NBC's quake miniseries has seismic experts shaking their heads
 

http://www.kcal9.com/apentertainment...rces_news_html

Saturday April 10, 2004
LOS ANGELES (AP) An upcoming TV miniseries about an impossibly large earthquake that strikes the West Coast has left seismic experts shaking their heads at what they called gross inaccuracies.

In NBC's disaster epic ``10.5,'' massive quakes topple the Golden Gate Bridge, send the Pacific Ocean sloshing over Los Angeles, swallow trucks and chase trains. An attempt to stop the temblors by fusing the San Andreas fault with a series of atomic explosions fails.

Seismologists who have previewed ``10.5'' expressed both alarm and mirth. A magnitude-10.5 earthquake would be 8,000 times more powerful than the 6.7 Northridge quake that killed 72 people in Southern California in 1994.

The faults that underlie California would not be capable of generating such a huge temblor, experts said. Such a quake could be theoretically possible elsewhere, but the largest earthquake in recorded history was a magnitude 9.5 off Chile in 1960.

``The production is blatantly inconsistent with everything we know about earthquakes,'' said Lucy Jones, scientist in charge of the U.S. Geological Survey office in Pasadena. ``It's complete science fantasy, but as long as people know that nothing about it could be true, they can sit back and enjoy it.''

Howard Braunstein, executive producer of the miniseries, acknowledged that the film is meant as ``fun entertainment'' and plays loose with the facts.

Asked whether he consulted scientists in developing the project, Braunstein said: ``Not really. We went on the Internet for backup research.''

Darrell Young, director of the state Department of Conservation, said NBC should run a disclaimer, as well as list Web sites where audiences could get true information about quakes.

NBC has made no decision about a disclaimer, Braunstein said.

The special effects-laden, four-hour miniseries stars Kim Delaney and Beau Bridges and is set to air May 2 and 3.


Couldn't find a previous thread on this show. Is anybody planning on watching this disaster? ;)

Chris

I absolutely love that networks can make these movies of the week that are ridiculously out of the realm of possibility and then claim "It's complete science fantasy, but as long as people know that nothing about it could be true, they can sit back and enjoy it". What a joke.

I cant wait to see it......count me in

I'll probably wwatch this. It seems like it could be pretty entertaining.

NBC didn't say that. Lucy Jones, scientist in charge of the U.S. Geological Survey office in Pasadena, did.

Right, what the producer said was the movie would be fun entertainment. A movie about thousands (millions?) dying because of an earthquake...thats fun entertainment if I've ever heard it.

No different than all the disaster movies that seem to come out every year.

exactly. I can enjoy ID4 yet billions die in it's many explosions. TV shouldn't be a morality builder. It's entertainment.

At least it's not the East Coast...

atomic explosions to fuse the fault? -ohbfrank-


is that hollywood's solution to everything? reminds me of the core. we'll use nukes to restart the earth! or armadgeddon. we'll use nukes to stop the asteroid. etc.

Networks eat this stuff up. You can't buy better PR than this.

And as we all know, everything on TV is true...

Since most of the recent major network mini-series have been disasters anyway, this should fit right in.

Gotta nuke something.

Besides, how are you gonna make a bigger explosion than with a nuke? Explosions, people! Blowing up stuff with all sorts of crazy crap flying around. Now that gets asses into seats.

Re: NBC's quake miniseries has seismic experts shaking their heads
 

rotfl

I thought 10.5 sounded high when I saw the preview. I just read a book called "The Rift" (highly recommend it) about an earthquake in the Mississippi River Valley and I believe the quake was 8.8

10.5 is a civilization-destroyer, not just a state-wrecker

Not the first time that a mini-series would have inaccuracies. But yeah, I'll tune in. I mean, c'mon Beau Bridges...I'm there!

Stupid west coast bias... -ohbfrank-


this'll be like The Day After all over again....

Yeah, they’ve got their facts mixed up. Lex Luthor used nukes to cause an earthquake. -rolleyes-

A small price to pay if it means no more Lakers.

rotfl

I'm sure it will happen during a road game! ;)

Chris

It does sound interesting. Big deal that it's not accurate. When is it on?

EDIT: Nevermind, didn't see the air date at the bottom :D

Get used to it, they'll be around alot longer then you, bud.

I'd rather see a big time mini-series about a 4.5 out in Pomona with minimal damage, that half of the population didn't feel. Jeff Zucker would then be fired when absolutely no people watch....not even the people who made the movie.

It's a TV movie....if people watch TV miniseries for scientific accuracy than I am scared of what the world has become.

On a different not....wasn't there a "Big One" earthquake movie about 10 years ago. I thought it was on NBC as well.

Wasn't that one based in New York? Even so, the effects will be so much more bitchin' than 10 years ago! ;)

Chris

"This goes up to 11!"