Protect and Survive: A Timeline
- Thread starter Macragge1
- Start date
Maybe soon you will found out
For that matter what happened to the Archbishop of Canterbury? Or will the Archbishop of Portsmouth become the defacto head of the remains of the Anglican Communion?
I don't think that Israel would have recieved has many nukes as you predict. There are not seventy nuke worthy targets within Israel. I can only think of four out of hand namely, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and maybe Eilat though that's a stretch. The US never had any bases in Israel so I don't see what the incentive is for the Soviets to turn Israel into a parking lot.
Also if a country is prepared for events of that kind, that's Israel. Their society is much more regimented and militarised than ours, today and back then as well. Some settlements are also very communal in the countryside, which would greatly help rebuilding and recovery later on. The Jews know how to organise things, so I very much expect them to survive and thrive in their new environment.
The Samson Option has likely been acted, which could mean that the Aswan Dam is now a souvenir along with Egypt as well.
I suppose it's possible that Archbishop Runcie wasn't at Lambeth Palace. The order of seniority goes Canterbury, York, London, Durham, Winchester. Durham isn't the dreaded David Jenkins, btw, but the chap who was translated to York later that year. After that it goes amongst the dioceses in order of seniority. I suspect that one of those five may have survived.
Even if not, couldn't they just name the most senior survivor as Archbishop of Canterbury anyway? Even if it was only symbolic (due to the possibility of Canterbury not really existing) it would make sense.
I wasn't saying that the 70 nukes would have been targeted at 70 different targets.Most targets would have been hit twice or maybe three times.I reckon Dimona 4 because its their nuclear weapons production facility,Jerusalem 3,Tel Aviv same,Haifa 2,and then suspected nuclear weapons storage facilities,air force bases,navy and army command centers,probable chemical and biological weapons facilities.Plus being a nuclear power would have made Israel unusual,unlike say Spain,nuclear powers get disproportionate retribution.And the 70 takes into account the warheads that never reached Israel,perhaps 20 or 30.
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Unless they bombed Israel with 25 megaton warheads,no.The reason for so many warheads is the probability that some would have missed their target by more than a near miss.There is the added factor that strikes on Dimona would have been ground bursts to make sure the underground facility would be completely destroyed.In Jerusalem maybe one airburst and 2 groundbursts to take out possible israeli leadership bunkers,grounburts would have also been used to take out suspected bunkers at the israeli army, and air force bases,especially the ones suspected of having nuclear weapons.This is the problem with Israel the groundbursts would have led to serious fallout.For a small country this is a death sentence.Add to that the fact that most israelis live in the north,the south being largely desert,and surviving israeli leaders would have had to let most people fend off for themselves.It would not have been pretty.
Macragge1
Banned
Something a bit different today; inspired by a thread on another part of the site (and I've posted the same thing there as well), here's a 'trailer' for Protect and Survive - just a little thought exercise, but it was good fun to write something a little differently.
************************
Open w/ footage of Protect and Survive ep.1, 'Nuclear Explosions Explained'
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O) 'Nuclear explosions are caused by weapons such as H-Bombs or Atom Bombs. They are like ordinary explosions only many times more powerful'
We pan out to reveal that we are watching the episode on a big, old '80s television, in a dark room.
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O Contd.) 'They cause great heat and blast.'
We are in a living room, anyone's front room. It is badly damaged, though. The wallpaper is burnt, the flowers are dead, the furniture is scorched.
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O Contd.) 'They also make a cloud of deadly dust, which falls slowly to the ground.'
We pan further out, seeing more of the shattered room. We can see now that the only light is coming from a smashed window to the left of the screen. The remains of curtains are blowing lazily into the house, along with the suggestion of something else.
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O Contd.) 'This is what is called fallout.'
At this point, that horrible staticy 'fallout' sound effect is high in the mix, almost overwhelming. We pan further back out. There is now a highbacked armchair taking up most of the right foreground.
We reveal on the left armrest a skeleton's arm, its bony hand still holding a copy of the 'Protect and Survive' leaflet. Hold for a couple of seconds, increase 'fallout' sound effect and then fade to blinding white.
MUSIC - 'Two Tribes, Frankie Goes to Hollywood'.
As the Piano/Orchestral introduction to the song starts, we are treated to archive footage that suggests a confrontation between the superpowers - think footage of the '80s REFORGERS; big long lines of tanks and trucks; Soviet parades w/ missile launchers etc. This goes on for about twenty seconds; as the orchestral sweeps during the last few seconds of the intro hit, we quick cut between various shots of UK preparations for war - we see a line of ambulances, we see armed troops on a very clearly British street (red phone-boxes etcetera), we see Bloodhound missiles aiming up at a stormy sky.
The music now gets mixed down; where the vocals would start in the song, we just get that bassline providing a tempo for the following events.
Shot to the Constable, sitting in the back of a dimly lit, moving transit van, at night (amongst other policemen). He is very visibly, and audibly, nervous.
THE CONSTABLE (V/O) 'I can't say I agree with everything that's...going on at the moment...'
Cut to footage of police kicking down a door in the middle of the night, cut to unarmed, fairly innocuous people getting dragged out amid blue lights.
THE CONSTABLE (V/O contd.)'...but it's not really like I've got a choice'.
Cut to image of a soldier, amongst the rubble, pointing a revolver at a scruffy, exhausted, terrified policeman.
THE CONSTABLE (V/O contd.)' It's all got a little...cowboys and indians these days...'
Shots of heavily armed, dirty soldiers and policemen scowling at the camera from several overloaded lorries that pass by, revealing several unarmed civilians on their knees or standing with their hands on their heads, under armed guard. We get a brief glimpse of the Officer, smoking a cigarrette; the nature of the shot suggests impending conflict.
Cut back to the Constable in the back of the van. We reveal that he is loading a revolver with shaking hands.
THE CONSTABLE (to the camera) 'and for better or worse, you've got to choose the fucking cowboys.'
Music cuts to silence as we are cut into a shot of the mushroom cloud viewed from the Monument, Central Newcastle. We see the backs of the Old Man and his Wife. He turns, in slow motion, to shield her, as in the street we are looking down, the glass in the windows smashes closer and closer towards them. As this happens, we fade in from the 44th second of Craig Armstrong's 'Escape' (as the vocals start.) It is as the vocals shift up a key that we see the smashing glass and the blast wave approach the pair. Cut to black.
As the music returns, softly, we have a montage of the destruction; buildings burn, cars are overturned, a single child's hand sticks up from out of the rubble.
As the vocals get stronger, we see footage of soldiers in gas masks, and rescue services with improvised protective equipment, moving in towards the burning city. It is a picture of Hell itself as the music reaches a crescendo. The following voiceover comes as the music gets lower at around two minutes forty-three.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O) 'We did what we had to do...'
Shot of people up against a wall, bullets crashing into them. They fall in slow-mo.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O, contd.) 'to protect what we had left...'
Shot of wounded policemen bombing up SLR magazines in a destroyed shop front.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O, contd.) '...just to survive.'
Shot of queue of wounded, shattered survivors outside a feeding centre or hospital.
Cut to frontal shot of The Controller stepping outside the Freeman Hospital.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O, contd.) 'These are desperate times...'
We zoom in on the Controller, revealing the stress and premature aging in his face.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O contd.) '....and you can guarantee there will be desperate measures.'
As this line is delivered, we swoop to behind the Controller. Just as we are taking in the landscape shot of destruction that is revealed, there is a slam-cut to black with the sound of a single rifle's shot, loud.
We are now onto the final section of Craig Armstrong's 'Escape' (which starts at four minutes and seventeen seconds into the song) in which drums are added and the tempo kicked up. Each cut now is a slam, faster and faster, various brief glimpses of the action.
THE OFFICER (V/O) 'There's blood on your hands, Controller. Oceans of it.'
Shot of soldiers running, under fire, through the Battle of Felton. Shot of violent, pre-war rioting, shot of fighter aircraft flying low over the countryside.
THE OFFICER (V/O, contd.) 'I've nothing left now but a mission. I am going to find you...'
Shot of a helicopter's searchlight. Troops kicking down a door. The Controller in an argument in the Civic Centre bunker.
THE OFFICER (V/O, contd.) '...I am going to stop you...'
Shot of the Officer kicking a suspect tied to a chair. Shot of policemen hastily carrying the Controller into a waiting van.
THE OFFICER (V/O, contd.) '...and then, I am going to kill you'
Quick shot of the airport blast rising into the sky.
Silence. Cut to title 'PROTECT AND SURVIVE'.
Cut to black.
THE OFFICER (unseen) 'Of course...'
He inhales on a cigarrette, illuminating, in sickly orange, himself and his rifle.
THE OFFICER (direct to camera, humourless) '...it's not the end of the world.'
End trailer.
************************
Open w/ footage of Protect and Survive ep.1, 'Nuclear Explosions Explained'
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O) 'Nuclear explosions are caused by weapons such as H-Bombs or Atom Bombs. They are like ordinary explosions only many times more powerful'
We pan out to reveal that we are watching the episode on a big, old '80s television, in a dark room.
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O Contd.) 'They cause great heat and blast.'
We are in a living room, anyone's front room. It is badly damaged, though. The wallpaper is burnt, the flowers are dead, the furniture is scorched.
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O Contd.) 'They also make a cloud of deadly dust, which falls slowly to the ground.'
We pan further out, seeing more of the shattered room. We can see now that the only light is coming from a smashed window to the left of the screen. The remains of curtains are blowing lazily into the house, along with the suggestion of something else.
PATRICK ALLEN (V/O Contd.) 'This is what is called fallout.'
At this point, that horrible staticy 'fallout' sound effect is high in the mix, almost overwhelming. We pan further back out. There is now a highbacked armchair taking up most of the right foreground.
We reveal on the left armrest a skeleton's arm, its bony hand still holding a copy of the 'Protect and Survive' leaflet. Hold for a couple of seconds, increase 'fallout' sound effect and then fade to blinding white.
MUSIC - 'Two Tribes, Frankie Goes to Hollywood'.
As the Piano/Orchestral introduction to the song starts, we are treated to archive footage that suggests a confrontation between the superpowers - think footage of the '80s REFORGERS; big long lines of tanks and trucks; Soviet parades w/ missile launchers etc. This goes on for about twenty seconds; as the orchestral sweeps during the last few seconds of the intro hit, we quick cut between various shots of UK preparations for war - we see a line of ambulances, we see armed troops on a very clearly British street (red phone-boxes etcetera), we see Bloodhound missiles aiming up at a stormy sky.
The music now gets mixed down; where the vocals would start in the song, we just get that bassline providing a tempo for the following events.
Shot to the Constable, sitting in the back of a dimly lit, moving transit van, at night (amongst other policemen). He is very visibly, and audibly, nervous.
THE CONSTABLE (V/O) 'I can't say I agree with everything that's...going on at the moment...'
Cut to footage of police kicking down a door in the middle of the night, cut to unarmed, fairly innocuous people getting dragged out amid blue lights.
THE CONSTABLE (V/O contd.)'...but it's not really like I've got a choice'.
Cut to image of a soldier, amongst the rubble, pointing a revolver at a scruffy, exhausted, terrified policeman.
THE CONSTABLE (V/O contd.)' It's all got a little...cowboys and indians these days...'
Shots of heavily armed, dirty soldiers and policemen scowling at the camera from several overloaded lorries that pass by, revealing several unarmed civilians on their knees or standing with their hands on their heads, under armed guard. We get a brief glimpse of the Officer, smoking a cigarrette; the nature of the shot suggests impending conflict.
Cut back to the Constable in the back of the van. We reveal that he is loading a revolver with shaking hands.
THE CONSTABLE (to the camera) 'and for better or worse, you've got to choose the fucking cowboys.'
Music cuts to silence as we are cut into a shot of the mushroom cloud viewed from the Monument, Central Newcastle. We see the backs of the Old Man and his Wife. He turns, in slow motion, to shield her, as in the street we are looking down, the glass in the windows smashes closer and closer towards them. As this happens, we fade in from the 44th second of Craig Armstrong's 'Escape' (as the vocals start.) It is as the vocals shift up a key that we see the smashing glass and the blast wave approach the pair. Cut to black.
As the music returns, softly, we have a montage of the destruction; buildings burn, cars are overturned, a single child's hand sticks up from out of the rubble.
As the vocals get stronger, we see footage of soldiers in gas masks, and rescue services with improvised protective equipment, moving in towards the burning city. It is a picture of Hell itself as the music reaches a crescendo. The following voiceover comes as the music gets lower at around two minutes forty-three.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O) 'We did what we had to do...'
Shot of people up against a wall, bullets crashing into them. They fall in slow-mo.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O, contd.) 'to protect what we had left...'
Shot of wounded policemen bombing up SLR magazines in a destroyed shop front.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O, contd.) '...just to survive.'
Shot of queue of wounded, shattered survivors outside a feeding centre or hospital.
Cut to frontal shot of The Controller stepping outside the Freeman Hospital.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O, contd.) 'These are desperate times...'
We zoom in on the Controller, revealing the stress and premature aging in his face.
THE CONTROLLER (V/O contd.) '....and you can guarantee there will be desperate measures.'
As this line is delivered, we swoop to behind the Controller. Just as we are taking in the landscape shot of destruction that is revealed, there is a slam-cut to black with the sound of a single rifle's shot, loud.
We are now onto the final section of Craig Armstrong's 'Escape' (which starts at four minutes and seventeen seconds into the song) in which drums are added and the tempo kicked up. Each cut now is a slam, faster and faster, various brief glimpses of the action.
THE OFFICER (V/O) 'There's blood on your hands, Controller. Oceans of it.'
Shot of soldiers running, under fire, through the Battle of Felton. Shot of violent, pre-war rioting, shot of fighter aircraft flying low over the countryside.
THE OFFICER (V/O, contd.) 'I've nothing left now but a mission. I am going to find you...'
Shot of a helicopter's searchlight. Troops kicking down a door. The Controller in an argument in the Civic Centre bunker.
THE OFFICER (V/O, contd.) '...I am going to stop you...'
Shot of the Officer kicking a suspect tied to a chair. Shot of policemen hastily carrying the Controller into a waiting van.
THE OFFICER (V/O, contd.) '...and then, I am going to kill you'
Quick shot of the airport blast rising into the sky.
Silence. Cut to title 'PROTECT AND SURVIVE'.
Cut to black.
THE OFFICER (unseen) 'Of course...'
He inhales on a cigarrette, illuminating, in sickly orange, himself and his rifle.
THE OFFICER (direct to camera, humourless) '...it's not the end of the world.'
End trailer.
You magnificent bastard! Excellent. Come to think of it, it *would* make a good film... : )
While the war story itself is great from an AH standpoint, if you played up the murder mystery bit, it'd make for a better movie, I daresay...
<cue Don LaFontaine voice>
"In the radiation-blasted aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, law and order is on shaky ground.
But one man makes justice his mission."
Should send that off to Peter Watkins, see what he thinks of it.
Great reading.
Great reading.
Knowing the INS they've probably run aground, hit something else, or the crew have fallen asleep.
A curiosity ripe for speculation.What heads of state and government are most likely to have died in the war?I'm not talking about subsequent death but actually during the main exchange.Either he or she was very stubborn and refused to leave the capital for fear of frightening the civilian population,or they where killed when nukes directly hit their bunker,or maybe a shockwave from the blast destroyed their plane or helicopter during the evacuation.Or maybe immediately following the exchange their bunker was engulfed by toxic fumes from fires above ground,maybe a mistake with the isolation of the bunker who knows.Any guesses?