The Day After 5

This is listed by Wikipedia as a miniseries, but I remember it playing for only one night. I remember learning that Americans freak out when anything remotely politically transgressive hits primetime. You had Falwell demanding equal time. You had psyche experts proposing that the kids be sent to bed, and if they watched the movie, they should get counseling immediately the day after The Day After. The airwaves were screaming with arguments. Can you imagine the hoopla if conservative talk radio was as prominent as today? There was a very famous heated debate on Nightline between William Buckley and Carl Sagan, where Sagan angered Buckley by arguing that nuclear war could actually be much worse. The movie itself was incredible, with special effects that still come off as impressive. It really did rattle some nerves. Who knows? Maybe it actually saved the planet. Thing is, I actually found On the Beach, an older film, much more terrifying. You don't actually see the war, but its likely aftermath was portrayed as much more... total than the Day After or any of the other nuke war movies.