Proof that it will all be forgotten about in a couple of months
05 January 2005, 03:53 PM
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Proof that it will all be forgotten about in a couple of months
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcas...383239,00.html
The programme is being shelved for a few months until it will not be bad taste, in other words once everybody in the UK gets bored with the disaster and gets back to normal.
The programme is being shelved for a few months until it will not be bad taste, in other words once everybody in the UK gets bored with the disaster and gets back to normal.
05 January 2005, 03:56 PM
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The BBC has shelved flagship docu-drama Supervolcano, one of the most expensive programmes in its history, fearing its scenes of death and destruction would offend viewers in the wake of the tsunami disaster.
Supervolcano, which was due to air on BBC1 at the end of this month, tells in graphic fashion the story of a major volcanic eruption in Yellowstone National Park. The supervolcano, with a power thousands of times greater than the eruption at Mount Vesuvius, kills everyone in a 60-mile radius and destroys nearby Salt Lake City and Denver.
The programme, which cost £2.8m to make, was billed as a "true story - it just hasn't happened yet". It shows the volcano leading to massive climate change and global famine, resulting in 500,000 deaths in the US and a billion fatalities worldwide.
Supervolcanoes have been in the news in the last year with widespread reports that a volcano in the Canary Islands due in the next 1,000 years would prompt a major landslide which would in turn produce a tidal wave that would deluge New York.
The notion that a geological incident off the coast of Africa could affect America was difficult to imagine before Boxing Day but is now something that could cause panic among viewers.
BBC executives decided at a meeting on Tuesday night that they had no option but to pull the programme, which was to have been one of the highlights of BBC1's winter schedule.
"It would not have been appropriate to show the programme given the events of the last 10 days," said a BBC spokeswoman. "It was due to go out at the end of January but will now be shown at a later date."
Channel bosses are looking at all aspects of the BBC's schedule for programming that may appear to be insensitive following the disaster in south Asia, which has so far cost nearly 150,000 lives. Strands such as science documentary series Horizon are likely to come under particular scrutiny.
Another documentary on BBC3, End Day, which was due to air next month, is also likely to be postponed until later in the year.
End Day, another special effects-laden documentary, investigated "five possible scenarios for apocalypse" including a "mega-tsunami striking New York". Experts have predicted that a landslide in the Canary Islands could create a tidal wave which would engulf America's east coast, sweeping away everything in its path up to 20km inland.
Supervolcano is one of the most expensive programmes the BBC has ever made. The two-part programme, accompanied by a two-part documentary running on BBC2, was funded by the BBC along with TV stations in the US, Germany, France and Japan.
It was made with US government agencies including the Pentagon, and leading geologists and meteorologists. "It's possible, in fact it's extremely likely that [the Yellowstone supervolcano] will erupt again," said Michael Mosley, the executive producer of the BBC, at the programme's launch last month.
Supervolcano was included in the BBC's manifesto for charter renewal last year as an example of how the BBC was "building public value through science. Only the BBC is able to invest for the long term in programmes such as these and schedule them in prime time."
· To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
Supervolcano, which was due to air on BBC1 at the end of this month, tells in graphic fashion the story of a major volcanic eruption in Yellowstone National Park. The supervolcano, with a power thousands of times greater than the eruption at Mount Vesuvius, kills everyone in a 60-mile radius and destroys nearby Salt Lake City and Denver.
The programme, which cost £2.8m to make, was billed as a "true story - it just hasn't happened yet". It shows the volcano leading to massive climate change and global famine, resulting in 500,000 deaths in the US and a billion fatalities worldwide.
Supervolcanoes have been in the news in the last year with widespread reports that a volcano in the Canary Islands due in the next 1,000 years would prompt a major landslide which would in turn produce a tidal wave that would deluge New York.
The notion that a geological incident off the coast of Africa could affect America was difficult to imagine before Boxing Day but is now something that could cause panic among viewers.
BBC executives decided at a meeting on Tuesday night that they had no option but to pull the programme, which was to have been one of the highlights of BBC1's winter schedule.
"It would not have been appropriate to show the programme given the events of the last 10 days," said a BBC spokeswoman. "It was due to go out at the end of January but will now be shown at a later date."
Channel bosses are looking at all aspects of the BBC's schedule for programming that may appear to be insensitive following the disaster in south Asia, which has so far cost nearly 150,000 lives. Strands such as science documentary series Horizon are likely to come under particular scrutiny.
Another documentary on BBC3, End Day, which was due to air next month, is also likely to be postponed until later in the year.
End Day, another special effects-laden documentary, investigated "five possible scenarios for apocalypse" including a "mega-tsunami striking New York". Experts have predicted that a landslide in the Canary Islands could create a tidal wave which would engulf America's east coast, sweeping away everything in its path up to 20km inland.
Supervolcano is one of the most expensive programmes the BBC has ever made. The two-part programme, accompanied by a two-part documentary running on BBC2, was funded by the BBC along with TV stations in the US, Germany, France and Japan.
It was made with US government agencies including the Pentagon, and leading geologists and meteorologists. "It's possible, in fact it's extremely likely that [the Yellowstone supervolcano] will erupt again," said Michael Mosley, the executive producer of the BBC, at the programme's launch last month.
Supervolcano was included in the BBC's manifesto for charter renewal last year as an example of how the BBC was "building public value through science. Only the BBC is able to invest for the long term in programmes such as these and schedule them in prime time."
· To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
05 January 2005, 09:44 PM
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I want to follow that Canary Islands one, having just bought a house by the Portuguese coast.
But the US - 20 km inland
Wow, we'll have to have a SEVEN-minute silence if that ever happens! Can you imagine the reaction on Scoobynet?
But the US - 20 km inland
Wow, we'll have to have a SEVEN-minute silence if that ever happens! Can you imagine the reaction on Scoobynet?
06 January 2005, 08:54 AM
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I remember watching a program about the super volcanos maybe a year ago. It is a true event that could happen, maybe the exact effects are a dramatisation, but this is based on hard geological evidence, why shuld they not show it now? This is all getting a bit too PC.
Maybe we should ban the concept of "waving" at each other? as I am sure suggesting that we "give a big wave to all the population of asia", should be enough to get that comment deleted?
Maybe we should ban the concept of "waving" at each other? as I am sure suggesting that we "give a big wave to all the population of asia", should be enough to get that comment deleted?
06 January 2005, 09:27 AM
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Funnily enough, whilst most people are re-scheduling programmes because of the tragedy, last night, UK TV documentary showed a Horizon programme from 2000 about the Las Palmas mega tsunami to 'better illustrate what happens in these events in light of the recent disaster'.
It was very interesting indeed.
I didn't find it in the least in bad taste. After all, they don't stop programmes with traffic accidents in them and we suffer thousands of those a year, not 200!
Geezer
It was very interesting indeed.
I didn't find it in the least in bad taste. After all, they don't stop programmes with traffic accidents in them and we suffer thousands of those a year, not 200!
Geezer
06 January 2005, 09:59 AM
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The Canary Islands theory was covered in a documentary called, IIRC, Mega Tsunami (or something like that).
Basically Fuerteventura is unstable due to it's geological make up. It's believed that the volcano at the heart of the island could superheat water trapped within the rock structure which could force a huge landslide of several billion tonnes of rock into the Atlantic. They had theoretical models to show that this would create a huge tidal wave that wouldn't stop until it hit the east coast of the USA (actually it wouldn't stop until several miles inland of the east coast of the USA). Don't expect to see it repeated soon but keep watching Discovery channel, it's often on there.
EDIT: Damn it, too slow
Basically Fuerteventura is unstable due to it's geological make up. It's believed that the volcano at the heart of the island could superheat water trapped within the rock structure which could force a huge landslide of several billion tonnes of rock into the Atlantic. They had theoretical models to show that this would create a huge tidal wave that wouldn't stop until it hit the east coast of the USA (actually it wouldn't stop until several miles inland of the east coast of the USA). Don't expect to see it repeated soon but keep watching Discovery channel, it's often on there.
EDIT: Damn it, too slow
Last edited by NotoriousREV; 06 January 2005 at 10:00 AM. Reason: Geezer's post above ;)
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06 January 2005, 10:05 AM
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dont get over excited...its not PC...its just common sense.
if you were the boss of a firm and one of your employees died in a jetski accident you wouldnt take your staff on a jetski fun day out the following week! you could, and it would be fun...but you wouldnt.
the BBC loose nothing with this delay....in fact they prob gain from free exposure...i had never heard of the show till now...and i'll now watch it.
if you were in the BBC and had to make this call you would do exactlly the same....and if you wouldnt you're nuts.
T
if you were the boss of a firm and one of your employees died in a jetski accident you wouldnt take your staff on a jetski fun day out the following week! you could, and it would be fun...but you wouldnt.
the BBC loose nothing with this delay....in fact they prob gain from free exposure...i had never heard of the show till now...and i'll now watch it.
if you were in the BBC and had to make this call you would do exactlly the same....and if you wouldnt you're nuts.
T
06 January 2005, 10:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Tiggs
if you were the boss of a firm and one of your employees died in a jetski accident you wouldnt take your staff on a jetski fun day out the following week! you could, and it would be fun...but you wouldnt.
"come on, it's what he would have wanted!"
06 January 2005, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by NotoriousREV
Basically Fuerteventura is unstable due to it's geological make up.
Is it likely to happen in the next couple of years or is it one of those, some time in the next thousand years??
06 January 2005, 10:28 AM
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Originally Posted by VTEC to Turbo
I personally see no reason to stop a program that had already been made and in no way is it in bad taste showing a program like this.
no, and i'd go jetsking.......its just being sensible at no cost and possible gain. anyone who wouldnt do what the bbc have done would be very daft.
run it......extra exposure = none possible offence = maybe
stall it.....extra exposure = lots possible offence = none
06 January 2005, 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Tiggs
no, and i'd go jetsking.......its just being sensible at no cost and possible gain. anyone who wouldnt do what the bbc have done would be very daft.
run it......extra exposure = none possible offence = maybe
stall it.....extra exposure = lots possible offence = none
run it......extra exposure = none possible offence = maybe
stall it.....extra exposure = lots possible offence = none
06 January 2005, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by NotoriousREV
Actaully, Geezer is right, it's La Palma, not Fuerte 
All part of the Canary islands aren't they?
06 January 2005, 01:02 PM
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A very good documentary about the supervolcano (caldera) has already been made about the caldera under Yellowstone Park.
It was most facinating and ended by cross reference to a theory that the human race was nearly wiped out 70K years ago as a possible explanation (the last time a caldera went off) In the Philippines I think it was.
The one under Yellowstone park is due (on its 600K year cycle) and the lake at in Yellowstone park proves its ready cos its steadily being tipped up at one end.
I hate docudrama's they detract from the science of the issue at hand. But they do appeal to morons which seems to be the focus of British broadcasting these days.
It was most facinating and ended by cross reference to a theory that the human race was nearly wiped out 70K years ago as a possible explanation (the last time a caldera went off) In the Philippines I think it was.
The one under Yellowstone park is due (on its 600K year cycle) and the lake at in Yellowstone park proves its ready cos its steadily being tipped up at one end.
I hate docudrama's they detract from the science of the issue at hand. But they do appeal to morons which seems to be the focus of British broadcasting these days.
06 January 2005, 02:05 PM
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I saw the prog about the super eruption 70k years ago. It was quite astonishing the claims. Reckoned that the world human population was reduced to between 5k-15k, nearly snuffed us out. This is borne out in the DNA showing we are all related to these few thousand.
Another one was a prog about a not so quite large eruption, but basically it brought about the final downfall of the Roman Empire and the start of Islam!
Just shows how utterly insignificant and pathetic the human race is in the great scheme of things. This planet will eat us up in the blink of an eye.
The only reason civilisation has actually prospered is because it luckily started in a period where there has not been any major disasters. However, that is not going to continue.
Geezer
Another one was a prog about a not so quite large eruption, but basically it brought about the final downfall of the Roman Empire and the start of Islam!
Just shows how utterly insignificant and pathetic the human race is in the great scheme of things. This planet will eat us up in the blink of an eye.
The only reason civilisation has actually prospered is because it luckily started in a period where there has not been any major disasters. However, that is not going to continue.
Geezer
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