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The threat of nuclear war has existed ever since the conception of the nuclear bomb, its lingering presence remaining a huge source of anxiety for people across the world. There have been spikes in that anxiety across various decades, whether it be the Cuban missile crisis or the Cold War tension of the 1980s. Film has attempted many times to understand what the experience of a nuclear war will feel like, the shared anxiety proving powerful enough to spawn an entire sub-genre of nuclear war movies.

Movies addressing the subject of nuclear war have to reckon with the real horror that we have seen committed by nuclear weapons. We know how scary these weapons are and how devastating they can be, so any movie covering the subject will inevitably become somewhat of a horror. There are many films that have dared approach the subject, but there are only a few...

Tagline: "The Closest You Ever Want to Come to Nuclear War is...Threads!" Director: Mick Jackson. Writer: Barry Hines. Cast: Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, David Brierly, Rita May and Nicholas Lane. The original Threads debuted on BBC 2, in 1984. At that time, it was the most popular cable movie to date. In its debut, the film drew over 7 million viewers. The film, from BBC exec' and director Mick Jackson, covered a nuclear exchange between western nations and Russia. The results are truly terrifying. This re-release, through Severn Films, hosts a number of extras, including interviews with the crew. The story itself is a dire look at surviving a nuclear strike. It might be best to succumb to the initial blast. The visuals and the storytelling come across as authentic, thanks to several scientists and consultants. The tone, of the film, is light initially; but, it darkens after the strike. A difficult watch,...

In 1984, a television movie played by the BBC scarred an entire generation. Directed by Mick Jackson (who went on to direct Chattahoochee, The Bodyguard, and Volcano) and written by Barry Hinds, Threads is a docudrama that portrayed the probable after-effects of a nuclear war. This includes the de-evolution of civilization, such as the loss of language, and the horrifying effects of fallout and nuclear winter. Threads stars Reece Dinsdale (Coronation Street), David Brierly (Doctor Who) and Karen Meagher in her debut, as the hapless, working-class Sheffield, England residents who must deal with the nightmare that is nuclear war. Performances are so real that you forget you're watching fiction, which is surely the point in a film like this. A great deal of research with consulting scientists such as Carl Sagan...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

K-9

Portrayed by: John Leeson, David Brierly

Doctor(s): Fourth Doctor, Tenth Doctor

Tenure: 18 stories, from The Invisible Enemy (Oct, 1977) to Warriors’ Gate (Jan, 1981), plus “School Reunion” (April, 2006)

Background: There have been several versions of K-9 (Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, as well as another version on K9, an Australian spinoff series). When Leela decided to stay behind on Gallifrey rather than continue traveling with the Doctor, Mark I stayed with her. Mark II stayed with Romana when she left the Tardis to stay in E-Space rather than return to N-Space and become President of the Time Lords. The Doctor sent Mark III to Sarah Jane, care of her aunt, and it’s this version we meet in “School Reunion”. After K-9 Mark III sacrifices himself to allow the Doctor, Sarah Jane, Rose, and Mickey to escape, the Doctor leaves K-9 Mark IV with Sarah Jane...

Narcissist that I am, I sometimes go back to read my past reviews on the Shadowlocked website. I was just checking out the one for The Big Bang, in which I was foolishly attempting to make out that I'd found the ability to travel back in time to meet my five-year-old-self.

As you do.

Anyway, the ham-fisted point that I was trying to make was that Doctor Who is chiefly for kids. Although it enjoys a sizeable adult following, kids especially love Who. What's great about this is that they take it at face value, ignore the shortcomings and get caught up in the different fantasy worlds, scenarios and monsters. A good example of this approach is season 17 adventure The Creature From The Pit.

The difference between adults' reactions and kids' reactions to Pit is bigger than Mick Jagger's gob. To a child, Pit is an atmospheric fantasy adventure...

The British Board of Film Classification has cleared the Fourth Doctor story The Creature from the Pit for release on DVD.

The story, originally broadcast in the Autumn of 1979, stars Tom Baker as The Doctor, along with Lalla Ward as Romana and David Brierley as the voice of K9. Others in the cast include Myra Frances as Lady Adrast, Eileen Way as Karela and Geoffrey Bayldon as Organon.

The story was written by David Fisher and directed by Christopher Barry.

Extras cleared for the story areChristopher Barry: Director - 19'01"Team Erato - 14'46"Photo Gallery - 4'48"Animal Magic - 2'34"

No release date has yet been confirmed.http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com...

Inspired by David Brierly's column about disruptive and rude behavior witnessed in UK movie theaters, writer Steve Vertlieb weighs in with horror stories from the American point-of-view, thus proving the Brits don't have a monopoly on uncouth idiots. To read Steve's previously published essay on his web site Thunder Child,click here - and while on his site, browse through his incredible archive of insightful film-related columns, accessed through his home page. ...