When the Yellowstone Super-volcano Starred in its Own TV Movie
The super-volcano in Yellowstone National Park is a lot of things. Yes, it's a volcano. It's a geological wonder. It's potentially an extinction level event. 16 years ago, it was also the star of a made-for-TV movie.
The movie I'm referencing is "Supervolcano". It came out in 2005 and as I remember it first aired on The Discovery Channel. The iMDB page claims it was originally a BBC show. The storyline that was shared there is a little over-dramatic:
Yellowstone is a park, but it's also the deadliest volcano on Earth. Beneath it, a sleeping 'dragon' is stirring.
A dragon? Someone's being consuming too many energy drinks. Yes, the Yellowstone super-volcano is kinda scary, but it will never be a dragon. Facts are your friends.
Even with all the over-the-top sensationalism, it was a very entertaining movie that had a little science in it, too.
Don't have time to watch the two-part movie? I'll save you some time. The guy with the weird hair is the "scientist" in charge of Yellowstone. His wife is married to a writer who's making wild claims about the government covering up an imminent eruption. After a minor eruption that launches a few park workers into space, the government wants the scientist with the weird hair to downplay the likelihood of a major eruption which he does because hey a guy's gotta get paid.
What happens next? SPOILER ALERT: the Yellowstone super-volcano erupts and changes life as we know it with the weird hair scientist guy and another dude seeking shelter in a military bunker in Cheyenne.
The movie more or less wraps up with all the scientists admitting that they should have paid attention to the warning signs. Yada yada yada.
"Supervolcano" was on Netflix for awhile. If nothing else, you can watch some of the YouTube shares and laugh knowing that you're probably safe from being killed by the real Yellowstone super-volcano. For now.