''Pandora's Clock'' (also known as ''Doomsday Virus'') is a 1996

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

based on a novel by

John J. Nance John J. Nance (born July 5, 1946) is an American pilot, attorney, aviation and healthcare safety analyst, and author. Biography Nance was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from the St. Mark's School of Texas. He earned Bachelor of ...

about a deadly

virus A virus is a wikt:submicroscopic, submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and ...

on a

Boeing 747-200 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, to ...

from

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...

. Directed by

Eric Laneuville Eric Gerard Laneuville (born July 14, 1952) is an American television director, producer and actor. His first acting roles were in the science-fiction film '' The Omega Man'' (1971) with Charlton Heston, and the ABC television series ''Room 222 ...

, the film stars

Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series '' General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead ...

Stephen Root Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...

Jane Leeves Jane Elizabeth Leeves (born 18 April 1961) is an English actress. Leeves played Daphne Moon on the NBC television sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 until 2004, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She also played J ...

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

and

Daphne Zuniga Daphne Eurydice Zuniga (; born October 28, 1962) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1982 slasher film '' The Dorm That Dripped Blood'' (1982) at the age of 19, followed by a lead role in another slasher film '' The Initiation ...

and the script closely follows the book.

Plot

The story begins in the mountains of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, where wildlife documentarian Ernest Helms ( Michael Winters) is filming local wildlife. While filming, he discovers a man attempting to break into his rental car. After foiling the man's attempt, Helms prepares to drive away but is thwarted by the man smashing the driver's window. Helms, however, succeeds in escaping the crazed man, but receives a minor cut on his hand. A few days later, in

, Captain James Holland (

), amidst preparations for his forthcoming

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing ai ...

as Captain of Quantum Airlines Flight 66, is told by his doctor he does not have cancer. On board Flight 66, a

, Helms (already displaying signs of illness) is assisted to his seat by flight attendant Brenda Hopkins (

Kate Hodge Kate Hodge is an American actress and film producer. Life and career Hodge was born in Berkeley, California, Her first starring role was as Michelle, the heroine of the 1990 horror film '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III''. She ...

). Shortly after takeoff, Helms rises from his seat and falls into

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

, and Brenda gives him

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

. Head flight attendant Barb Rollins (Jennifer Savidge) notifies Holland of the emergency, and the Captain and his

check pilot A check pilot (or check airman) is an aircraft pilot who performs an oversight, safety, and qualification role for commercial pilots undergoing evaluation. The role of the check pilot is to ensure that the flight crew member has met competency stan ...

, Daniel Robb ( Richard Lawson) set a course for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's Heathrow Airport,. However they are turned away when British

Air-Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

informs them that one of the passengers (Helms) could be infected with a deadly strain of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

. Several harrowing events follow. The

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

(

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

) unsuccessfully tries to sneak Flight 66 into

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, an ...

, disguised as a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

fighter plane and guided in by another, despite a recommendation otherwise by Ambassador Lee Lancaster (

Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series '' Soap'' and its spin-off, '' Benson'', as well as for voi ...

), but the British forces at the base jam the runway with emergency vehicles. Holland threatens to land anyway, only to pull up at the last minute, showing the U.S. Government how desperate the situation is. Soon thereafter, an investigation is set in motion by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

. Flight 66 lands at the U.S. air base in Iceland, but one passenger is so distraught at being separated from her child and at being in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

that she runs down the airplane stairs and is shot and killed by U.S. troops in MOPP gear. Holland flies the aircraft toward Mauritania, but a female intelligence agent warns Holland that an assassin is trying to destroy the flight. Holland tricks the assassin (in a missile-armed

Learjet 35 The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A. The aircraft are powered b ...

) into crashing and lands on

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

. The book mentions that the virus becomes less lethal and enters the human population. The movie indicates that the flight attendant who gave Helms CPR died six months after the incident, presumably from the virus.

Cast

as Captain James Holland *

as Ambassador Lee Lancaster *

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Ersin *

as Brenda Hopkins *

as Rachel Sherwood * Richard Lawson as Captain Daniel Robb *

CIA Director The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D ...

Jonathan Roth *

as Mark Hastings *

Vladimir Kulich Vladimir Kulich (born 14 July 1956) is a Czech-Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film '' The 13th Warrior'', Tiberius in the film '' Ironclad'', Erik in the television series ''Vikings'', as well as the voice of Ulf ...

as Yuri *

as Dr. Roni Sanders * John Considine as Dr. Turnheir *

Grant Goodeve Grant Goodeve (born July 6, 1952) is an American actor and television host. He is best known for his role as David Bradford, the eldest son on ABC television's ''Eight Is Enough'' from 1977 to 1981; he sang the theme song for the show, as well. ...

as Don Moses * Wolf Muser as Dr. Zeitner *

as Air Force Chief *

Penny Peyser Penelope Allison "Penny" Peyser is an American actress, writer, and filmmaker. Early life Peyser was born in Irvington, New York, and attended Irvington High School, where she starred in student musical theatre productions. She is the daughter ...

as Lisa Erickson

Award nominations

References

External links

* * {{Eric Laneuville 1996 films 1996 television films 1996 drama films 1990s American television miniseries American aviation films American disaster films Films scored by Don Davis (composer) Films about aviation accidents or incidents Films about viral outbreaks Films based on American novels Films directed by Eric Laneuville Films set on Ascension Island Films set in Bavaria Films set in Frankfurt Films set in Iceland Films set in London Films set in Suffolk NBC network original films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films