BBC, 1984 "Threads"

[Marc]

Bona nit!

Probably some of you (specially if you're living in the UK) have watched the 1984 BBC docudrama titled Threads, by Barry Hines. For my part, I've discovered it this past week, by chance, while lurking through the Internet. I think that the film has never been translated to Spanish language or showed in any Spanish TV channel, so I had no previous idea about its existence. Anyway, I've been able to found a quiet moment to watch it only two hours ago. And, what can I say? First, it has been impossible for me to allow myself a single moment of relax in the last two hours, finding myself holding my breath in more than one scene. Sometimes I've felt a powerful temptation to stop the film, shut down the computer and leave it for another occasion. In a few words, I still can feel a grim, nightmarish and disturbing after taste. Anyway, I cannot by recommend "Threads" to all of you, even if the nuclear war has not been the nightmare of your teenage years.

A video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...90698427111488


And , for more information, the intro from the Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads

"Threads is a 1984 BBC television play depicting the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom and its aftermath. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, Threads was filmed in late 1983 and early 1984. The premise of Threads was to hypothesise the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom after an exchange between the Soviet Union and the United States escalates to include the UK.
The story begins nearly three months before the attack, which happens on Thursday, 26 May, though the year is unspecified. We watch two families' reactions � the Kemps and the Becketts � first as fighting erupts and escalates, then as the UK places itself on a war footing, and eventually as strategic bombing commences. We then follow family members as they face and eventually die of the medical, economic, social, and environmental consequences of a nuclear war. The play concludes thirteen years after the attack, showing a shattered civilisation and children speaking broken English. Both the plot and the atmosphere of the play are extremely bleak."

[Targan]

Agreed, Threads is good. We had a discussion about it on the old forums once. The Aussies and Brits had seen it but I think many Americans had not. Worth a look.

[TiggerCCW UK]

Truly terrifying film. I saw it first in my mid twenties and it gave me nightmares. Hope you slept ok.

[JimmyRay73]

Sounds reminiscent of a mini-series from the early 80s called "The Day After."

Was mostly set in Kansas (where there were missile silos) and as far as I can recall it was pretty blunt about things. No happy ending, Steve Guttenberg and Jason Robards losing all their hair and realizing that everybody the knew was gone or going. It was enough to scare the crap out of a ten year old kid back in the day...

[headquarters]

the remake of Survivors is another good series imo.

Not nuclear war and not as bleak as threads , but still a good show.

[TiggerCCW UK]

Originally Posted by JimmyRay73

Sounds reminiscent of a mini-series from the early 80s called "The Day After."

I definitely rate Threads as grimmer and bleaker than They Day After. It was a truly depressing and frightening piece of TV. I remember wanting to watch it when it was on the telly - I was about 10 at the time. My mother (rightly) said no - I dread to think what I would have made of it at that age - it was terrifying enough when I was older.

Headquarters - I didn't see the remake, but the original 3 series were awesome, managed to lay hands on them on DVD last year. Anyone familiar with Last Train? It was an ITV series set in the aftermath of a comet strike on earth. Runs on Sci-Fi channel every so often.

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

I definitely rate Threads as grimmer and bleaker than They Day After. It was a truly depressing and frightening piece of TV. I remember wanting to watch it when it was on the telly - I was about 10 at the time. My mother (rightly) said no - I dread to think what I would have made of it at that age - it was terrifying enough when I was older.

Headquarters - I didn't see the remake, but the original 3 series were awesome, managed to lay hands on them on DVD last year. Anyone familiar with Last Train? It was an ITV series set in the aftermath of a comet strike on earth. Runs on Sci-Fi channel every so often.

1 season (6 episodes) just finished.

Second season due this fall.

Got a good suspense ,and seeing as it is Britain there are few guns around for the protagonists to use.The odd shotgun,melee weapons and some medieval stuff.

The show focuses more on relationships and problemsolving though.You could maybe even see it with the missus.

I guess I better see the original series too.

Threads is maybe to realistic for me.Got really queasy when I saw the "war game " last time.

[Marc]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

I definitely rate Threads as grimmer and bleaker than They Day After. It was a truly depressing and frightening piece of TV.

I knew "The day after" because it was showed in Spain in the late 80's ( "El dia después") . And I must agree with Tigger and HQ, I find "Threads" to be more realistic and although I liked "The day after". I remeber specially one great image from the American TV-serie where the people from Kansas saw the missiles emerging from their silos. This single, powerful image, with the missiles flying to their distant targets against a clear blue sky in an otherwise normal day, contains enough implication to keep you stuck in your seat, hypnotized by the countdown that will inevitably erase the world as you know it.

When I was 14 years old, one of the proposed books to read in the Catalan Language subject was "GermÃÂ* de la Terra", "Brother in the land", by Robert Swindells (thanks to Saint Google, again). I think It was my first contact with the post-apocalyptic genre. Although the book is classified as "Young adult literature", I have read it again two or three times since then. A great book. "Threads" reminds me very much about "Brother in the land". Perhaps because in both cases the scenery of the story is situated in Great Britain, they share some interesting points in common. Basically, in both cases the story last for years after the fall of the nukes, entering in the terrain of the non-immediate, but even more horrible consequences of a nuclear exchange. In both cases the story remains somehow unfinished, but they left you with the feeling that the rest is too much sad to continue.

Well, I've take note about "Survivors". I will try to get it by "those magical methods" this night. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

I definitely rate Threads as grimmer and bleaker than They Day After. It was a truly depressing and frightening piece of TV. I remember wanting to watch it when it was on the telly - I was about 10 at the time. My mother (rightly) said no - I dread to think what I would have made of it at that age - it was terrifying enough when I was older.

Headquarters - I didn't see the remake, but the original 3 series were awesome, managed to lay hands on them on DVD last year. Anyone familiar with Last Train? It was an ITV series set in the aftermath of a comet strike on earth. Runs on Sci-Fi channel every so often.

I saw the first couple of episodes of the Last Train...remember one episode in particular where the group found there way to some sort of abandoned holiday camp? Never saw the end of the series.

Would agree with Headquarters about Survivors (the remake)...on the whole it was pretty good and had some quite useful ideas for a T2K campaign, although the last episode felt a little rushed...it left a few loose ends, although I understand a second series has been confirmed, so perhaps that might tidy them up. There was a programme called "The Cult of Survivors" on BBC3 or 4 (can't remember which)...was a look back on the original...seemed quite good (in a sort of standard BBC 1970's sci fi sort of way!)

I think Threads and The Day After first showed on British TV at much the same time...Threads was definitely much, much bleaker...I still recall some of the images from the first time I watched it, which I think was when it first came out in 1984...I'd have been around 14 at the time. Definitely the stuff of nightmares.