Category 7: The End of the World

Category 7: The End of the World is a 2005 four-hour American made-for-television disaster miniseries and B movie that was broadcast in the United States on CBS in two parts, the first part aired on November 6 and the second on November 13. It was directed by Dick Lowry.[1] A sequel to the 2004 miniseries Category 6: Day of Destruction, this film starts directly after the events shown in that film. The new director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must continue to contend with the massive storm system that hit Chicago in the first film. The storm has continued to gain strength, spawning additional storms around the world, with three converging over Washington, D.C. and forming a massive category 7 hurricane (although no tropical cyclone scale has a category numbered 7).

For the cable standard, see Category 7 cable.
Category 7: The End of the World
Cover of the DVD release of Category 7
Written byChristian Ford
Roger Soffer
Directed byDick Lowry
StarringRandy Quaid
Gina Gershon
Shannen Doherty
Tom Skerritt
Swoosie Kurtz
James Brolin
Robert Wagner
Adam Rodriguez
Lindy Booth
Theme music composerJoseph Williams
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersLesley Oswald
Peter Sadowski
Robert M. Sertner
Frank von Zerneck
CinematographyNeil Roach
EditorTod Feuerman
Running time240 minutes
Production companyVon Zerneck-Sertner Films
DistributorSonar Entertainment
Budget$15,000,000
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseNovember 6 (2005-11-06) –
November 13, 2005 (2005-11-13)
Chronology
Preceded byCategory 6: Day of Destruction

Plot

Following the events in Category 6: Day of Destruction, the superstorm that hit Chicago is continuing to grow in size and strength, with tornadoes hitting Paris and destroying the Eiffel Tower. Judith Carr (Gina Gershon), the new head of FEMA struggles to coordinate efforts to prepare for the aftermath of the storm and provide aid to ravaged areas. She calls in her former college lover, Dr. Ross Duffy (Cameron Daddo), and her father Senator Ryan Carr (Robert Wagner) to help her try to determine what is causing the storms and how to deal with the political issues. "Tornado Tommy" (Randy Quaid), who survived his seeming death in the previous film, returns to aid in tracking the storm in the United States, assisted by scientist Faith Clavell (Shannen Doherty). Similar storms are developing around the country and an interaction between urban heat islands and "falling chunks of mesosphere" fuels the storms making it more powerful. Hurricane Eduardo strikes toward Florida, while the Category 6 storm hits Buffalo, New York and heads towards, and destroys most of, New York City.

During these catastrophic events, two Christian fundamentalists (James Brolin and Swoosie Kurtz) fake the arrival of the plagues of Egypt to lure in new converts, culminating in their kidnapping of the first-born children of Judith Carr and other high-ranking officials. When Tommy and Faith get their data to FEMA in New York, Judith realizes that Hurricane Eduardo is heading towards Washington, D.C. and the Category 6 storm in New York is heading in the same direction. When both storms collide with the mesosphere, it turns into a "Category 7" hurricane, obliterating anything in its path. The force of the storm is so massive, that a category 7 could potentially cause a global catastrophe, possibly leading to the apocalypse.

Production

The miniseries was produced by von Zerneck/Sertner Films, which also produced Category 6.[2] It was filmed at various locations around Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the Canadian air force base 17 Wing was used for the fictional version of Biloxi, Mississippi's Keesler Air Force Base. Air force members were tapped as extra by the production company to play the United States Air Force members seen during the film. The air force base commander noted that the filming helped to boost the local economy, due to the $600,000 in salaries generated during filming, but did not cause interfering with operations or security at the base.[3]

David Price, the weather man for CBS's The Early Show who was given a cameo role in Category 6, returned for another cameo in Category 7. In this film, Price appears in a brief scene as a reporter who questions the character Judith Carr about bringing her former lover, Dr. Duffy, in to help with the storm issue. In an interview for his own show, Price said it took him a lot of practice to deliver his "crucial line" just right, with it taking four hours to shoot the brief scene. Director Dick Lowry jokingly noted that his biggest mistake in the film was giving Price the key line in that scene.[4]

Release

Broadcast

Category 7 was initially aired on CBS as a two-part, four-hour miniseries. The first part aired on Sunday, November 6, 2005. The second part aired a week later.[5][6]

Home media release

The miniseries was released to DVD by Echo Bridge Entertainment on April 4, 2006 on a single disc.[7] On March 4, 2008, Echo Bridge released the film as a two movie set with another disaster film, 10.5: Apocalypse (airing later in May 2006 on NBC).[8] This was later followed by an April 2008 release of the film to Blu-ray, and a July 2008 Blu-ray release of the two movie pack.[9][10]

Reception

The film is fraught with several factual errors and noticeably poor production quality and acting. Many critics felt that the first portion of the film was weak and confusing due to the large number of characters being introduced at once.

Nevertheless, Category 7 was the top rated network miniseries in 2006.[2] The first part of the miniseries came in number 16 among the top 25 network programs aired in the week of October 31-November 6, and was the second most watched program for that Sunday with 14.7 million viewers.[11][12] The second part of the film was also the second most watched program for its timeslot on November 13, with 13.85 million viewers.[13]

The film was nominated for multiple awards in 2006, including a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special."[14] It was nominated for a Saturn Award for "Best Television Presentation",[15] a Cinema Audio Society Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Mini-Series",[16] and two Golden Reel Awards for "Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form — Dialogue and Automated Dialogue Replacement" and "Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form — Sound Effects & Foley."[17][18]

Before Category 7 aired, CBS was criticized for choosing to air the miniseries only months after two devastating hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, hitting the United States, and a third, Hurricane Wilma, causing destruction in Florida in the same month the film was slated to première.[19]

References
  1. "Category 7: The End of the World". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Archived from the original on October 4, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  2. "About". von Zerneck/Sertner Films. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  3. "17 Wing – Stars of Stage and Screen". Canada's Air Force. October 3, 2005. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  4. David Price (Reporter) (November 4, 2005). Dave Price's Starring Role (Flash) (Television production). Manhattan, New York: CBS. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  5. Huddleston, Kathie (October 31, 2005). "Category 7: The End of the World". On Screen. SciFi.com. 11 (445). Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  6. "Category 7: The End of the World' Hits TV". ET Online. CBS. November 8, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  7. "Category 7: The End of the World". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  8. "10.5 Apocalypse / Category 7: The End of the World". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  9. "Category 7: The End of the World [Blu-ray]". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  10. "10. 5 Apocalypse/Category 7: The End of the World [Blu-ray]". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  11. "CBS' winning streak at 7 weeks". The San Diego Union-Tribune. November 9, 2005. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  12. Van Gelder, Lawrence (November 8, 2005). "Arts, Briefly". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  13. Van Gelder, Lawrence (November 15, 2005). "Arts, Briefly". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  14. "The 58th Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmys Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  15. "SITH Leads Nomination List for 32nd Annual". Mania Entertainment. February 15, 2006. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  16. "The Nominees for the Cinema Audio Society Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2005". Cinema Audio Society. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  17. "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: 2006 Golden Reel Award". IMDb, Motion Picture Sound Editors. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  18. "Past Golden Reel Awards". Motion Picture Sound Editors. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  19. Jakle, Jeanne (October 20, 2005). "CBS going ahead with storm drama". San Antonio Express-News. pp. 05F.
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