Threads - BBC4 - 9 October 10.15pm

[AlecTrevelyan006]

Probably the most harrowing television show ever made, Threads follows the build up to and aftermath of a nuclear attack on Great Britain.

It is being broadcast for only the fourth time, and the first time since 2003.

If, like me, you watched it first time around you will never have forgotten it. If you’ve never seen it before, it is a must-watch - but prepare to be traumatised.

I won't be watching it, once is definitely enough but I do think every single politician should be forced to watch it to try and ram home the potential consequences of their decisions

I'd say politicians and leaders have a duty to watch it. This is what their decisions can lead to.

Personally I would run towards the blast zone :(

I watched this with my parents when it came out

Hideous last scene, I have it on DVD.

October might be spooky season but I can honestly say that threads is the only thing that has ever actually scared me.

We had a few serious conversations as a family about nuclear war when I was in my teens in the 1970s. We lived in a large city that would have been a target so no chance of not being hit. My dad was a GP and said that if we were to survive the initial blasts he'd offer to euthanise us all. I can still hear him say it and remember just replying 'Oh, okay'. I'd have been about 15 at the time, so young, but no subject of discussion was forbidden and I'm glad we talked about it all.

I was the parent of a 4 year old when it came out and my plan was to lie in the road and get it over with quickly. My biggest fear was that she would be at Nursery and I wouldn't get to her in time.

I've never seen it, didn't hear about it at the time, but I see it was by Barry Hines. I thought Kes was bleak enough when I was reading it at school so will give this a miss. I've read the summaries on Wikipedia and elsewhere and it does sound terrifying.

In On the Beach everyone dies of radiation quite quickly - it's interesting in the Threads scenario people survive in some way for years into the future (but possibly not beyond). I am not sure I buy the idea that they would lose language in that timeframe, but the rest sounds very plausible.

If there was some sort of non-nuclear apocalyptic event now I think we'd do better than medieval peasantry because we'd have books and explanations of technology so would probably be able to restart some sort of tech civilisation. But it's the radiation that would kill everyone eventually after a nuclear holocaust.

No way will I be watching!
Bloody terrifying.

If anyone has any heightened anxiety about the current situation in the Middle East - I would advise extreme caution about watching Threads.

I know! Her dad was ok with her watching it. What on earth he was thinking, I'll never know.

Re not losing language, maybe the film makers went too far but then Ruth barely says a word after she knows that Jimmy's dead and everyone else was probably too defeated and exhausted to say much either.

If there was some sort of non-nuclear apocalyptic event now I think we'd do better than medieval peasantry because we'd have books and explanations of technology so would probably be able to restart some sort of tech civilisation.

Dunno. Medieval peasantry didn't need books because they already knew what to do for a decent standard of living at the time. If we were suddenly thrust back to a medieval standard of living most people today wouldn't even know where to begin. Also there isn't the general level of physically fitness needed to do the sheer amount of graft necessary.

Set this to record. I remember growing up in the 80s and so much talk on the news/tv about nuclear bombs wars etc between Russia and the US, also a lot of peace demonstrations, watching When the Wind Blows a cartoon about an old couple trying to survive the aftermath of a bomb being dropped it was so upsetting!

I was going to watch this last night but I bottled out in case it leaves me feeling like The Road did.

When The Wind Blows was extraordinary. I remember hearing a radio adaptation with Peter Sallis.

Oh God that's heartbreaking that he'd thought that through. The scene in on the beach where the guy euthanized his baby then he and his wife take suicide pills together was awful. Such a dreadful scenario.

Just reading this thread brings it all back, i'm surprised how much of an effect it's really had on me

Thanks @hobbitum for the hat tip on the Atomic Hobo podcast. Listening now

https://shows.acast.com/atomichobo

@DizzyBumble I couldn't sleep last night for thoughts of this. As I said further up, I don't think I've seen it all the way through, but I saw enough to affect me for a full 40 years. I wish I'd never seen it, and I think I'm going to have to stop following this thread as it's enough to bring it all back.

Thanks for sharing!

Never heard of this, I'm not from the UK initially so never been exposed (no pun intended) to that as a teenager.
Definitely want to watch it now, it seems to be 100% up my alley.
Interestingly, it predates Chernobyl (the actual disaster, not the series)

I'm in Scotland and the film that is showing at that time is Brighton Bomb. Anyone else see the same?? Wonder if it will be available on iplayer

Got my dates mixed up!

I don't understand: why is it interesting that it was made before Chernobyl? It's about nuclear war, not nuclear power stations.

There was certainly a lot on in that period of 1984.

The miner's strike was underway, Threads aired on 23 September I think they said,.

Then on 12 October there was the Brighton bomb.

By the end of October the Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi would be assassinated and trigger sectarian riots that killed hundreds of people.

Then that December, not atomic, but chemical, is the Disaster at Bhopal

https://www.bbc.co.uk/articles/crl8nj3xxp7o

I may be hard as nails, but all I could think of in the final scene was how a girl born after the bomb dropped could have silver fillings in her teeth?

I was 16 in 1980 and we did a series of plays at sixth form about the potential nuclear war that was to come. It was a real potential threat in the early 80s, but I honestly don't really being too worried - as an much older (obviously!) Granny now, it does scare me more.

Erm..not selling it. I'll be swerving that one.

I remember watching it at the time. I didn't realise that Barry Hines (Kes) wrote it.