The China Syndrome

Playback, please.

Five, four, three, two, one.

- Go. - Camera two, we need to clear bars.

This is only 40 seconds long. Let's hustle up.

There we go. Camera two is clear.

- Okay, let's preview. - Red hair was a good idea.

- We talked about cutting it. - What did she say?

We haven't talked to her, but she'll do what we tell her.

- Good. - Not much. That's it.

- Okay. - Guys, what are we doing?

Studio B, this is remote.

We're gonna come out of the last section tight. Tell Pete to say good-bye.

Studio B, this is Kimberly. How soon do we go live?

Make sure Pete knows. Just time to say good-bye.

Thank you.

Fellas, anybody listening to me?

- Coming to camera two. - Is Mac there?

- Three seconds. - Mac, here. What is it?

How soon are you gonna hit us?

We're gonna need at least five minutes before we go on.

Can you put us after the commercial?

Not a chance. This is last section.

- Can you give us two? - Coming to you in 40 seconds.

You can't do that. We don't have a cameraman.

- Where the hell is George? - He's taking a leak.

What do you want me to tell you? He locked the camera down before he left.

This is a 21/2 minute spot. It's not gonna hold in a static shot.

Better tell Pete to stretch because remote's gonna be late.

Stretch Pete. Slow him down. Make sure he knows.

I was thinking maybe you could start on a tight shot of me.

Then after I introduce them, pull back to a wide.

No problem. Just get George back.

Camera two is clear. Here we come.

Got less than a minute.

We're about to go on the air. Clear back there. Thanks.

- Y'all ready? Everybody ready? - Fifteen seconds.

Right now barometric pressure is at 30.07 and steady...

with the relative humidity 41 %.

The wind is from the south-southwest at five miles an hour.

Now it's time to switch controls to Kimberly Wells...

who is out in the field with a live Minicam report.

Pete. What did you do the last time someone had a birthday?

Send a card or maybe flowers?

Kinda boring, huh? Wanna try something more imaginative?

Give an ''H, ''give an ''H'' give an H-A-P.

Give a ''P, ''give a ''P'' give a P-P-Y.

Give a ''B, ''give an ''I, ''give an R-T-H Happy birthday.

Give a cheer, give a big hooray There's something that I've come to say.

And this is just one part of a new group...

that seems to be taking L.A. by storm.

Live Wires- the singing telegram people.

And there's one for every occasion.

The Gederschkins and Matatowskis all have sent us here to tell you.

That they love you, surely We've come to wish you gladness.

Madness, madness We've come to wish you joy.

Happy anniversary This is your golden year.

Maybe your parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary...

and you'd like to send them an opera-gram.

Or maybe you have a message that words cannot express.

That's the kind of stuff I wanna see.

Get in tight on the navel.

Oh, mercy.!

Stand by. Coming to two.

That is a belly-gram...

and words cannot express that.

That's the kind of stuff I wanna see.

Ratings have gone up half a point since we put her on the show.

Our research said she'd do well in the L.A. market.

Hey, very good.!

Very nice show, Kimberly.

Mac here.

Can you hear me?

- Change of schedule. - You gotta be kidding. Again?

- We're goin' to Ventana. - That's great.!

Be there at 1:30.

What about the crew, Richard and Hector?

They'll pick you up and you can all drive up together.

Right. Okay. Can I have a hit? Thanks.

I don't smoke.

It's 12:40 in Los Angeles.

Temperature is 68 degrees at the Civic Center.

Here's a new one on the charts for the first time this week.

They're here, Mr. Gibson.

Hi. Bill Gibson, Public Relations. Here to help you through security.

Exterior. Ventana special. Take one.

We're rolling. Anytime.

This is Kimberly Wells. I'm here at the Ventana Nuclear Power Plant...

owned and operated by California Gas and Electric.

The huge dome that you see behind me...

is called the containment and houses the nuclear fuel.

In this section of ''Energy in California''...

we're going to focus on nuclear power-

that almost magical transformation of matter into energy...

that the experts tell us may be our best shot...

at energy selfish suff- suffi-

- Cut! - Shit.

- What happened? - You said ''selfish sufficiency''...

instead of''self-sufficiency.''

Self-sufficiency.

Right from the top. Let's keep going.

This is a pellet of simulated uranium...

the exact size that's used in the fuel rods.

This tiny pellet contains more energy...

than six carloads of coal.

We have 20 million of those pellets inside the reactor vessel.

That's here. We call it the ''core.''

Around the core, of course, is water.

Water is used as a coolant.

Inside the fuel assembly is another set of rods...

called the ''control rods.''

These rods actually control the nuclear reaction.

What happens is this:

When the core is put on-line-

when it's activated-

the control rods are lifted out.

With them gone, nuclear fuel sets up a chain reaction...

that produces a tremendous amount of heat that boils the water...

that turns to steam that turns the turbine...

that turns the generator that produces electricity.

That's it.

That's a cut. That was great.

Let's get a reaction shot on Kimberly over here.

- You don't need to do it again? - No, it was great.

- You made it seem simple. - It really is.

If you don't need me for a couple of seconds, I'd like to get your hard hats.

- You want me to get this light? - You gonna take us inside the plant?

- That's the next stop. - Great.

- You all set, Kimbo? - Yeah- Oh, my God.

- Lookin' good. - That's what I get for staying out late.

- Get rid of my circles, will you? - I'll try my best. We try harder.

You're a pal. Don't touch my hair.

React on William Gibson. He's right here.

- Did you get the pellet? - Yeah, nice close insert.

- That's not cheating too much? - No, highly complimentary angle.

You're gonna love it. Gibson's talking. You're listening.

Interested, very interested.

The steam turns the turbine, turns the generator. Then the shit hits the fan.

Come on, Kimbo. Hold it together. Very good.

Uranium, huh?

They make bombs out of that stuff, don't they?

They didn't mention that, did they?

Wait till you get to the other room, get that radiation all over that body.

Take one of those black pellets and you'll really turn on.

- Ready? - That's a cut.

You've got our hats?

Your hat. One size fits all.

- Let me have that. - Great.

Can we film in the containment area?

No, not while we're on-line.

- Is it all right if I leave my jacket? - That'll be fine.

- Just follow me. - Man does his job, doesn't he?

Listen, you.

Don't blow it for me, Richard.

This is coverage, not controversy.

- Will you be a friend? - I'm trying.

This is the turbine room.

Rolling! Ventana power plant. Kimberly Wells. Take one.

This is a rare opportunity to see inside a nuclear power plant.

Standing here next to this giant turbine...

you can actually feel the power.

And power is what it's all about.

This 800-megawatt plant generates enough electricity...

to meet the needs of a city of three-quarters of a million people.

We're now 50 feet above the floor of the turbine room...

on an incredible moving crane.

Mr. Gibson, what is this crane used for?

We use it to transport very, very heavy pieces of machinery...

up to hundreds of tons.

I think it'll support us all right.

I certainly hope so.

How many people are employed here?

At present time, we have a payroll of 150.

How do they work in all this noise?

Noise? What noise? I don't hear any noise.

What?

This level here is 80 feet from where we were.

- Is there enough light for you? - No way.

- Sound's no good. - Meet our plant supervisor.

Herman DeYoung, this is Kimberly Wells.

Yes, I recognize you.

How are you?

If I can do anything for you, just let me know.

Thank you, Herman.

It's too dark here. We can't film anything.

Okay. I got a better idea anyway.

All right.

I think you'll like this.

That the way to the containment?

Yes.

Oh, God, my ears.

- How old is this plant? - We went on-line four years ago.

Took over 12 years to build.

Don't you have another plant opening pretty soon?

We'll be licensing Point Conception hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

The safety hearings are going on right now.

Together the two plants will generate more electricity...

than the Hoover Dam and the Grand Coulee combined.

That's very interesting.

Your tongue is black. I think you're contaminated.

This is the control room.