End Day
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End Day is a docu-drama produced by the BBC and airing on the National Geographic Channel that depicts various doomsday scenarios. The documentary follows Dr. Howell, a scientist, as he travels from his hotel room in London, England to his laboratory in New York City, and shows how each scenario affects his journey as well as those around him, with various experts providing commentary on that specific disaster as it unfolds. The following description of the programme was released by the BBC:
- "Imagine waking up to the last day on Earth...
- "Inspired by the predictions of scientists, End Day creates apocalyptic scenarios that go beyond reality. In a single hour, explore five different fictional disasters, from a giant tsunami hitting New York to a deadly meteorite strike on Berlin."
Below are the various catastrophies depicted in the order they occur in the film:
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[edit] Mega-Tsunami
In this scenario, a volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma triggers a massive landslide wherein a sizeable portion of the island collapses into the sea, causing a massive mega-tsunami to race across the Atlantic ocean and strike the east coast of the United States, completely inundating New York City.
[edit] Killer Asteroid
This scenario begins with a mysterious 'missile attack' in a remote area somewhere in the Middle East. The 'missiles' are soon revealed to be small asteroid fragments, the advance guard of a much larger asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The asteroid is located and an attempt is made to destroy it using nuclear ICBMs. The attempt fails, resulting in the asteroid being broken into hundreds of smaller pieces which then impact and obliterate Berlin.
[edit] Global Pandemic
In this scenario, a virus similar to SARS or Asian Bird Flu is unleashed, wreaking havoc as it spreads at a phenomenal rate throughout Europe, the UK, and North America, prompting many countries to enact martial law and close their borders in a frantic attempt to contain the spread of the disease.
[edit] Supervolcano
This scenario is based on the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park erupting, causing vast damage to the area 100 km around the volcano, as well as releasing ash into the atmosphere which is predicted to severely cool the earth. This segment has not been shown on any airings, except for one in January 2007 on UKTV History.
[edit] Strange Matter
This scenario is the only one wherein Dr. Howell reaches his laboratory unhindered, with people protesting, and shouting,"STOP THE EXPERIMENT!" outside. Upon arrival, he and his colleagues initiate a highly controversial experiment using the world's largest particle accelerator. The experiment quickly goes out of control, resulting in the creation of a new type of matter called a strangelet, which begins to consume and destroy all matter around it.
[edit] Disclaimer
It should be noted that although these scenarios are based on real possibilities, most of them have been scaled up for dramatic effect, something that is mentioned constantly throughout the program.
[edit] Trivia
All original official sources cite 5 different scenarios including a giant volcanic explosion, but the volcanic explosion segment was not aired during its first airing on the National Geographic Channel for unknown reasons and all references on the National Geographic website to it has been removed as of June 2006. Only the other 4 scenarios have been aired on NGC. However the BBC website still references to the super volcano. (Official BBC website)
UKTV History aired the version including the supervolcano segment on January 23rd 2007.
When Dr. Howell drives off in a taxi at the beginning of the second episode, a front of a cinema is visible behind with Groundhog Day (film) "now showing". That movie's hero is stuck in a single day of his life, repeating it time after time with minor variations - a reference to the fate of Dr. Howell.
