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Post by Dirty Epic on Jun 27, 2021 18:21:27 GMT
This is a good spoof. Hilarious!!!
Don't let Boris and his bonking bozos see this; it'll be screened across all channels by the end of next week. Though it'd need to include enough emotional blackmail and contradict the last film to compete with the trash that's being pumped out currently!
It.was a better effort than what they actually came up with Sparky mate.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jun 28, 2021 8:23:01 GMT
I think the BBC had an underground radio studio and control centre at Wood Norton, the country house where they trained BBC engineers. I have a feeling that there were similar smaller versions in regional emergency centres all with the same equipment. Patrick Allen, the voice of the Protect and Survive films recreated his work on the Frankie Goes To Hollywood Two Tribes hit in 1984. Apparently he told the band that he could be prosecuted for recreating what was part of the Official Secrets Act, but was pretty confident he'd be safe enough. Of course, the radio studio was at Wood Norton. BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham had a replica backup Network Control Room for the BBC1 and 2 side of things.
I know CND got hold of and showed these at a rally in the early '80's but didn't Protect and Survive get broadcast once unofficially around this time before being shown more officially on the 40th anniversary of Hiroshima? FGTH must have seen/heard them in order to have interpolated it for Two Tribes and I agree they are pretty crap in how you'd survive or even go if this heaven forbid happened.
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Jun 28, 2021 11:48:29 GMT
I know CND got hold of and showed these at a rally in the early '80's but didn't Protect and Survive get broadcast once unofficially around this time before being shown more officially on the 40th anniversary of Hiroshima? FGTH must have seen/heard them in order to have interpolated it for Two Tribes and I agree they are pretty crap in how you'd survive or even go if this heaven forbid happened. There's Lighting Gaffer based in Sheffield I work (and drink) with a lot - he was involved with CND during the early 80s. Ironically, he worked on "Threads" in 1983/84.
It was he who showed me a VHS with some of the "Protect & Survive" films on years back - he must have acquired them via is CND contacts. I never knew what to make of them.
The idea was that the films would be broadcast, constantly if it was thought a Nuclear strike was possible in the near future. So basically, they had 20 films to transmit in the space of a few days - which you were supposed to watch, while you were out stockpiling white paint, tinned food, batteries and removing your internal doors to make a bunker.
As you say, FGTH must have seen the films to get the sample for "Two Tribes". Some of the films were kind of officially broadcast as part of a BBC documentary (Possibly QED), which inspired the film "Threads" - they were broadcast around 1982/3 - so chances are, they may have seen that.
My mum still has a "Protect & Survive" booklet and a guide from the local council about Air-Raid sirens and their test timetable etc. They're from about 1981.
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Post by Nightfly on Jun 28, 2021 11:59:38 GMT
Of course, the radio studio was at Wood Norton. BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham had a replica backup Network Control Room for the BBC1 and 2 side of things.
I know CND got hold of and showed these at a rally in the early '80's but didn't Protect and Survive get broadcast once unofficially around this time before being shown more officially on the 40th anniversary of Hiroshima? FGTH must have seen/heard them in order to have interpolated it for Two Tribes and I agree they are pretty crap in how you'd survive or even go if this heaven forbid happened. In March 1980, the BBC's Panorama claimed to show one of them for the first time publicly in an episode called If The Bomb Drops, so I suppose this would only be a year after they were made. That weird creepy little synthesized jingle used at the end of the Protect & Survive films gives me the chills
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jun 28, 2021 12:41:50 GMT
Changing the subject slightly I remember the Protect and Survive and more fittingly and again PiF related Play Safe leaflets being in a branch of the Manweb, Electricity Board shops in the 1980's. That 82-85 period was looking back a little scary for Cold War and Nuclear build up.
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Post by Sparky on Jun 28, 2021 13:11:50 GMT
Changing the subject slightly I remember the Protect and Survive and more fittingly and again PiF related Play Safe leaflets being in a branch of the Manweb, Electricity Board shops in the 1980's. That 82-85 period was looking back a little scary for Cold War and Nuclear build up. When at school, our local council - Derbyshire County Council had a slogan "Supports Nuclear Free Zones". It was on our School sign - and even some of our exercise books. One of the teachers used to laugh at the slogan saying "They won't be saying that when the bomb drops".....
The talk in the playground was pretty scary during the 82-85 period - each time we had a fire drill at school- some would panic and think WW3 was starting and start looking for the mushroom cloud!
I vividly remember the Play Safe leaflets and adverts - if I recall there were films about flying kites and playing near Pylons and a kid collecting a Frisbee from an Electricity Substation. British Rail also ran some about playing near Railway lines and in Rail Yards. Both those films certainly worked for me.
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Post by Sparky on Jun 28, 2021 13:13:29 GMT
That weird creepy little synthesized jingle used at the end of the Protect & Survive films gives me the chills I've seen bits of this Panorama - never the full programme.
Thanks for posting.
The jingle at the end of Protect & Survive is very creepy - though it's a great Text Ring Tone.....!!!!
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Post by Nightfly on Jun 28, 2021 17:56:37 GMT
When at school, our local council - Derbyshire County Council had a slogan "Supports Nuclear Free Zones".
I know some Councils got some stick over the Nuclear Free Zone policies and they conjured up an image of folk singer types chanting peace slogans, but a lot of it was to do with looking at the inadequacies of what was in place at time. One neighbouring Council back in the early 80s decided it was best to scrap their civil defence exercises as they had been probably been written in the 50s/60s and had never been updated. It was still all basically, "Listen chaps, Johnny Foreigner might fire one or two of those atomic weapon thingies, so we'd better be ready with plenty of sandbags, tin helmets and make sure those jolly old fire hoses are still in tip top nick". That weird creepy little synthesized jingle used at the end of the Protect & Survive films gives me the chills The jingle at the end of Protect & Survive is very creepy - though it's a great Text Ring Tone.....!!!! Well you've given me an idea for the train commute. Patrick Allen announcing, "if the body has been in the house for more than three days, dig a shallow grave, but remember to tag it for identification purposes" would probably make sure I get a seat to myself whenever I get a text.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jun 28, 2021 22:31:37 GMT
The QED documentary 'A Guide To Armageddon', written & produced by Mick Jackson who later with Barry Hines made 'Threads', shows how absurd the camping trip standard info in the 'Protect And Survive' films was.
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Post by Sparky on Jun 29, 2021 6:16:08 GMT
The QED documentary 'A Guide To Armageddon', written & produced by Mick Jackson who later with Barry Hines made 'Threads', shows how absurd the camping trip standard info in the 'Protect And Survive' films was.
Not far off todays Government offerings - that's almost just as absurd.
I never received any Text/Test message from this wonderful new government text warning system - I'll just look for a Mushroom cloud!
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