603 World War Three

First viewed :10  April  1983

This  earnest  two-part  mini- series,  starring  Rock  Hudson  as  the  U. S. President, speculated  on  how  Armageddon  might  come  about.  I  didn't  watch  all  of  it  but  I  seem  to  recall  it  hinging  on  events  at  a  US  pumping  station  near the  Bering  Straits  which  U.S. forces  under  David  Soul  were  defending  against  Soviet  attackers  led  by  Jeroen  Krabbe.

This  led  to  a  really  risible  scene where  Krabbe, on  the  point  of  overwhelming  the  Americans, requests  a  parley  with  Soul  in  the  hope  they  can  avert  World  War  Thee  with  a  handshake. The  dialogue  went :

Krabbe  : You  know what  this  means  don't  you  ?

Soul : The  end  of  war !!

Unfortunately , at  this  point,  a  hawk  on  the  Soviet  side  throws  a  grenade which  blows  up  our  two  Nobel  Peace  Prize  contenders   and  the  world's  march  to  destruction  continues  although  the  ending  was  ambiguous  enough  to  allow  for  a  sequel  or  spin-off  series  which  never  materialised.