Since it’s been a while, I will remind all 2.3 readers of the blog that “W.O.C” is a regular feature where I look at TV broadcasts with the original commercials, promos and the like intact. It’s as if you took a ride in a TV time machine.
“Special Bulletin” is a remarkable made-for-TV movie that plays out as live TV news coverage, shot on videotape rather than film to give that immediate “live” look. The story involves an unthinkable catastrophe as seen through nonstop news coverage.
If this sounds a lot like the Orson Welles radio broadcast “War Of The Worlds”, well….it is, and it isn’t. Welles’ drama depicts the invasion of Grovers Mill, New Jersey by aliens. Which in any year is pretty bonkers. “Special Bulletin” depicts a group of nuclear weapons protestors in Charleston North Carolina holding a news reporter hostage on their boat, and threatening to set off a nuclear device if their demands are not met. In 1984 nuclear weapons were on everyone’s mind, and “Special Bulletin” was far from alone in dramatizing the danger. ABC’s mini-series “The Day After” aired a year earlier, and was a traditional drama film.
Let’s take a look at how “Special Bulletin” begins.
RBS agrees to set up a connection between the boat and the network.
“We want the detonating modules from every single nuclear war head in the Charleston area…and there are 968 of them…we want them delivered to this dock by 4:30 tomorrow afternoon…so we can take them out to sea and destroy them. This is known as unilateral disarmament.”
Commercial break!
As the “Special Bulletin” story continues, the stakes are elevated for the protestors. A Coast Guardman who was involved in a confrontation near the boat dies of his wounds. The President orders a partial evacuation of Charleston. This brings me to the incredible job this film does in depicting the live news coverage. There’s a video package showing the history of the nuclear protestors…live coverage of a White House press conference and more. For Orson Welles and “War Of The Worlds” they had a handful of actors and musicians in one tiny studio. “Special Bulletin” requires much more production, and it most cases the execution is exceptional. Even when realizing how much stock news footage is used, it’s still quite the achievement.
Commercial break!
“The federal disaster control agency had a plan for the evacuation of Charleston, but it proved to be totally inadequate. The plan, copies of which have been obtained by RBS News, did not account for possible interruptions of the traffic flow. Not even stalled cars or flat tires. Within a half hour, there were many of both.”
The film also digs into media critique, with the RBS anchors debating whether giving the protestors a network feed is ethical and appropriate. One of the protestors cuts deep:
“The news media is essentially show business, isn’t it? …it never ceases to amaze me, the ability of the news media to trivialize any event of any significance, any meaning..”
Commercial Break!
The situation on the boat intensifies. The protestors are growing more and more agitated.
JOHN WOODLEY: We have just heard…uh…Dr. McKeeson apparently threatening to detonate the nuclear device. I…uh…I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that the situation on board that ship is deteriorating rapidly.
SUSAN MILES: As the time of their deadline runs out, whatever intention they may have had…whatever message they may have wanted to get across…at this point is totally lost.
Station Break!
Let’s talk about the cast of “Special Bulletin.” The lead role of anchorman John Woodley is played by Ed Flanders, easily the most well-known cast member. Flanders’ most remembered role was on the NBC drama series “St. Elsewhere.” Emmy-award winning soap opera actress Kathryn Walker plays anchorwoman Susan Myles.
The remainder of the cast features some familiar faces: Lane Smith, who plays reporter Morton Sanders, was seen in films including “My Cousin Vinny”, “Red Dawn” and “The Mighty Ducks”. And Kenneth Tigar, who plays a doctor trying to analyze the protestors from afar, has been seen in “Law and Order”, “The X-Files”, “Murder She Wrote” and more.
I am genuinely tempted to write about the climax of “Special Delivery”. When I saw this film in 1984, at the age of twelve, that ending left me with a sick feeling in my stomach. I remember having trouble getting to sleep that night.
But I don’t want to spoil it. If this article has piqued your curiosity, here’s the complete film:
