location report on a beach where an   enormous tidal wave, thousands of feet high, is heading towards the shore.   People are running and screaming in panic as the wave gets closer. Bud   realizes that it is the aliens who are controlling this wave: "you guys are   doing this! You have the power to control water!" He asks why they are doing   this, and the aliens respond by showing him images of nuclear weapons   exploding and causing destruction. Bud realizes that the aliens are   concerned about the recent military buildup and the possibility of a nuclear   war. He asks "where do you get off passing judgment on us? How do know   theyll actually do it?" The aliens then show him various images depicting   the horrors of war, all the images are from the great wars in human history.   This shows that the aliens have monitored our TV for many years and know   that mankind has a tendancy for war. We then see shots of the huge tidal   wave increasing in size and approaching coastlines all over the world,   including New York and San Francisco. People are panicking and fleeing in   terror, and then the wave suddenly slows to a stop and hangs in the air,   seemingly suspended in time. Citizens stare in awe at the giant wave, and   then it begins receed and back away from the coast. People shout and cheer   as the wave moves away. Bud turns to the aliens and asks "you couldve done   it, why didnt you?" This is where the scene started in the theatrical   version, with the aliens showing Bud that they were monitoring his typed   conversations with the surface. 