KMBC Channel 9 - KMBC 9 News at 10pm - "After The Day After" (Part 1, 1983)

Here's Part 1 of the KMBC 9 News at 10pm with anchors Larry Moore and Brenda Williams on KMBC Channel 9 in Kansas City, MO. This aired immediately following the news discussion program Sunday, Nuclear Sunday: Kansas City Reacts. Also featuring Scott Feldman and Gary Gunter. Includes:

Animated "So Good to Turn To" KMBC-TV 9 Station ID

Opening segment of KMBC 9 News, with faraway shot of studio and pair of RCA TK-46 cameras with Q-TV VPS-100 teleprompters attached atop camera lenses (voiceover by ??)

Larry Moore starts off reporting on the airing earlier this evening of ABC's The Day After and the response therefrom; he introduces a report by Scott Feldman at a candlelight vigil being held at the University of Kansas (KU) campus in Lawrence, KS. Scott interviews three people at the rally, asking such questions as whether ABC was engaging in scare tactics to boost the nuclear freeze movement.

Brenda Williams introduces the next report, from Gary Gunter at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. His first interview is with a Chuck Weiner (sp?) who thought The Day After was "a very good movie"; next is Lewis (sp?) Miller who didn't think what was being depicted in the film was "serious enough"; followed by Dean Hendricks (sp?) who saw it with his sister, brother and three others, including 12- and 14-year-old kids; he says the kids didn't think it was serious. Gary next goes to 12-year-old Brett Barney (sp?) who was scared by the film's message; and then to a nurse, Alice Hendricks (sp?), who thought it was "very calm and very tame," and that in real life it would be much worse.

Next is a split-screen between Scott in Lawrence and Gary in Kansas City, each reporting on the mood at each of the rallies they were assigned to cover.

Larry next reports about how the issue of nuclear war has resonated especially with The Day After, and a brief clip is shown with a 1-800 number showing on the screen at the end, and another clip of Paul Newman urging viewers to call another 1-800 number; this is followed by a report on the different sides using the film for their own purposes, with one side represented by the nuclear freeze and disarmament campaign, and the other by the "peace through strength" contingent. Shots of the aftermath of an October 12th screening of The Day After in Lawrence are run, with interviews with some of the audience members and the film's director, Nicholas Meyer. On the other side, Rev. Jerry Falwell, speaking the prior week during a speaking tour in Kansas City, attacks the film as "a one-sided presentation," and his Moral Majority urged boycotts of its sponsors; shots of newspaper and magazine clippings for and against are shown, including a Kansas City Star editorial with the headline "There Is Ideology in ABC's Foreign Policy Nightmare," and asserting that it's nothing more than "an attempt to persuade politically and in the end, to influence American foreign policy." The piece ends with ABC Entertainment President Brandon Stoddard defiantly asserting that his network will air it no matter what, and Larry concluding this clip by noting that, indeed, they did air it.

This aired on local Kansas City TV on Sunday, November 20th 1983 during the 10:10pm to 10:30pm timeframe.

Add To

You must login to add videos to your playlists.