Special Bulletin
Special Bulletin is a 1983 American drama television film directed by Edward Zwick and written by Marshall Herskovitz, based on a story by both.[1][2] In the film, a terrorist group brings a homemade atomic bomb aboard a tugboat in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in order to blackmail the U.S. government into disabling its nuclear weapons, and the incident is caught live on television.As part of a deal to release the surrendered Coast Guardsmen, the terrorists - Doctors Bruce Lyman and David McKeeson, political activist Frieda Barton, social worker Diane Silverman, and mentally unstable ex-convict Jim Seaver - ask to broadcast their demands to the U.S. Government.Dr. Lyman states that failure to oblige to the demand or any deviation from the plan will result in the group detonating their own improvised nuclear device stowed aboard the ship.As the team frantically try to stabilize the device, the feed is suddenly interrupted by static, at which point the broadcast returns to the RBS Studio, the hosts clearly shaken by what they have just witnessed."[3] The Washington Post described it as "A shrewd, keen, wise, hip, occasionally lacerating and sometimes gravely funny dark parody of network TV news coverage."Much as with the famous 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, it was entirely possible for viewers to tune in between disclaimers and make a snap judgment about what they were seeing, although in both cases a quick flip of the dial would reveal that no other stations were covering this supposedly major news event.[5][6] WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the only NBC affiliate which refused to air the film out of concern that, as station president Mike McCormick stated, "people will be deceived into believing it's an actual telecast.In his book on TV news, Out of Thin Air, Frank called Special Bulletin "junk" and claimed he wanted to return his own Humanitas Prize in protest, "but I couldn't find it.
Special ReportDocufictionMarshall HerskovitzEdward ZwickEd FlandersKathryn WalkerDon Ohlmeyertelevision filmthirtysomethingMy So-Called LifeNBC Sunday Night at the Moviesatomic bombCharleston, South Carolinanews broadcastCoast GuardCharleston HarborCharleston Naval ShipyardPolaris Missile Facility, Atlantic (POMFLANT)improvised nuclear deviceneutron bombfail-safesDepartment of Defensepower failureDelta ForceNEST TeamUSS Yorktown (CV-10)23-kilotonfirestormChristopher AllportDavid ClennonRosalind CashRoxanne HartDavid RascheLane SmithEbbe Roe SmithRoberta MaxwellGeorge MorfogenMichael MadsenLeonard MaltinThe Washington PostABC NewsThe New York TimesNew YorkChicagoLos AngelesWashingtonClevelandWNBC-TVvideotapecall lettersNorth CharlestonAwendawdramatizationThe War of the WorldsWTMJ-TVMilwaukee, WisconsinOutstanding Drama SpecialDirectors Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of AmericaHumanitas PrizeReuven FrankLorimar Home VideoBetamaxWarner Home VideoWarner Archive Collectionout of printCountdown to Looking GlassCold WarThe Day AfterThreadsAcademy Award-winning docudramaThe War GameAnalog horrorWithout WarningShot-on-video filmAssociated PressPark City Daily NewsNewspapers.comTampa Bay TimesAbout Last NightLeaving NormalLegends of the FallCourage Under FireThe SiegeThe Last SamuraiBlood DiamondDefianceLove & Other DrugsPawn SacrificeTrial by FireOnce and AgainQuarterlifeBedford Falls ProductionsPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television MovieThe Ages of ManDeath of a SalesmanElizabeth the QueenA Storm in SummerThe Andersonville TrialBrian's SongA War of ChildrenThe Autobiography of Miss Jane PittmanThe LawEleanor and FranklinThe GatheringFriendly FireThe Miracle WorkerPlaying for TimeA Woman Called GoldaSomething About AmeliaDo You Remember LoveLove Is Never SilentPromiseInherit the WindDay OneRoe vs. WadeCaroline?The IncidentMiss Rose WhiteBarbarians at the GateStalinAnd the Band Played OnTrumanMiss Evers' BoysA Lesson Before DyingTuesdays with Morrie