# Did you watch "The Day After" when it first aired and what did you think of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365 "2012-08-04T00:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/81 "2014-01-25T15:34:47Z")
> [@Lazlo Hapsburg](#): > > Since hardly anyone alive today has lived through a nuclear explosion, it must be very difficult to say what the aftermath of such a thing would be like. But from what I understand, the movie “The Day After” is far more realistic than most other movies. > > In particular there is a kind of bittersweet movie titled Testament (1983) that takes place in a community that is a very long distance away from a nuclear explosion. I think it takes place somewhere in Northern California and there was a nuclear explosion in Southern California although I could easily be mistaken about that. That movie really angers me because it doesn’t show people what they should be shown in my opinion. It’s only my opinion. But any movie that depicts the aftermath of a nuclear war needs to grab people and scare the shit out of them and I don’t think any movie could ever do that strongly enough. > > The real point I wish to make is that The Day After shows that after a nuclear bomb explodes near a city, life would become almost totally unsustainable in that area in a very short time. > > However, I think the aftermath as depicted in The Day After is nowhere near as horrible as things would actually be. > > The reason I say this is that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was equivalent to 13K tons of TNT. In the next war, bombs would likely be around 20 Megtons of TNT. > > That is 1,500 times the size of the Hiroshima bomb. > > There are many other factors involved. It may be a much smaller bomb used in the next war. Suppose it was as small as even one Megaton. That would still be around 100 times the size of the Hiroshima bomb. > > If a bomb that size is exploded in any modern North American city, life would be … > > I intentionally ended this post abruptly to indicate just how abruptly life would be over for most all the residents of that city. I don’t know what, if anything, you or I could do to prevent this from happening. But it sure is worth investing a whole lot of time and energy now to prevent such a thing because there would be no recovery. No way of fixing things. No way of saving our families. Nothing to do except bend over and kiss our asses goodbye. Very sorry to present such a bleak view. But “bleak” would def be the word. How does all of that compare to the explosion depicted in [_The Sum of All Fears_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164184/?ref_=nv_sr_1)? I always seemed to me that that bomb was not very large. It was devastating to the stadium and the people in it, but otherwise not as harsh. The President, after all, had enough time to get a survivable distance away. A dirty bomb might be more destructive, but not nearly as effective (from a terrorist’s point of view) at creating an immediately recognizable danger. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/82 "2014-01-25T16:12:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Was it TDA or Testament that had the scene where the mother is bathing her child in the bathroom sink and she sees the water turning red and realizes that he’s succumbing to radiation poisoning? Because that’s about the single scene in either movie that I actually retained, just because it’s such a devastating one. That was “Testament”. I remember that scene too, and then after he dies, the mother won’t bury him until they can find his teddy bear. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/83 "2014-01-25T16:26:32Z")
> [@Lazlo Hapsburg](#): > > The reason I say this is that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was equivalent to 13K tons of TNT. In the next war, bombs would likely be around 20 Megtons of TNT. I have to nitpick this, but no. Very few weapons used in a nuclear exchange would be that powerful. Russia does have a few 20-mt-capable land-based weapons remaining, the gigantic SS-18, but the great majority of strategic nuclear warheads are far smaller, almost all under one megaton. Increased missile accuracy has allowed the nuclear power to actually reduce the size of their weapons and concentrate on MIRV deployment. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/84 "2014-01-25T16:55:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My main recollection is that it was a little too melodramatic and I didn’t feel it lived up to its pre-broadcast hype. Pretty much this. I also thought it felt “toned down” from what things would really be like after. I saw _Threads_ some months later on PBS, and _that_ had an impact. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/85 "2014-01-25T17:00:00Z")
It was unsettling. The doomsday clock hasn’t improved since then. > **[File:Doomsday Clock graph.svg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Doomsday_Clock_graph.svg)** > > Original file ‎(SVG file, nominally 1,698 × 433 pixels, file size: 24 KB) > In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: > Fastfission grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. > You cannot overwrite this file. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/86 "2014-01-25T18:26:15Z")
I never saw it, but didn’t at the end of TDA, come up a message saying that in a real nuclear exchange, the effects would have been even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/87 "2014-01-25T19:14:43Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > How does all of that compare to the explosion depicted in [_The Sum of All Fears_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164184/?ref_=nv_sr_1)? I always seemed to me that that bomb was not very large. It was devastating to the stadium and the people in it, but otherwise not as harsh. The President, after all, had enough time to get a survivable distance away. A dirty bomb might be more destructive, but not nearly as effective (from a terrorist’s point of view) at creating an immediately recognizable danger. The following is largely my opinions and information that I have gathered over the years. I’m not certain this is all correct. But you can search for the info and I hope you will find that most of the following is correct. I believe a “dirty bomb” is a much different kind of bomb than a nuclear bomb. A dirty bomb does not produce much of an immediate problem. But it will make life in that area very unpleasant for a very long time. People who live there will suffer many long term cancers and other diseases they will want to avoid. But the problems from a dirty bomb will last much longer and will remain in effect for many many years. The immediate aftermath is not extreme. There is no big explosioan. No immediate deaths. But the area is still unliveable and remains unliveable for many, many years. Dirty bombs are much easier to construct. They are cheaper to construct and harder to detect than nuclear bombs. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/88 "2014-01-25T19:15:55Z")
I was a Junior in high school never saw it, I was doing something other than TV all the time. I didn’t even watch SNL in the eighties. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/89 "2014-01-25T20:47:04Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Pretty much this. I also thought it felt “toned down” from what things would really be like after. Actually, it most likely way overblew the way things would have been. People, particularly rural farmers, wouldn’t have laid down and died that easy. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/90 "2014-01-25T21:39:29Z")
I saw it, but it did not make much of an impression. Trust a TV movie to be overly melodramatic about the end of the world. Plus I also got the impression that the network was trying to scare me into not supporting Reagan’s ideas _vis-a-vis_ the Cold War by telling me something of which I was already aware. Nuclear war would be a bad thing - who knew? I was reminded of the story about Cal Coolidge. He came back from church, and someone asked what the sermon was about. “Sin”, said Cal. “What did he say?” “He was against it.” As it turns out, we managed to avoid being blown up by nuclear missiles. But we didn’t do it by watching TV. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/91 "2014-01-25T22:02:09Z")
I was just out of college, and living in a student co-op. I had no idea that this show was going to air. I got four channels on broadcast tv. I turned on the tv just as they were showing the “breaking news” portion. I bought it. 100%. I completely freaked out and went running down the hall. I can still vividly recall the guy I didn’t much like anyway giving me that “Jane, you ignorant slut” look as he explained it was just a tv show. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/92 "2014-01-25T22:16:07Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Reagan’s ideas _vis-a-vis_ the Cold War by telling me something of which I was already aware. Nuclear war would be a bad thing - who knew? Reagan was, according to his autobiography, affected and depressed by the film, and he included it in a list of things that moved him to pursue nuclear disarmament. Plus, a flim isn’t supposed to tell you things you don’t know. Its supposed to make you feel them. I knew storming the beaches of Normandy sucked before I saw **Saving Private Ryan** , but that doesn’t make the Normandy beach scenes in that movie pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/93 "2014-01-25T22:27:52Z")
The film aired in 1983, when Reagan had been President for two years already. I find it difficult to believe that Reagan had had no impulse towards preventing WWIII before seeing this movie, or that he came up with the Strategic Defense Initiative or the “zero option” towards missiles in Europe because of it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/94 "2014-01-25T23:33:21Z")
God damned movie stole my innocence. I started having major panic attacks that very night. I was too young to be watching such scary stuff. I think maybe 11? Or 12 depending on what month it aired. Watched it again last time this topic came up and it was just a crappy made-for-tv movie but that brief part with all the immediate destruction still gives me trouble to watch. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/95 "2014-01-26T05:34:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My main recollection is that it was a little too melodramatic and I didn’t feel it lived up to its pre-broadcast hype. Exactly. Cheesy, over-the-top, and cliches out the wazoo. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/96 "2014-01-28T21:53:23Z")
I was a freshman at the local community college and it’s all we talked about… the day after (sorry). It did leave a lasting impression on me and when we bombed Libya in 1986 I went into a bit of depression, thinking this is where things were headed. Hey, I was in community college and not the most aware. I was really shocked to see the ratings for The Day After: when it aired it was one of the top 10 most-watched programs of _all time_. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/97 "2014-01-28T22:00:18Z")
> [@Moonchild](#): > > I was really shocked to see the ratings for The Day After: when it aired it was one of the top 10 most-watched programs of _all time_. Sometimes I think even we who lived through it forget just how pervasive the nuclear exchange fear was then. Obviously not as bad as it was in the 50s and 60s, but Reagan added quite a bit of oomph to the imminence of it happening that had drained away with the 70s and Detente. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/98 "2014-01-29T18:39:41Z")
I remember hearing some of my nieces and nephews were required to watch it. I sent them copies of this short story by John Varley called “The ManhattAn Phone Book - Abridged” [http://www.varley.net/Pages/Manhattan.htm](http://www.varley.net/Pages/Manhattan.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/99 "2014-01-30T01:02:48Z")
My parents told me I was not allowed to watch it shortly before it came on (not that I had planned to, I hadn’t even heard of it) but the next day in elementary school the teacher made us sit in a circle on the floor and talk about it. Kinda dull when you haven’t seen it. My friend (who was in another class) was later talking about it and he made it sound really cool. I finally saw it sometime around the turn of the century when it popped up on cable, and it was pretty crappy, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365/100 "2014-01-30T01:14:31Z")
In the vein of that: _Failsafe_…that sound the phone makes when melting…devastating. I’ve only seen parts of _By Dawn’s Early Light_ but some were fantastically well done. The guys in Omaha still doing their job though they know death is moments away. and of course _Dr. Strangelove_ I’ve often tried to imagine what I would do if in my car and it and all the cars around me suddenly shut down. Hope it was a sun flare I suppose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-watch-the-day-after-when-it-first-aired-and-what-did-you-think-of-it/630365.md?page=6)