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(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(SCRAPING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

TOM BEASLEY:
If our civilization,

the lights go off

and the lights
never come back on,

for all intents and purposes,
it's going back to dust,

we will turn it back
into the Stone Age eventually.

Um...

Because without that power
this lifestyle stops.

And you will be back
working with clay.

You will be back dealing
with one of these. (LAUGHS)

♪ (ROUSING SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

SALLY MOORE: I happen
to be on a year 2000 project

for the company that I work for

in making sure
that their systems

are going to make it
across the millennium.

(CLICKS TONGUE)

We just can't get it all
and so...

INTERVIEWER: And so you're here?

(CHUCKLES) Yeah.

♪ (MUSIC TURNS UPBEAT) ♪

JIM WATKINS: Computer buffs
have known about it for years,

but the rest of us,
well, we're just finding out

about a glitch you might say

in the way most computers
are programmed.

There could be a meltdown

when we cross from the year 1999
into 2000.

And even if you don't own
a computer,

this is going to affect you
in a big way.

♪ (UPBEAT SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

COMMUNITY MEMBER: I feel like
it could be the beginning

of the end of the world.

I feel like
our days could be numbered.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

I feel like nuclear bombs
could go off,

nuclear plants could melt down,
we could suffer famine.

And I don't wanna go
through this alone.

♪ (UPBEAT SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

(INAUDIBLE)

(GUNSHOT)

LEONARD NIMOY: Y2K.

How can we prepare individually?
How can we work together?

And how can we,
humankind, utilize Y2K

as an opportunity
to look at ourselves,

to analyze where we've been,

and to adjust our sights
for the future.

♪ (INTRIGUING SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYS) ♪

♪ (INTRIGUING SYNTH MUSIC
FADES) ♪

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)

STAFFER: Watch your feet,
watch your feet,

watch the cable.

(CAMERA BEEPS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

CAMERAMAN: Thank you, both.

-CAMERAMAN: Thank you.
-Now, you go on up, go on up.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-And, uh...

STAFFER: Yeah. That's okay.
Yeah. This is good.

This is good.

BILL CLINTON:
Today in California

we are installing
six million feet...

Six million feet
of computer cables and plugs.

We are putting the future

at the fingertips
of your children.

All of you know
that the information

and technology explosion

will offer to you

and to the young people
of the future,

more opportunities
and challenges

than any generations
of Americans has ever seen.

(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)

RON BROWN: (ON CALL)
Good morning, Mr. President.

AL GORE:
Come down, you can see it
on the camera there. (LAUGHS)

RON: Good morning,
Mr. Vice President.

-CLINTON: Morning, Ron.
-GORE: Hey, Mr. Secretary.

-STAFFER: Oh, hold on.
-(MOUSE CLICKS)

-STAFFER: So now you can say it.
-CLINTON: Good morning, Ron.

GORE: How's it going there, Ron?

(INDISTINCT BACKGROUND CHATTER)

STAFFER: We gotta wait for them
to send back audio.

Takes a few seconds here.
Come on.

RON: It's great here. We're at
Freeport Elementary School.

We got a fully wired school

hooked into
the information superhighway

just like you, Mr. President,

the vice president promised
to be.

You know, the vice president
and I...

have communications
like this, uh,

at the Pentagon
with all of our military leaders

around the world.

I'm really glad to see
that you've got

this kind of communication
for education.

If more people can communicate
directly like this

and look at each other
face to face,

that will, I think,
reduce the need

for military confrontation.
I think it'll bring

people together
all over the world.

And it's really exciting to see
us here looking at you

and have this conversation.

I hope you all are as excited
about it as we are.

RON: Everybody's excited here,
Mr. President.

Why don't we give a big cheer

and let's show him
how excited we are, all right?

(VOLUNTEERS AND STUDENTS
APPLAUDING)

♪ (DREAMY SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

SHOPPER 1:
I like this, does it--

-SHOPPER 2: Top of the range.
-SHOPPER 1: Does it? Let's see.

Car cord.

SHOPPER 2:
I can take it in the car!

SHOPPER 1:
Three-inch screen.

SHOPPER 2: I like this one, hun.

SHOPPER 1:
It can do batteries too.

SHOPPER 3: You mean
you can take a movie

and they'll put it
on the hard drive

and you can show it back.

EMPLOYEE: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

-Oh, c'mon.
-EMPLOYEE Yeah, yeah.

There it is right here.

(SHOPPER 4 LAUGHS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER)

SHOPPER 3:
You guys, Bill, cut it all out.

-SHOPPER 4: You cut it.
-(ALL LAUGH)

STEVE JOBS:
We humans are tool builders

and we can fashion tools
that amplify

these inherent abilities
that we have

to spectacular magnitudes.
And so for me,

a computer has always been
a bicycle of the mind.

Something that takes us
far beyond

our inherent abilities.

(BOTH LAUGH)

PETER JENNINGS:
Microsoft will be
the most powerful company

in the 21st century.
Do you see that?

No, I really don't.

Uh, we're a company
that makes tools.

But so many people
are dependent on those tools.

No, they're not dependent on us.

Once they have those things...
(CHUCKLES)

-(JENNINGS LAUGHS)
-...they can use them

and do whatever they choose.

I think a millennia from now

people are gonna look back
and say,

"Wow, the late 20th century

was really a great time
to be alive on this planet."

Now that I've gone
on the internet,

I'd rather be on my computer
than doing just about anything.

JOHN PERRY BARLOW:
Any human being can say

whatever he or she wants

and nobody can shut them up.

It means that all of those

wonderful things
that have been gelling

in human consciousness
all this time,

that were too far out
on the fringes,

suddenly get a chance
to be part of the mix.

And I think that's a good thing.

MAN: I think it's no accident

that the tremendous speed

that we're seeing
and development

of this new cyber culture

which is evolving right
in front of our eyes,

right around
this millennium time.

Why is that?

It's not happening by accident.

It's the actual
millennium itself

making this happen.
It's like an energy.

It's like a magnet

that the closer you get to it
the more it speeds up.

It's almost like a black hole.

So as you hit it
right on the year 2000,

the culture is moving
at almost maximum speed.

I want to get online.
I need a computer!

As ironies go,
add this to the list.

Computers that can handle
millions of numbers a minute

may spend years
stymied by a single one,

the date of the year 2000.

It's a problem called
the Millennium Bug

and it will be biting soon.

We can't see
the electronic calendar

inside a computer,
but if we could,

it would look
something like this.

The first two digits
of the year, the 19,

are assumed by the computer,

chiseled in stone as far
as its memory is concerned.

To save precious storage space,
only the last two digits change.

So when the year 1999 ends,
virtually all computer calendars

are going to flip over
to the next year,

which the computers will read
as 1900.

Our systems are broken.

And they're going
to fall asunder

when you start entering
into them,

data from the 21st century.

There is no debate
about that anymore.

REPORTER:
Peter de Jager calls himself

a computer age Paul Revere,

trotting all over the globe
to warn companies

and governments
that "the zeros are coming,

the zeros are coming."

INTERVIEWER:
We won't be in a situation,

will we or will we,
where cities virtually grind

to a halt on that January 1?

If we don't fix the programs,
that's what happens.

Now you're asking me
to predict the future.

If everybody listens to us,
we'll bypass this.

If everybody starts
working on it,

focuses all their energies,
we will bypass it.

What you have
just communicated to me

is that half this room
has no better

than a 50 percent chance

of delivering this project
on time.

Do you understand that?
Do you realize that?

♪ (PENSIVE SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

In 1977, I started
as an operator with IBM.

First day on the job,
I noticed that our systems

were using two-digit years.

When I brought it up
to management,

management said,
"Don't worry about it,

it isn't gonna happen
for another 23 years, so relax."

I did.

In 1989,

I saw a show,
Connections with James Burke.

And the first show
was about how in 1965

the entire Skyline went black

because of one single
electrical switch.

NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
It can't happen here,
well it did.

And the question asked
by 25 million people

living in the affected area
of 80,000 square miles

was simply, how could it happen?

And no one had
an immediate answer.

It was that
single device failing,

-causing this huge effect.
-(CLICKS)

PETER DE JAGER:
That made me realize
that the year 2000 problem,

these date calculations

in every one
of these organizations,

would have a similar impact.

♪ (PENSIVE SYNTH MUSIC FADES) ♪

(ALARM BLARING)

So if we all know there's
gonna be this giant problem

and exactly when it's
going to happen,

why on earth can't we fix it?

-Here's ABC's Gina Smith.
-Just how big is the problem?

Well, imagine someone told you
you had to find and replace

every bolt
in the Brooklyn Bridge.

That's daunting, but doable.

-Now imagine you have to find...
-(HELICOPTER THRUMS)

...and replace every bolt
in every bridge in the world,

and you only have
21 months to do it.

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

(TELEPHONE RINGING)

Computers talk to one another,

information is transferred
from one system to another.

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

KEN RUSSELL: And if one computer
doesn't understand

the change of date,

then other computers
are affected by that.

What Y2K is about really is
the pervasiveness

of computer technology,

information processing
technology,

in our everyday lives.

And personal computers
are really the least of it.

It's the big fragile systems,
the brittle systems

that are most vulnerable.

Things like power,
electric communications,

air traffic control, banking.

MARK KINGWELL:
These are the things

that we don't think about
because they're invisible.

They're transparent
in our daily interactions.

But they are in fact
computer systems.

It's not just
the computer systems

that are interconnected.

It's the economies
of the countries

and the individual businesses
that are interconnected.

You can have a company
like General Motors

that has been working very,
very hard on this issue,

but they're dependent upon
tiers of suppliers.

And if you can't get the widget
that goes into the seat

that goes into the car,

their assembly line
is gonna stop.

It's almost like a nightmare.

Uh, literally science fiction.

Computers which control
defense missile systems.

Computers which control
public transportation systems

are at risk for failure.

-(MONITOR BEEPING)
-♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

But this is much worse
than we thought

because billions
of computer chips out there

have a time sequence
as part of their programs.

Imagine how many things
are now run with computer chips

and are connected

to so many other things
run by computer chips.

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
BUILDS) ♪

-♪ (MUSIC STOPS ABRUPTLY) ♪
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

It seems unbelievable,
but it's only 535 days from now.

At the stroke of midnight,

when we will usher
in a new year,

a new century, a new millennium.

It is a complex test
that requires us all

to work together.

Every government agency,
every university,

every hospital,
every business large and small,

with millions of hours needed

to rewrite billions
of lines of code

and hundreds of thousands
of interdependent organizations.

This is clearly one of the most

complex management challenges
in history.

More than anything else,
the year 2000 problem

has revealed how interconnected
and interdependent

we have become.

Earlier this year,

the president established
the President's Council

on the Year 2000 Conversion
and appointed John Koskinen

to head up this effort,
having been a part of the effort

to persuade him to come back...

(CHUCKLES) ...out of retirement
and take this on,

I wanna really lay it on thick

because he's really...
(CHUCKLES)

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
-He's done a great job.

Why don't you stand up, John,
we appreciate what you're doing.

(CHUCKLES)

♪ (TENSE SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

We are at the White House.
We're here with John Koskinen.

This is the apex of our trip.

You've been known in papers
and articles as the Y2K czar.

How do you react to that?

JOHN KOSKINEN: Well,
I'd say, in a way, I suppose,

of focusing on responsibility.
But as I said,

it's one of the world's
great bag holding jobs.

If it all goes well,
nobody will care.

And if it doesn't go well,
they'll say

-what was the name of that guy?
-Who was that czar?

Has to be a fair amount of
pressure, though, you must admit

when the president says,

"Okay, you're my guy
to do this."

Not only is it getting

the government itself
up to speed,

it's the nation...
how to inform the people.

-♪ (TENSE SYNTH MUSIC FADES) ♪
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

We're still a ways away
from the end of next year

and we don't know how much work
is actually gonna get done.

All you can say
for sure right now

is that there's potential

for significant disruptions
around the world.

But also there are a lot
of people working very hard

to avoid that problem.

Uh, so at this stage,
all you can do is make guesses

or very broad-based estimates
about what might happen.

Uh, but I think at this point,

it's very difficult to know
for sure.

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

REPORTER 1: Four million gallons
of raw sewage

spilled out
during a failed Y2K test.

They were testing
what would happen

if the plant lost power

once the calendar reads
January 1st, 2000.

Computer unexpectedly
shut our input gate

and didn't tell us
that it did that,

shut one of our input gates,

and it backed up the sewer
into the park.

(WATER BURBLING)

REPORTER 2:
Regulatory reports reveal

that early last month

the Peach Bottom
nuclear facility

near York, Pennsylvania
experienced a serious glitch

when operators tried to fix

a Y2K problem.

When workers advanced clocks
to the year 2000,

both the primary and backup

plant monitoring system
computers shut down

for seven hours,
resulting in a major loss

of emergency assessment
capability,

according to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

I keep on hearing
a lot of things

that there's gonna be mass chaos
and confusion in the year 2000.

Right now I'm just studying
all the facts

and just see what companies
are really prepared for.

I just assumed in America,
we'll figure it out. (CHUCKLES)

I can't believe
that in this present day and age

with all the modern technology

that everything's
gonna collapse.

A lot of people are gonna panic
and stockpile things, not fly.

I think it's all a hoax anyway.

REPORTER 3:
You think it's a hoax?

I do. I think it was started
by computer programmers.

They must be working on it,
are they?

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL SYNTH MUSIC
FADES) ♪

REPORTER 4:
This is the real frontline,

programmers
scouring computer codes.

-(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
-(COMPUTER BEEPS)

STEVE KROFT: And to understand
exactly what they're doing,

you have to be one.

PROGRAMMER: It'd be a D3M
because there's hyphens.

I've got to tell you

I don't understand
a word you said.

But what you pick up
immediately

is that the process of fixing

a single computer program
is tedious and time consuming.

Every one is unique

and you have to go through them
line by line

to find and fix
and test potential problems.

-(TELEPHONE RINGING)
-(KEYBOARD CLACKING)

Well actually, I was gonna try
to get into something

where you can actually

see me doing
something useful here.

(INDISTINCT BACKGROUND CHATTER)

(WHISPERS) Let's see...

This is a fairly
straightforward case.

Uh, it's a field in a program
just called YR for year.

And the 99 means

it's two numeric
possible values.

So these are the kinds of things
that the various tools

that we're using help us find.

Just about everything we do

depends on knowing
the date something happened,

the date someone was born,

the date they got married,
the date they died,

the date they became disabled,

we have to worry
about all those things.

-There it is.
-(KEYBOARD CLACKS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES)

INTERVIEWER: The whole business
of the Millennium Bug

is a bit odd, isn't it?

We can put a tiny little machine
on Mars to roam around

and we've got a problem
with a couple of digits.

Doesn't make much sense,
does it?

(LAUGHS) I mean, who were
the programming geniuses

who decided
that we only needed two digits

instead of four.

Programmers have been
telling management

right from the start,

this will not work
in the year 2000.

And management said
that is outside

my six-year timeframe

for financial analysis
and, you know,

reports to shareholders,

so we're not going
to worry about it.

♪ (INTRIGUING SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

The kind of computer power
you can now get on a laptop

used to require a system
that was so large it literally

had to be housed
in its own building.

So, the sheer expense
of computing

began to really add up.

That's when major businesses
and government institutions

began finding ways
to cut corners.

And one of the most fateful
cost-cutting measures

was to deliberately

leave out the first two digits
of the year date.

♪ (INTRIGUING SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

(BEEPING, ECHOING BUZZING)

DE JAGER: Using two digits
rather than four

made good economic sense.

It was a choice, worldwide.

Sort of like the original sin.

BOB CRINGELY:
If we dig still deeper,

beyond
the technical explanations,

we could probably start
with a name, Grace Hopper,

coiner of the term "bug."

GRACE HOPPER:
I was very fortunate

the Navy ordered me
to the first big computer

in the United States,
Mark One at Harvard.

How did you know
so much about computers then?

-I didn't.
-How did you--

-It was the first one.
-Yeah.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)

♪ (INTRIGUING SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

GRACE: We were building Mark Two
the summer of 1945.

It was a hot summer in Cambridge
and Mark Two stopped.

We finally located
the failing relay.

It was one of the big
signal relays.

And inside the relay,

beaten to death
by the relay contacts

was a moth about this big.

So the operator got
a pair of tweezers

and very carefully fished
the moth out of the relay.

Put it in the logbook,

put scotch tape over it.

And below it he wrote,
"First actual bug found."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

INTERVIEWER:
You wrote something somewhere.

You don't do anything
in the Navy

without a piece of paper.

-GRACE: Mm-hmm.
-They all come out of computers.

Same thing's true
with your big companies.

If those computers stopped,
this whole country

would come to a screeching halt.

GRACE: Mm-hmm.

People are scared of computers,
just as I can remember.

There were people
who were scared to death

of telephones.

Wouldn't go near them.

There were people who thought
gas light was safe,

but electric light
wasn't very safe.

We've always gone through this
with every change.

♪ (MYSTERIOUS SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

Fulfilling absolute decree
in casual simplicity.

♪ (MUSIC TURNS UPBEAT) ♪

MAN: All of this is designed
to free men and women

from the drudgery
and monotony of pushing paper.

JOBS: Certainly not
a 1984-ish vision at all.

Uh, it's just gonna be
very gradual

and very human
and will seduce you

into learning how to use it.

NARRATOR 1: In just two decades,
the speed of computers

has improved over 100 times.

NARRATOR 2:
At the core of our society,

a world of accelerating change,
irreversible change.

NARRATOR 3: For just
as the Industrial Revolution

replaced man's muscles
as an economic asset,

so the computer threatens

to make valueless
the menial mentality.

NARRATOR 4: By the year 2000,

computers will invade
our privacy,

on a scale hardly imaginable.
They will be interconnected

and unless prevented
by new legislation,

will be able
to sell information.

Everybody knows what's happening
in every part of the world

within seconds.

And it's affecting
every part of our lives.

It's something--
We can't get away from it.

I think we will have to just...

I don't know, I don't know
what's gonna happen.

TV HOST: It is, ironically,
that we're too well-informed,

we know too much.

We've lost forever,

the opportunity to live
in innocence

about how our society works,
or doesn't work.

TV HOST: Is it gonna bring us
closer together

or will it drive us
further apart?

It's gonna do both, ironically.

It can bring the world
closer together,

but you can also use it
to avoid human contact.

MAN: We have become
very, very dependent

on computer technology.

We are going to be stress tested

by the year 2000 problem.

♪ (UPBEAT SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

(KEYBOARD CLACKING)

♪ (UPBEAT SYNTH MUSIC FADES) ♪

NIMOY: How could the omission
of two simple digits

affect the destiny
of all humankind?

♪ (DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Y2K? What does it mean?

How will it affect you,
your family, your community,

your nation,

our world?

In a very real way,
we're all responsible for Y2K.

And there's no one to blame,
morally or otherwise.

We've all benefited
from the technologies

which have improved our lives.

And we have therefore
encouraged

those same technologies
to develop

at ever more accelerated rates.

And yes, perhaps
we are now realizing

that we've taken them
a bit for granted

and have indeed become
too dependent

upon the by-products
of our collective innovations.

How fragile
do we now find ourselves

before the juggernaut
of our own inventions.

However, our individual
and collective response to Y2K

is actually far more important
than Y2K itself.

-♪ (DREAMY MUSIC FADES) ♪
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

We know that Y2K
is not about computers alone.

Y2K is about connection.

And it's a metaphor

for us being connected
with each other.

This group started
with a group of people

who got together and said,

"Well, what can we do to promote
community preparedness

for Y2K and beyond?"

"What do we do
to create the kind of community

that America is known for?"

Those small communities
where you walk down the street,

you say, "Hi,
how are you, Stalone?"

"How you doing Bill?"

"How you doing, Suzie?
Good to see you again, Jim."

We all know that we've got
a community like that.

♪ (SOFT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

COMMUNITY LEADER: Mother Teresa
once said that America

was the loneliest country
in the world

and it's because we don't have
community anymore.

And if...

if this is what comes
out of this

and there isn't a problem,

but we've learned
how to work together.

I don't think that's... (SCOFFS)

You know, I don't think
that's a waste, um,

'cause I know a lot of us feel
that the way we've been living

isn't totally satisfying.

So, I think personally,
Y2K is more of a catalyst

of a lot of things

that's been going on
for a long time.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

COMMUNITY MEMBER:
If I have my supply of food,

but the people next to me
don't have food,

it's not gonna serve me well.

So everybody has to be
provided for.

So that's why I think
it's a collective problem,

it's a social problem.

It's no longer
a technological problem.

It's a social problem.

♪ (SOFT MUSIC FADES) ♪

What do you guys think
about all the myths

going around about the Y2K

as far as, like,
computers shutting down?

My perspective of it is
that if man made it,

it can fall apart.
I mean, you know what I mean?

So I think that if
we do our responsibility

of making sure
that our things are safe,

making sure that
our families' things are safe

and making sure that things
in our neighborhood
are compliant.

Then if everyone did that,
then we will be able to operate

and function even
if something did go wrong.

I think
it's everybody's responsibility

to look out for everybody.

The whole process with,
you know,

"It's Y2K,
I'm gonna make sure that,

you know, my neighborhood
has a power generator,

but, you know, that neighborhood
over there.

I don't know, that's not me.

I don't have to worry about it,
it's not my problem."

You know? I think, you know,
it's everybody's problem.

If it's a problem at all.

I think that our governments
are paranoid

probably just as much
as any other person

-on the street is...
-Mm-hmm.

...because nobody knows
what's gonna happen.

Nobody knows

what the outcome
of that is gonna be.

I hope, really, I pray

that people don't panic,
you know?

'Cause I think-- I think panic

is gonna be the worst problem
of the Y2K.

♪ (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

REPORTER: Scott Olmstead
led us more than 100 miles

into the desert.

(ALARM BEEPING)

(KEYPAD BEEPING)

REPORTER: His hideaway
is a secret retreat

known only to his family.

But Scott Olmsted
is not a member

of some fringe
survivalist group.

He's a well-paid
computer programmer

who says he's seen the potential
for disaster firsthand.

I could see a lot of crime,
I could see looting and arson,

burning, the kinds of things
that happened in the LA riots.

I could see
a lot of desperate people

who don't have food,

maybe they don't have water,

maybe they don't
have electricity.

Um, maybe they've lost
all their savings,

because the banks have collapsed

or the stock market
has collapsed.

All those things
are possibilities.

♪ (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

SCOTT OLMSTEAD:
We are making preparations
for ourselves

and for some family members.

There is no way that we can feed

or otherwise help, you know,
dozens or hundreds of people.

And it's just best if we not

be put in that position
of having to decide

who comes and who stays...

(CHUCKLES)
...and who can't come.

♪ (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC FADES) ♪

At first I thought
he was really exaggerating

and that it couldn't be as bad
as he was making it out to be.

And frankly,

I went through
all of those stages.

I was angry. I was in denial.

And then I realized

once I started reading
all of these things

that were being printed
from the internet

and mainstream articles

that there really was a problem
and it wasn't going to go away.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

BOBBIE BATTISTA:
Ask these Y2K experts

how much of the problem is real
and how much is hype?

Well, I think, um,

most of what you've heard
so far is real.

WENDY MESLEY: "Worst scenario,
radiation problems

make Three Mile Island
look like a picnic."

"And likely to happen,
some battlefield equipment

is junked rather than fixed."

WENDY: Yeah, but,
I mean, the overall impression--

"High-tech systems
get more attacks..."

We didn't say
the worst scenario.

The worst scenario

is what the consultants
are saying.

Joining us from Toronto,

computer consultant
Peter de Jager.

REPORTER: Paloma O'Reilly
is a computer expert.

JONATHAN MANN: Some experts say
airplanes may fall from the sky,

the world financial system
could melt down.

Mm, I might pull out some money

just in case
the computers go down.

(CHUCKLES) I mean, you know.

A lot of people saying
there's gonna be nothing

that's gonna be wrong.
There's a lot of people saying

there's gonna be
something wrong.

Well, I won't be flying anytime,

beginning of January
or February.

So I'll make sure I don't.

-I wanna make--
-REPORTER: Why?

Because I'm afraid.

I just hope that-- that...

all the nuclear stockpiles
are under control.

NEWS ANCHOR:
According to a TIME/CNN poll,

the level of concern about Y2K,

somewhat/very concerned,
59 percent.

Americans willing to move
to a rural area,

like you Scott, 12 percent.

So you're mainstream,
for once in your life, Scott.

Hey, I'm not so far out
as I thought.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

There's so much information
clutter on this whole topic.

And it does scare people.

"In the garage,
you can't get your car started

because its front panel detects

that the car
hasn't been serviced

in almost a century."

I mean, that's pretty specific.
Where did that come from?

Well, that came
from de Jager actually.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC FADES) ♪

Mr. Jager, good evening,
welcome to Crossfire.

Can I ask you
a personal question first?

-Sure.
-BILL PRESS:
I just have to notice this.

-I mean...
-(LAUGHS)

...is this a doomsday tie

-that you're wearing?
-No. It's actually

just a sense of humor.

I mean,
if you can't laugh at this,

then we may as well
all just slit our wrists.

Well, I mean, you're like
a walking billboard

for Doomsday.

Peter, let me ask you this.

I mean, is...
Let's be real honest here. Okay?

I mean, I've looked
a little bit into you

and you got this book out.
I mean, you got a website

where you're selling everything
from videotapes

for 75 bucks to watches, to--

Maybe even to ties,
I don't know,

to handbooks dealing with this.

I mean, you're a one-man
gloom and doom industry.

You don't want this problem
to go away

'cause you'd be out of a job.

On the contrary, and I rej--
I really resent that.

This has to be solved.

What we want is for it to solve.

What we want is for people
to take this thing seriously.

What we want
is on January 1st

for you to get me back
on the show and say,

"Peter nothing happened,"
and my job will be done

and the jobs of several hundred
other people.

The reality is that the IRS,
for example,

is spending a billion dollars.

Why are they spending
that money?

Because I'm a good speaker.
Come on! Give them some credit.

Well, I mean, I've read
that you get 7,500 dollars
for a speech,

-that's more than...
-DE JAGER: How much do you get?

-Don't give me that.
-...Novak and Buchanan.

PRESS: But look at this.
Here's this page,

half a page ad that you yourself

-took out promoting...
-DE JAGER: No, no, no.

PRESS: ...your own self
in The Wall Street Journal.

It's got your website here
and everything.

DE JAGER: Please. Let's not--

You're selling yourself
as Dr. Doom aren't you?

Let's get the facts right.

Let's not do
another sarin on air.

-This was paid for by--
-PRESS: (LAUGHS) Touché.

This was paid for
by The Wall Street Journal.

-This is not an ad I took out.
-PRESS: But... But--

They...
And they gave me a byline.

PRESS: All your information
is up here right?

-Absolutely!
-PRESS: But aren't you making
a living

-by scaring people to death?
-Yes!

I'm making a living
by telling them the truth.

Now if the truth scares them,

-please don't shoot
the messenger.
-PRESS: All right.

-(BIRDS CHIRPING)
-(ROOSTER CROWING)

(COW MOOING)

-(PIG OINKS)
-(CHICKEN CLUCKS)

(DOG PANTING)

INTERVIEWER:
Is this your outfit for Y2K?

It sure is. I'm Farmer Jane now.

-How you doing?
-(CHICKENS CLUCKING)

Got any eggs for me today?
Let's see.

I felt like when my congressman
laughed at my inquiries,

and the mayors

and the local media
wouldn't report it seriously,

that it was pretty hopeless.

Because Peter de Jager said

that if you didn't get going
in '89,

it was gonna be hopeless.

And so, uh...

I put my business up for sale.

So, it's not going to be easy
for us financially

if Year 2K doesn't happen

because we have sold off
our assets.

But it's much more important
for us to have this cash now

and put it
in our Year 2K preparations.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

CANDACE TURNER:
In a year from now,

I anticipate the home
will be full of the smell

of fresh bread
and the wood stove.

We'll have some sewing
to be doing,

um, fresh eggs,
the animals to feed,

and it'll be time
to just really connect,

brush up on my piano skills.

INTERVIEWER:
Do you think of yourself

as a Y2K survivalist or...

-In terms of Y2K?
-Well, I'm--

I'm a grandma
turned Year 2K-er

and when I couldn't get
my local community to listen,

I found that there was thousands
of people on the internet

that wanted information
about rural living.

And so I set up a website

and we've had thousands
that have visited it,

and we're just trying
to encourage people here

that rural living can be fun
and you can make the adjustment.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

You can use it
with either hot water,

you can fix it with cold water,

or if you had to,
you can even eat it raw.

Now I don't recommend
eating it raw.

I mean, it'll... (CHUCKLES)
...it'll swell up.

You can make anything solar,

any flashlights,
any radio you have,

you can make it
with a solar battery charger.

-You can make anything solar.
-I see.

Um... Okay.

-Why don't I go ahead with that.
-Okay.

SHOPPER 1: There's a lot
more books being written,

-a lot more on the internet.
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

And I think that
there is a potential problem

that might occur,
and no one knows,

but I'd rather be prepared
for my family

and if there isn't a problem
then we're set.

You know,
and that's just less shopping

I'll have to do next year.

♪ (DREAMY SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

ROBERT ROSKIND: In the past,
these shows drew survivalists

who were here for political
or religious views

about their survival.

Now you're seeing
a whole new group

of people come out.

All that Crisco makes
my chicken taste oh, so good.

Here, would anybody like
a great big old lick?

Nobody would.

♪ (DREAMY SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

It's not so much
the computers failing,

it's that I'm worried about
what the people are gonna panic

before the year.

I think we're going
to be the problem.

(DART WHOOSHING)

VENDOR: It not only brings
your knife out

in an open position,

but also you can present
your blade closed.

This is the sheet that you need
to go by very carefully

to keep from being set up
entrapped, et cetera.

So many people already
have been in America.

-♪ (DREAMY SYNTH MUSIC FADES) ♪
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

ANNOUNCER: Please welcome
the godfather

of the militia movement,
Mr. John Trochmann.

REPORTER: Trochmann is appearing
at what is called

a preparedness expo.

It's on our videotape
over there too.

REPORTER:
Distrust of the government

has increased considerably,
says Trochmann.

JOHN TROCHMANN:
The bombs of Oklahoma went off.

For the next three months
after that, we doubled in size.

♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(TELEPHONE LINE RINGING)

Good morning.
Militia of Montana.

REPORTER: From this tiny office,
John Trochmann

says he and his followers
are leading a revolution.

They're now arming themselves
against the federal government.

TROCHMANN: I don't think
they leave us a choice

if they continue on like this.

They're the ones
that will bring war to us.

We will never bring war to them,
they will bring it to us.

MAN: Promoting
that kind of paranoia,

conspiracy theory, vigilantism,

take things into your own hands
by force.

While the leaders of it
might be very sincere

in believing
that they will never be the ones

to pull the trigger
and shoot somebody.

They nonetheless fuel the fires
and create a climate

in which some of their followers
well might.

-(GUN COCKS)
-(GUNSHOTS)

REPORTER:
Some militia groups now worry

that the US government,
aided by foreign countries,

could use the computer collapse
as an excuse to grab more power.

♪ (TENSE MUSIC FADES) ♪

♪ (INSTRUMENTAL RENDITION
OF "AULD LANG SYNE" PLAYING) ♪

(TICKING)

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

-(CUCKOO)
-(CLOCK CHIMING)

Greetings folks.
In the spring of 1997,

we produced
a video production called

America's Judgments,
What Lies Ahead.

We were aware of Y2K,
but at the time,

we did not take it
serious enough

to put it in our video.

Not until we did
our own investigation

did we realize how serious
it actually could be.

Don't take my word for it.

Let us share with you
the documentation

that we have here.

And you can make up
your own minds.

On December 3rd, 1998.
John Koskinen,

which is the Y2K guru
for President Clinton, said,

"In a crisis
and emergency situation,

the free market may not

be the best way
to distribute resources."

"If there is a point in time
where we have to take resources

and make a judgment
on an emergency basis,

we will be prepared to do that."

So folks, now that we perceive
there may be a problem with Y2K

and their dirty little tricks,

what do you think the government
is doing about it?

Perhaps we ought to have a look.

♪ (MYSTERIOUS SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

We have increasing confidence

that the basic infrastructure
in the United States will hold.

The grid will hold.

I think major telecommunication
systems will hold.

We're increasingly confident

that the basic infrastructure
will hold.

There's no evidence
that we're gonna have

a national catastrophe.

Mission critical systems

of the federal government
are gonna work.

So we're in pretty good shape.

♪ (MYSTERIOUS SYNTH MUSIC
FADES) ♪

I guess I'll start off
with the criticism

from the Y2K community,

maybe because you represent
the government.

But the criticism has been

that you've been
overly optimistic

about your assessments.

I think what you have to do
is take with a grain of salt,

uh, those people
who are concerned about

whether we were over optimistic
or under optimistic.

The ultimate rumor
I would like to dispel

is that somehow
we have information

in the federal government
or in the President's Council

that we're not sharing
with the public.

And there is no evidence,

nobody's ever been able
to establish

something we know
that we haven't told.

And in fact, our strategy,
for now going on to two years,

has been
to share with the public

everything we have as we get it.

So the-- As I said,
I think the rumor

that there's
this secret information

that we're somehow afraid
to release

is just that, a rumor.

Do you think
that on the other side,

that there are areas or people

that are actually contributing
to panic?

Well, there are clearly
those from the start,

over the last
three to four years,

who have,
for one reason or another,

been predicting the end
of the world as we know it.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

REPORTER: Surf through
the internet these days

and you keep coming across
a strange new word, TEOTWAWKI.

The word stands for

"The End Of The World
As We Know It."

For a growing number of people,
the year 2000 is not a milestone

as much as it is a sign
of some sort of impending chaos.

LEANDER HARRIS:
We're reaching a climax

where things have become
so evil

and the world has become
in such a state

that it's ushering
in the entrance of Christ.

The last time this happened
1,000 years ago, the year 1000.

Man, there were end
of the world cults

and all sorts of
doomsday stuff

and people were going around

hitting themselves
with whips and stuff.

Do you think that's gonna happen
this year?

I hope not.

BUSTA RHYMES: I don't feel like
the exact year 2000

is the year
all hell breaks loose.

But I just feel like
in every holy scripture,

it has been predicted
that this time

would be a significant time.
You know what I'm saying?

GERSHOM GORENBERG:
The concept of the millennium
is a Christian concept.

People in general have a sense
that the world

isn't the way they'd want
the world to be.

An event which focuses
that energy

takes out a magnifying glass
and puts it above the tinderbox.

ORLEAN KOEHLE:
The ten hours that my son stays

in front of the computer,

it's almost become an idol.
So it's maybe only just

that this idol comes
crashing down.

JERRY FALWELL: The question
I ask myself is this...

"Could this be God's way
to bring revival to America?"

REPORTER: Now all of this
should come as no surprise

considering a recent
Newsweek poll

saying 40 percent of Americans

believe the world will end
as Revelation describes.

I have the feeling
that something terrible

is going to happen. (LAUGHS)

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC
CONCLUDES) ♪

PAMELA WALLIN:
"The end of the world."

"A guide to millennium madness."

How much of this
is that the fear of Y2K

may now be bigger than Y2K?

It's not just that.

It's that there are now
two camps.

There are the people like myself
who are saying

we have a technical problem,
let's deal with it.

And then quite frankly,

there are people
in the far right

on the fringe elements
of the religious area,

who are deliberately predicting
the very, very worst.

The message is getting mixed,
and that both dilutes my message

-and amplifies this stuff.
-PAMELA: Yes, this kind of...

DE JAGER:
And this is one of the reasons

why the far right

have seized upon year 2000,
because it is a problem.

And they can point
to the newspaper

every single day and say,
"See, I told you.

-I told you."
-PAMELA: Yeah.

And that's what's getting people

who don't understand technology
very, very frightened.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(EXPLOSION)

-♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC FADES) ♪
-Hello, friends,

we are going to be discussing
one of the most serious topics

that we have ever attempted
to bring to you.

Jack, in fact, you've been
so burdened... (CHUCKLES)

...about this huge problem,

that this is an emergency video
that we're making, actually.

After studying 250
to 300 major reports

from experts globally,

I can honestly say I'm shocked,
startled, and stunned.

If these men are right,

this whole world is going
to rock and roll,

it's going to reel to and fro.

What am I to do about this?

Well, God says my job
is to warn you.

Let's narrow it
right down there, Jack.

How's the Y2K problem connected
with the Lord's return?

Satan, who's the God
of this world,

2nd Corinthians 4:4,
is in control

of heavens one and two.

"He is the prince of the power
of the air."

Of the airwaves.

Yes, the electricity
and the currents.

Well, you know, certainly Satan
could take advantage

of such a situation
because he wants man's confusion

just prior
to the return of the Lord.

I am literally amazed
at the accuracy of this book.

Listen to this.
"The passages are stopped

and the men of war
are frightened."

What?

The passages, the means
of communication, computers...

are stopped.

It's so near.

Are you ready?

NARRATOR: It's the night
on everyone's mind.

This could affect half
the continental United States.

CROWD: Three, two...

NARRATOR: The night
they warned us about.

Now we're starting
to see some problems.

KID: Happy New Year!

NARRATOR: What if they're right?

My God.

We have to start the evacuation.

NARRATOR:
The survival of millions

hangs in the balance.

-We've lost this puppy.
-Go! Everybody out!

NARRATOR: Just tell yourself
it's only a movie.

And now, Y2K: The Movie.

♪ (DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Our age of anxiety
is truly the millennial age.

All the dread about AIDS,

nuclear weapons,
ecological disasters,

point to a fear
of an apocalyptic future.

And at the same time,
the dream of ending disease,

of genetically altering crops
to grow in the desert,

of populating other planets,

all point to a hope
for a perfect future.

That's what the Millennium Myth
is all about.

That the human journey
is one with a goal,

an ultimate end of some sorts,
a climax.

And tonight we're going
to examine that myth

and how it's playing out
in our high-tech culture.

♪ (DREAMY MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

I think popular culture,
you know television, films,

I think it is interesting
to look at those

and see what shape they take
on at particular times.

It's never arbitrary.

MORPHEUS: The world as it was
at the end of the 20th century.

It exists now only as part of
a neural interactive simulation

that we call the Matrix.

(SCREAMS)

MARK: This kind of anxiety

is not restricted
to the fringes,

-not restricted to Christians.
-(INDISTINCT CLAMOR)

-What in the hell is that?
-(SCREAMS)

MARK: It's everywhere.

(SCREAMS)

MARK: The culture comes
under the influence

of this force of expectation.

(TICKING)

MARK: And it's now focused,
intensified

by reaching this deadline.

Time's up.

♪ (DREAMY MUSIC BUILDS) ♪

(LOUD RUMBLING)

♪ (DREAMY MUSIC FADES) ♪

Now, I got a story for you.
A few years ago,

when all was quiet throughout
the countryside,

everyone had
the general knowledge

that the turn of the century
was at hand, the year 2000.

You like this, don't you?
The year 2000

would soon be upon us,
who would have thought?

And who would've thought
that our next guest

would come to the forefront.

We welcome Peter de Jager.

Tonight, he is not gonna try
to scare us.

Thank you so much
for coming down.

-You're welcome.
-TV HOST: Tell me this,

how do you put yourself
in a situation where at first

you were one of the ones saying

-watch out for Y2K, and then...
-DE JAGER: Absolutely.

...if I understand you
correctly,

now you're saying to everyone,

"Don't panic, calm down.
It's not gonna be that bad."

-What's the difference?
-DE JAGER: In the beginning,

when we started
to speak about this,

myself and many others,

there had been
very little work done,

and very little attention
or respect paid to this problem.

So there was a huge risk
that if we didn't fix it,

there would be consequences.

Today, you know, five, six,
seven years later down the line,

the banks
and the insurance companies,

governments and power companies
have all done

a tremendous amount of work,
you know,

hundreds of billions of dollars
have been spent

on this problem worldwide.

And we have averted
many of the scenarios,

the disaster scenarios
that we first came up with,

that we used to convince people
that they should pay attention.

They have paid attention.

(GUN COCKS)

That's a sound that gets
your attention real quick.

Well, the end of the year
is bringing a big increase in,

of all things, gun sales.

And it's apparently
being sparked at least in part

by fear that the coming
of the new year

will bring
a new wave of violence.

(GUNSHOTS)

Y2K gun buyers say
they're afraid of everything

from terrorism
to 911 failures.

I just wanted to be prepared
in case,

you know,
anything happens for Y2K

just to have an ounce
of prevention, you know?

DIANA OLICK:
Sharon is not alone.

Mandatory gun background checks
this month

are up 20 percent
from last December

and last Thursday
set the record.

Sixty-seven thousand checks
in one day.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

News organizations
in this country,

including this one,
are trying to avoid

causing any kind of panic
with reports about terrorism

and the coming new year.

Tonight fear avoidance
is getting rather difficult.

I'm concerned about
the terrorism.

I don't have any intention
to leave my house.

REPORTER 1:
The principal concern,

Osama bin Laden.

A flurry of activity
by his followers

leads experts to believe
he is planning another attack.

REPORTER 2: The threat
of homegrown terrorism

suddenly became clear

with the arrest
of two men linked

to anti-government militias
near Sacramento.

(SIREN WAILING)

REPORTER 3: In New York City,
officials scoffed at the idea

of canceling New Year's Eve
in Times Square.

We are literally
doing everything we possibly can

to make it as safe
as we can make it.

We're coming here
a little bit early

to kind of be a part of it

even though we're not coming in
on New Year's Eve.

-REPORTER 4: You're not coming
to Times Square?
-Nah.

I'm not coming to Times Square,

I'm just gonna watch it
from television at home.

-I'm exhausted.
-REPORTER 5: Mm-hmm.

I don't wanna hear
another thing about Y2K.

NICK CARTER: What are we doing
on New Year's Eve?

We'll be hiding somewhere.

In case the world ends
or something.

(NICK CHUCKLES)

-AJ MCLEAN: You know?
-But we're very optimistic.

In case everything just goes...
(BLOWS RASPBERRY)

REPORTER 6:
These computer programmers

have been hired to double check
line after line

of computer code.

Clients are still sending
us code

to be inspected for Y2K

and we are definitely
still finding errors.

REPORTER 7:
Tonight, by one estimate,

seventy percent of Americans
buying emergency supplies

to welcome the new year.

Basically, they don't know
what to expect.

Planes will fall out of the sky

and all the world's
nuclear weapons will explode,

annihilating the entire planet.

No!

We're more concerned
with people problems

as opposed
to technology failures

on New Year's Eve.

TEEN: They're hiring
more police officers

because they think
there might be some riots.

Well, I hope
those police officers don't,

you know,
encourage the violence.

Oh, my, yes! (GRUNTS)

You bastard! That's better.

First thing that's gonna happen
when the electric goes off,

people are gonna panic,
because fear's gonna set in.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC
CONTINUES) ♪

CANDACE: First the lights
will go out in Asia.

And as the time slips by here
in the Midwest,

we'll see the lights go out
in New York City.

At the end of every
major piece of time,

it's a paranoid
and pathological time.

Lots of weird stuff happens
all over the world.

MAN: We're turning over
another 1,000 years,

it's not like we're turning over
a year, ten years, 100 years.

We're talking another 1,000.
We're talking the 21st century.

So it's, I mean...

I think more than anything,
you gotta celebrate it.

And as long as you have
a lot of people out there,

you can expect anything
and everything to happen.

♪ (DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC FADES) ♪

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

-REPORTER: Where you going?
-MAN: Home.

REPORTER: Did you have
any idea about this?

-No. What is it?
-What is it?

REPORTER: It's a concert, uh,
for the millennium,

-a group called Fish.
-Oh, jeez.

JENNINGS: Good morning
and welcome

to the very edge
of the 21st century.

Good morning, you hearty souls,
I should say.

It's a little before 5:00 a.m.
here in Times Square.

And for the next 24 hours,
we're going to try to share

this extraordinary occasion

with much of the rest
of the world.

So let us now go and have a look
at Kiribati in the Pacific,

the closest island,
this morning,

to the International Date Line,

the first celebration
of the millennium.

♪ (SINGING IN GILBERTESE) ♪

(IN ENGLISH) We're covering
breaking news this morning.

We're getting word
out of Russia, out of Moscow,

that there is a big change
in store

for the Russian leadership.

We go now
to CNN's Eileen O'Connor,

who's standing by in Moscow
with the very latest on this.

Eileen.

Well, right now, Boris Yeltsin
has just announced

that he is going to cede

the reins of power
to the presidency

to his prime minister,
Vladimir Putin,

effective, he says, immediately.

Now, this does come
as a surprise,

but Vladimir Putin is a very
popular prime minister,

he is known as a person
who wants a strong Russia.

He took great pains,
by the way, Leon,

to say that that does not mean
an overbearing, imperial Russia.

It means a stable Russia.

CNN's Eileen O'Connor
reporting live

from Moscow. Colleen.

It is 18 hours

before the new year
in New York City.

Carol, what's going on
in the heart of the Big Apple

-right now?
-(CROWD CHEERING)

CAROL LIN: Colleen,
what is about to happen

is that they're gonna light up
the new crystal ball

and it will begin its ascension
up a 77-foot flagpole at the top

of the One Times Square
building.

-♪ (ROUSING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
-(CROWD CHEERING)

JENNINGS: There it goes,

this magnificent
Waterford Crystal Ball.

-They've pulled the switch.
-(CROWD CHEERING)

JENNINGS: They've lighted it up.

An elaborate hardware
and software system

descending into this square
which is...

in itself all
about electronic hardware now,

selling products
all over the world.

(CROWD CHEERING)

REPORTER: You're looking
at a live picture

of Auckland, New Zealand,

where the year 2000
is just about a minute away.

♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

REPORTER: Now, New Zealand
is one of the first big tests

of the possible effects
of the Y2K computer bug,

officials in the US

are watching
New Zealand very closely.

♪ (PENSIVE SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪

-(CROWD CHEERING)
-(FIREWORKS EXPLODE)

Let there be light.

And there is light behind us.
The electricity is A-okay.

REPORTER 1: Inside
the government's command center,

computer experts report
a stable situation so far,

with no Y2K glitches,

starting with the US territory
of Guam.

A plane landed
and a baby was born,

so that business continues
as normal.

(BELL RINGING)

REPORTER 2: Across Japan,
a million office workers

sat at their desks

and nervously
watched their computers

as midnight came and went.

There were minor problems
at two nuclear power plants.

Officials are probing
for any Y2K bugs.

Neither plant's operation
was affected.

I am standing at ground zero,

in case of any accidental
nuclear missile launch.

And just a few miles from here,

Russian military officers
are sitting side by side

with American military officers,

working to fight a common enemy,
the Y2K menace.

While we are encouraged

by the positive reports
thus far, uh,

we should all remember

that we have many miles
to go before we sleep.

For the time being,
no news is good news.

So far, so good.

So far, so good
on the Y2K Watch.

Good news all around so far
in terms of that Y2K bug.

-So far, so good.
-(CROWD CHEERING)

TOM BROKAW: You're looking live,
once again as the crowds

who gathered in Times Square

could reach two million people
before midnight tonight.

Obviously, they're not worried
about terrorism

or Y2K computer bugs.

(CROWD CHEERING)

ANN CURRY: The excitement
among the crowd is palpable.

This crowd has been shouting,
"Three, two, one,"

-it seems every hour...
-(CROWD CHEERING)

...as the millennium
has been breaking

all across the planet.

You'd think that by now

these people would be
tuckered out,

but in fact, it seems
the excitement is growing.

-(CROWD CHEERING)
-♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

REPORTER: A lot of very happy
people right now.

Amazingly,
a very small percentage

of these people are New Yorkers.

These people are from
all over the world.

These folks, California,
Washington, what other states?

Florida, Oklahoma.
Unbelievable turnout.

You having a good time?

Oh! I'm lovin' it.
I am lovin' it.

RADIO ANCHOR: The big moment
is just a few hours away

from us here
in the United States.

And while the rest of New York
is partying, maybe all--

They're all tourists out
in Times Square tonight,

the rest of Silicon Alley
and Wall Street and whatever,

the computer experts

will all be there
at their terminals.

♪ (SERENE SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

RADIO ANCHOR:
Liz in Escondido, California.

-Hi, Liz.
-LIZ: Hi.

Um, I'd just like to observe
that initially,

the Y2K kind of started off
as this global fear,

maybe subconscious fear,
of technology, kind of like,

you know, Frankenstein had
at the rise of industrialism.

But what I see it turning into
is kind of just an awareness

of how connected
everyone is globally.

And if you're tuned
into the TVs at all,

I mean, we're watching
the celebrations, you know,

roll over each time zone

and it's really more, uh,
kind of a global

love-in or something.

RADIO ANCHOR: You think
this is a unifying experience

-versus a divisive one?
-LIZ: Yeah. Yeah.

Because, uh, I--

We're all now more aware
of how connected we are.

♪ (MUSIC TURNS UPBEAT) ♪

REPORTER: This crowd size,
as we can see

from the tenth floor

of the Marriott Marquis hotel
here, is big.

Interestingly enough,
you at home

probably are in the majority
this year

because they ran a poll recently

and Americans staying home
this year are 72 percent.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(PARTY HORN BLOWS)

CAMERAMAN:
Freakin' New Year, dude!

-Freakin' New Year!
-CAMERAMAN: Yeah.

Are you taking a photograph
or a video?

MAN 1: It does both.

-WOMAN 1: Is that digital?
-MAN 1: Uh-huh.

Yeah. So it takes a picture.
I can send it to you.

It's a video!

-Happy New Year!
-MAN 2: Happy New Year!

I feel like
part of the global village.

I feel connected
to the rest of humanity.

I'm ready for the aliens
to land. (LAUGHS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

WOMAN 2: What is your
New Year's resolution?

-I don't know!
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

My New Year's resolution
is to collect all 100--

all the Pokémon cards

that they've ever came out with.
Whoo!

My New Year's resolution
would be to study more and...

be a better example

for the people
that are around me.

I'm doing everything right,
don't need to change anything,

just even keel.

Yeah, live life to its fullest,
of course,

and to just take life
for what it's worth,

a wonderful gift.

2000 is gonna be wonderful,
I'm looking forward to it.

Um, there's nothing I want
more right now

than for the entire world
to explode.

MAN 1: Well, here it comes.

-Here it is.
-MAN 2: 11:51.

-MAN 1: Digital bug.
-MAN 2: Here it is.

-MAN 3: Cheers.
-MAN 4: Happy millennium!

ALL: Cheers!

DAN RATHER: Especially
at the end of the century,

it's always good to take stock.

We split the atom,
invented jazz and rock,

launched airplanes
and landed on the moon,

concocted a general theory
of relativity,

devised the transistor,

and figured out
how to etch millions of them

on tiny microchips.

We discovered penicillin
and the structure of DNA,

defeated fascism and communism,
developed cinema and television,

built fantastic highways,
and wired the world.

We ponder these things in joy,

but also in prayerful humility.

As we now move
into the challenge

and the danger of a new unknown.

The dawn of the 21st century.

Okay, now everyone
sit like this...

(CHEERING OVER TV)

...and wait for the lights
to go out.

WOMAN: I know, this is shit...

MAN: What if everything
just went out right now?

Here we go.

(CROWD CHEERING)

REPORTER: You were wise
to stay at home. In one minute,

the ball will drop
and you will see pandemonium.

The ball is beginning to move.
They can feel it.

-(ECHOING TICKING)
-(CROWD CHEERING)

Happy New Year!

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(ECHOING TICKING CONTINUES)

MAN: Well,
you gotta watch the show.

I think
they're gonna do something.

Hi!

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

The lights are gonna go on,
everybody's gonna go crazy.

Behind the clock.

(EXCITED CHATTER)

REPORTER: Ten seconds.

ALL: Nine, eight,
seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

(FIREWORKS EXPLODE)

-REPORTER: Happy 2000!
-(CROWD CHEERING)

♪ ("AULD LANG SYNE"
BY KENNY G PLAYING) ♪

It's the biggest thrill
of my life

and I made so many new friends
to carry on the next millennium.

It's awesome!

-ANN: In this crowd?
-Oh, yeah.

The people are so nice.

There's such good energy
about this crowd.

Nothing bad at all.

POLICE OFFICER:
We didn't fall asleep.

They're a good crowd,
best crowd yet.

MAN 1: This is disgusting.

-Oh, Louise!
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(LAUGHS)

ALL: Happy New Year!

MAN 2: The lights are on, Bill.
(LAUGHS)

MAN 3: I know.
Everything's still working.

Everything's still working!

(YELLS)

All right, is that enough
pictures of the cake, you guys?

B-roll of the cake, right?
That's right.

REPORTER: What do you hope
for the New Year?

Peace in the world.
Peace. Yeah, that's all.

-Wave to the camera.
-Say, "Happy New Year."

Wave! Happy New Year.

Wave, Carol.

They're tired.
Oh, thank you. (LAUGHS)

Happy New Year's to everybody.

♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

-♪ (MUSIC FADES) ♪
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(DOGS BARKING)

WOMAN:
This is a very new time for us.

We were confronted
by these interdependent systems

we had created and realized
that we are dependent on people

we don't even know.

And that's the great lesson
from Y2K.

That no one can go through any

of the current dilemmas
facing us alone.

MAN: The news.

(GROANS)

Nothing happens.

Well, we made it.

The dire predictions
of the last several months

dissolved in a potent mix of joy
and celebration

all around the globe last night,

and that dreaded bug
didn't bite.

♪ (SERENE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(ALL CHEERING)

We feel that we have
come to a new planet,

uh, to a new planet

where there's peace,
and there's no confusion.

(CRIES)

Some people
are questioning now whether

all of this was overkill.

What do you have
to say about that?

I say that no one who worked
on this problem thinks that.

They all understand,
after several years of work

and spending hundreds
of millions of dollars,

that we averted a major disaster

by successfully attacking
the problem.

You said today that this may be
your last briefing.

Are things going that well?

Things are actually
going very well.

And we're delighted
with the progress

that's been made.

It now appears very clear
that the United States

and most of the world, in fact,
all of world at this time

have made
a successful transition

into the 21st century.

♪ (UPBEAT SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

So now that Y2K
and other anxieties

have subsided,

the time has come when at least
some Americans

will actually start to sit up
and take notice of the fact

that there's
a presidential campaign going on

and the first big contest
is coming up fast.

REPORTER: The man
who warned us about Y2K

says it's a lesson about

how much we depend
on technology,

and how it's not as infallible
as we'd like to think.

DE JAGER: I don't believe
that we as a human race,

learn from our mistakes.
We don't learn from history.

Every 100 years,

we'll have exactly
the same type of situation.

And it'll be someone else
raising the alarm.

That people all over the planet
could experience the same events

at the same time,

would have been impossible
for anyone

to imagine 1,000 years ago,
even 100.

Yet the growing
interconnectedness

of the world today,
thanks to a global economy

and technologies
like the internet,

is more than just a mark
of how far we've come,

it's the key to understanding
where we're going.

JENNINGS: When you talk
about the millennium,

you sure mean something
different than most of us.

Well, a millennium
is such a small slice of time

in the spectrum of the universe.

-(HUMMING BOOM)
-NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON:
We've got the big bang

happening 13 billion years ago,

you know, what's 1,000 years
between friends?

The timeline that we create

is about the length
of a football field.

The thickness of hair,

on the sheet
that you're holding up,

represents all
of cultural history

of human beings on Earth.

KID:
Instead of the world ending,

it's going to kind of begin
all over again,

but not literally.

Not like another big bang
or whatever caused the universe.

But like...

I think it's gonna be like
a fresh start for everybody

to try and get along.

We're gonna start
to dive into the...

to dive into the world
of technology and...

try to survive there.

If we keep digging
and using all this oil,

plastic, et cetera, et cetera,

I mean, how far
are these supplies gonna go?

You can't assure
that they'll be here forever.

Think of us...

as a midpoint...

between no tolerance...

and between very...

loving everyone.

This hasn't been
a great century.

Fix the world,
don't screw it up.

♪ (INTRIGUING SYNTH MUSIC
PLAYING) ♪