Savage Planet

The immediate dangers of active volcanoes are well known, but there are hidden dangers as well. Volcanoes in combination with water pose a special kind of lethal effect. This episode includes: an exploding lake in Nyos, West Africa, that sends deadly gases into the valley below, killing 1,7000; volcanic debris that mixes with water to create lahars responsible for countless deaths in the Philippines, and the worst rail disaster in New Zealand history; and volcanologists who believe Mount Rainier may follow its neighbor, Mount St. Helens, in a deadly reign of terror.

Most people think of hurricanes as the biggest storms on Earth, but extra-tropical cyclones can grow even bigger. This episode includes: a cyclone that hit the east coast of North America in 1993, killing more people than hurricanes Andrew and Hugo combined; the dramatic rescue attempt of a large bulk carrier foundering in massive waves off the coast of Nova Scotia; and the nearly forgotten storm of 1953 that swallowed men, women, and children from the ferry Princess Victoria, and battered the coasts of England and Holland.

Strange and deadly powers reside in Earth's atmosphere-- killer lightning bolts appear out of nowhere, hail comes just as suddenly, and rocks from space rewrite the landscape. This episode includes: a supercell thunderstorm in Sydney, Australia, that batters the city with giant hailstones; two glider pilots blown out of the sky by a sizzling lightning bolt; scientists who shoot rockets into storms to force lightning strikes; and the search for space debris like the 27-pound meteor that smashed into a car in Peekskill, New York.

Two contrasting worlds of fire and ice - rugged, high snow-capped mountains in the depths of winter, and Death Valley, the hottest, driest place in North America - are some of the harshest environments on Earth. This episode includes: deadly avalanches that sweep climbers and skiers off the slopes in Utah, destroy a town in France, and send a passenger train plunging down a cliff into a river in Washington; the mysterious sliding rocks at Death Valley's Racetrack Playa; and some people who risk their lives to work and play in the extremes.