# Movies or TV shows where people know the world is going to end soon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877 "2026-05-07T02:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/41 "2026-05-11T11:26:30Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > The biblical apocalypse, preceded by the Rapture (in which so few people were actually raptured that it wasn’t widely noticed) I Iove this. Reminds me of a sorta-joke I came up with back in high school. Somebody dies, and is happy to be met by somebody they recognize as St. Peter guarding the Pearly Gates. Ol’ Pete hands them a clipboard w a form on it and a pen and says “Here, fill this out.” Down near the bottom of the form is a question: “Religion?” With two check boxes: Jehovah’s Witness Other. Oops. Heaven will be very uncrowded. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/42 "2026-05-11T17:50:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Down near the bottom of the form is a question: “Religion?” With two check boxes: > Jehovah’s Witness Other. > > Oops. > > Heaven will be very uncrowded. You might like this old skit from The Frantics: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sSfCj2qDHQA/hqdefault.jpg "4 on the Floor (The Frantics)(1986) Episode 11") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfCj2qDHQA&t=117) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/43 "2026-05-11T18:15:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The 1983 film **Testament** Just a note here - my wife got up and walked out saying, “I can’t watch this anymore.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/44 "2026-05-11T18:19:46Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > However I have no idea why the cooks still showed up. Or why the people who make the electricity or run the phones kept going to work. Like I said, I think a lot of people don’t quite know what else to do with themselves if they’re not working a job. It’s why a lot people die mere months after retirement, or find alternate work to keep them busy. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/45 "2026-05-11T18:23:05Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I remember one scene (it’s been awhile since I saw the movie, so I’m probably not remembering it perfectly) where, on a road trip to somewhere, the Steve Carell and Keira Knightley characters stop at a chain restaurant, like a Fridays or Chilis. It’s in kind of a shambles, and they’re out of a lot of stuff, but people are still working there, and they get served. That kind of strikes me as how such a situation would go down with many people-- not knowing quite what else to do, they’d just kind of shamble on with their normal lives on auto-pilot, until the very end. I enjoyed that movie. And if that’s the scene I’m remembering, TJ Miller is one of the employees hanging in there, which seems very TJ Miller. > [@beowulff](#): > > I haven’t listened to it, but the audiobook of “[The Last Policeman](https://a.co/d/05hDLX4o)” is supposed to be excellent. All three books in the trilogy are quite good, and each is relatively short. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/46 "2026-05-11T20:14:47Z")
Because the film was so badly done, or because the topic was so depressing, or because the film was so well done that the vicarious experience was overwhelmingly horrific? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/47 "2026-05-11T20:26:37Z")
Not to answer for them or their wife but I thought it was poorly done. I hated that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/48 "2026-05-11T20:58:40Z")
Mostly the second, but she found Jane Alexander’s performance heartbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/49 "2026-05-12T05:51:39Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > The first film that came to mind for me was This Is The End. The biblical apocalypse, preceded by the Rapture (in which so few people were actually raptured that it wasn’t widely noticed), forces the six main characters, all celebrities playing themselves, I think, to consider how they are going to face the situation. It’s played largely for laughs and shock, but there are some reflective moments. If you liked _This Is The End_, you might also want to check out _Rapture-Palooza_. It’s another dark comedy about the Rapture. By coincidence, it was released the same week as _This Is The End_ and ended up getting overshadowed by that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/50 "2026-05-12T06:02:28Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > They did witness the Rapture at the end of the bible stories episode, though that’s probably non-canon. The Rapture _did_ canonically happen in another episode, but Homer was the only one taken, and he convinced God to undo it. > **[Thank God, It's Doomsday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_God,_It%27s_Doomsday)** > > "Thank God, It's Doomsday" is the nineteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2005. The episode was written by Don Payne and directed by Michael Marcantel. > In this episode, Homer calculates the date of the Rapture and angers the townsfolk when it does not occur, but he realizes he calculated the date incorrectly, resulting in only him ascending to Heaven. Musical groups Bah... The cosmology of the Simpsons universe is odd, because God and Jesus Christ factually exist, but so do Buddha, Vishnu, ancient Japanese dragons whose awakening will herald the end of the world, and Spongebob Squarepants (who is capable of answering prayers but choooses not to). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/51 "2026-05-12T20:12:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you liked _This Is The End_ I wouldn’t say that I liked it, it was a fairly irreverent take on the supposed value of celebrities’ lives vs. the rest of us, and the biblical stuff was treated as over-the-top and kind of silly. It didn’t ask me to take anything seriously, so it was a mildly amusing way to spend a couple of hours. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/52 "2026-05-12T22:09:45Z")
If _ **2012** _ was mentioned, I missed it. In that critically-unacclaimed flick, only government and elites initially know that the planet is going to be subject to population-killing earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, volcanoes, etc.—but that’s thousands of people ‘in the know’ and eventually most of the population does become aware. It might not fully fit the OP’s parameters as the emphasis is on building what’s needed for survival, rather than on emotional adjustment to what’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/53 "2026-05-13T06:41:25Z")
Ah yes, the film where the impending apocalypse speeds up and slows down based on John Cusack’s current vehicle of choice. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/54 "2026-05-13T08:30:16Z")
In case you haven’t seen this before: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uM140W-uWqo/hqdefault.jpg "2012 Yakety Sax") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM140W-uWqo) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/55 "2026-05-13T14:29:02Z")
Wasn’t there a crappy flick called Meteor ('79)? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/56 "2026-05-13T14:32:32Z")
No, there was a _friggen’ awesome_ movie called Meteor. I think this might have been the first example of the “Nuke the Moon” solution to such a space-borne threat. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/57 "2026-05-13T14:35:48Z")
Ah, yes, the Moon Nuke. Beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/58 "2026-05-13T14:55:49Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > In case you haven’t seen this before: OMG it’s worse than I imagined! People thought they were making a serious movie? (Yes I know Yakety Sax wasn’t in the original soundtrack!) That film brings up the existential question that occurs to me watching some apocalyptic films: if the death, damage and destruction is THAT great, what exactly are you surviving _for_? What kind of life are you buying for your kids? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/59 "2026-05-14T00:18:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > what exactly are you surviving _for_? In **2012’s** case, after the initial panic of just feeling the need to get away, they all were racing for the big spaceship escape craft the billionaires had been prepping. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877/60 "2026-05-14T00:35:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The movie is based on a novel by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer that was pretty good. Robert Bloch, writing in the early 1960s, proclaimed it one of the few “true” science fiction movies, and one of the best of them. The book was (as usual) much better. There’s also a sequel, _After Worlds Collide_, set after three of the spaceships land on Bronson Beta, which is also very good. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Of course, he also hated the way they dumbed down the book for the movie. Can’t disagree with that! > [@CalMeacham](#): > > The planets named “Bronson Alpha” and “Bronson Beta” get pointlessly renamed “Bellus” and “Zyra”, as if they were planets in a Flash Gordon story. My immediate reaction: “How the hell do they know what the names are?” They didn’t say “This is what we’re calling them”; they said “These are their names”! And they say Bellus is a star. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-shows-where-people-know-the-world-is-going-to-end-soon/1029877.md?page=4)