Nuclear Holocaust movies: The Day After and Threads

I don't remember ever worrying about a nuclear holocaust as a kid, until I saw the Day after and Threads! Originally made for television, The Day After still holds up pretty well today. The depiction of radiation sickness is what really bothered me as a kid. I remember when we would have civil service drills in grade school and I remember taking them a bit more serious after seeing The Day After. I also remember having a lot of nightmares about sirens going off and then seeing a bright mushroom cloud in the distance. I suppose a lot of kids my age had similar nightmares.

I watched Threads a few months later and found it to be much more disturbing. It's a British film depicting what a nuclear exchange would be like and how much the world would change after. It quite a bit more graphic and I remember a disclaimer was run just before the film started.

If you haven't seen either of them it's a good glimpse into some of the paranoia (much of it warranted) of the time.

Eagle Force

I remember seeing this commercial on T.V. and getting excited by this new line of G.I. Joe alternative toys. I loved the fact that they were metal and heavy for their size. Unfortunately the scale of the figures made them difficult to mix with other figures and stepping on one barefoot in the middle of the night could cause considerable injury (Man were their feet sharp!) I remember buying General Mamba, Shock Trooper and Captain Eagle with my lawn mowing money. They got some play for a while but soon ended up at the bottom of the toy box. I still have the figures minus their weapons. This would be Mego's last hurrah because the company folded the same year Eagle Force was released. Here's more information on the Mego Museum website.