BENSON: SCENARIO (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about Benson DuBois, who manages the chaotic household of the state's honest yet inept governor. In this episode, the household undergoes a disaster simulation in which they will spend forty-eight hours in the bomb shelter. Kraus prepares to receive instructions from the defense department via computer and explains that they will be given one of several thousand possible three-stage scenarios. The Governor peruses a large map of his jurisdiction, pondering how best to "save" all of his constituents. The scenario begins and the Governor hastily debates evacuating the people or sending them into shelters. Katie attempts to write up a report for school as the Governor realizes that the townsfolk might not have enough time to save themselves thanks to his long-winded instructions. Benson states that they will all surely die in the event of a nuclear attack, though Clayton is determined to survive, and everyone is disturbed when many bombs are "dropped" over the area.
After several hours with no information, Clayton is upset to find that he has "died" from radiation poisoning, and Mrs. Cassidy uses a handheld device to find the "leak," which they then block with Clayton's body. They learn that the roads to the main food storage areas are impassable thanks to the bombs, and the Governor is distressed to learn that Katie is now "sick" too and that the phones and radios are dead. The others remind him that it is merely a simulation of events unlikely to ever occur, but they enter into a philosophical debate about the value of nuclear weapons as deterrents, deciding that the world would be far safer without them. Benson, however, places his hopes in "humanity and morality." They decide to abandon the simulation and enjoy some peaceful time outside, and the Governor later muses that Katie is growing up even faster than he realized. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:05045
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; African-American Collection; African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1979-1986
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Paul Junger Witt … Executive Producer
- Tony Thomas … Executive Producer
- Rob Dames … Producer, Writer, Director
- Bob Fraser … Producer, Writer
- Gilbert Junger … Associate Producer
- Susan Harris … Created by
- George Aliceson Tipton … Music by
- Robert Guillaume … Cast, Benson DuBois
- James Noble … Cast, Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling
- Inga Swenson … Cast, Gretchen Wilomena Kraus
- Missy Gold … Cast, Katherine 'Katie' Olivia Gatling
- Billie Bird … Cast, Mrs. Rose Cassidy
- Rene Auberjonois … Cast, Clayton Runnymede Endicott III