Protect and Survive

Between 1974 and 1981, at the height of the Cold War, the British government engaged in a project of civil defence and readiness in the event of nuclear attack consisting of the production of pamphlets, newspaper adverts, radio broadcasts and public information films (PIFs) under the umbrella title, Protect and Survive.

Originally secret, but in May 1980, following letters and articles in The Times, yhe pamphlet was made available to the general public who could buy a copy from the Post Office for 50p.  The PIFs however were intended only to be broadcast within 72 hours of an imminent attack until they were leaked to both CND and the BBC and featured on an episode of the channel's flagship current affairs show, Panorama.

Richard Taylor Cartoon Films - makers of the 'Charley Says' PIFs - we're commissioned to make the 20 short films for which they employed Patrick Allen - a character actor well known in the UK for his voice-over work - to narrate and Roger Limb of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to provide the music.  Mixing animation with still photographs and looking like the bleakest possible episode of Play School the films include such episodes as...

• What to Do When the Warnings Sound - if outside lie down in a ditch.
• Make Your Fall-out Room and Refuge Now  - hide under a table covered with luggage.
• What to Put in Your Fall-out Room - don't forget string.
• Water and Food - don't forget your tin opener either.
• Sanitation - make sure your poop bucket has a lid.
• Fire Precautions - paint your windows white.
• Life Under Fall-out Conditions - remember to brush any fall-out off your wellies after going outside.
• Casualties - make sure your loved ones are accurately labelled when you bury them in the garden.

The entire Protect and Survive project has, since it became known, been the source of much well deserved rebuttal (E.P. Thompson's Protest and Survive) and ridicule (Raymond Briggs' When the Wind Blows, Threads, The Young Ones episode Bomb). As a cultural artefact it makes for fascinating viewing that'll satisfy every hauntological itch in your body and show just how depressingly close to the mark folks such as Richard Littler, Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz were when they created pastiches like Scarfolk and Look Around You but in real terms it's farcical, reeks of "Keep Calm and Carry On" and would be catastrophically useless in the face of what would be an apocalyptic event.

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Threads

Since it's first screening on BBC Two on 23 September 1984 Threads has taken on almost mythological status as the show that terrified a nation.  Focusing on young couple Ruth (Karen Meagher) and Jimmy (Reece Dinsdale) as they prepare for marriage in a Sheffield soundtracked by news reports of the escalating conflict between the US and Russia that eventually degenerates into nuclear war.

Sensitively written by Barry Hines (Kestrel for a Knave / Kes) for the most part Threads appears as a kitchen sink drama with the focus very much on the everyday lives of the protagonists as they become increasingly aware of the events spiralling out of control whilst also highlighting the utter ineffectiveness and woeful inadequacies of the British government's preparations.  Director Mick Jackson (Ascent of Man) who displays a subtle sleight of hand during the build up is unflinching in his depiction of the attack and its aftermath starkly showing the lie of a survivable nuclear war and the uselessness of available information such as the 'Protect and Survive' leaflet and film, the latter of which can be heard occasionally playing in the background as people remove the doors from their frames to build utterly ineffective shelters.

Almost 40 years after it's initial screening with tensions between the nuclear superpowers again at boiling point and with the unlikely reappearance of the name Threads in the popular consciousness the lessons of this powerfully unforgettable film, unlearned at the time, seem once again to be depressingly apposite as the film has lost none of it's power to shock.

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If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain 

 Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.

Z for Zachariah

'Z for Zachariah' is a 1984 episode of the long running  BBC series 'Play for Today' adapted from the novel of the same name written by Robert C. O'Brien a decade earlier.

It tells the story of a young woman named Ann Burden (Pippa Hinchley) who, on her small farm in a remote Welsh valley complete with it's own weather system, has survived a nuclear war, and of her deteriorating relationship with the scientist, John Loomis (Anthony Andrews), who finds his way there.

'Z for Zachariah' is one of a number of shows produced around this time - 'Threads' being the most famous example - reflecting the nation's worries over the escalating nuclear arms race.

It's a gripping and absorbing piece despite it's slightly unlikely premise that, with the exception of a few early scenes featuring Ann's family (of which only the father, played by British TV stalwart David Daker, has any dialogue) is built entirely on the interaction between the two leads.  The tension is palpable throughout and is aided in no small part by the verdant claustrophobia of the farm and valley and by Geoffrey Burgon's score.

I think it's a shame that this has pretty much been forgotten by the world because it's really rather fabulous, in a bleak, uncompromising sort of way.  So, at the risk of depressing you all here it is in all it's radiation soaked glory.


Z for Zachariah - BBC Play for Today (1984) by ceyksparrow04 .......................................................................................... If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain