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.

Just saw on the end credits that Carl Sagan was one of the advisors

I agree with you, I think time has made it easier to distance oneself. It didn’t get to me the way The Road did.

Bloody Hell. I didn’t watch it first time round..I remember all the talk afterwards though. CND membership rose after, I recall….
Terrifying. I’ve had to put something gentle on the TV to wipe the images from my mind..

I missed that - what was it?

As awful as that was tonight, I think reading Children of the Dust as a 9yo was far more traumatic than watching Threads in my 40s.

Reading the Road is equivalent…

It got me just the same as the first time I watched it. I'd have been about Ruth's age then. It wasn't just the horror of the nuclear attack on screen. It was the thought this could really happen.

it’s on IPlayer now

I find When The Wind Blows far more traumatic

I watched again last night. I thought it was very bleak; the mixture of kitchen sink drama and factual voice over was effective and it re-enforced my belief that if there was a nuclear war I would really hope to be killed instantly in the initial blast.

But I didn't find it scary or traumatic this time round.

That's probably partly my age. Seeing it as a middle aged woman is different to seeing it as a teenager.

But also the time we're living in.

First time round was the height of the Cold War. I was active in my local CND group; Greenham Common and cruise missiles were regularly in the news; when Reagan was elected, there had been talk at school the next day of how much more likely nuclear war was now.

At the time, Threads seemed to be showing us not just what would happen in the unlikely event of a nuclear war but what was going to happen if something many of us worried about did actually happen. It was a glimpse into our possible future.

After the blast, when they’re checking the bodies for food- they get excited as there’s a packet of crisps; but leave them because they’re prawn cocktail

I wonder if anyone can answer this one. Around the time of Threads I remember seeing a trailer for a tv drama or film about nuclear winter and there was a scene in which it was snowing and a group of survivors were playing a Christmas carol on a record player by turning the record with a finger.

I have always thought it must have been from Threads but it wasn’t so does anyone recognise the image from anything else?

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel was it “ The Day After “ ?

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel It’s weird, I thought I had seen it at school in the mid-80s (or at least some of it), but I’m now thinking maybe it was a different film about the same subject as none of it ‘came back’ to me. Maybe I just blocked it out 🤦‍♀️
i will definitely be running into the initial explosion though - I do not want to survive and eke out an existence.

It was interesting to now, after the tanker drivers' strike of 2000 and now post-pandemic, having seen panic buying in action.

I’m in my early 30’s, so I never saw the original airing of Threads. I watched it on catch up this morning, and my god it is horrific. I’ve come close to tears several times watching it. No wonder people were terrified when it was first shown.

It could well have been, I have never seen that.

I've recorded it as DH has never seen it & wants to. Unsure whether to watch with him as I found it so traumatising at school, thinking if I watch again then maybe it isn't as bad as I remember & it may help, on the other hand it may be hugely anxiety triggering again

I saw it. Iirc they showed it over 2 nights. The bit I remember is before the blast, all the car engines stop working because of the ⚡ electro magnetic 🧲 pulse

Watching it together would be a good opportunity for cuddling, if you like that sort of thing.

I'm about half way through bombs have just been dropped, actually can't believe this was shown at schools, its enough to give me nightmares at 49 far less being a child

I’m torn between watching if for the first time, in my forties, because it’s an important and influential piece of modern day culture. And not watching because I know I’ll find it harrowing and it will stay on my mind forever.

I read Margaret Atwood’s apocalyptic Madd Adam trilogy during Covid. It’s about a pandemic. But at least it has a hopeful ending.

I watched it last night - having not seen it since was first broadcast. I'm glad I did. It was as bleak and depressing as I remember, though not as traumatic this time round. It was very well made for the time and while some of it feels dated, most of it still stands up to scrutiny.

And while not trying to diminish any of the terrible things going on in the world at the moment, it can be difficult to imagine for younger generations that those of us who were around in the early 80s really did believe that an event like this was possible. It was not all new romantics and glamour - even without mentioning the constant fear a nuclear apocalypse there were strikes, riots, recessions, IRA bombs, the Falklands war, the emergence of AIDS... It was not always a happy time...

@AlecTrevelyan006

And while not trying to diminish any of the terrible things going on in the world at the moment, it can be difficult to imagine for younger generations that those of us who were around in the early 80s really did believe that an event like this was possible. It was not all new romantics and glamour - even without mentioning the constant fear a nuclear apocalypse there were strikes, riots, recessions, IRA bombs, the Falklands war, the emergence of AIDS... It was not always a happy time...

I agree with this. There seems to be this tendency (from some) to romanticise the 1980s - and yes there was a lot of good films and good TV and it was 'a simpler time' in some ways.. And people (especially Gen X) have good memories moreso than some others because many of them would have been children/teenager/young adults with no or few responsibilities then. And I think something in the brain, tends to make people remember the good times more, and airbrush out the bad times.

Some of the 1980s was fab (for me - in my mid teens to mid 20s,) and I had some amazing nights out, clubbing and pubbing with mates, and travelling, and socialising with big groups of friends etc. But it was not without its flaws. I had a rocky relationship with my mother, my extended family were mostly horrible, and I hated the factory job I was stuck in. (Was there 5 years before I got some IT/office qualifications, and moved into office work/admin.) I also had several bad relationships with men who were abusive and aggressive (before I met my DH.) And yeah, the reality of the things you mentioned...

That was good too. But Threads was superior IMO.