectory of incoming missiles); and the effects of a satellite-mounted EMP weapon detonated in the ionosphere (touched on briefly in Threads).

Sleep well, kids.

 I remember being thankful that I lived (at the time) right next to an RAF base, and would be instantly vaporised.

Vaguely remember it, or bits of it, from when I was 10. Was terrifying. I recorded it too to watch later. I’ve often thought in the event it all goes very wrong I’d make a dash up the road to RAF Boulmer…figured it’s part of early warning network so must be on the ‘first wave’ shortlist…

Finished it off last night, it’s really very good.

I didn’t find it as harrowing as The Road, because I wasn’t as emotional attached, due to its doc style. But I like the way it visualises the fact we’d bomb ourselves back to the dark ages. That hasn’t really struck me before in other productions. In other films its always a post apocalyptic future … which is a “future” non the less !?!

The scene I really liked was where she barters for food (no spoiler), it’s done in amongst the rubble of the town but in front of a pristine billboard for Standard Life…. So have we insured that this will happen or that it will not ??

Watched yesterday for the first time, raw and thought provoking, surprisingly gripping and very convincing given its dated appearance.

I’ve never seen it. I have a friend who saw it when it was first broadcast and they were 3 and it affected them for life. I think I’ll steer clear of it, I don’t think I need a big reminder of how grim and bleak things could get.

I didn’t find it as harrowing as I thought, maybe because it’s old or maybe because nothing will ever out-harrow The Road for post-apocalyptic nastiness. And as noted above it’s hard to buy into the ‘it could happen here’ thing when innocent people are getting bombed to pieces daily at the moment.

And I knew it were grim oop North but no leaves on the trees in May, even before the nuclear strike?? Tough year for those folks.

but no leaves on the trees in May, even before the nuclear strike??

You need to watch the interview with the director Mick Jackson. It’s on iPlayer.

It was made on an absolute shoestring in a few weeks.

Just finished it. Harrowing.

However, at least they could get dental care years after (spot the filling).

Does it have the same impact in 2024?

It’s worth considering context, the 1980s was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The fear of nuclear war was very real.

The leader of the USSR for a time was Andropov who earned the nickname “the butcher of Budapest.” Ronald Regan was the US President and as Billy Connolly said, “this man has his finger on the nuclear button. He’s the same age as my grandfather and we can’t trust him with the TV remote.”

the inadequacy of Russian early warning systems (likely to wrongly interpret the number and trajectory of incoming missiles);

Yup. In 1983 – a year before Threads – there was a fault in the USSR’s early warning system which claimed to have detected ICBMs inbound from the US. The bloke in charge at the time suspected that they were false alarms because he reasoned there should be more of them. Had he not done so the USSR’s policy was immediate retaliatory strikes, the goal being “Mutually Assured Destruction.”

TL;DR – We came this -> <- far away from World War III by accident a year before Threads aired. We were already traumatised to start with.

And of course, as well as all of this going on, we were getting informational videos like this in TV advert breaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iroty5zwOVw

Don’t forget the Protect and survive booklet that got posted thru everyone’s letterbox 🙂

It was a fun time to be around, don’t forget the opening sample  of When two Tribes go to war.

https://youtu.be/pO1HC8pHZw0?feature=shared

don’t forget the opening sample of When two Tribes go to war.

Or the closing sample from Def Leppard’s Gods of War

I don’t think I need a big reminder of how grim and bleak things could get.

That’s not due to nukes mate, that’s just Sheffield.

Further context. Quite aside from Stanislav Petrov saving us all in 1983, his actions are even more remarkable in the context of the Able Archer 83 and Operation Ryan war scares.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_RYAN

Just re-watched it 40 years after seeing it when it was originally broadcast.  It is so grim and relentlessly downbeat – still truly shocking

as Billy Connolly said, “this man has his finger on the nuclear button. He’s the same age as my grandfather and we can’t trust him with the TV remote.”

That sounds remarkably familiar…

an American presidential candidate who seems to have early onset dementia…  *raised eyebrows *

When are we going to get back the ability to show emoji’s? Honestly, how difficult can it be?

watched it for the first time last night.  well that was grim saturday night viewing wasnt it 😀

strangely enjoyed it (as did my wife who was dreading it), probably got a little bored towards the end but the rest of it made up for it.  and yes, if the bomb drops lets hope we’re somewhere near it and gone in seconds rather than surviving in a world like that.