For years after that, whenever my cousin would ramble on about something, I’d start up with the “Mister Potato Head, MISTER POTATO HEAD” line.
he he
Just picked up wargames for like $3.75 canadian
feels like i just stole it or something. 
Damn, got mine for US$5, and I thought I got a deal.
I don’t actually pay retail so i guess were equal and considering the exchange rate all
either way seems both of us got a good deal on it
Now, I’ve known for quite some time about this, being a history major and having written my master’s thesis about the Cold War, but it’s only now occurred to me that this happened in the same year that WarGames was released:
It was a pretty horrifying scenario, a Russian colonel, who was like a radar operator, he got warnings on his screen about objects that assumedly were incoming American missiles and he chose not to act on this information, not to notify his superiors because he alone believed it was a glitch in the system. Now, as it turned out, he was right, it was in fact a false alarm, but I think the whole story is shockingly close to what happens in WarGames, that there are computer warnings about an incoming attack and that there’s people who have doubts about the omniscience of computer systems and make a choice not to blindly follow what a computer is telling them.
Here’s the link to the Wikipedia entry for what is now called the “Petrov incident:”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
Now, of course I’m wondering if the producers/writers knew anything about this at the time and no, we can all be pretty sure they didn’t, such things didn’t make the US papers during those days, but I think it’s just one hell of a coincidence that this happened around the time WarGames came out.
Furthermore, I think it’s a shame that the guy was dissed by the Soviet system but what’s an even greater shame is that today’s public is not really aware that this happened, it’s really an obscure thing, I’m a history major and I had to dig it up, it’s not in the books about the Cold War etc.
And this, I believe, would also be a great example of how to show people that one guy can really make a difference - actively make a difference by making a choice.
And this is not science fiction. This was real.
p.s.: by the way, there’s going to be a WarGames sequel this year:
About halfway through it so far…
I think the General is the same actor that played the General in Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 game.
Also, I kept waiting for the bald guy who also played Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future to call the kid a slacker… 
That’s a hell of a story, GR.
Here’s that flash game based on the movie. (I can’t find it via a search of this site, so I’m parking it here.)
We tried to get the kids to watch (ages 15 & 12) and they got half way through. I was surprised because they love Star Wars/LOTR and others. I think the low-tech world of the eighties was impossible for them to relate to. In addition, hating/fearing the Soviets is also something they can’t relate to, though a viewing of Red Dawn might help with that.
The husband and I did enjoy ourselves, thinking back to the old days… I think the film serves as a great historical look at our lives before every home had a computer. It also made me wish we still lived in a world where the Soviets were our biggest worry. Gives a whole new meaning to “those were the days.”
We ran into the same problem initially. After forcing the kids to play with nothing but handmade wooden toys from a country store in Appalacia for three days, though, they were eager to resume their Wargames watch !
I might have to give that a try. I love to hear clever parenting tips!
great article, Pike. did you watch the trailer for the remake? Pres. Adar–what a tool
did anyone notice how well the cast was integrated? there was an excellent choice of casting a multi racial supporting cast. And i for one appreciated it. anyone else notice this?
Actually, I did not. I guess they did it well.
I was too engrossed in the incredible computer graphics !!