ABC THEATER: THE DAY AFTER (TV)

Summary

This graphic, controversial made-for-television movie dramatizes the impact of a full-scale nuclear war on Kansas residents. The program opens with a cautionary message from actor John Cullum, who says the graphic depiction of nuclear war is not intended for young children. Set in the early 1980s, the drama begins with news reports of escalating tension between the superpowers. Yet the residents of Lawrence and Kansas City blithely go about their normal lives: Dr. Russell Oakes learns his daughter is moving away and the Dahlberg family gathers for a wedding rehearsal. A buildup of U.S. weapons and troops on the East-West German border prompts the Soviets to seal off West Berlin, requiring Airman McCoy to bid his wife goodbye as he leaves for duty. Meanwhile, Dr. and Mrs. Oakes assure themselves that no nuclear exchange will occur, and Jim Dahlberg is too busy chastising his daughter, Denise, for spending the night with her fiancé. When missiles are fired in Europe, military personnel mobilize and Kansas residents grow concerned, especially when the evacuation of Moscow is reported on the once-ignored news updates. Both the hospital and university appear emptier as people attempt to leave town, such as student Stephen Klein; others decide to avoid preparing for the worst and live their lives as usual. When the Soviet Union fires nuclear weapons, nuclear-equipped U.S. aircraft fuel up, Kansas residents flee in droves, and citizens make mad dashes to supermarkets for food and supplies. Then, U.S. military personnel launch nuclear weapons.

Once the disaster is imminent, Airman McCoy and a cadre of officers debate whether to maintain position or flee. Traffic crowds the highways, emergency alarms blare, and pandemonium explodes in the streets. First, an electromagnetic pulse wipes out all electricity and, one by one, white flashes and mushroom clouds illuminate the skies, until a hellish maelstrom of fire envelops and destroys Kansas City. Amid the falling ashes of a dark nuclear winter, Airman McCoy and Dr. Oakes each wander aimlessly among piles of rubble and bodies, and the doctor finds survivors at the chaotic Lawrence hospital. Meanwhile, Stephen Klein joins farmers Jim and Eve Dahlberg in their basement and describes the bleak scenario outdoors; Joe Huxley, part of a group in a university science lab, manages to reach only one person on the radio -- Dr. Oakes. Former bride-to-be Denise Dahlberg gets cabin fever and runs into the radiation-soaked landscape. When Klein runs out to pacify the hysterical girl, both are exposed to radiation. In the meantime, dispossessed zombies wander through a post-apocalyptic landscape; skin-burned crowds pack into the hospital; and a feisty but despondent pregnant woman, Alison Ransom, cannot seem to give birth. As radiation levels fall, people venture outdoors. Since Danny and Denise Dahlberg require medical care, Klein agrees to take them to the hospital in Lawrence. Angry survivors in the science lab listen to the U.S. President announce on the radio that most of the superpowers' targets were hit and that democracy was defended. The overworked Dr. Oakes cannot keep up with the mounting sicknesses and collapses, and Klein brings the Dahlbergs to Lawrence, only to find grisly mountains of wreckage.

As radioactivity slowly kills most of the population, barbarism grows prevalent, personal property becomes meaningless, and resources are scarce, as Jim Dahlberg learns. Dr. Oakes, losing hair and strength, decides to venture home before he dies. In the sepulchral hospital, Danny's permanent blindness is confirmed; Alison Ransom gives birth on a crowded, dirty mattress; Steve and Denise, losing skin and hair, sense the futility of their plight; and hundreds of burned victims lay waiting to die on a basketball court. And in Kansas City, the deteriorating Dr. Oakes makes a feeble attempt to defend the heap of wreckage that he calls home. The program concludes with a list of books about nuclear war and a statement declaring that a full-scale nuclear exchange would be more devastating than the program's dramatization.

(This program was telecast without commercials after the first hour; part two includes commercials and a promo following the conclusion of the program.)

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: November 20, 1983 Sunday 8:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 2:22:34
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T84:0208
• GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Nuclear warfare - Drama
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1972-
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - Arm & Hammer Carpet and Room deodorizer
  • TV - Commercials - Certs breath mints
  • TV - Commercials - Commodore 64 computers
  • TV - Commercials - Dollar Rent-A-Car agencies
  • TV - Commercials - Duration nasal spray
  • TV - Commercials - English Leather cologne
  • TV - Commercials - Extra Strength Dexatrim time releasecapsules
  • TV - Commercials - K-Tel Dance Madness record
  • TV - Commercials - K-Tel Hot Tracks
  • TV - Commercials - KABC TalkRadio AM 79
  • TV - Commercials - Kaypro computers
  • TV - Commercials - Magnavox televisions
  • TV - Commercials - Maybelline Dial a Lash mascara
  • TV - Commercials - Miller's Outpost clothing stores
  • TV - Commercials - Minolta Talker camera
  • TV - Commercials - Mr. Coffee coffee makers
  • TV - Commercials - National Federation of Coffee Growers
  • TV - Commercials - Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet popcorn
  • TV - Commercials - Slim Fast diet shake
  • TV - Commercials - Soloflex
  • TV - Commercials - Zortek video game
  • TV - Promos - "ABC News Viewpoint: The Day After"
  • TV - Promos - "Christine" motion picture
  • TV - Promos - "Eyewitness News"
  • TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
  • TV - Promos - "Hardcastle & McCormick"
  • TV - Promos - "L.A. Today"
  • TV - Promos - "Never Say Never Again" motion picture

CREDITS

• Robert A. Papazian … Producer
• Stephanie Austin … Associate Producer
• Nicholas Meyer … Director
• Edward Hume … Writer
• David Raksin … Music by
• Virgil Thomson … Music by
• John Cullum … Host
• Jason Robards … Cast, Dr. Russell Oakes
• JoBeth Williams … Cast, Nancy Bauer
• Steve Guttenberg … Cast, Stephen Klein
• John Cullum … Cast, Jim Dahlberg
• John Lithgow … Cast, Joe Huxley
• Bibi Besch … Cast, Eve Dahlberg
• Lori Lethin … Cast, Denise Dahlberg
• Amy Madigan … Cast, Alison Ransom
• Jeff East … Cast, Bruce Gallatin
• Georgann Johnson … Cast, Helen Oakes
• William Allen Young … Cast, Airman McCoy
• Calvin Jung … Cast, Dr. Sam Hachiya
• Lin McCarthy … Cast, Dr. Austin
• Dennis Lipscomb … Cast, the Rev. Walker
• Clayton Day … Cast, Dennis Hendry
• Doug Scott … Cast, Danny Dahlberg
• Ellen Anthony … Cast, Jolene Dahlberg
• Kyle Aletter … Cast, Marilyn Oakes
• Alston Ahearn … Cast, Cynthia
• William Allyn … Cast, Professor
• Antonie Becker … Cast, Ellen Hendry
• Pamela Brown … Cast, Nurse
• Jonathan Estrin … Cast, Julian French
• Stephen Furst … Cast, Aldo
• Arliss Howard … Cast, Tom Cooper
• Rosanna Huffman … Cast, Dr. Wallenberg
• Barbara Iley … Cast, Cleo Mackey
• Madison Mason … Cast, TV Host
• Bob Meister … Cast, Cody
• Vahan Moosekian … Cast, Mack
• George Petrie … Cast, Dr. Landowska
• Tom Spratley … Cast, Barber #1
• Glenn Robards … Cast, Barber #2
• Stan Wilson … Cast, Vinnie Conrad