Notes from the underworld

Tunics from Cortona (top right) and Florence.

Notes from the underworld

They had braved Parisian catacombs, gloomy dungeons, and shipwrecks. Yet as the elevator dropped 360 feet into a cavernous hall at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, uncertainty flickered across the faces of the globe-trotting television crew.

Cities of the Underworld host Don Wildman and his crew had come with the intention of peeling back the layers of the lab as if peeling an onion. Beginning hundreds of feet below ground and working their way to the top of Wilson Hall, the group documented the Tevatron collider, the deep tunnels of the NuMI and MINOS neutrino experiments, and the science that goes on there. The September 2007 filming took two days.

“It turned out great,” says Chris Bray, a producer for Authentic Entertainment. “We were worried about the explanation of such abstract and complicated science, but when we showed people an early version, we found that they loved neutrinos.” Although the Fermilab segment is brief, he adds, “This really is the star of the Chicago show.”

Each episode of the hit History Channel series focuses on the tunnels, tombs, and subterranean hideouts beneath the foundations of today's modern cities. The show has explored the dungeons of Scottish castles, the underground infrastructure of Rome, and the caves beneath Budapest.

While most episodes give viewers glimpses of past achievements, Fermilab's tunnels offered a look at science working to shape the future.

“It appeals to a wide audience. People are fascinated by looking at all different aspects of what goes on in the world,” says Mike Andrews, safety coordinator for NuMI/MINOS.

The initial airing of the episode was scheduled for mid-March; see the series' Web page for listings.

Rhianna Wisniewski