From the Geologicial Society of London

"However, super-eruptions are up to hundreds of times larger than these, and their global effects are likely to be much more severe. An area the size of North America can be devastated, and pronounced deterioration of global climate would be expected for a few years following the eruption. They could result in the devastation of world agriculture, severe disruption of food supplies, and mass starvation. These effects could be sufficiently severe to threaten the fabric of civilization."


That does not sound fun. There are plenty of Supervolcanoes about. It just happens that lots of people know Yellowstone already, as a huge volcanic site.

Plus, if it's a standard BBC weekend drama, the script can threaten/trap tourists in danger. Disabled kids, probably. And some local mayor etc can say " No, I'll not close the park, it'll never erupt." etc, and die in the eruption just when after he goes to the geologist (pretty, young, blonde) "I guess you were right."

I'm not being cynical here. The BBC will repeat the actual real science programme on Supervolcanoes they made a few years back, so they can leave any inconvient science out of the drama. And I do know a pretty young blonde geologist, so the paragraph above isn't total sterotypes...

However, the same report concludes there is nothing we can do, even in the realms of science fiction, about one of these things. Being British, it doesn't end with "Stick your head between your legs and kiss your arse ( note spellling ) goodbye." But should.

Bunnahabhain