I also have to tend to agree. Having lived through a widespread blackout that lasted several days and even weeks for some, things did not get that bad that quick. Sure, there were robberies going on as the more well to do left their homes and the batteries in the alarm systems ran down, theft of food from stores rose as there was little light and even those with generators were keeping refrigerators cold and cash registers running, not to mention that police were dealing with the masses that were unprepared and not responding to the "minor" issues quickly, if at all...
5 days into it, there was no panic in the streets, martial law was not declared, and the military was brought in VERY early on, not to lock down the city, but to clean up the mess, help with emergency shelters, and get the power back on.
I think the most important thing to remember about this film is the last minute or two...the power eventually came back on!

In case you missed it and don't want to wait another 2 weeks....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PreJvrljihI

I also have to tend to agree. Having lived through a widespread blackout that lasted several days and even weeks for some, things did not get that bad that quick. Sure, there were robberies going on as the more well to do left their homes and the batteries in the alarm systems ran down, theft of food from stores rose as there was little light and even those with generators were keeping refrigerators cold and cash registers running, not to mention that police were dealing with the masses that were unprepared and not responding to the "minor" issues quickly, if at all...
5 days into it, there was no panic in the streets, martial law was not declared, and the military was brought in VERY early on, not to lock down the city, but to clean up the mess, help with emergency shelters, and get the power back on.
I think the most important thing to remember about this film is the last minute or two...the power eventually came back on!

Denob,

The difference is the size and geographical location of the blackout. For the most part, none of the major cities were affected or were for only hours or a few days. Had montreal been without power for 2 weeks, it would have been much messier. Hospitals and other institutions, from jails to water treatment plants to 911 dispatch centres could keep generators going because trucks could still deliver fuel and fuel depots and refineries were still running. The army could throw resources to assist because the soldiers themselves were mostly unaffected back at home (Valcartier, Petawawa, Borden, etc all still had power for their homes and families). I missed the show (will watch it on YouTube or on the next rerun...) but even in friendlier and more resilient Canada, I don't think that a country-wide blackout lasting weeks would go without chaos.

For those without TV ( for as long as it is posted up on You tube )

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PreJvrljihI#t=11

Helicopilot,
I do see your point, and don't want to detract from it, but there are a few things wrong with your statement.
Fuel trucks were not delivering fuel, as transportation was deemed extremely dangerous. All links to Montreal from the south shore were closed...bridges and the tunnel. If the same had been done to the north shore links, the city would have been completely cut off.
Generators were brought in to run water treatment plants, but for whatever reason did not work. The one and only remaining transmission line from the north was rerouted from downtown to the treatment plants to keep them running.
Major institutions such as hospitals, etc. were powered by either routing some of the power from that one transmission line, or by converted diesel locomotives, which are simply huge generators after all.
The refineries in Montreal are all located in the east end, which was hardest hit, so they were, in fact, not running.
Yes, you have a valid point though, for the most part, central Montreal, meaning the downtown core, was without power for only a couple of days. However, the suburbs and even the boroughs that were affected remained that way for the better part of a week. Yes, if you worked downtown, you could resume going to work, but likely still returned home to a cold and dark house.
Even more unbelievable is how Montreal has banned wood burning heat sources...fireplaces and wood stoves!
This trend is now spreading to Laval and beyond...smog issues you know.
What I learned from that whole mess is that power restoration is prioritized to the economy...get the markets and major banking sector up and running and let the people suffer a little longer.
Believe me, when this happened,I lived in a pretty cruddy part of the city and worked as a super of an apartment block. Almost immediately, the less honest of the tenants were bringing in hauls of stereo equipment, computers, etc. on the first day! One tenant refused to open her door when police came to check on people because her son had been stashing all his stolen property there...opportunists will be the first to react to situations like this.
I believe that emergency services will set up quickly, distributing food and water, as well as offering shelter to those in need, BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, in a nation wide situation like this, those resources will quickly run out.
Total societal collapse on day 4 or 5? No, I still don't think so. Maybe day 8 - 10, which is still not a long time.
HOWEVER, I still choose to be prepared for it anyways.

Thank you for the clarifications Denob. I was only involved by volunteering in a small shelter in a small town close to St-Jean. It was interesting to see how the local community, mostly based on farming, worked together. Though they knew power wouldn't be restored for several weeks at their farms, they all seemed to manage pretty well. This was in comparison to the suburban St-Jean's school gyms that "welcomed" people in crammed and arguably unhygienic conditions were diseases quickly spread out. That made me realize how I would never become a "refugee" and got me prepping.... But this is a different topic...

You are probably correct that it would take a while for chaos to set in. With that in mind though, I wonder how things would have turned out if there would have been no augmentations by other hydro corporations, QPP coming in from other towns, no Red Cross and other volunteers and no army. Roy one thing, recovery efforts would have lasted much longer, but people would also have suffered more without that outside assistance. Those coming to help in the Triangle de Glace, could make themselves available only because their own homes, towns, regions were not affected by the disaster.

Like I said, not to detract from your post, this brings up a valid discussion.
Now, I don't believe that this was a propaganda program designed to teach us how to react when the government brings down the grid so they can (insert devious actions here).
But with such a scenario being a valid possibility,
how long before emergency services and disaster relief run out of supplies?
how long before society turns dangerous?
I guess it depends on how many people prepare and how well they do it!
That's what this forum is all about...bringing everyone possible into the prepper mindset.
Maybe shows like this, broadcast on the generally accepted "normal" media is just what this country needs.

I see Denobs point, it really depends and is specific to the situation at hand and risks . Some people are not going to skip a beat for days when the power goes off and some are going to unhinge on the third day . When there is a stand alone disaster like most we have seen, outside aid is possible and that keeps us in check perhaps. Now if for any reason there was no response structure in place anymore , no international aid , say as Yellowstone had gone off the previous week in a bankrupt USA , hell had unleashed in the pacific rim nations with earthquakes , Europe was dealing with storms from the North Atlantic current shutting down and I come in from outside and there is no power , I think I am not going to respond the same as if our region were experiencing a stand alone event of power going down.
I thought the varying circumstances for people were well thought out , how people who would never foresee themselves in this situation might slide down a slippery slope . Interesting that those portrayed as making an effort to be prepared were compromised by people around them after their preparations . Both shows encompassed very short time frames that could be entirely accurate for all I know . The need for opsec was played up in my mind, that every time you kindly give away a home canned jar of antipasto from your garden or a dozen organic eggs to city friends , that basically will come back to mind that you have food and when everyone is needy, we see it over and over, there is no end of the view of others that you should share charitably towards their needs till there is nothing left to meet them. Over the last few years I have tried to be a good example and encourage friends to increase their own awareness and empower themselves with things like food sovereignty and I have found it fails miserably as they don't want to bother so maybe opsec is going to have to be a lot tighter . In the instance with the tag along boyfriend compromising the family mentioning their food capacity , he was clearly a good kid but had the situation persisted , that oversight in security would have been that families downfall.