MovieBuffMarine

I saw this during ABC's rebroadcast in 1989; as others have indicated, it stays with you.

It wasn't merely an epic with the bombs going off, but a well written teleplay about the various lives and people affected. It effectively shows them living life before the war and the tragic aftermath.

I still enjoy watching this even to this day.

As people have opined and is true, the execution is tame compared to the British version "Threads" that came out not long after. But it is still a well written tele-movie that takes the viewer in and sends a message about nuclear war.

It is hoped the message indicated before the end credits rolled that it will inspire leaders to avert that dreadful day.

I see a couple of hateful reviews for this film.

Was it Academy Award material? Ha, hardly. But it was family entertainment that all can enjoy.

I see a lot of nitpicking about "this can't happen" or "Space Camp wasn't in Florida in 1986" yada yada. Hey, I'm a nitpicker too! But this is good escapism as put out at the time. (These days, escapism is hardly done; whether TV or movies, it has to be more "serious.")

Kate Capshaw who in recent years had seen success in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" leads some young up-and-coming cast members in this fun work.

These youngsters face both personal and other challenges while attending this camp.

I'm sure the real Space Camp in Huntsville, AL where it was shot got some good exposure despite the "inaccuracies" of the film. I never heard of Space Camp until this movie came out. But hey, any real life place, professions and their people always have artistic liberties applied. It makes for good entertainment. "General Hospital" wasn't/isn't a daily show about real life medicine and "Top Gun" wasn't a documentary about the real Navy Fighter Weapons School it was based on. So Space Camp wasn't a down to the dirt accurate depiction either!

As was indicated from the comments and trivia section, the recent Space Shuttle Challenger incident affected its initial release, plus box office returns when it finally hit theaters.

Inaccurate or implausible, so what! This was family entertainment with the escapism you rarely see in contemporary movies.

And if you never heard of Space Camp this is an interesting look of what it is minus (again) the "inaccuracies."

Timing for release was bad, but:

If it brought you you entertainment, it did its job.

If it made a youngster want to go to Space Camp and pursue a space career, win-win.

I was young when this aired (15 to be exact). Previously, I enjoyed the ambitious "ABC novel for television" miniseries of "The Winds of War" and "The Thorn Birds."

I was looking for another grand work through Amerika, but didn't find it.

No, I was not looking for "Red Dawn" (which I enjoyed), but a well thought out drama that I can enjoy countless times.

As others have pointed out, the Soviet take over of the United States was vaguely explained. Non violently as was indicated by one of the Soviet characters? Sure thing, but some background would have been nice to hear.

Thankfully the real thing didn't happen to this country and this subject was a wonderful platform for a teleplay. Unfortunately the results left little to be desired.

Unlike the other miniseries I indicated, ABC did not re-run this (or not that I remember).

I don't care if the Soviet take over was an action fest like "Red Dawn" or a drama like Amerika; you want more fans and better review, cook up something special that viewers will talk favorably about for years.