'Terrifyingly real' WW3 series 'breaks the mould' as fans hail it 'must-see'

Fans have been left raving over a "terrifyingly real" mini-series some have branded a "must-see". First aired in 1982, the show stars David Soul, Brian Keith and Rock Hudson, alongside Cathy Lee Crosby and Jeroen Krabbe. At the time, the series was set five years in the future, with a third world war breaking out in 1987.

The eponymous series is simply titled World War III, and sees war break out between the Soviet Union and the United States at a critical point in the . Along with plenty of tense military action, viewers also get to see how regular people cope with the war, with fictional president Thomas McKenna ordering a media blackout on the Soviet invasion of Alaska.

The whole series barrels towards a tragic conclusion, and was even adapted into a novelisation shortly before the series itself aired. It's a chilling alternative history now - but at the time, it was a haunting possibility of what the future might hold.

Reviews on IMDb from as recently as 2015 hailed the series "plausible", with one viewer writing: "A showdown over dwindling essential resources could be as plausible now. I have since added a hitch as a soldier, a political science degree, and three decades more experience in the real world, so I should be so much more skeptical of almost forgotten TV miniseries scripts, right? Not this one."

Another branded it "chillingly credible", writing: "I can believe that this is how it would happen... the approach of the end of the world, propelled by miscalculation, obstinacy, and pride, set in motion at a half-forgotten army base and snowballing along unknown to almost everyone but a handful of foot-soldiers on the one hand and a handful of world leaders on the other."

The production itself was also marred by real tragedy. Director Boris Sagal was killed in a helicopter accident during the early stages of production, and hastily replaced by David Greene.

Rock Hudson claimed that the series was initially left open-ended, with the possibility of it returning for another season - but when Sagal died, the ending was altered, ending with a photo montage of people looking up at the sky awaiting a horrific conclusion.