'Nova' hits and misses with pair of tsunami episodes

Monday, March 28, 2005

By TOM PAULSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

There's no disaster like a tectonic disaster.

That may best summarize the basic theme of two back-to-back episodes of "Nova" airing Tuesday night on PBS (KCTS/9). The first, at 8 p.m., is an hourlong show on the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami: "Wave That Shook the World." The second episode, "Krakatoa," begins at 9 p.m. and runs 90 minutes.

The two shows, produced by WGBH Boston, are sensibly presented in tandem because they are both natural disasters in the Indian Ocean that resulted from the massive geological forces that shape the surface of the planet.

Another reason for packaging them together, however, also could be that the longer piece on the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa may not have done so well on its own. It's kind of goofy.

But let's begin with what's good. The "Wave That Shook the World" is an excellent summary of the Indian Ocean tsunami and the science behind the disaster. Early in the show, viewers get a glimpse of the personal views of two scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center -- which was unable to warn residents of Asia of the tsunami.

Why did this happen? The show deftly weaves the timeline of the wave's deadly progress with interviews of experts explaining why the size of the quake wasn't first recognized and why -- once it was -- they were unable to warn in time.

Footage of the tsunami's destruction is interspersed with excellent graphic descriptions of the science. The show's title is justified by an explanation from a NASA scientist who noted the massive Sumatran earthquake that produced the tsunami did, in fact, shake the world -- enough to create a wobble on its axis and shorten that day by three-billionths of a second.

The "Nova" episode doesn't dodge controversy. An interview with Australian seismologist Phil Cummins includes mention of how, in October 2003, he warned of massive quakes and tsunamis off Sumatra and called for an Indian Ocean warning system.

"Krakatoa" includes voice-over mention of the recent disaster, but looks like something that may have been sitting on the shelf a while. Computer animation of the tsunami produced by the volcanic explosion is impressive -- for those near the island, the wave must have been huge -- but some of it looks like a cheap video game.

The actors playing historical characters also look as if they came from the bargain section (especially the glued-on sideburns of Dr. Van der Stok, director of an observatory in what is now Jakarta, Indonesia). Perhaps "Nova" should stick to interviewing real scientists and leave the thespian stuff to Hollywood.

There's a good story, and good information, in the "Krakatoa" program, but it's a bit of a visual disappointment compared with "Wave That Shook the World."

P-I reporter Tom Paulson can be reached at 206-448-8318 or tompaulson@seattlepi.com.

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