"Blackout" - Channel 4

[Tarrel]

Looks like a nice bit of collapse-porn about to start on TV's Channel 4.

[adam2]

Just watched it, whilst one might doubt the accuracy of some minor points, I feel that it was a fairly accurate portrayal of the likely consequences of any widespread and multiday blackout.

Lessons to be learnt

1)If food be short, don't have a barbecue that can be smelled for miles
2)A generator is not always the answer
3)Do not attract attention, try to be the person that nobody remembers.

[Tarrel]

I couldn't quite catch from the dialogue whether the little girli in the prepper's house drank the radiator water. Anyhow, this was a bad thing to do. Even after boiling and filtration, the toxic chemicals in the corrosion-inhibitor would have a devastating effect.

The film portrayed a lot of "Sheeple" (in prepper-speak), and I'm sure there would be. However, I've no doubt there would also be thousands of households that would hunker down and ride it out if it was only for a week, just getting on with it. Water could be a problem though.

[adam2]

Yes, the drinking of water from central heating systems is foolhardy if treated with biocide and inhibitor, as most are.

Many people would hopefully make low key preps, stay indoors, attract no attention, and survive just fine.
But in both fictional accounts and in real life it is the panic stricken sheeple milling around that are of greater concern.

Water would be a concern, water works are usually equipped with standby generators, but I doubt that fuel is kept for a week, and I also doubt the generators would work reliably for a week even given enough fuel.

BTW the external lights at the front of Buckingham Palace should stay on as they are gas !

[clv101]

Wow - how does anyone watch commercial TV! So many adverts.

I wasn't that impressed. I'm not convinced that a blackout starting in the evening would result in road chaos - most folks would just stay put.

I think the programme would have been better with more 'officialdom'. There could have been a story thread from inside government and/or middle ranking police.

The troubles the prepper faced, and the hospital seemed plausible.

[stumuzz]

Yes, a good film well worth watching.

I got the sneaky feeling that the maker of the film may have lurked on this forum!

We serious powerswichers will have taken Adam2's advice years ago and acted on it.

I came away with the following subtle messages from the film;

1/ People in the south will burn and eat each other within four days

2/ People 'oop north' will sensibly club together and ride out the storm whilst secretly quite enjoying it,thank you very much.

3/ The scary man (J2M?) turned out to be a hero and a good type to have around. The implication being society was controlling the natural born surviver/hunter gatherer type by the use of the electronic tag.

4/ Don't be a smug prepper.

[Potemkin Villager]

4/ Don't be a smug prepper.

[emordnilap]

Welcome back, you rare posters you.

[RenewableCandy]

I would like to declare publicly that our sun-roof would not work during a blackout (G87 and all that) and we haven't a genny here at Chateau Renewable. We would, in other words, be just as leccy-less as anybody else.

Once upon a time in a smaller blackout, someone put a candle to burn overnight in the bath, thinking the bath was made of metal (or else just associating it with water) but the candle burned down and set fire to the bath. I mean, you never think of a bath going up in flames do you? But baths are made of plastic, so why not?

[kenneal - lagger]

Why on earth would you want a light on in a bathroom all night?

[adam2]

Why on earth would you want a light on in a bathroom all night?

IIRC this was not due to general power cut but a shortage of credit on an electricity key meter.
They believed that the remaining credit would be used up if a child turned on the bathroom light

[adam2]

I agree that the scenes of traffic chaos were overdone.
Traffic chaos is only likely in urban centers due to the lack of traffic lights, many motorways and country lanes are not lit anyway, nor equiped with traffic lights.
One scene of a driver getting lost appeared to be in a country lane that was probably unlit anyway.

I suspect that in general the programe was a fairly accurate forcast of the likely results of a large scale blackout.

[biffvernon]

Traffic chaos is only likely in urban centers due to the lack of traffic lights,

I've noticed several times that when the traffic lights fail the traffic manages perfectly well. Folk are very cautious but don't sit needlessly waiting for the lights to change.

[adam2]

A possibly unexpected effect of a nationwide power cut would be truly dark skies, and resultant extreme darkness at night.

At present the night sky is somwhat luminous due to all the reflected electric light. In urban areas at least this sky glow permits of safeish walking in unlit areas such as urban parks or gardens.

This would of course cease in the event of a general blackout, and I suspect that a lot of people would be suprised by jusk how dark it would be compared to normal.

I remember the great storm of 1987 and consequent widespread power outage, the degree of darkness was startling compared to a normal night.

[kenneal - lagger]

........
One scene of a driver getting lost appeared to be in a country lane that was probably unlit anyway. ...

Just shows what townies know about the countryside. I don't think many will venture out past the "safety" of urban areas in case of a general crash. Too frightened of the dark and all those strange noises at night!

Edited urban for rural - 12/09/13