Original subtitles

Hello, I'm calling from the trip.

I'd like to confirm a quote. We'll get it right around the two hours. How much

money was involved?

It was over a thousand dollars.

I've been away in my beautiful, beautiful country.

should have come in first. Yeah, I know.

Hey, can I use your comp? Yeah.

Give it to me, Judy.

Are you joining fire again?

I don't know, but it makes it nasty.

Oh, no!

Oh, my message was in San Francisco next year. We could go to San Francisco

together. That'd be great. That'd be terrific.

Yeah!

and Newhall and several injuries. You better get out there. Any ideas how? The

freeways will be jammed. Paul Driscoll at the cop house. Find out what hospital

they're taking the victims to and meet them there. Okay.

What do you got? First picture's out of Kular.

Where is that anyway?

Must be British Arabia.

Where was that?

The Persian Gulf.

That Kular.

Let me see.

This is the funeral of the king.

More like a riot.

French photographer's doing a good job, of course. It's amazing he's able to get

these shots, let alone get them out of the country.

How come they didn't throw out the French along with the Americans? You get

attention by throwing out Americans.

Phil, what's the feeling on the foreign desk about Kular?

Don't drink the water.

Or the oil.

Which way do you think it'll go?

Well, until the government stabilizes, what we've got is a vacuum. With Russia,

America, and Islam all rushing to fill it. Just let me know if I'm going to

on gas lines again.

Yeah, well, we do import a lot of oil from Kular. If they ever shut off our

supply completely... Why didn't I buy a diesel?

Charlie? Your sister or three from San Diego.

Excuse me a second.

Hello, Claire. How are you?

We have the guest room all set up.

Why can't you stay over?

Will Jim pick you up in the morning in Baltimore?

Okay.

Call me when you get home.

Can I have another day on this cable TV thing? I just got a call about the

licensing change. I have to run it down.

We wanted it for tomorrow.

Yeah, but I don't think we'll have time to get down there and think of my story

in a shape.

Don't worry, we'll edit it.

That's what I was afraid of.

And that's why we felt there was no need for a break with the previous

administration on that matter.

Mr. Moffat, is it true that you're the fellow in the Defense Department that we

all have to thank for keeping our Red Devil missile system in the competition?

Well, Southern California's always been the heart of the aerospace industry, so

we think it only makes sense to stay with the winner.

As leaders of the business community, I know you can appreciate that. He's

telling these people what they want to hear. Not exactly a controversial lunch.

Well, it's a free country, Mr. Grant. Ask a question.

Mr. Moffat, can we expect a change in policy in Kular?

As you know, they are undergoing a revolution.

What will we do if the Marxists try to grab that oil?

I don't think Kular wants communism.

It is a volatile situation, and we're watching it very carefully.

Gee,

I'm sorry. They tell me... I have to go or I'll miss the plane.

My time's not my own, as you can see.

Thank you very much for inviting me. Thank you. I enjoyed it.

I'm certainly glad we were able to catch Mr.

Moffat while he was on the coast.

And now the subject of next month's...

Luncheon discussion.

Something's up.

How can you tell?

Newsman's instinct. He didn't finish his chocolate cake.

know what it means either. We got a strange wire report from Washington.

Really? What?

Well, the president was on his way to Camp David. His helicopter took off,

hovered for a few minutes, and then came right back down. President Quifty had

had a wonderful trip. He was glad to be home.

Looks like he was called back to the White House about the same time Marva

called out of here.

Well, we'll get on it.

Donovan. Moffat was supposed to go back to Washington on a commercial flight,

but they took him to the Long Beach Naval Air Station instead, and he caught

military plane from there.

Hallmark Air Force Base. That's an air attack installation.

Find out if they're on alert.

I can't get through to our D .C. Bureau. What's Cozell doing? Talking to his

girlfriend?

All the Washington circuits are busy. You think that means anything?

Yeah, everybody knows something's put up.

Ah, there I am.

This is Joe. Let me speak with Gozel.

Doctor, help Sarah. Sarah Baldwin.

We're taking care of her now.

Could I see her, please?

I'm her best friend.

Well, I don't think she'll be able to see anybody for a couple of days.

But when she's better, I'll let you know.

Okay?

What happened to Sarah Baldwin?

She's the girl you saw brought in by helicopter.

She was trapped in a bus.

How is she? Well, she suffered third -degree burns over 70 % of her body.

She went into respiratory arrest. We had to perform a tracheostomy.

Now she's stabilized.

She's lucky to be brought here.

Why is that?

Well, we think we have one of the best, if not the best, burn centers in the

country. I've spent most of the last 12 years developing many of the techniques

we use, and with the team concept.

Makes everything work. Now I remember that race car driver was flown here from

Riverside. Well, that's why we have the helicopter pad on the roof.

Now, when Sarah's parents arrive here tonight from Marietta, our team social

worker and I will meet them, arrange for a motel, and explain what they're in

for. You see, burns are so traumatic and painful, so completely disruptive and

long -term, the families need all the support they can get.

Have you had lunch?

Had her back, no.

Well, I'm not asking you to lunch.

I just want to make sure you don't get sick.

The patient comes in here twice a day for silver nitrate baths.

The dressings come off underwater, and the patient's encouraged to wash his own

wounds, to participate as much as possible in his own treatment.

Wouldn't he be unconscious?

Most of them are alert.

You see, we can't medicate them effectively for pain.

The nerve endings are exposed.

In Burns, the pain is constant.

You and I can't imagine what it's like.

Oh, maybe a tooth being drilled.

It's about the worst I can think of. Well, it's even worse than that.

And it's all over the body.

They go to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber twice a day, rest on special air beds

under heat shields, because, of course, we can't put blankets on them.

And we have a team of specialists, including burn pediatricians.

But you know the only thing that makes the patients better is the nursing care.

It takes enormous love and around -the -clock nursing.

Sometimes for months, and even then we lose them.

What are Sarah's chances for healing?

Well, her prognosis is not good.

But she's young, and we're going to do everything we can.

This is the most advanced technology for burn treatments in the world.

So there's reason for hope.

Have you gotten through to Walkerman? We're trying.

Did Rossi turn in his cable TV story?

He got a new lead, but when he came back, I put him on that story about

The FCC is announcing a licensing change in the morning. I need that story,

Donovan. I need a vacation.

Okay, I'll pull Rossi off. All right, have him get something in his shade by

tonight, and I'll work it up.

Finally got through to Washington. We got it. You're damn right something was

going on there this afternoon. One of our planes was shot down over Kular

airspace. They think it was by a Russian -made jet.

President! It's got to address the nation.

Nice going, Lou.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Oil shipments from Kular to the U .S. have been halted, and there is no

indication of when they will be resumed.

Listen, Marv, I say we should nuke them just like we should have nuked Iran.

And to summarize what the government spokesman said in his announcement, new

developments in the Persian Gulf skirmish this afternoon have been

An American jet was shot down over Kular airspace, but in the brief exchange of

air -to -air missiles, American aircraft also destroyed a Kular -8 jet, believed

to be a Russian -made MiG.

developments better today.

American citizens have been urged to leave Kular.

The first to arrive in West Germany tonight report that fighting in the

between army units loyal to the late king and religious extremists has

for the time being.

Sources in Washington have confirmed that all diplomatic efforts to alleviate

tensions... Hey,

Lou, you're still awake, huh?

Oh, hi, Charlie.

Yeah, I'm awake.

Listen, why don't you go home? Nothing more is going to happen tonight.

I'm working on Rossi's story.

I sure hate to waste this caffeine high.

Radio and TV have been giving Kular a lot of play, but it's mostly repetitive.

I haven't heard anything new in two hours.

You're probably right.

Come to think of it, I'm starting to crash.

See you tomorrow.

Forget about it, Lou.

No way is that story Metro.

What story?

Kular.

It's foreign and national, so don't try to bulldog your way in.

Oh, me?

Animal.

I've got an angle on this Kalar thing.

What does the average guy think about what's happening down there?

Let's do men on the street interviews.

Nice local, don't you think?

Good morning, Charlie.

Ask who it is first.

Who is it?

It's your sister.

What are you doing here? I was sitting out at the airport waiting to make my

connection. And I was going to call you.

But then I just figured, what the hell? This is just too damn important. What?

What is it? Good to see you. Oh, Marion.

Well, I just spent two days at a symposium of concerned doctors.

Talking about the medical repercussions of nuclear war.

Well, here we are, suddenly faced with it. Come on, Claire.

Everyone's a little tense with things heating up in Kular, but don't get

melodramatic. Have you read the research I sent you?

Which research? You send me stuff every week.

Any of it.

Not yet, but I will.

By the time you get around to it, it'll be too late.

Look, Claire, I'll read it tonight.

How was the symposium?

Incredible.

You know, the first one we ever held in Baltimore, we had maybe 100.

This time in San Diego, there were 2 ,000.

Doctors, nurses, technicians.

Doctors are really responding to this, aren't they? Yes. They realized that a

nuclear war would be the last epidemic.

One bomb dropped on L .A. would immediately kill close to 2 million and

injure a million more.

It's the injuries that we were talking about at the symposium.

I mean, never before in the history of the world have a million people been

injured in one place.

It's a medical impossibility.

If you have to think about it for three days like we did, you'd go a little

nuts.

How about a drink, Claire, or something to eat? You must be starved. No, thanks,

I can't.

You know that there was a... A Dr.

Buchanan from Phoenix led a discussion as to whether we, as doctors, should

murder our patients.

When they're in pain and asked to be killed because there's no medication.

Diseases that we now control, like encephalitis and hepatitis and polio,

become epidemic.

Did you cover the convention?

We had a string around it. Charlie, you should have sent six reporters down

there. Your medical and science guys, too. Where were they?

Claire, you don't understand how we do things.

When are you going to get off the dime on this, Charlie? For the most part, the

media has not been getting this story out.

My own brother has his head in the sand. It's just infuriating.

Claire, it's 2 a .m.

Can't we go to bed and talk about it in the morning when we're all fresh?

Have you ever had a gun pointed right at you? I mean, literally?

No. Well, we've got a gun pointed at us right now.

Charlie, there are 50 ,000 nuclear warheads in the world today. We've got

,000. The Russians have 20 ,000.

Every city in the United States with a population as small as 25 ,000 could be

targeted. Los Angeles alone may have a dozen bombs aimed at it right now. Each

one 70 times the explosive power of Hiroshima.

At any given moment, we're a half hour away from annihilation.

I want to thank you in advance for the wonderful night's sleep I'm going to

have.

I don't see my TV cable story lose third day in a row.

Sorry, Rossi. If you want to make the paper, tell the Russians not to mask

troops on the Kalar border.

Huh. Is this just a confrontation, or should I be nervous about this?

Only about as nervous as you were during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Are you kidding? I was in high school, hiding under the desk. I was sure it was

going to happen.

We'll go a certain distance, show a little muscle. That's all.

They'll flex a little, we'll flex a little.

Yeah, what if somebody throws a punch?

That's why I think we should have good, strong, conventional forces.

Then we don't have to go... Oh, Greece.

Why didn't I think of the Greek islands?

What about them? My vacation's coming up. This sounds really nice.

A chartered yacht sailing the Blue Aegean. A whitewashed shack on the

Spetsi. That's good, Donovan. Think about your vacation.

You say conventional weapons.

What if they start talking nuclear?

I think all the nuclear talk is just a matter of deterrent.

That reminds me of my mom.

She always used to say, what are those nuclear detergents they're always

about? They sure get your shirt whiter than white.

The Department of Defense has asked us to clear some beds in case there are

casualties in the Middle East thing.

You mean if they were fighting, they would fly our soldiers halfway around

world for treatment?

Well, you can't treat severe burns in the field.

How many cases could you take?

Oh, we could free up maybe ten of our beds.

Ten?

Well, hospitals all over the country are part of the project. Now, they don't

expect anything to happen.

They're just putting us on standby.

How about Sarah?

Are you going to start skin grafts?

We're going to wait a few days. Get her caloric intake increased.

But there's going to be a problem. There's not a whole lot of skin left to

graft.

She's got a fight ahead of her.

How did you first get involved in this?

Well, my practice is mostly children, and I started comparing notes with my

colleagues about children's fantasy.

We found out that children all over the world are starting to dream about

nuclear war. They see voids, they see blackness falling into dark holes.

I've talked to teenagers who just don't think they'll live long enough to have

families. Write that down for me, will you, along with those other sources.

Our children are already grieving the death of the planet.

So we've got to go.

They'll tell you that the whole idea of nuclear warfare is goofy.

Goofy? Can you think of a better word?

I'm going to read all that stuff you gave me. And if you have more, you send

Come on.

It's a Japanese custom that the person who folds a thousand cranes will have

wish come true.

But since Sarah can't fold them herself, we're doing it for her.

My grandmother says it don't count.

Requires doing this?

Require, though. I think it's cool.

Have you seen Saria?

No, I haven't.

They won't let us inside.

I guess we're not sterile enough.

Are you waiting to see Dr. Lawrence?

Yes.

Oh, my.

I want to ask if she can read letters or not.

Where is Dr.

Lawrence? They said he had a phone call from Washington.

Hey, want me to show you how to make them?

Yes.

My sister got us out of bed to talk about this stuff, but you made a point.

We've been neglecting this in our coverage.

Had a turn on Channel 6. They're doing an instant replay of something you've

to see. The senator has just emerged from a subcommittee... I hope it's

Skyhook on the top of the scene. ...passed the press. He forced his way

Can you give us a few minutes? Can you talk to the people? Ladies and

I have something very urgent to say to you. No, no, I've got to talk to all

these people. Let him talk! Come on! Get in the car for the baby! What's going

on in there? All the people have got to know.

They're in there talking about the Big Bang.

Everyone that you have ever loved is going to be gone.

finished. Over. And I'm not just talking about our sudden white flash. No, no,

no, no. Millions and millions of people are going to suffer unimaginable pain.

It's the world's suicide.

It's massive.

No, please, I've got to tell the president to go.

Get the car. Get the car. Follow him. One more question. One more question,

please. The senator is being driven to an undisclosed location. That is a

on videotape of a U .S. senator wigging out.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment.

Here on A &E.

How do you feel about waiting in gas lines again?

See that guy with three cars ahead?

Just cut in.

If you'd have tried that on me, I would have killed him.

Still might.

Hey, Phil.

What about this revolution in Kular? What does it mean?

Is it Marxist, religious, or what?

Well, I think we should wait on a deep analysis and cover what's happening now,

the struggle for oil. You know the gas lines out there are murder, worse than

74. Could Kular go Marxist? Sure it could. It could go either way.

Are there contingency plans for that?

Yeah, well, I think the only plan is to keep control of the flow of oil at all

costs. What's all costs?

Well, you heard what the Pentagon guy said. We will not rule out military

intervention. Meaning send in the Marines?

Well, they're talking short -range nuclear weapons, aren't they? But

really thinking of using them. If it came down to it, we'd have no choice.

Why not?

We couldn't fight a land war 9 ,000 air miles away. Besides, our conventional

mobile forces aren't ready. We've emphasized nuclear.

Still, every administration, Republican and Democratic, has said it's

unthinkable to really actually consider pushing the button. I'm not hearing that

anymore. Are you? Is anybody?

We may have to use nuclear weapons in a limited way to show them that we mean

business. From what I've been reading, there's no such thing as a limited

nuclear exchange.

Once one goes off anywhere in the world, that's it. Not necessarily. I am

speaking of tactical nuclear weapons. One battlefield limited to a particular

place. You mean just one little bomb like the one that flattened Hiroshima?

We should interview that guy. What's his name? The one that's supposed to be so

bright. The consultant on civil defense.

George Dvorak. Good idea. But that's national.

Dvorak's in L .A. this week.

See, well, I guess that makes Dvorak our metro store.

We're out fighting in the capital between Marines and Kilari soldiers.

American Marines?

We went in to protect our embassy and civilian people who were ambushed by

hundreds of soldiers.

Well, gentlemen, I think we have a new page one.

Mr. Rossi?

Somehow, when I called to get your ideas about civil defense, I didn't expect to

meet you at a surf shop.

Well, my son very carefully told me that this is the primo surf shop in L .A.

His birthday is tomorrow.

I'm sure he doesn't expect me to come back from the coast empty -handed.

Geez,

where do I start?

What do you want to buy him, a surfboard or a T -shirt?

I've been gone two weeks. I guess it better be a surfboard.

Mr. Dvorak, are you alarmed at the situation in Kular?

I'm very concerned, yes.

If it came down to a military confrontation with the Russians, would

nuclear weapons?

I can't answer that officially.

How about unofficially? Would you speculate?

Well, we wouldn't rule it out.

You wouldn't rule out nuclear weapons?

If we used them, wouldn't that start World War III?

Oh, not necessarily. Our aim would be a limited engagement.

What if it can't be limited?

The United States could be attacked.

Well, we would just have to survive.

Is that possible?

Well, if we were prepared.

Yes. I've read that no matter how much we were prepared, over 90 % of Americans

would die within 30 days in the event of an all -out attack.

Well, that depends on where you get your figures.

We've calculated that 80 % of the population could be saved.

How would that take?

Well, we'd have to commit to building shelters, making plans to evacuate the

civilian population.

Evacuate L .A.?

Took me over an hour to get here from my paper just because of a little traffic

snarl on the freeway.

Would you like to put this in the back for me?

Would you like to take a little walk?

No nuclear weapons are here, Joe. I don't like them any better than you do.

My kids mean everything to me.

I hate the fact that they were born into a world that can destroy itself.

And I do the work that I do to help guarantee their future.

To me, it's naive to say that we shouldn't have civil defense.

History has told us there will always be wars.

And treaties will be broken.

We don't really have a civil defense program, do we? No, that's right.

We've been running in place for years while the Russians have been building.

And if we don't have that deterrent, if we cannot convince them that we are as

prepared for war as they are, I could very seriously threaten world peace.

But no matter what civil defense we had, wouldn't the long -term effects of a

nuclear explosion be absolutely devastating?

Joe, look at cities like Dresden and Berlin, Hiroshima.

They came back, didn't they?

I grant you, a nuclear bomb is a very big explosion.

But that's all it is.

And every time that there is an advance in weaponry, people always say it's the

end of the world.

But if we don't despair, we will survive.

Even if we lost 20 % of our population, we can make it through.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Even using your figures, 20 % is still 40 million people.

You find that acceptable?

No. I find that horrifying.

Well, let me understand something. You're pessimistic about people's

the international level to work together, solve problems, and be

enough to avoid war.

That's right. But at the same time, you are saying that your plan for survival

totally depends on the unprecedented cooperation and order of 200 million

at a time of acute panic?

Never underestimate the American people, Joe.

When you told me we were invited to lunch, I thought it was a restaurant at

top of the building.

Where are we supposed to go?

Maybe it's a wine cellar.

Hello, I'm Cynthia Termick, professor of physics at LAU.

We want to welcome you all to your friendly neighborhood bomb shelter.

Most of you have probably never been inside one of these, or haven't even

it much thought in the last 20 years, right?

So we thought that this would make our presentation more graphic.

For those of you on your lunch hour, there are protein wafers, canned water,

other nuclear snacks.

We are going to pretend that a single...

A 20 -megaton bomb has exploded 16 ,000 feet above us.

There are two effects of fission -fusion bombs, blast and heat.

Within a 10 -mile radius, 1 .8 million people would be killed instantly by the

blast.

The heat released is enormous.

In one millionth of a second, the temperature rises to 20 ,000 times that

sun.

Steel would evaporate.

Cars would melt.

And this basement, which we have taken shelter in, would become a crematorium.

If you were to glance at the blast, even from a distance of 14 miles, you would

be blinded instantly.

Now, the heat would also create firestorms in the dry Los Angeles basin,

would consume most of the oxygen. So that in the event that you had not been

killed by the blast or the thermal effect, you would die of asphyxiation.

Now, if by some fluke...

you did survive, you would be living in a contaminated environment.

Genetic mutations for 10 ,000 years.

Not to mention the staggering psychic shock of losing everyone that you ever

knew. And, of course, civilization in chaos.

It is said that the living will envy the dead.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

I've introduced you now the reason that we're here today.

We are very fortunate to have with us, from Washington, Brigadier General

Sutherland, United States Army, retired.

I guess it's up to me to be the comic relief.

This guy's a general?

What's he doing here?

Is he the other side?

You see, he's kind of an interesting character.

Now, we've been planning this lunch for a long time.

Never dreaming that today's world events were going to make it so dramatic.

Now, as you know, I'm a retired Army man. I've been in the military all my

I'll fight with conventional force.

I'm apolitical.

I'm here today to talk against nuclear weapons, mostly because we don't have

control of them anymore.

Okay.

You're the press.

Ask your questions.

What do we call for dinner reservations at this place?

What do you mean when you say we don't have control of the weapons?

The technology has exceeded our ability to control it.

Now, aside from the blast and the heat effects that you've already heard about,

thermonuclear explosions generate EMP. That's electromagnetic pulse.

Now, that creates such a massive disturbance that one bomb exploded over

right place in the United States would completely destroy all communication.

General, I don't understand.

How? Telephone wires would melt. All computer memory would be wiped out. And

also, nuclear reactors would melt down.

Also, EMP destroys communication between the command control and the missiles

themselves. So the missiles would go off target.

Self -destruct would...

Well, who knows what? And that's the whole point, ladies and gentlemen.

knows. And that's why there is no such thing as a limited nuclear war.

Well, then, General, why do some people say nuclear war can be won?

In my view, the reasons are more political than they are scientific.

But aren't those political reasons important?

Doesn't our survival depend on a convincing deterrent?

Wouldn't you say that being able to destroy the Soviet Union 20 times over

convincing?

Let me make this very clear.

I'm not talking disarmament.

I'm talking nuclear reduction rather than escalation. A freeze on building

additional warheads.

What are you going to tell us what you've got in those boxes, General?

These are part of your press kits.

And this is a government handbook on how to deal with nuclear attack.

I'm going to read at random just to give you an idea of some of the wisdom

that's contained in here.

Here's one.

In case of shock, keep the victim warm.

And here's another one.

In case of burns, give water, apply sterile gauze, and keep the wounds

You run those numbers by me again. In five days, she'll need several liters of

plasma, a half dozen units of whole blood, and 15, 20 units of additional IV

fluid. That's a tremendous amount.

Happens every day with burns.

Standard treatment.

We have to replace the enormous fluid loss.

Had lunch?

I'm not sure. What are you going to show me?

Please.

This is lunch.

This is lunch.

How are you able to cope with all of this?

Well, I do a lot of cosmetic surgery because it pays the bill.

But for me, this is what counts.

But it's difficult for all of us here.

We have mandatory group therapy sessions once a week for the nurses.

But we're one of the few centers of this kind, so we do it.

I'm curious.

How many acute burn beds are there?

In all of L .A.? Oh, maybe 75.

In the whole country?

1 ,200.

1 ,200?

That's all?

That's all.

Lou, I finally decided on the Greek island.

Look at this.

I'll look at it later. We're right on deadline.

What do you got?

I've got an evangelist who said the world was going to end left.

He now claims he was a little off.

What else?

I just heard they're going to test the civil defense sirens at 6.

Oh, that's great.

Tomorrow morning we'll be able to let everyone know that the sirens that

the hell out of them were just a test.

Luke, I got the man on the suite set. I'm still working on it. Here's some

at the supermarket.

Just a feeling out there.

Well, bottled water was out by 10 this morning. But it's funny, people I talk

seem a little sheepish about stocking up. I noticed a lot of people copping

their gas tanks today when I wasn't.

By the way, I heard on my car radio they're going to test the air raid

6. We know.

I just didn't want you to wonder if you heard it. Nobody's going to be diving

under their desks around here without the Jermaine.

I just read Rosenthal's interview with the wife of the captain of the American

tanker that's going to try to run the Soviet blockade.

I guess she's not worried. I've been to space difficult tasks before.

When are they going to try to run it? Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week.

Next week, I'll be windsurfing off Mykonos.

Drew Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

If you thought there was going to be a nuclear attack, would you leave the

Well, I try like crazy to get to my husband and my kids.

You know, we have a contingency plan for when the earthquake hits. We're all

going to meet at my sister's.

I have some sandbags left over from the floods.

I guess I can put them around the house, but I don't think that's going to work.

This reminds me of the Japanese attack on Los Angeles.

Do you remember that?

Well, I'm not losing my marbles. I'm perfectly well aware the Japanese never

attacked the mainland.

But February 25th, 1942,

four local newspapers reported that they had some searchlights

spotted a stray plane or something or other.

Our anti -aircraft opened fire.

And debris fell to the ground. People were terrified.

Well, it turned out to be pieces of our own shells.

But every newspaper in this city ran a banner headline, Los Angeles attack.

That's what this reminds me of. Well, we've been offered a couple hundred

thousand of these by an insurance company as a public service in the event

nuclear emergency.

Maybe we should go with it.

I've talked to the people at a couple of the other papers. They're considering

it. I'm against it.

It's bad enough Channel 6 is showing how to build your own home shelter and

running first symptoms of radiation sickness reports all week. So typical of

them. You know that thing General Sutherland was talking about, the

electromagnetic pulse that knocks out communications?

If it would knock out Channel 6, it might almost be worth it.

Well, I'm inclined to go with Mr. Grant.

Let's hold off on this.

Sure is amazing down there.

I've kept this shelter up since 1954.

Changed the water, free plenty of supplies.

Even had to replace all the toilet paper once.

Started a lot on me.

I've been ready for this for almost 30 years.

Hey, you sound like you're almost looking forward to it.

Well, it's nice to see your investment pay off.

How about a shot from up here? Oh, no, wait. I told you. I don't want any

likeness to me.

There are pictures of my house in the newspapers.

I don't even want to be identified.

You can show the interior of the shelter just fine, but I don't want my

neighbors to know I'm protected. There's only room for one couple down there.

Just you and your wife?

If she watches her step.

How did we get to the point of standing toe -to -toe, baring our teeth at the

Russians, General?

Well, from a military point of view, there were lots of options, besides what

we've got now, which is nuclear -equipped warships and standoffs.

There were other ways to solve this problem.

They could have negotiated, kept talking, at least kept the lines of

communication open.

So you think we could get through this impasse with the Russians by

I'm not saying that the Russians are nice guys.

I mean, experience has taught us that they're not.

But our perception of each other as evil has limited our options. In fact, it's

right up against the wall.

Given the difficulty of dealing with the Soviet Union, what good, for instance,

would a treaty have done?

Well, I fully expect any treaty with the Russians to be nearly impossible to

monitor, nearly impossible to hammer out, and damn hard to get ratified.

Oh, the only way that it could really happen would be for the U .S. and the

Soviet Union to realize that we do have a common interest, global survival.

Can we act now to end the standoff?

Of course.

It's never too late.

We better call a meeting.

What for?

Florence says a bomb exploded in the Couloir Parliament.

Whatever was left of the government is gone and the leftists are now in

They've already executed at least two of our Marines.

If we force our hand, we're going to have to respond.

It sounds like the bells of St. Mary's in here. Lou, this is Pinchon.

You better read this.

Turn on your television, Seth.

One of our oil tankers has been blown up. I just saw it on the news.

I guess it just came over the words.

They think it may be a mine. They're not sure. They're not even sure who did it.

But I'm afraid we'll find it necessary to retaliate in kind.

Mr. Grant, we're on the brink of an abyss. My God, how did we get ourselves

this?

Would you favor a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union?

I suppose so.

I mean...

What are we supposed to do, wait until they bomb us?

No, we can't do it.

Because it can't be done.

Don't tell me about my duty. I know what my duty is.

That was Washington. They've been telling me to expect burn victims from a

battlefield. They didn't say they were talking about radiation burns.

Radiation burns are a whole different ballgame.

The depth of tissue destruction is much greater.

There's hardly any healthy tissue left.

Radiation destroys chromosomes, which send the message to the cells to

reproduce. With chromosome damage, you can't replace the protein in the cells.

Essentially, you bleed to death.

There is no way we could handle thousands of radiation -burned victims

hospital. 30 or 40 would tax all our resources.

And even then, we'd have to turn this whole hospital into a burn ward.

So you told them no.

They don't know what they're dealing with.

Dr. Lawrence?

Hi.

Hi, Judy.

We've got 644 cranes so far.

Would you tell Sarah she's going to have her wish?

Yeah, I will.

Is she bleeding, Doctor?

What?

Oh, no. We just soaked the bandage in an iodine solution.

How is she?

Her leg's infected. Dr. Quo. Dr. Quo. Pseudonymous.

We always have to battle it in burns.

But when you see it, it's not a good sign.

Can't you talk yet?

Yes, we removed the tracheostomy too.

Did she say anything?

Yeah.

She said everything hurts so bad she wished she could just die.

She asked me to give her a shot that would just let her die.

But of course I can't do that, nor can I medicate her effectively for the pain.

She could go on like that for 30 days with little relief.

Until the pseudonymous enters the bloodstream, she becomes septic, and her

little heart gives out.

That's how you die of burns.

Look, I know you guys at the phone company are having your problems, and I

sympathize. But we're dead in the water here when the phones are screwed up.

I don't care if it's busier than Mother's Day. You have to take care of

business customers first.

Donovan, you got some room for this?

The United States Postal Service, in the event of a nuclear attack, will issue

emergency change of address cards.

Just what I want. To get my junk mail in a mine shaft.

Neither rain nor sleek nor radioactive fallout. How are we supposed to get

They drop the bomb and we'll all be gone.

Not all according to this.

There will be a million of us who will be alive and burned.

I got to tell you, if I see it coming, I'm going to stand right under it. I'm

not even going to try.

Animal. Well, I figure if it's going to get me, let it get me fast.

Are you still taking off for Greece tomorrow?

If I can get to the airport, I hear it's totally jammed. So are the freeways.

Well, if there is a nuclear holocaust, will you save me a copy of the final

edition? It could be a collector's item.

Well, listen, guys.

Goodbye.

Aloha.

Uzo, whatever they say in Greece.

Bye. Have fun.

I can't believe we're having this discussion.

It can't happen. It's unthinkable.

It can't. It can't happen. Oh, shut up, Rosie. All you're doing is upsetting

people. You love to do that, don't you? No, Billy, I don't. I really don't.

Well, I'm going.

Ted should be home by now.

Lou, good night.

Good night.

I know, Claire, the phone lines have been tied up all day. Lots of people

calls.

Yeah, this is really something, isn't it?

Listen, I just wanted to ask you, have the Baltimore papers run a first aid

supplement?

One did, one didn't.

No, no, we waited went around it all day finally decided hold off.

Oh Come on Claire, it's all gonna be fine But I said New York Times read it

I would be worried

What

are you doing here we figured you might need us

no I can always tell you back in a minute

I just can't get up. We're hitting the freeways.

You want to go down and get a bite of them, Kenneth?

Yeah, go ahead. I'll catch up with you.

Not much happening, huh?

It's the clowns on Channel 6. Milkman, for all it's worth, making a big deal

about somebody getting shot over groceries in Hollywood.

Oh, what else? See you in a while.

is guarded but favorable.

Oh, that's great. She'll be pleased to get this.

The kids have finally finished a thousand cranes.

Oh, paper cranes.

Uh, she'll, uh, she'll know what that means.

Well, that's, uh, great. Thank you.

I'll tell her.

Bye -bye.

Divorce, adoption, and spur -of -the -moment weddings.

Well, they're all part of the eccentricities of life in Hollywood.

Carrie Fisher gives us an insider's view of life and love in Tinseltown Sunday

in the A &E special presentation, Carrie Fisher, The Hollywood Family.

Now, a disabled cop fights to prove he can still do the job on Police Story,

next on A &E.