Film critic J. Hoberman discusses the best-selling 1962 novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler on which "Fail-Safe" is based, along with the pervasiveness of nuclear paranoia in films of the sixties.

When a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho defies the president and closes the state's border. News Net Television, a cable news program that makes hay by reporting on political scandals, quickly spins the racist act into an overnight media sensation, creating a divide in national opinion over the issue.

Looking at the birth of America's first intelligence units, set in motion in by President Lincoln himself in the early days of the war; exploring a spy who broke the boundaries of gender and race.

Kasahara Iku and Dojo Atsushi receive an emergency recall in the middle of their date as Japan is rocked by a terror attack. Their new duty is a protection detail assigned to Touma Kurato, an author. Meanwhile, the relationship between Librarians and the Media Purity Committee is also worsening. During yet another hostile confrontation, Dojo is seriously wounded. Although Kasahara is badly flustered by this turn of events, Dojo still sees fit to entrust her with Touma's protection.

The Imperial Empire is attacked by an Alliance of rebels led by fanatical mystics. The ruler, Empress Nobu, the 8th generation of her family, wants to execute a bold plan to rescue a cyborg, Leah C6, trapped on the battle ravaged planet Endor. The Empress believes Leah C6 holds the secret to destroying the Alliance of Rebels before their insurgency can kill millions of citizens of the Empire. She recruits her heroic fleet commander, Lord General Luka Raan and asks him to gather a team from the Empire's elite soldiers, the Galactic Rangers. Raan assembles the team in the ruins of Endor which was attacked by depraved Rebels and outlaws led by, Kindo-Ker, a fanatical mystic in Dark Energy. The Galactic Rangers begin a desperate search to find and rescue Leah C6 before the Alliance Rebels can.

In June 1950, soon after the start of the Korean War, a troop of North Korean soldiers enter a small South Korean village. Captain Jeong-woong proclaims that they came to liberate the villagers but their true agenda is to ferret out the reactionaries. The villagers and Seol-hee, who is separated from her fiance on her wedding day, offer them heartfelt hospitality and cooperation to avoid falling out of the army's favor. Eventually friendships starts to build up between the soldiers and the villagers.

Five police officers in Hong Kong are kidnapped. The police commissioner is on a business trip overseas. Two vice commissioners, Sean Rau and M.B. Lee, then take over the case. The two vice commissioners are rivals who both vie for the police commissioner seat. At first, M.B. Lee takes the lead in the case, but comes to a dead end. Sean Lau then takes the lead, but he falls into a trap. Both men are then investigated by the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption).

October 2nd, 1968. Ana witnesses the cold blood killing of Fernanda, her best friend, by an undercover soldier. After surviving the shooting she decides to avenge her friend. Everything unfolds between imaginary time leaps between 1968 and the current era.

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.

The piece opens with Steven Spielberg's family history with the real life events and follows with cast and crew examining the politics and history of the time, the screenplay's inspirations, espionage and intelligence gathering of the era, the story's relevance today, character attributes, and the Francis Gary Powers and Frederic Pryor stories and their depictions in the film.