General's aboard.
Good morning, Sir. How are you?
- Welcome aboard. - How are you? Thanks very much.
Good morning, everybody, stand easy, please.
How is everybody today?
Good.
Can I have the key? Thank you very much.
Fire headquarters, missions?
Be informed today, we have one flying from Hickam to Kadena.
8 F-4s, 4 K.C.-135s
were executed by the sac underground at 4:15.
04:15 this morning.
The president is located at camp David.
The commander-in-chief of Europe is out of position until the 21st.
And the vice C-in-C is at Andrews for the day.
He'll be back later this evening at approximately 19:00.
Ok, this is the current world intelligence situation.
And you might pay particular note
to the, uh, nuclear submarines off the east and west coast.
Ok.
This is S.K.-1 command post with communications check. How do you hear me?
Complete the review of those after we take off.
Yes, sir.
You are cleared for takeoff.
Care for some coffee, general?
Yeah, sure.
The west has been unanimous
in condemning the Soviet action
and applying economic sanctions,
which has not stopped the growing Soviet military presence
along the west German frontier.
NATO intelligence sources report
a massive buildup of infantry and armored divisions
along the Elbe river, and extending all the way south to the Czech border,
which the United States fears could seriously jeopardize
the current round of strategic arms reduction talks.
The Soviet ambassador declared the maneuvers to be
the usual Warsaw pact training exercises.
Ambassador Schiffrin told him
that explanation was unacceptable
and called the action "provocative."
Ambassador Kuragin.
"Provocative"?
You call us "provocative"
when you Americans have 260,000 soldiers,
and 7,000 nuclear weapons
poised on the other side of our border?
A lot of kids are born with it.
But we can do something about it these days.
Now here's the problem. The septa don't meet properly.
The aorta's rising from the right ventricle,
and the pulmonary from the left.
We go in here and make a nice little hole
between the 2 sides of the heart
to allow the blood to carry enough oxygen
to the rest of the body.
Can you schedule it for Saturday?
No way. I'm pulling 36 hours straight up at Lawrence,
starting tomorrow.
Hello, Joe. What did you have for lunch?
Oh, I had turkey with yams,
beans, cranberry sauce...
Nurse said she's getting me some ice cream,
but she didn't come back.
What flavor do you like best?
Vanilla.
Coffee, if they ain't got vanilla.
You heard the man. Let's find him his ice cream.
Hey, any of you guys hear anything about an alert?
Not this weekend, buddy. I'm going fishing.
When Coop goes fishin', he generally falls in love.
When you fall in love, you fall in love.
Every weekend you fall in love.
What's wrong with you, Coop?
Ain't you got no self-control?
Come to think of it,
I could use a nice, quiet weekend.
Weekend, hell, buddy. I got 30 days paid.
Me and Maureen is gonna take a skip on down to New Orleans.
I wouldn't go makin' any big travel plans for a while.
Is that an order?
Just a feeling.
We are so late.
- Bruce, give me my vest. - Look.
Oh, gee.
I gotta get my shoe.
Hurry up!
Your dad's gonna kick my butt if we're late for this thing.
Would you hurry?
My hair is gonna be a mess.
Ok.
- All right, get on. - Ok.
Let's go.
- Hang on! - Ok.
If I know Bruce, he's gonna make a grand entrance.
We should have told her to come with us.
Well, they probably just wanted a little privacy.
Privacy?
You know, dad. Privacy.
Jolene, that's disgusting.
What did I tell you?
And you thought they weren't coming, reverend.
Well, I figured they'd show sooner or later.
Ooh, does your old man look ticked or what?
I told you! I told you!
Hello!
Where have you two been?
- Hey, mom! - Sorry, Mrs. Dahlberg.
Hi, reverend Walker.
Hey, buddy. Keep this in your pocket till I ask you for it.
- You got that? - You bet.
Hi, Bruce.
Well, shall we all get started?
I'm sorry we're late.
Sparrow 3-5 requesting permission to land.
Sparrow 3-5, this is Oscar one control.
You're cleared to land, winds are 230 at 10.
Roger, Oscar one.
What are you bringing in?
Dropping off a maintenance team.
There's no site checks due, sir, no problems with the personnel,
- no weather reports. - Sounds good.
Stand ready to authenticate.
Delta, echo, foxtrot, golf, hotel, victor.
Thank you.
- How's it going? - Good.
- How's the weather topside? - Oh, just fine.
- Morning. - How are you doin'?
What do you have for us today?
Everything looks to be normal.
L.F. Status?
All facilities are clean and green,
with the exception of Oscar 11.
We have maintenance on site for 2 more hours.
Gee, dad, your schedule's busier than the president's.
Maybe I should run for office.
What, do I have to make an appointment
for open heart surgery or something to get an hour with you?
Hey, what's eating you, fruitcake?
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just jumpy.
Don't say I sound like mom, please.
You saw 60 minutes last night.
No. Come on, I'm taking you
someplace you work right next to,
and I bet never been inside in 15 years.
Well, come on.
Sometimes it's hard to know how to experience a Chinese landscape
because the artist doesn't tell you where you're watching from,
like in a Turner, or a Corot or something.
You know why?
Because he wants you to be in the landscape,
a part of it, not out here looking at it.
You mean a God's eye point of view.
No. Well, yes, if by God you mean
everywhere and inside sort of thing, yeah.
You've got that funny in-between look.
In between what?
In between knowing whether you should tell me something or not.
Ok, daddy.
I'm moving to Boston.
How come?
See? That's why I didn't wanna tell you right away.
I have to deal with your hurt feelings, and mom's, not just...
All I asked was why.
Pop, it's time for me to leave home.
But you haven't been living at home for 2 years.
An apartment 26 blocks away
isn't exactly Independence, Missouri, you know.
Of course, choosing Boston wouldn't have anything to do with...
- What's his name? - Gary.
Gary starting Tufts medical this fall?
No.
Well, maybe a little.
But it's not like we're going to be
living together or anything.
At least not right away.
Growing up, it's like growing apart.
Maybe it's a natural phenomenon.
Have you told your mother?
Uh, tomorrow.
I thought I'd start with you and work my way up.
Oh, I'm easy.
Easier.
It's not so easy, you know.
What?
Saying goodbye.
If I go re-booking that plane ticket,
man, I'm gonna lose my super saver.
Don't know why you're flying to New Orleans anyway.
You ought to drive down.
Visit all those pretty nice old plantations down around Natchez.
- Take one of them steamboat rides. - Ok?
Come on, you guys.
- Kenny, come on! - All right! All right!
Hey, get my bag, will you?
What did they say is wrong with this thing anyway?
Won't fly.
Hey, Willie, we got a silo here, man.
Mommy, can I make cookies?
You can't make cookies. You're only 4.
You could show me.
Sure, kids. Go ahead. But clean up.
Since NATO's insistence on
positioning medium-range Pershing-2s
and cruise missiles in Europe has caused Great Britain
to re-evaluate its own nuclear commitment.
Scrub it all together if the labor party had its way.
You see, the real fear is that when the chips are down,
and the red light's blinking,
the United States won't really want
to sacrifice Chicago for Hamburg.
Our correspondent in Europe confirmed that
according to NATO intelligence reports,
as of this morning, there are now three Soviet tank divisions
poised along the Fulda gap.
The United States issued a strong protest
regarding the Soviet presence in an emergency session
of the U.N. Security council this morning.
A protest responded to indirectly this afternoon
by Soviet-born ministers meeting in Brussels for trade talks
with the common market.
Speaking with A.B.C. News, the Soviet-born minister claims
the United States have the cart before the horse...
You can answer one question, can't you? That won't hurt you none.
All right, one question.
- But remember... - Where's Alan?
Oh, he's over at Jackson's, having supper.
They had a varsity scrimmage at 7:00.
He doesn't spend much time around here, does he?
Who does?
Looks like I'm here.
Yeah, that's kinda nice.
Thank you.
I thought you taught hematology at Lawrence tonight.
Sam's taking my classes for me.
I'm, uh, going out tomorrow afternoon.
Want to go to the movies, tonight?
We could go to the Fern Hill drive-in and neck.
Well, what if we just stayed in?
Yeah, suits me fine. We'll light a few candles
and put on some raunchy music.
What's gotten into you?
What, you don't like my ideas?
I love your ideas.
It's just that you're...
Oh, you've been talking to Marilyn, haven't you?
Yeah. She told me about the scholarship, and, uh, Boston.
She said you were just marvelous about it.
I think I handled myself pretty well.
It's good to see her so excited about the move.
Is that what's important?
How excited she is?
She'd follow Gary and that old rattletrap to Nome or new Mexico.
She only applied to Boston because...
- Wait a minute, let me turn this up now, will you? - Please, listen...
I have been listening to that thing all day...
...the blockade of West Berlin continues.
The action follows reports earlier this evening of widespread rebellion
among several divisions of the East German army.
To repeat:
East Germany tonight sealed off the borders to West Berlin,
closing the four principal West German access corridors
at Lauenberg, Helmstedt, Herleshausen and Rudolphstein.
I don't believe this is happening.
Do you want to go in the living room and watch?
No.
I just want to go upstairs and get into bed
with you.
And Audie's got some kind of stag party planned anyhow.
So tonight's the last night we'll see each other till Sunday.
Yeah, but ma's still fittin' my gown.
Hey, you know what? No one's up at Arthur's tonight.
They're all in town at the game.
And it's not like we haven't ever made love before, Bruce.
Not without you getting sick on the pill,
or rolling off the haystack...
They're right over there.
Can't you wait 2 more days?
No.
You're crazy. You know that?
Where is it?
Upstairs.
In my dressing table drawer.
A lot of good it's doing up there.
Go get it. Go on.
Come on, go get it.
Jolene?
Jolene, you give that back to me!
Jolene! Jolene!
You brat, come here!
Jolene, if I catch you, I'm gonna kill you!
Jolene, come on!
We interrupt this program to bring you a special report.
East Germany tonight tightened its stranglehold on West Berlin
by halting all air traffic in and out of Tegel and Tempelhof airports,
severing the city's lifeline to the west.
This action has been condemned by NATO foreign ministers
as a blatant, unconscionable violation of international law.
Jolene! Jolene!
Jolene!
Jolene, you open this door right now,
or I'll never talk to you again!
Jolene!
Tomorrow Berlin time,
that's 6:00 A.M. eastern daylight time,
would be regarded as an act of war.
After an emergency meeting with his cabinet
and congressional leaders of both parties,
the president tonight declared all United States military personnel
on worldwide stage-2 alert.
Soviet ambassador Anatoli Kuragin
was summoned to the White House 3 quarters of an hour ago.
She was in my...
Well?
All right. You don't have to tell me.
But I expect the two of you to settle it amongst yourselves.
Otherwise I'll see that your father settles it for you.
Now Jolene, I could sure use some help with the casseroles
when you're through.
Give that to me, you brat.
Press secretary David Townes reports
that both sides are engaged in frank and earnest talks
aimed at finding ways to defuse the heightening crisis in Berlin...
Oh, god! It's 1962 all over again.
Cuban missile crisis.
Do you remember Kennedy on television
telling Khrushchev to turn his boats around?
Full retaliatory response. He didn't bat an eye.
We were in New York, in bed.
Just like this, remember?
118th street.
Meatball sandwiches from Sharkey's.
Your last year's residency.
I swear that we made Marilyn that night.
Then we got up,
went to the window, and looked for the bombs.
It didn't happen.
It's not gonna happen now.
People are crazy, but not that crazy.
Well, do you want to know from crazy?
The Donnellys left today for Guadalajara.
Guadalajara?
I swear it. I spoke to her as they were pulling out.
He said they were dovetailing their vacation
with the rising international tensions.
Oh, cut it out.
I'm not kidding.
They took their Vietnamese maid with them.
And that rotten little barking dog
with the pushed-in face.
Oh, what about their little, uh,
combination tractor lawn mower golf cart with the silver hubcaps?
Probably.
What if it does happen?
What do we do?
You told me nothing like this was ever gonna happen.
Maureen, it's just an alert. That's all.
I mean, we got to run around and check things twice instead of once. That's it.
What am I going to tell my mother?
She's got the house all set, a room for skip...
Well, why don't you go on down?
No, no, I'm serious. Honey, why don't you just take skip,
go down to your mother's, and then I'll just join you when this whole thing is over.
That's just great.
Oh, Billy, I'm sorry.
I know I'm not making this any easier on you.
I love you.
Know that?
I love you, too, Maureen.
Just 5-and-a-half months, that's it.
5-and-a-half months,
and I'll be out of the service.
I'll be working 40 hours a week,
making $17.50 per hour.
You're taking everything you've got?
Damn it, Maureen, it's an alert!
It's 4 sets of everything.
It's just strictly by the book.
I'm scared is what.
Look, sit down.
Maureen, there's nothing to worry about.
I'm gonna be right next door.
I'm gonna be on the base the whole time,
and I'll call you every night.
Ok?
It's all right.
Good morning, Mizzou!
It's 5:30, clear skies, and 61 degrees in St. Clair county.
There's a little rain moving this way tonight.
And this is the W.W.I.Z. Farm report
for Saturday, September 16th.
Here's the commodity markets report on the Chicago board of trade...
Cows are out.
What do you say you and me get some breakfast?
The White House today issued a strong denial that the U.S.
Contemplated any unilateral military action
in response to the deteriorating situation in East Germany.
Press secretary David Townes, speaking for the president,
unequivocally stated the administration support for the NATO pact alliance...
Bye.
Denise?
Where in hell have you been?
Don't you just walk right by me
when you hear me asking you a question.
What are you doing sneaking in here?
I'm not sneaking. I never sneak.
Then why didn't you come in the back door?
I didn't even know the door was unlocked, daddy.
I've been out with Bruce, riding around.
Riding around.
All night.
Frankly, daddy, that's none of your business.
As long as you live...
Oh, daddy, please don't say that.
Because I'm getting married tomorrow.
Jolene!
You get back in there and stop eavesdropping.
I'm not eavesdropping.
I'm just waiting for you to finish up
so I can get by to the bathroom.
Well, use the one outside the kitchen, honey.
The water is freezing out there.
Well, hurry it up, for Pete's sake!
Can't you see that we're talking?
The whole world's just holding its breath
to hear what you're talking about.
What is all the commotion out there?
Nothing, Evie.
Honey, let's just forget what I said.
You're no sneak.
Hut 1, hut 2!
Coach seems to know what he's doing this year.
I mean he's teaching those kids good.
Yeah, they sure look good.
Yep. You got a boy out there?
Yeah, yeah. Number 80. Alan Oakes.
Oh, yeah. I've been watching him. Got good hands.
Good hands, good moves to the outside. He's not afraid to take a hit.
Do you have a son playing?
Yeah. Doug Holland. Number 68.
He's only a sophomore.
Yeah, he's a born guard, though, you know? Stocky.
All heart.
I try not to miss a practice when I'm not on the road.
I don't like to embarrass him
by hangin' around the bench.
Oh, by the way, I'm... I'm Doug senior.
Oh! Russ Oakes. Nice to meet you.
Same here.
Well, see you, Doug.
Ok, bye.
That NATO armored units
have broken through the Helmstedt checkpoint into East Germany,
and, after heavy fighting, are advancing under air support
2 miles along the E-8 Bundestrasse corridor
past Marienborn, toward Berlin.
French news agency has received conflicting reports
of east German resistance and heavy casualties.
But ground observers have confirmed
that 2 Soviet-built Mig-25s invaded West German airspace,
firing several air-to-ground missiles
at a NATO munitions storage facility,
and also hitting a school and a hospital outside of Wurzburg.
While we save a single blue baby,
they're bombing hospitals in Wurzburg.
I'm afraid of listening to the radio anymore.
Have you heard the latest?
There is a rumor they're evacuating Moscow. Yeah.
There are even people leaving Kansas City
because of the missile fields.
Where does one go from Kansas City?
To, uh, the Yukon? To Tahiti?
We are not talking about Hiroshima anymore.
Hiroshima was... was peanuts.
What's going on?
Do you understand what's going on in this world?
Yeah. Stupidity has a habit of getting its way.
Dr. Oakes to nurses' station "r"...
Yes?
Oh, Dr. Oakes. Your wife would like you to call her.
Oh, thank you.
City of Moscow is being evacuated.
According to informed administration sources,
the city of Moscow is being evacuated.
It is not generally known in Washington at the present time
whether the evacuation order indicates the entire population of Moscow,
or whether other major Soviet cities have been similarly affected
by the evacuation order.
Sam, yeah?
Where's Dr. Oakes?
Oh, he's probably stuck in traffic on the I-70.
Hey, haven't you heard? Everyone's gone fishing.
Who's in charge?
Good question. Montoya's in K.C.
And Julian wants staff informed of emergency procedures
in case a general Metro evacuation is ordered.
So he needs a medical...
Oh, no. Not me, Bauer.
See, I'm just a resident with 120 freshmen bodies to examine.
Unfortunately, most of them are male.
Nice try.
It's just like the army.
Yeah. I wonder where we're gonna be next week.
Somewhere in the upper atmosphere.
Name?
Stephen Klein.
K-l-e-i-n.
Japanese?
- Age? - 19.
- Residence? - Joplin.
No, I mean, on campus.
Oh! uh, Davidson 4.
What's your major, Stephen?
Pre-med.
He's shooting baskets at the "Y."
He knows better. This is my 2nd false alarm.
I'm 10 days early.
I'm an attention-grabber, he says.
Where's yours?
- My what? - Your husband.
Oh, he's trying to catch a plane out right about now.
So what's he got to do with anything?
I'm not the one having the baby.
- Yeah. What's it like? - What?
You know, having a baby. What's it feel like?
Never had one.
But you said, "I know."
- I know what? - Back at emergency.
I was tellin' you about the pains, and you said, "I know."
I know about the pains because I'm a nurse who's seen a lot like you.
Yeah. You want to know what it feels like?
It feels like I'm gonna have a basketball.
Where is everybody?
They're all watching the news.
Say, I saw Ticker and Judy Francis takin' off,
thumbs out, backpacks and all.
So what are you doing here?
Holding my place in line.
If I don't get into Bowman's metallurgy class this semester,
I'm not gonna graduate in January.
Hey, what's goin' on?
They say the Russians just invaded West Germany.
3-pronged attack, spearheaded by rapid Soviet tank
and artillery advances into the Fulda gap.
Having already captured NATO advance positions
along the West German border.
How far will Warsaw pact forces go?
Will the Russians advance straight for the Rhine
and defy NATO's declared policy of defense by all means,
including the use of tactical nuclear weapons?
The defense department today reported...
Fantasy land.
You think they're making this up?
You think this is war of the worlds or something?
Look, did we help the Czechs, the Hungarians,
the Afghans, or the Poles?
Well, we're not going to nuke the Russians to save the Germans.
I mean, if you were talking oil in Saudi Arabia,
then I'd be real worried.
What do you think?
I gotta get a haircut.
You know, I think I'm going to hitch home, see my folks,
and I'll see what's happening on Monday.
Where do you live?
Joplin?
You going to Joplin?
Hey, son, hop in. I'll give you a ride.
Oh, great.
Make it pretty, Ollie. This is my last trim as a free man.
I'm getting married tomorrow.
Is that right?
Yeah.
Well, congratulations.
Who knows? The president's speaking on television at 6:00 tonight.
Maybe he'll tell us something new.
They'll tell us what they want us to hear.
Keep the panic at the low-sweat stage.
I really don't think either side wants to be the first
to use a nuclear device.
It's not a question of who, but where?
Over whose real estate?
Say we explode a nuclear bomb over their troops,
on our side, the fallout better not drift over to their side.
They're crazy.
How do they expect it's going to stop with just one bomb?
You want to know what crazy is?
Crazy is not staying out of other people's business.
We shouldn't be over there in the first place.
Well, maybe they'll contain it.
After all, I've still got symphony tickets for tonight.
Thing that bothers me is that damned launch-on-warning.
What's that?
That's when one side tells the other they are gonna fire missiles
when they think the other guy's missiles are on the way.
You know, use 'em or lose 'em.
What do you really think the chances are of something like that happening
way the hell out here in the middle of nowhere?
Nowhere?
There's no "nowhere" anymore.
You're sitting next to the Whiteman air force base right now.
That's a 150 minuteman missile silos
spread halfway down the state of Missouri.
That's an awful lot of bull's eyes.
Close to announcing a ceasefire
along the German border.
There are still no eyewitness accounts to substantiate the rumor
that low kiloton range nuclear weapons
were detonated this morning during the conflict
resulting in the reported destruction of Wiesbaden
and the outskirts of Frankfurt...
This is the emergency broadcast system.
All persons in transit in the Kansas City metropolitan area
are advised to proceed immediately to the municipal shelter facility
in the community or township closest to your current location.
While there is no immediate danger to the Kansas City area,
the federal emergency management agency urges
that you learn the steps to be taken in the event of a probable attack.
Hey, there, Jim.
Jim, why don't you go home now?
Reverend, we got a lot more...
Well, I know, I know. But you got plenty to do at home.
What good does the dirt do?
Get on in the truck, son.
Listen, fellows, I'm gonna cut on out now.
Good luck to you.
As soon as we get home, you line up some milk jugs,
about half a dozen of 'em. Put 'em beside the water pump.
We're gonna fill 'em up and take 'em to the cellar.
Yes, sir.
My... my kids just left on a camping trip.
I don't know how I'm going to...
What I'm going to...
Wait a minute, please.
Hey, one minute now.
urges that you learn
the steps to be taken in the event of a probable...
Get out of my way. I was here first.
Just get the cash!
Move your cart! Hurry up! Move it.
Any more news?
They just hit one of our ships in the Persian Gulf.
Who's they?
The Russians. Who do you think?
But we hit 'em back, one of their ships, you know.
Dallas?
Give me a ride.
Sarah, Kenny, wash up for lunch. Come drink your milk.
Wish those clouds would hurry and open up.
Could use one more good rain before the cuttin'.
Hey, did you kids hear me?
Wait a few minutes.
Oh, honey, the biscuits...
That 3 nuclear weapons
in the low kiloton range
were air burst this morning over advancing Soviet troops...
- Soviet presence in East Germany. - Oh, Kenny.
Kenny, come on.
Come on.
And that both sides are working together
to bring about the earliest possible ceasefire.
We're flying out of here. Prepare for take off.
Can we make clear ground?
Checking on it.
Stand by, Starr.
Get 'em up.
The state department says the president
is presently in direct communication with Soviet premier...
Tango, 5, 3, 6, 1.
Nuclear bomb of undetermined strength
has exploded at regional NATO military headquarters...
Takeoff, runway 3-1.
Eve.
Where are the girls?
uh, Jolene's makin' beds, and Denise is takin' a shower.
Well, get 'em downstairs.
Oh, Jim, can't you see all I've got to do?
Don't you know there's pretty much a national emergency going on?
Well, it's just going to have to go on without me
because your daughter is getting married tomorrow,
and I've got 67 mouths to feed.
I hope so.
But first we got to get some things into the cellar.
You'd think there's a tornado comin'.
Daddy, the man on the radio said there might be a war.
He's saying, you know, we should unplug all our radio
and T.V. And stuff.
There's not going to be a war, is there?
Sir, we need access to the keys
and the authentication documents at this time.
- Do you have your key? - Yes, sir.
I don't even know why we're doing this.
Township closest to your current location.
I'm sorry, I can't take you any further.
That's ok. Thanks a lot.
Good luck, now. Yeah, you, too.
Learn the steps to be taken
in the event of a probable attack.
I gotta go.
Stand by for the message.
Alpha, 7, 8,
November, foxtrot,
1, 5, 2, 2...
Castle, listen, this is Oscar 11.
We just started, sir. Why?
We gotta get out of here.
Standby to copy the message.
Standing by.
Message follows.
That's a J.C.S. Execution from the president.
I agree the message is valid, also.
Launch keys inserted.
Roger.
Let's enable the missiles. Program enable.
Unlock code inserted.
Stand by, unlock codes inserted.
Enable switch. Enable.
Enabled.
Coordinate naval command.
Yes, this is ops, all enabled. Thank you.
Key turn at my Mark.
Standing by.
5, 4...
You kids come in here right now.
Where's mama, honey?
Upstairs.
Now, I want you to take those tarps and canvases
down in the basement like I told you.
And stay there with Jolene, you understand?
Yes, daddy.
Evie, don't bother with the beds just now.
Evie, we've got to get down below. Listen.
Those missiles have all gone off.
No!
Step on it.
The gate, Willie, watch the damn gate.
I got it! I got it!
Hear anything?
Are you in communications with the capsule down there?
Shuts down during a launch. Even the radio went out.
Last thing I heard was they knocked out
two of our radar warning stations.
Where? Beale air force base, California,
and somewhere in England.
Can you believe it? They really gone and done it.
They shacked 'em! They pushed all the buttons.
You know what that means, don't you?
Either we fired first and they're gonna try to hit what's left,
or they fired first, and we just got our missiles out of the ground in time.
Either way, we're going to get hit.
So what are we standin' around here for?
Where do you wanna go?
How about out of here for starters? I gotta get my wife and my kid.
We're still on alert, Billy.
No one leaves this facility.
- Oh, come on, man. - Not until the choppers come in.
Are you kiddin' me, man? The bombs will be here before the choppers will.
Listen, listen to me, man.
The war is over.
It's over. We've done our job.
So what are you still guarding, huh?
Some cotton-pickin' hole in the ground?
- All dressed up and nowhere to go! - He's right.
What about Starr and Boyle? What about 'em?
What are they doin'?
Yeah, they're 60 feet down, sippin' cold beer and whistlin' 'Misty'.
- Well, I'm goin' down there. - Forget it, man.
You can't go down there, that elevator's secured.
You hear yourself talkin', bozo?
'Cause I hear you sayin' that we got direct orders to be sittin' ducks!
There's a ladder on the side of the shaft.
So what? They're still behind an 8-ton steel door
with food and water for 2 weeks.
They're not gonna let you in there.
There's that little room out the elevator.
Tommy, you know as well as I do
that a direct hit'll take out the main shaft and Boyle and Starr, too.
I'd rather take my chances down there.
Come on, Billy. This was your idea.
No, no hole in the ground was my idea.
Yeah. Yeah, sure, man, come on. Make up your mind.
You gonna crawl down the hole
or you gonna shoot me in the back?
So, what does the book say, bozo?
What's going on?
Those are minuteman missiles.
Like a test, sort of. Like a warning?
They're on their way to Russia.
They take about 30 minutes to reach their target.
So do theirs, right?
Missile warning, this is Beale.
Confidence is high. I repeat, confidence is high.
Roger. We got 32 targets in track
and 10 impacting points.
Wanna confirm, is this an exercise?
Roger, copy. This is not an exercise.
Roger. Understand. Maj. Rinehart,
we have a massive attack against the U.S. at this time.
I.C.B.Ms, numerous I.C.B.Ms.
Roger. Understand.
Over 300 missiles inbound now.
Do we have to go down there?
Well, I guess we could stay up here for a while.
Uh, I think you better go downstairs, folks, please.
Hey!
Oh, come on, baby, don't die on me now.
Danny! Don't look!
I got you, son.
It's all right. I got you.
That's Rusty. Dad, we left Rusty.
We might be down here a long time.
There's not gonna be enough food and water for Rusty.
You mean he's just going to die out there?
Honey, we're going to have to get used to things being a lot different.
What matters is we're alive,
and we're together.
It smells awful.
How long will we have to stay down here?
I don't know. I don't know anything about radiation.
What's radiation?
Where did you get that?
Near the broadcasting center,
there's a museum in the basement,
if it still works.
These are getting scarcer than hen's teeth.
You shouldn't have stayed out so long looking.
We need one for the shortwave.
I hope I don't go and blow myself up.
I'm not sure about any of this.
Red is positive...
Come on.
Is this thing connected or is Connie still up on the roof?
She should forget that stuff and get down here.
Here it comes.
Where am I?
- You're burned. - Where's Dr. Montoya?
Julian?
Upstairs, putting out the fire.
3 is filled up.
Yeah, get the beds in the halls away from the window.
Have you seen the number of people in here?
This is supposed to double as a fallout shelter.
They're standing in shock or hysterical...
Where's Dr. Wallenberg? She's got the radiological equipment.
Listen, why don't we have emergency power here?
There's no electricity anywhere.
Wh-what did you see?
You were coming from Kansas City.
What did you see?
I was on the freeway,
about 30 miles away.
I'm not sure.
It was high in the air,
directly above downtown.
Like the sun exploding.
I'm taking you into the hall. You'll be safer here.
Protect you from the fallout.
It comes right through the windows, through the walls and...
Over to your right.
Julian, Julian. Oh, thank god you're here.
There are only a handful of doctors on duty.
I'm down to about a quarter of the hospital staff.
You've gotta get the uninjured in the shelters in the campus building.
Right, I'll see what I can do.
- Is it over? - I don't know.
- It seems to be. - How many were there?
Two, Kansas City. There are more to the south.
Was it just Kansas or the whole country? I don't know.
My husband's in Sedalia. What about Sedalia?
When are you due? I'm overdue.
We're going to do everything we can
to protect ourselves from the fallout.
What for?
Can I have your attention, please.
This is... this is only a campus hospital. We don't have many supplies.
Unless you're seriously injured,
could you please go to one of the other campus buildings?
We have to clear the area for those who have a serious...
Ok, burn cases over here.
Please, listen to me. Listen to me!
We need your help.
This is a hospital.
Those of you not seriously ill or injured
have to work. Work with our staff.
Now, this work will be dangerous.
We have to do it
in order to survive.
We tried hooking up an auxiliary pump to a backup generator,
and we're still only getting a trickle.
I still don't understand. Did they burn out?
They could have been subjected to the E.M.P. Effects.
What's that?
Electro-magnetic pulse.
When a large nuclear device is air burst at a high altitude,
a lot of electrical disruption can be created,
principally with radios, communication systems,
electrical wires, computers,
cars, transistors. Of course, it's all theoretical.
It's never happened before.
In short, very little electricity.
Forever?
We'll have to find the nearest hand pump and chain-gang the water in.
Nobody's gonna go out there and expose themselves...
We have to have water. How are we gonna operate?
Wait a minute. Sit tight for a couple of minutes.
Now...
What about fuel to boil water, heat food,
sterilize surgical instruments?
What about bringing in wood?
You can't burn wood that's been contaminated.
Just put radiation right back in the air.
What about bottled gas?
There's some butane. But no more than about 3 days' worth
it's Bruce!
Hush.
What's going on? Be quiet.
What are you going to do with that?
Jim, that's no dog up there, it's a person.
Get the hell out of here!
Whoa! Please don't shoot.
Jim, stop it. Get back, Eve.
I was only looking for some water.
Have you got another cellar out in the barn?
Look, I'll die out here.
Let him stay, Jim.
Sure,
tonight there'll be 20 people poundin' on the door.
No, there won't. They're all dead.
I'm the last one.
Look, I'll help you any way you want.
I won't be any trouble. I even brought my own food.
Well, get on down here. Shut that door first.
Jolene, cut that light off. Save it for when we need it.
Just wanted to see who it was.
All right.
My name's Stephen.
We're the Dahlbergs.
I'm Eve. That's Jim,
Denise, Jolene, and Danny.
He looked at one going off.
Flash blinded.
He burned his retinas.
What do you know about it?
Not a whole lot.
I'm a pre-med over at K.U.
Do you know Bruce Gallatin? He... he's a senior.
No.
But... but you're from Lawrence,
so maybe Bruce is all right.
Well,
I don't know what happened to Lawrence.
I was close to Harrisonville when it started.
Must have been 5 or 6 of them to the north,
and a whole string of 'em to the south.
They must have hit every missile silo from Sedalia to El Dorado Springs.
Hold that.
All right.
Have you been in shelter for the past few days?
Last night we slept in a chicken Coop in lone Jack.
But otherwise, you've been outside since then?
Hold still.
No sense making a martyr of yourself.
You know what's going to happen next around here, don't you?
I've been trying not to think about it.
We may be the only hospital operating within 100 miles.
Everyone half-alive or dying will find their way here.
Too late to become a dentist.
What are you thinking?
I wonder who was spared.
I wonder if New York, Paris, Moscow
are just like Kansas City now.
Hello, hello, is anybody there?
Is anybody there?
This is Lawrence.
This is Lawrence, Kansas. Is anybody there?
This is Joe Huxley. I'm broadcasting out of the science building
at the university of Kansas.
Is anybody there?
I have an atmosphere report for anybody who's listening.
Dr. Oakes, do you read?
Come in, Dr. Oakes. Do you hear me?
Yes, Joe.
We're holding fast at just a hair under, uh,
50 rads per hour.
I thought that it would have diminished by now.
I guess that means we're picking up a lot of fallout
from titan missile bases in Wichita and wherever else
out west.
That's the way the wind blows,
straight toward St. Louis.
When will it be safe
to move people to other buildings?
It'll never be safe.
Come on, Joe.
Wait till it gets down to under 2 rads an hour.
If and when.
You picked up anybody else on your...
On your end?
Not a soul.
This is Lawrence.
This is Lawrence, Kansas, is anybody there?
Anybody at all?
That's the first time you've closed your eyes
in 3 days.
I do it when you're not looking.
You look terrible.
You sound just like my wife.
Here.
I think you should eat a piece of this orange.
This may be the last orange you'll see for...
A week and a half.
When you close your eyes,
you start remembering.
Remembering what?
My son...
Catching a pass. My daughter staring at a painting.
I...
It's an accident, you know,
my being here.
If I hadn't come back to take my hematology class,
I'd be in Kansas City,
with them.
I'm sorry.
Raving.
No, rave on, please.
I never imagined you...
Look at that.
Impervious. What?
To radiation.
You are looking at man's legacy.
The only guaranteed survivor of a nuclear war.
Come on, Danny, I want you to eat.
I'm not hungry!
Denise, eat this, otherwise it'll go bad.
Jolene.
The battery went dead.
We can see that, Jolene. Where are the matches?
What is it, day or night?
It's day, I think.
What day?
Wednesday.
It's Thursday.
2: 30.
Wonder if it's sunny out.
I can't remember.
Can't remember what?
It's only been 5 days
and I can't remember what Bruce looks like.
Now, we've all been through a lot, sittin' here in the dark.
What are we doin' down here anyway?
It's all over, isn't it?
It smells so bad down here, I can't even breathe.
Now, listen, Denise, you get a hold of yourself.
You know that we can't go out of here...
Why did I have to use that thing?
We'd be married by now, anyway.
Why didn't I at least get pregnant?
Just pipe down, Denise.
Because now I can't even see his face!
I can't see anything! I can't see anything!
Denise, honey, just calm down.
Let go of me. I can't see.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
I'll get her. I owe you.
No, Jim.
See?
There's nothing wrong out here.
It's a beautiful day.
No.
It only looks that way.
Hey!
You can't see it.
You can't feel it.
And you can't taste it.
But it's here,
right now, all around us.
It's going through you like an x-ray,
right into your cells.
What do you think killed all these animals?
Get away!
Now, come...
Ah! Get away!
Where are you going?
Holden.
Oh, yeah, how come?
People there.
How do you know?
A man with a C.B. Back in Leeton.
You from Leeton?
How's Sedalia?
I... I said, how's Sedalia?
There ain't no Sedalia.
Ain't no Green Ridge, no Windsor, no nothin'.
No more room.
No more room!
Russell, 17 people died in here this morning.
I would say we're running a serious cholera risk.
To say nothing of the bodies, and the morgue is filled.
Should we start using the garage?
Move the terminal radiation patients back into the ward rooms,
make them as comfortable as possible.
And I'll talk to Joe Huxley about the rad situation.
Dr. Oakes, we're running very low on morphine.
There's been quite a lot of stealing going on.
They're stealing food from the kitchen.
Dr. Strayhorne got his wrist broken trying to stop a fight down in emergency.
Close the doors!
Don't let anyone else in. Put on extra guards if you have to.
How can we care for people if we have no control,
isn't that what you're trying to tell me, Julian?
Yes.
Doctor, have you heard about firing squads?
Anything about firing squads?
What are you talking about?
They're shooting people.
Shooting? What for?
Looting, hijacking, rape, murder.
Without a trial?
That's nonsense. That's crazy!
Go back to work!
Hey.
What the hell are you doin'?
Hey. Hey, whoa. Hey, wait a minute.
No, no, come on, don't do that, man.
Cool it.
Hey, no, no. D-don't do that. Come on, man.
Who's that?
Go on.
Wait, wait.
It's ok, man. Just relax. It's all right.
Hey.
Want some...
Did you see these people?
That's us, man, if we don't get to Lawrence.
You hear me?
Hey, that's legal tender, by the way.
They got a hospital in Lawrence.
You're not a big talker, are you?
Did Dr. Montoya discuss caesarian section with you?
I'm wide enough. There's nothin' in the way.
I'm just waitin' around here like everybody else.
Who knows what for?
Maybe that's why you're 2 weeks overdue.
If you were in utero and you had any choice about the matter,
would you be dying to be born into a world like this?
You think your baby's deciding whether or not to be born?
You think I'm holding back by force of will, Dr. Oakes?
Bad toilet training?
No, I think you've got to be willing
to let your baby come whether you like it or not.
You're holding back hope.
Hope for what?
What do you think is gonna happen out there?
You think we're gonna sweep up the dead and fill in a couple of holes
and build some supermarkets?
You think all those people left alive out there are gonna say:
"Oh, I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault. Let's kiss and make up"?
We knew the score.
We knew all about bombs, we knew all about fallout.
We knew this could happen for 40 years.
But nobody was interested.
- I can't argue with you. - Argue with me.
Please.
Give me a reason. Tell me about hope.
Tell me why you work so hard in here.
I don't know.
Corn will be a total loss.
Should've harvested 10 days ago.
Cows can't graze.
Contaminate the milk, as well as themselves.
We're lucky to be alive.
We'll see how lucky that is.
Name?
McCoy, William.
- Airman first class. - Home?
Whiteman air force base, Sedalia, Missouri.
- This is my friend... - One at a time.
He can't talk.
What's your injury?
I, uh, I can't keep nothin' in.
Not even my own hair.
I got... I got... I got these bruises, like, all... all over my arm, see?
And it's real bad.
Look, look. See... see, look. See, look. Look at Cody.
See, Cody's got them all up his arm, like...
Look, I know we got radiation sickness.
The only question is, is there anything that we can do about it?
The radiation count is now 0.4 rads an hour.
This is considered safe for limited exposure outdoors.
We urge all of you not suffering from specific physical injury
to seek fresh shelter in campus buildings.
There was a great earthquake,
and the, uh,
the sun became black as sackcloth,
and a third
of the earth was burnt up.
A third of the trees and all the green grass.
And then from the smoke came locusts on the earth with the power of scorpions.
And they were told...
Th-they... They were told not to harm
the grass of the earth or any green tree,
but only those who have not the seal of god upon their foreheads.
Are we here today
counted among god's servants?
We give thanks to thee,
oh, lord god almighty, for rewarding thy servants,
and those who fear thy name, both great and small,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.
Pettis county's closed down.
Well, there's... there's a university hospital in Lawrence.
I don't know. It's awful far.
Well, it's her only chance.
And Danny's, too.
Look, you stay here...
She's my daughter.
I'm gonna bring 'em back.
What's goin' on?
Eve, we're gonna have to try to get her up here a little more secure.
I'm gonna try to put her feet through here.
Maybe you could help me with her head.
Yeah, let me... let me get out.
Move over for your sister, would you, please?
Just lie right down there, sweetheart.
Denise, can you hear me?
It's your daddy.
Daddy.
Daddy loves you.
- What do you see? - Oh,
cows,
telephone poles.
Usual stuff.
Have you seen what's going on out there?
Yes.
Well, what are we going to do?
Going to let them in, Paul.
As many as you can.
The president of the United States.
My fellow Americans,
while the extent of damage to our country is still uncertain,
and shall probably remain so for some time,
preliminary reports indicate that principal weapons impact points
included military and industrial targets
in most sectors of the United States.
There is, at the present time,
a ceasefire with the Soviet Union
which has sustained damage equally catastrophic.
Many of you listening to me today
have suffered personal injury, sudden separation from loved ones,
and the tragic loss of your families.
I share your grief,
for I, too, have suffered personal loss.
During this hour of sorrow,
I wish to assure you that America has survived
this terrible tribulation.
There has been no surrender,
no retreat from the principles of Liberty and democracy
for which the free world looks to us for leadership.
We remain undaunted
before all but almighty God.
The government functioning under certain extraordinary emergency options,
we are prepared to make every effort
to coordinate relief and recovery programs at the state and local levels.
During the next 2 weeks,
my staff and cabinet will attempt to relocate
to national emergency reconstruction headquarters.
At the present time,
and until radiation pattern reports are made available
over the emergency broadcast band,
or through your local authorities,
I urge you to remain
in areas offering maximum shelter protection
from radioactive fallout,
and to obey all local curfews.
We are counting on you, on your strength,
your patience,
your will, and your courage
to help rebuild this great nation of ours.
God bless you all.
That's it? That's all he's gonna say?
Hey, maybe we're gonna be ok.
What do you wanna hear?
I want to know who started it, who fired first, who pre-empted.
You're never gonna know that.
What difference does it make?
He doesn't know how bad...
He sure would have told us if they fired first.
He doesn't want anyone to think we lost the war.
You believe that? You believe everything they tell you?
Doctor?
You know what Einstein said about world war III?
He said he didn't know how they were gonna fight world war III,
but he knew how they would fight world war lv.
With sticks and stones.
Can I get some help here, please?
Dr. Oakes, we have to contend with the number of bodies,
the time required for each individual burial...
Dr. Oakes?
The danger of infection now is so grave, the only solution
is to prepare public graves on the outside of town.
Dr. Oakes!
You're wanted in surgery. You're already 5 minutes late.
Dr. Oakes!
Dr. Oakes, are you all right?
You got a boy out there?
Number 80. Alan Oakes.
I swear that we made Marilyn that night.
We're all changing, daddy, don't you see?
Stupidity has a habit of getting its way.
Hey.
I'm moving to Boston.
What if it does happen?
What do we do?
Hiroshima was peanuts.
All the way!
Because the artist wants you to be in the landscape,
a part of it.
Like the sun exploding.
People are crazy, but not that crazy.
I'd like some water, please.
Helen?
You're not Helen.
This must be the hospice.
I'm cold!
Probably thinks I'm dying.
Maybe I am.
Maybe we're all dying.
Nurse! N-nurse!
I... I can't find my shirt!
I can't find my shirt. I can't find my...
I looked. I looked.
I've got your shirt, right here.
No, no, I... I can't find my shirt! I...
It's ok.
Ok, ok, ok.
Yes, sir.
Ok, ok, ok.
Ok, ok.
Yo, hey,
give me a hand?
We're running out of body bags.
Can we use trash-can liners instead?
Hurry up, it's been days! We're hungry.
That's it, no more.
What do you mean, no more?
I've got 3 chits for powdered milk
and 2 kids who haven't eaten since day before yesterday.
I'm sorry, lady. What do you want me to do?
You wanna come in and look around at the stuff we're hiding?
Yeah, you've got more food in there.
That's for the other camp.
Food! Food! Food!
Are you really a doctor?
You sure don't talk like one.
Well, I'm... actually, I'm the pizza man.
What's your name?
Sam.
Sam Hachiya.
What kind of name is that?
What's it sound like?
I don't know. Italian?
There you go.
Hey, what do you know? Sam Hachiya pizzeria, eh?
When can I see my sister?
Um, that depends, kiddo.
You stay here. I'll be back.
I'm not goin' any place.
So what we want you to do now,
burn out your current crops,
start decontaminating the soil,
and plan next spring's planting.
Crop selection must consider plants
least susceptible to ultraviolet radiation,
and yields for human rather than animal consumption.
Excuse me, Mel,
but how do you go about decontaminatin' the soil?
Well, you chiefly wait
for the fallout to decay to safe enough levels to either
plow under or scrape off the top layers.
How do you know what safe is?
Uh, we'll have a, uh,
N.E.R.A. Task force advising each county agricultural cooperative.
Task force?
Where the hell's he think they're coming from?
We're just going to have to channel animal feed to human needs.
Except for, uh,
except for dairy cows that pass muster, and certain poultry.
What is he talking about?
Can you explain what you mean by scraping off the top layers of my topsoil?
Uh, exactly that, Jim. You just take the top 4 or 5 inches of your topsoil.
Yeah, and do what with it?
We're talking 150, maybe 200 acres a man in here.
That's right.
Bein' big is one thing. Bein' realistic is another.
Suppose you find a hole where you can drop all this dead dirt,
what kind of topsoil is that gonna leave you for raisin' anything?
Where'd you get all this information, John?
All this good advice? Out of some government pamphlet?
Damn, somebody's gotta take charge.
Fellas, we're talking catastrophe here, not life as usual.
Now the national emergency reconstruction administration's
primary goal is to establish order,
and to aid you in salvaging your resources for the country at large.
What's goin' on down there?
What do you think you're doin' down there?
Who are you folks?
This is my home.
Where's nurse Bauer?
Tell me. Sam.
What was it?
Meningitis.
Doc.
You know.
You shouldn't go back to work right away.
Doctor's orders?
Right.
All right.
I'll take some time off.
See the sights.
Take yourself a little vacation.
Nice time of the year, Fall.
Where you thinking of going?
Kansas City.
Aren't you curious?
Don't you wonder about it?
I'm not going back there.
Why don't you come with me.
They probably won't let you back in anyway.
I want to see my home before I die.
Ready.
Fire.
- No! - Ok!
All right, all right.
I'll get the bandages back on, take your hands down.
There they go.
Ok.
This isn't gonna work, is it?
It hasn't been that long, Danny.
The nerves might still grow back.
Your voice is shaking.
I'd like to go home now.
I want to be with my Mom and Dad.
Danny?
I'll take you.
Steven?
What about Denise?
We're all going home.
Ok?
Come on.
Thank you.
You're not really Italian, are you?
No.
So where you from?
Kansas City.
You look like you fell off your bike.
Denise? I had a hard time finding you here.
How's Danny?
He's ok.
What about his eyes?
Uh, Doctor says,
that I'll be able to take you home in a couple of days.
Phones working?
Are you kidding? There aren't going to be any phones.
They,
they gave me this ribbon to wear.
But I haven't got any damn hair to put it into.
You look great.
Helen.
Get out of my house.
Didn't you hear me?
I told you to get out of my house.
Hello?
Is anybody there?
Anybody at all?