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"Oil War" on FX.

R

RobynWatts

Guest
Has anyone else seen this? It's a "documentary" that premiered last weekend on FX about what would happen if our oil lifeline was severed due to both natural and man-made disasters. I think that FX will show it again sometime this weekend just in case anyone is interested in seeing it.

BTW, does anybody remember a TV movie that (I think) was shown on NBC around 1983 or 84. I was 9 years old at the time and don't remember much about it except it involved a fictional network and their news coverage of a hostage situation in Charleston, SC where if certain demands weren't meet, a nuclear bomb would be detonated. Anyone remember what the name of it was?

Robyn

<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P>
 
> BTW, does anybody remember a TV movie that (I think) was
> shown on NBC around 1983 or 84. I was 9 years old at the
> time and don't remember much about it except it involved a
> fictional network and their news coverage of a hostage
> situation in Charleston, SC where if certain demands weren't
> meet, a nuclear bomb would be detonated. Anyone remember
> what the name of it was?


It was called "Special Bulletin" and is available on video (not DVD) from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6301650662/103-9395530-3243825?v=glance
 
My thoughts on FX's *Oil Storm*

> Has anyone else seen this? It's a "documentary" that
> premiered last weekend on FX about what would happen if our
> oil lifeline was severed due to both natural and man-made
> disasters. I think that FX will show it again sometime this
> weekend just in case anyone is interested in seeing it.
>
> BTW, does anybody remember a TV movie that (I think) was
> shown on NBC around 1983 or 84. I was 9 years old at the
> time and don't remember much about it except it involved a
> fictional network and their news coverage of a hostage
> situation in Charleston, SC where if certain demands weren't
> meet, a nuclear bomb would be detonated. Anyone remember
> what the name of it was?
>
> Robyn
>
I saw *Oil Storm* during its first airing this past Sunday, and my opinion of it is a bit mixed. The production values seemed quite solid for a mad-for-TV mock documentary, and the appearance of events all through the story were surprisingly realistic. Unfortunately, I think that the basic conflicts in the story may have been diluted by some behind-the-scenes pressure from the conservative, presumably pro-oil-industry Murdoch family that controls News Corp. and, by extension, FX. If a channel with ideologically more liberal management (i.e. HBO or a public TV station) had made *Oil Storm*, the major characters' reactions to the crisis depicted in the docudrama would have been both more intense and more realistic.<P ID="signature">______________
This is AirwaveSurfer, reminding you that portions of this post have been prerecorded.</P>
 
Yes, I saw it and was almost floored when I saw it on a Newscorp station!<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
> > BTW, does anybody remember a TV movie that (I think) was
> > shown on NBC around 1983 or 84. I was 9 years old at the
> > time and don't remember much about it except it involved a
>
> > fictional network and their news coverage of a hostage
> > situation in Charleston, SC where if certain demands
> weren't
> > meet, a nuclear bomb would be detonated. Anyone remember
> > what the name of it was?
>
>
> It was called "Special Bulletin" and is available on video
> (not DVD) from Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/exe> c/obidos/tg/detail/-/6301650662/103-9395530-3243825?v=glance
>

What I remember about this was that there was apparently hysteria in some markets along the same lines of what happened with Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" 40+ years earlier.

As the late Doug Drigot (then news director at KVEN, Ventura CA) said afterwards: "How stupid can people be when Ed Flanders, the doctor from 'St. Elsewhere', is suddenly a news anchor reporting a story no other network has on ... and they think it's the real thing?"
<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> > > BTW, does anybody remember a TV movie that (I think) was
>
> > > shown on NBC around 1983 or 84. I was 9 years old at the
>
> > > time and don't remember much about it except it involved
> a
> >
> > > fictional network and their news coverage of a hostage
> > > situation in Charleston, SC where if certain demands
> > weren't
> > > meet, a nuclear bomb would be detonated. Anyone remember
>
> > > what the name of it was?
> >
> >
> > It was called "Special Bulletin" and is available on video
>
> > (not DVD) from Amazon at
> http://www.amazon.com/exe>
> c/obidos/tg/detail/-/6301650662/103-9395530-3243825?v=glance
>
> >
>
> What I remember about this was that there was apparently
> hysteria in some markets along the same lines of what
> happened with Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" 40+ years
> earlier.
>
> As the late Doug Drigot (then news director at KVEN, Ventura
> CA) said afterwards: "How stupid can people be when Ed
> Flanders, the doctor from 'St. Elsewhere', is suddenly a
> news anchor reporting a story no other network has on ...
> and they think it's the real thing?"
>
Agreed, but that's the degree to which much of the viewing public has been conditioned to accept without question what is seen on television. The illogic of unilateral network coverage doesn't register and disbelief goes out the window. A fictional account suddenly becomes reality. People watching TV thought Rob and Laura Petry were real people and actually married, others thought a Superman existed and he could fly--and some of these people were adults. Again, I agree with you but that's television. And that's why many people think any problem in the world can be easily solved within a half-hour or hour--the same television time frame within which any problem are resolved--less breaks for commercials, of course.
 
Thanks!!! N/T

n/t<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P>
 
> What I remember about this was that there was apparently
> hysteria in some markets along the same lines of what
> happened with Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" 40+ years
> earlier.
>
> As the late Doug Drigot (then news director at KVEN, Ventura
> CA) said afterwards: "How stupid can people be when Ed
> Flanders, the doctor from 'St. Elsewhere', is suddenly a
> news anchor reporting a story no other network has on ...
> and they think it's the real thing?"
>

Yes, I do remember the next day our local news reporting the hysteria that took place in Charleston. People apparently did not see the disclaimer even though it was broadcast during the movie.

Funny you should mention "War Of The Worlds". On October 31st, 1994, on the 60th anniversary of the Orson Welles broadcast, CBS ran a movie called "Without Warning", which was based on "War Of The Worlds". One major difference between that movie and "Special Bulletin" was that they had actually used CBS News graphics to covey a sense of realism during the broadcast. Despite have disclaimers that were broadcast throughout the movie, people had though it was for real. Not long after, CNN had issued a order that forbidden their news anchors and reporters from playing themselves or any other role in any movies.

If that's the case, what was CNN doing in the 1997 Jody Foster flick "Contact"?

Robyn
<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P>
 
> Yes, I saw it and was almost floored when I saw it on a
> Newscorp station!
>
Well, FX is the black sheep of News Corp as it seems to go for the extreme violence in shows like The Shield which has gotten the ire of the Parent's Television Council.

I saw bits and pieces of that propagandistically subliminal film and thought who the hell produced this--MICHAEL MOORE?!?
 
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