This week Fusion Patrol looks at The Andromeda Strain as Ben and Eugene discuss hard science fiction tension built from plausible medical and military technology; human errors, prejudice, and design flaws that nearly trigger nuclear catastrophe; Nostalgic enthusiasm for long‑forgotten light pen computer interfaces; and a strangely prominent topless corpse and its clash with the film’s G‑rated reputation.

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN

Release Date: March 12, 1971

Runtime: 131 minutes

Starring: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid

Director: Robert Wise

Writer: Nelson Gidding

Synopsis: After a government satellite crashes in a small New Mexico town, nearly all residents die instantly from a mysterious extraterrestrial organism. An elite team of scientists is assembled in a secret underground facility to isolate the virus and determine why an elderly man and an infant were the only survivors. They must race against time and a nuclear self-destruct mechanism to neutralize the threat before it causes a global pandemic.