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The film is set around two normal families from Sheffield in the
north of England.
Jimmy and Ruth are two average
working teenagers, Jimmy, a pigeon fancier from a strong working class
background and Ruth his girlfriend from a more "well-to-do" family, are
planning for the future Ruth is pregnant and the couple decide to move
in together and get married, unaware of what is unfolding around them.
The East and the West are at loggerheads in the Middle East over a
dispute in Iran while all around then the establishment is preparing for
the unthinkable, but by now unavoidable.
Threads deals with the before, the during and the aftermath of an all out nuclear attack on the UK, in graphically and factually exact frightening detail.
The chaos, and shocking horror are all depicted in this early 80's BBC production which came at the time of heightened paranoia and suspicion between the the two cold war superpowers.
It came hot on the heels of the original and until recently banned The
War Game, not to be confused with the teen 'flick'
War Games. And the Hollywood version of global armageddon The Day After.
Thursday 5th May
Ruth informs Jimmy that she is pregnant. Jimmy asks her to marry him.
The background news reports tell us that Soviet Troops launch incursions
into Northean Iran, to the anger of the West.
Sunday 8th May
Jimmy informs his parents of Ruth's pregnancy. They suggest abortion,
and are afraid that Jimmy is only marrying Ruth because it is what is expected
of him. Jimmy's teenage sister, Alison overhears the conversation, and
when she hears the word abortion, it all falls into place. A family argument
begins.
Soviet tanks enter Iran.
Wednesday 11th May
Ruth's family and Jimmy's family meet at Ruths middle-class home to
discuss marriage plans.
Rumours are beginning, that a US Submarine, the USS Los Angeles, has
been sunk in the Persian Gulf.
Thursday 12th May
Ruth and Jimmy, view a flat that they intend to move into and decorate.
Ruth plans a nursery for the baby, whilst Jimmy plans a pigeon loft for
the garden area.
Another naval exchange in the gulf results in severe damage to a Soviet
cruiser.
We learn of the emergency powers in Britain. In the event of a nuclear
crisis, the country will delegate into Local authorities. In Sheffield
the responsibilities are handed to the city's Chief Executive
Tuesday 17th May
The Us President sends paratroopers into Iran to hold back Soviet armies.
Sheffield's chief executive receives a message from the central government,
telling him that war preparations should begin as soon as possible. He
must contact a list of other emergency officials, who will all assume duties.
Panic buying in shops is beginning as shelves are emptying and as a
result prices rise.
Wednesday 18th May
The chief executive begins to assure that food stocks are kept, and
that blanket supplies are taken to schools.
RAF Fininngly is on high alert, a possible target, 17 miles from Sheffield
and 5 miles from Doncaster.
Thursday 19th May
Jimmy and his friend, watch News reports about the escalating war.
Neither of them fully understand the situation, and it is clear that Bob,
is unaware of the real danger of Nuclear weapons stating that he wants
to be right underneath it and pissed out of his mind, if it should drop.
The two make moves on two young woman in the pub, as this is the last
chance that Jimmy will get.
Saturday 21st May
Anti war demonstrations begin, and thousands of people are stranded
at UK airports.
The US deliver an ultimatum to the Soviets to withdraw from Iran. It
expires at Noon on the 22nd. Soviet troops begin to gather on the West
German border.
Sunday 22nd May
Noon - US ultimatum expires.
B52 Bombers attack Moshad air base in Iran. Soviets defend the base
with a nuclear tipped air defence missile. The US retaliates with a single
nuclear weapon on a Soviet Base.
Storable household items are in short supply sue to the panic buying.
Riots and civil disorder are widespread.
Tuesday 24th May
People attempt to escape the major population centres, in fear of an
attack. They discover though that most major roads are reserved for military
uses only. Most motorways are clogged with people trying to escape. The
Kemps' neighbours try to escape to the countryside near Norwich. They are
trapped on the road.
The US carrier Kittyhawk is sunk in the Persian gulf. Washington announces
a naval and air blockade of Cuba. Anti Soviet demonstrations begin in US
cities.
Hospitals in the UK are cleared to make way for emergency casualties.
Ruth's grandmother among them.
Petrol stations close, and all known subversives are located and arrested.
Civil liberties are suspended.
Wednesday 25th May
Evidence of two nuclear explosions is detected in the East. Their origins
are not determined. Sheffield's chief executive is asked to take his place
in the secret bunker, much to the concern of his wife.
Trade Unions threaten to strike in response to the escalating crisis.
Major art works are removed from galleries across the country and placed
in lead containers.
Public information programs air to explain the procedures people should
take to protect themselves.
Ruth is reduced to tears by the situation.
Fire engines are deployed to safe locations.
Thursday 26th May
Ruth is too ill to go to work, part of her morning sickness. Her mother
tries to phone in sick for her, but discovers a dead line. All civilian
phone lines have been cut.
Schools are closed. Mrs Kemp asks Alison to go to the corner shop,
and get any food or drink she can.
At 8.00am we are told that, this is the time when Western response
will be slowest.
Banking is suspended.
The emergency staff in the bunker are preparing ready for an attack.
8.32am - the attack warning is received. They immediately set about
their duties, in a confused manner. Many of them do not know what they
are doing.
Air raid sirens sound over Sheffield and people caught in the open
rush for shelter.
8.35am - single nuclear warhead, air bursts at high altitude over the
North Sea. The skies brighten, and the ElectroMagnetic Pulse knocks out
power grids, and damages communications.
8.37am - The first salvo of missiles hit NATO Military Targets. RAF
Fininngly is hit. People in Sheffield see the blinding light, which lasts
for a number of seconds. The mushroom cloud is then visible over the rooftops.
The sight of it causes panic, and people instinctively run in the opposite
direction. One woman urinates on the street at the sight of the billowing
mass of smoke and fire.
Jimmy runs through the streets, in search of Ruth, leaving Bob staring
into the mushroom cloud. After this point in the film, Jimmy is not seen
again. A ground burst at Crewe also sends winds tearing through Sheffield.
The attack escalates to involve cities. Sheffield, being a major industrial
city is a target. The first salvo of Military targets totalled 80 Megatons.
Communications are in chaos, and Command and control links are failing.
A bomb airbrushes over Sheffield. The heat causes milk bottles to melt
down, people to burn to nothing and all kinds of combustion. Buildings
cave in and exiled violently in the blast wave.
The East and West exchange a total of 3,000 Megatons. The UK receives
210 Megatons. Two thirds of all houses in the UK within fire zones. Fallout
is imminent and rescue attempts are unlikely.
The first traces of fallout descend on Sheffield, from the burst at
Crewe, an hour and a half later. It is impossible for many people to escape
it, with shattered windows and exposed roofs.
Friday 27th May
The Kemps lie in their shelter. Mrs Kemp has horrendous radiation burns,
whilst Mr Kemp is comparatively unharmed. Both however are suffering from
severe radiation sickness. But at this early stage, the symptoms are identical
for radiation sickness and panic.
They eventually leave the shelter to look for their son, Michael. They
find him dead in the garden, in the rubble of the pigeon loft. Alison too
is presumed dead, as she was out at the shops at the time of the attack.
Sunday 29th May
The staff in the bunker have manage to gain contact with Stockbridge
Police Station. They are told in graphic detail of the awful situation
above ground. The Chief Executive is told that the area of his home is
in a high radiation area. He fears for his wife.
The bunker is buried under the rubble of the town hall, which collapsed
on top of it, and at this stage there are no means of clearing it, and
it could be anything up to two weeks before anything can be done.
Thursday 2nd June (attack + one week)
Ruth is convinced that Jimmy was killed in the blast. In her despair
she wishes for the baby to be dead. Her parents try to comfort her, but
she is deeply depressed.
Mr and Mrs Kemp are on deaths door.
Ruth's grandmother dies, and her parents lay the body in one of the
upper rooms in the house. Whilst they do this Ruth leaves.
Sunday 5th June
500 million tons of dust, and 100 million tons of smoke, have been
left in the atmosphere by the bombs. The nuclear winter begins and land
masses such as Russia and the USA suffer temperature declines as high as
25 degrees centigrade.
Ruth walks the devastated streets of Sheffield, and sees first hand,
the destruction. People dwell in the ruins of their homes, crying
out for loved ones. Some have been burned to death in the merciless
firestorms, and only bones and ashes remain. Mental unbalance amongst
the public is already evident as people become reluctant to communicate,
and dwell on their losses; many lose hope.
Monday 6th June
A group of survivors try to fight there way into a food stockpile locations.
The soldiers guarding it,shoot CS Gas pellets at them to keep them back.
Food is being kept until instructions are given about it's strict distribution.
Saturday 11th June
Ruth and a large crowd of survivors come to a hospital, with intact
buildings. However, with no electricity and medical supplies, the doctors
are no better equipped for dealing with the casualties than the next person.
The Chief executive decides not to waste food on those who will die
for certain anyway. Only those who can work will be rewarded with food,
but "not even enough to keep a flea alive". Communications are breaking
down in the bunker, as the staff begin to bicker amongst themselves, and
slowly they run out of food.
Friday 17th June
Epidemics of Cholera, Typhoid and Dysentery are likely.
Ruth's parents are murdered by looters, who are going around houses
collecting food. In this case they are caught immediately outside
the house, and shot down.
Healthy survivors are ordered to report for reconstruction duties,
and in return they will be given small amounts of food and drink to keep
them going.
Money is no longer of any use. People are only willing to exchange
things for food. The horrific truth is that the weak will die, leaving
more food for more able people.
10-20 Million dead bodies are lying across the UK, decomposing.
Crematoriums cannot operate, as fuel is a precious resource; burial pits
would need too much man power.
Attack + One Month
Detention camps have been established across the country to keep law
and order. One is established at a Sheffield Tennis Club, where we
catch a brief glimpse of a girl, who could possibly be Alison Kemp.
The Sheffield bunker is finally uncovered, and the emergency council
representatives are discovered dead through lack of oxygen.
Special courts of justice are given complete control over criminals,
and they also have the right to execute them by firing squad.
Ruth returns to her house and finds that her parents are no longer
there.
Attack + Five Weeks
No power
No Water
Large herds of survivors leave Sheffield in search of a better place
to live.
Radiation sickness deaths are reaching their peak.
The police have begun to assign people to abandoned buildings, and
houses with extra room. Ruth is taken to a house in Buxton, owned
by an elderly man, but she is subsequently turfed out by him. She
escapes with some food, and she runs into Bob, Jimmy's friend from earlier
in the film.
Attack + Six Weeks
Upon finding a dead sheep in a field, Ruth and Bob argue about whether
they should eat it. They do not fear that it is contaminated, agreeing
that everything is. They eat it, and use the coat to keep warm.
Karen Meagher
Reece Dinsdale
Rita May
Phil Rose
Steve Halliwell
Jane Hazelgrove
This in my opinion is the most horrific and moving of all the Nuclear war films it leaves a lot of unanswered questions and deep down feelings of anger about what if this ever happened and it should never be allowed too.
The origional video and DVD are now available at
www.blackstar.co.uk
Copyright D Hutchinson2002
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