Whoops Apocalypse (1982– )

A light-hearted look at the final week before doomsday. American President Johnny Cyclops is trying to run a re-election campaign while dealing with the Russians, a deposed Shah needing to ... See full summary »

Stars:

Barry Morse, John Barron, Ed Bishop

1 win.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Barry Morse	...	President Johnny Cyclops (5 episodes, 1982)
John Barron	...	The Deacon (5 episodes, 1982)
Ed Bishop	...	Jay Garrick (5 episodes, 1982)
Alexei Sayle	...	Commisar Solzhenitsyn (4 episodes, 1982)
Bruce Montague	...	Shah Mashiq Rassim (4 episodes, 1982)
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Foreign Secretary (3 episodes, 1982)
Richard Davies	...	Chancellor of the Exchecquer (3 episodes, 1982)
Peter Jones	...	Kevin Pork (3 episodes, 1982)
David Kelly	...	Abdah (3 episodes, 1982)

Storyline

A light-hearted look at the final week before doomsday. American President Johnny Cyclops is trying to run a re-election campaign while dealing with the Russians, a deposed Shah needing to be hidden, and a new weapon called a 'quark' bomb. Meanwhile, Lacrobat, the infamous terrorist, has stolen one of the quark bombs and is trying to get it into the Middle East. Stopping Lacrobat, getting the Shah to safety, placating the Russians and winning the election will require a brilliantly planned and perfectly executed strategy on the part of President Cyclops...

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Plot Keywords:

terrorist | election | torture | sas | religious fanatic | 

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Taglines:

Wear your mushroom with pride.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1982 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bum! Koniec swiata

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Weekend Television (LWT)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was part of a 1980s cycle of films about atomic bombs and nuclear warfare which had started in 1979 with The China Syndrome. The films included Silkwood, Testament, Threads, WarGames, The Day After, The Atomic Cafe, The Manhattan Project, Whoops Apocalypse, Special Bulletin, Ground Zero, Barefoot Gen (Barefoot Gen), Rules of Engagement, When the Wind Blows, Letters from a Dead Man (Pisma myortvogo cheloveka), Memoirs of a Survivor and The Chain Reaction.

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Quotes

Jay Garrick: Today General E.F. "Gizzard" Pemberley died when a bomb exploded under his bed. Two eighteen-year-old marines also died.

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Crazy Credits

Most episodes feature newspaper headlines to recap the previous week's episode.

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Connections

Remade as Whoops Apocalypse (1988)

User Reviews

British TV comedy about the end of the world and circumsized missiles.

No doubt much of this has aged badly since the Cold War seems well over, but Cleese's performance alone makes it worth finding. Also worth catching is the relationship between the Shah of Iran and his manservant Ahdab - a more endearing piece of subservience would be hard to imagine. Finally my favourite line is recited by one of the Soviet premiers; "Neutral countries have two options - medium or well done"! Important advice for someone living in Sweden.