John J. O'Connor

"Mr. Atkinson has the essential comic gift for making the entirely implausible seem thoroughly normal."

"The inflated story goes fairly predictable in a hurry,"  

"The suspense is effectively maintained in this high-seas whodunit."

The basic concept is workable. The script, by the Charles brothers, is sharp and lively. And the direction by Mr. Burrows never misses a comic beat."  

"Clearly, Threads is not a balanced discussion about the pros and cons of nuclear armaments. It is a candidly biased warning. And it is, as calculated, unsettlingly powerful. "

"This television production leaves the movie in the dust...Mr. King's script and the direction of Mick Garris slowly and skillfully bring 'The Shining' to a pitch of screeching horror."  

"Excessive tinkering has left the pacing of the film sluggish in spots, but the story is never less than compelling."  

"We are in archetypal King territory. The formula is wearing thin, but this adaptation by Lawrence D. Cohen manages to squeeze out a respectable quota of creepy chills."  

"[It] is considerably more demanding, and rewarding, than the typical weekly serial."  

"An excessively manic laughtrack is supplied to mark off the points of supposedly irresistible mirth"