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.

Might be because I'm french - Chernobyl was a massive thing in France (because of our own government massive investments in nuclear power stations and abysmal management of the crisis on the french territory) and that was combined with the nuclear war scares.
Basically everything atomic was scary.

I watched it when it was first broadcast so I would have been 9. It was absolutely horrific and the final scene has stayed in my head ever since. I really can't believe they showed it in schools!
I won't be watching it again but my DH hasn't seen it so I told him he needs to watch it.
My DC are 13 and 15. I'm not sure id encourage them to watch it. My eldest watched Grave of the Fireflies in yr9. I've never seen it as even reading the synopsis upset me hugely! When the Wind Blows is so human and sad. That's also stated with me for years.
I've never read On The Beach (it's been sitting on my shelf for years 😳) But I did watch the film and I would definitely recommend it. It's beautifully shot and hauntingly sad.

My dcs have told me the plot of Grave of the Fireflies and I’m not going to watch it.
I didn’t like On The Beach - I found it implausible that everyone is so fatalistic. I think people would be building shelters, planning to move to Antarctica, all kinds of things that would be ultimately pointless but they would still keep going as long as they could. The human drive to survive, not to mention the capacity for self deception, is very strong, and much as people always say on these threads that they would run towards the blast, I think the instinct to hope against hope is very strong.

If you watch Threads it will definitely make you want to run towards the blast.

@FastFood Chernobyl was big news here too: it affected farmers across the country. Radiation doesn't respect borders!

I saw Threads at the age of 15 (thanks to my Modern Studies Teacher) at school. Last day of Christmas term - ended up hating him for it as it was something I'd never have chosen to watch.. and then went home to have the news about Lockerbie hit. :(

BBC News - Threads: How the nuclear bomb drama horrified Sheffield extras - BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/articles/crl8nj3xxp7o

I saw it at school too. I've always known I'm going to die in an apocalyptic event as a result.

It's sort of taken the hope out of life.

@StoatofDisarray me too & alone, not being able to get to the people I love

This isn’t strictly relevant but since we’re talking about Chernobyl: my Ukrainian guest was a baby in Kyiv when the accident happened, and the government was assuring everyone it was safe but nobody trusted them so his parents took him to live in Donetsk for a year. So when he came to England it was the second time in his life he’d been a refugee, once as a baby and once as the father of a baby and small children.

I knew it was coming up so thanks for the reminder. I saw it when it was first shown in 1984. It was terrifying then and strangely still relevant today. The last scene though, that has stayed with me all these years.

@Twynklebell I saw it in Modern Studies too …
I have also read On the Beach this week too … and thinking of ordering Children of the Dust . Think I have been reading more atomic war articles and literature since the Middle East / Iran tensions have reached a greater height again recently. Just makes you think - what if , doesn’t it.

Saw it in social studies at school as well, we were all obsessed with nuclear war in the 80s. That and AIDS. What a jolly time it was 🤦‍♀️

And yet some people would like to go back there apparently.

I knew I'd seen this somewhere on here.. Reminder it's on BBC4 tonight.

I'm watching the prog on before it about Britain's Nuclear Secrets with Prof Jim Al Khalili. It's... Well informative but not overly reassuring

Just watching the talk by Mick Jackson, director and producer. Fascinating to hear what he was trying to achieve.

Watching …

I forgot just how awful this was.

Will we be able to watch on catch up do you think?

It's awful isn't it. I'm.not sure I can stay up though want to see it through.

It's so harrowing..

I don’t think so, which is why I am watching now even though it’s a bit late for me.

I think I am in the minority, having read the posts I thought it was going to be much worse. It's definitely harrowing and really grim and it's not over yet ... I can imagine it was a lot worse watching this back when it was first shown but now it just feels like another horror film and maybe desensitised comes into it. I will say truly shocked it was shown in schools and can understand why those people won't watch it as the brain at that age can't really comprehend such atrocity

Bleak. Dark. Traumatising.

But the quip about the prawn cocktail crisps is still funny.