ABC NOVEL FOR TELEVISION, AN: ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE APOCALYPSE WATCH {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
The first part of this two-part television film presented under the umbrella title of “ABC Novel for Television” about efforts to combat a modern-day neo-Nazi conspiracy in England.
In London, police respond to reports of a suspicious package found in the headquarters of the New National Party, or NNP, a growing political movement which some believe has a fascist worldview. Harry Latham, the United States consular liaison, investigates the matter alongside them; his older brother, special operative Drew Latham, has theorized that the recent string of bombings is part of a concerted effort by some unknown organization. As Winston Ross, leader of the NNP, delivers a speech to the media about the attacks and about individual freedoms, the bomb goes off, destroying the NNP headquarters. Ross is furious, demanding that the military be called in to restore order; Harry knows that a conspiracy is at work and theorizes as to who might be financing it. At Droog Castle in England, an old man takes a phone call from Ross; they were the ones who organized the bombings as a means of distracting the British government long enough for them to enact their true plans. Harry tells his colleague Clive Morrow that he has discovered via his cover identity, an arms dealer named Alexander Lassiter, that the WG Corporation, a pharmaceutical company, also manufactures Semtex, the plastic explosive used to destroy the NNP headquarters. He believes that they are the front for the conspiracy at work, particularly since their European division has just ordered the purchase of six Russian surface-to-air missiles.
Two weeks later, somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains, Harry goes undercover as Lassiter and is brought by a man named Kroeger to a remote fortified compound. There he meets Ulrich von Schnabe, head of the WG Corporation, and shows him photographs of and specifications about the missiles he ordered. Ulrich reveals that he knows Harry’s true identity and offers to pay him in order to betray his people, but Harry refuses and holds Ulrich at gunpoint. He demands to see a list of everyone Ulrich has paid off in order to enact his schemes. Ulrich complies and gives Harry a copy of the list on a floppy disk. Harry then attempts to kidnap Ulrich but is stopped by a hidden security officer. At the American Embassy in London, Drew gives a presentation about the rise of a large-scale and concerted neo-Nazi movement throughout Europe, warning that it cannot be ignored or dismissed. Drew also believes that the attack on the NNP headquarters was a means of allaying their suspicions. Meanwhile, Harry is subjected to an experimental procedure by his captors designed to erase his memories and insert new memories of their own design. In this manner, they convince him that he was able to successfully escape with the disk instead of being knocked out. The doctor on duty notes that the alterations to his memory will last only for a few days before Harry suffers from increasingly severe brain problems, ultimately resulting in his death. Ulrich’s agents bring the now-brainwashed Harry to a hotel room and leave him there, asleep, with the disk under his pillow.
Drew learns that Harry is returning with sensitive information, and also learns that the consulate has brought in additional personnel. One of these personnel is Karin De Vries; her husband Frederick worked alongside Harry during the Cold War, but was killed by the East German secret police. Drew meets Karin, but she is somewhat cold to him, believing that he does not have sufficient information to collaborate with her on the WG case. Harry arrives and Drew greets him as Harry turns over the disk he acquired. The United States Ambassador, James Courtland, complains to his wife Janine that he has been called in by the consulate on “neo-Nazi business.” Karin inspects the data on the disk Harry recovered, working late into the night to decode it. Harry speaks to her alone and indicates that the two of them had a romantic relationship at some point in the past, although she no longer wishes to discuss it and wants nothing to do with him. The next morning the consulate staff meets to discuss the names unearthed on the disk, determining that Ulrich is buying off various political, military, and corporate figures in order to mastermind a global conspiracy. Some members of the staff are taken aback by the names on the list, believing that it is ludicrous that some of the government officials named would be in cooperation with Ulrich. In particular, Clive refuses to believe that Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Strong could be involved with Ulrich. Clive believes that Harry has been given misinformation by Ulrich. Harry suffers from a sudden migraine and collapses in front of everyone.
Harry recovers, and that night he goes out to dinner with Drew and Karin. She tells Harry that she also has concerns that the disk may be full of misinformation. Drew and Karin are suspicious about several elements of Harry’s visit, particularly his assertion that Ulrich did not question his cover identity. Harry is interrogated the next day about the incident; Clive is still suspicious, but CIA liaison Wesley Sorenson is willing to believe Harry. They decide to investigate a name featured on the list, “Magda Pike,” hoping that it will reveal further clues about the nature of the payments made to the figures on the list. Ulrich’s staff unearths a concrete container from a WG warehouse marked “Klyzon 44.” While staking out Magda at her home address, Drew asks Karin about her relationship with Harry, although she does not give him a definitive answer. Magda emerges and they follow her. She enters a mansion and they wait for her to come out. During the wait, Drew tells Karin that Harry has taken responsibility for their family after their father, a policeman, was killed in the line of duty. They see Magda emerge with Deputy Prime Minister Strong and kiss him, suggesting that the two of them are having an affair.
Harry meets with one of his contacts, Yossi, who gives him a photograph with Ulrich alongside a man he believes to be General Weigel, a former Nazi officer. Drew presents Harry with his evidence on Magda and Deputy Prime Minister Strong. Ross learns about the situation with Deputy Prime Minister Strong and orders that a press leak be initiated. Harry admits to Drew that he and Karin were romantically involved several years ago, but that it didn’t work out. He would like to try again, although Karin is not receptive to the idea. He warns Drew to “back off,” believing that he has romantic designs on Karin as well; Drew admits that he finds Karin attractive but says he has no intention of romancing her. Harry relates Karin’s backstory: she was born in Prague but brought by her mother to the United States to escape the communist regime. In 1989 she returned to Europe as an agent, where she fell in love with and married Frederick. Harry believes she is still in pain over Frederick’s death but is adept at hiding it. Harry collapses again and Drew is concerned, sending him to get a CAT scan and a full physical examination. Harry refuses and gets into a fight with Drew over the matter before storming off.
Ross’s press leak exposes Deputy Prime Minister Strong and Magda’s affair, creating a media sensation. The Prime Minister calls for his resignation, believing that he would be unable to continue his duties in light of the affair and of suspicious offshore bank accounts linked to his name. Strong claims to have no knowledge of the accounts, and says that he and Magda will soon be married after she divorces her husband. He refuses to resign, believing that leaving would give Ross and the NNP a powerful foothold in the British government, and he threatens to run for Prime Minister himself if need be. Kroeger calls Harry and orders him to report to the Tower Bridge, and Harry is compelled to obey due to his brainwashing. He leaves, ignoring a phone message from Drew apologizing for their fight and another from Yossi attempting to give him more information about Ulrich and Weigel. Karin and Drew arrive as Harry leaves, and they decide to follow him. Harry arrives at the designated meeting-place on the bridge, but suddenly leaps off of it. As he falls, a hidden gunman shoots at him, aided by a laser-guided sight. He disappears beneath the water and does not emerge.
The consulate investigates Harry’s apartment and finds a note he scribbled to himself about the meeting at the bridge, as well as the phone messages on Harry’s answering machine. Drew is emotionally distraught over Harry’s death, and he and Karin struggle to come up with a reason why Harry apparently committed suicide. Drew discovers that Harry did not take his firearm or his keys with him to the bridge, raising his suspicions. The WG Corporation breaks open the “Klyzon 44” container, revealing a canister filled with an extremely potent toxin. Drew and Karin lure out some of Ulrich’s agents and get into a protracted gun battle with them, although they manage to escape. Wesley and Ambassador Courtland get into an argument at a party over the Ambassador’s involvement with the neo-Nazi case. An autopsy of Harry proves that he was shot on the bridge, and that he was injected with a mixture of psychoactive chemicals prior to his death. Drew comes to suspect that a vulnerability in their computer networks allowed Ulrich to discover Harry’s true identity, precipitating the chain of events which led to his death. He is also suspicious because it appeared that Ulrich’s agents deliberately refrained from killing Karin in the shootout. Drew decides to go to Prague to find Yossi, and Karin insists on accompanying him; she feels as though she could have done more to prevent Harry’s death and feels guilty about it.
They arrive in Prague and set up a meeting with Yossi, although they determine that they are being watched. They silently warn Yossi to go, but Ulrich’s undercover men follow him and they try to stop them. This leads to a chase through the city streets, and Yossi is eventually cornered and shot, but Drew and Karin save him and take him back to his house. There, he shows them the photograph of Ulrich and Weigel; Weigel was the commander of the concentration camp that Yossi and his mother were sent to, and he ordered the deaths of every other member of their family. Yossi claims that Weigel disappeared after Hitler committed suicide, and Karin says he became head of the Brüderschaft, a secret society of wealthy ex-Nazis. Yossi believes that the WG Corporation is a front for the Brüderschaft, and that Ulrich is working directly for Weigel. Investigations by the consulate uncover evidence that Karin was the one who initiated the security leak in their computer systems. Drew and Karin stay in her family’s ancestral manor in the Czech countryside. Karin suddenly drives off, accompanied by Ulrich’s men, arriving at the WG headquarters building in the Carpathian Mountains.
Drew attempts to consult with Yossi and his mother, but finds that they have both been murdered. Back in London, mass panic ensues after a planned attack by vehicles rigged to explode, which turns out to be a hoax. Strong and Ross have a debate on the matter on a live television news program, and Ross’s speech becomes quite heated. One of WG’s prisoners, a captured enemy agent, escapes his confinement and runs through the base, locking himself in a truck to avoid recapture. Drew is recalled to London, where he argues that Karin did not betray them. He comes to believe that she may be under some sort of chemical influence similar to what happened to Harry. Karin is brought to a ferry terminal somewhere in England. A funeral is held for Harry, and Drew delivers a eulogy for him. Karin arrives at Droog Castle and encounters Weigel in his office. He claims that he and his organization have good intentions, desiring only “the salvation of civilization,” and Karin says she will convince the consulate of this notion. Weigel delivers a speech about his plans to an audience which includes Ulrich, Janine, and Ross. It is revealed that the true leader of the Brüderschaft is Frederick, who is alive and well. His plan is to incite short-term mass confusion and chaos amongst the British population, serving as a prelude to “Operation: Apocalypse,” a major offensive aiming to disable the defensive efforts of major Democratic nations, thus providing his movement with an opening to seize power and begin world conquest. In order to accomplish this, he plans to release the Klyzon 44 toxin into the water supply of England and use their sole possession of the antidote as a means of bargaining for power. After the conquest of England, Frederick plans to target the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister Strong resigns from his post. Frederick has been having an affair with Janine, although she is uneasy about Karin’s presence and expresses doubt about Frederick’s devotion to her. He assures her that his interest in Karin is no longer romantic and that he will not allow her to interfere with their relationship, calling her “expendable.” Drew is taken off of the case, much to his frustration. Drew returns home and in the middle of the night Karin infiltrates his living room and tries to assassinate him. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: March 2, 1997 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:01
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:48088
- GENRE: Drama, spy
- SUBJECT HEADING: TV - Drama, spy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS:
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- TV – Commercials – Saturn automobiles
- TV – Commercials – Scotch-Brite sponges
- TV – Commercials – Transitions eyewear
- TV – Commercials – U.S. Satellite Broadcasting satellite television service
- TV – Commercials – Vagisil intimate moisturizer
- TV – Commercials – Visa credit cards
- TV – Promos – “ABC News Primetime”
- TV – Promos – “Arsenio”
- TV – Promos – “Coach”
- TV – Promos – “Ellen”
- TV – Promos – “Good Morning America”
- TV – Promos – “Grace Under Fire”
- TV – Promos – “Home Improvement”
- TV – Promos – “Robert Ludlum’s The Apocalypse Watch”
- TV – Promos – “Roseanne”
- TV – Promos – “Spin City”
- TV – Promos – “Spy Game”
- TV – Promos – “The Drew Carey Show”
- TV – Promos – “The Practice”
- TV – Promos – “Vital Signs”
- TV – Promos – “World News Tonight”
CREDITS
- Steven North … Producer
- Kevin Connor … Director
- John Goldsmith … Writer
- Christopher Canaan … Writer
- Robert Ludlum … Based on the novel “The Apocalypse Watch” by
- Ken Thorne … Music by
- Patrick Bergen … Cast, Drew Latham
- Virginia Madsen … Cast, Karin De Vries
- John Shea … Cast, Harry Latham
- Glynis Barber … Cast, Janine Courtland
- Benedick Blythe … Cast, Frederick De Vries
- Christopher Neame … Cast, Ulrich von Schnabe
- Malcolm Tierney … Cast, Clive Morrow
- Michael Brandon … Cast, Ambassador Courtland
- James Aubrey … Cast, Winston Ross
- Steven Bronowski … Cast, Ex-Stasi Agent Dieter Kramer
- Sarah Cameron … Cast, Alexandra Cameron
- Daphne Cheung … Cast, Dr. Sophie Tan
- David Y. Cheung … Cast, Okaru
- Anthony Cochrane … Cast, Palmer
- Toyin Fani-Kayode … Cast, Nora Gunnell
- James Faulkner … Cast, Alexander Strong
- Jonathan Finlay … Cast, Reporter 2
- Harold Finley … Cast, Reporter 1
- Hugh Futcher … Cast, Yossi Ferelman
- Gordon Griffin … Cast, Alastair Mason
- Jonathan Hartman … Cast, Hit Man 2
- Roger Llewellyn … Cast, Prime Minister Harding
- Joshua Losey … Cast, John Wade
- Jonathan Magnanti … Cast, Kreitz
- Al Matthews … Cast, Sorenson
- Ted Maynard … Cast, Stanley Witkowski
- Ben Murphy … Cast, Kroeger
- David Riley … Cast, Christopher Peters
- Stephanie Schonfield … Cast, Magda Pike
- Victoria Stewart … Cast, Nurse
- Alan Shearman … Cast, Jones
- Geoffrey Toone … Cast, General Weigel
- William Wilde … Cast, Commander Ramage
- Jerome Willis … Cast, Dr. Hans Traupman
- Kathleen Worth … Cast, Mrs. Perelman