9-11 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 6 and 13
CBS

So much has the science of computerized graphics progressed that it is now possible to destroy Paris, New York, Mount Rushmore, Buffalo, N.Y., a Midwest trailer park and Washington in a miniseries filmed in Winnipeg. Following up on the May 2004 mini "Category 6: Day of Destruction," this CBS sequel literally leaves no stone unturned and no monument untoppled. It is a special effects extravaganza in which, here and there, from time to time, a bit of a story breaks out.

There are plenty of big names in the cast, but the real star is the visual effects, which dominate this tale of killer storms, selfless heroes and scheming politicians. While there is a real question about the propriety of entertaining American viewers with fictitious natural disasters so close on the heels of real ones, the devastation here is fully sanitized for your emotional protection. We witness the power of nature on the rampage but without all the nasty and tragic consequences, such as homeless evacuees, overtaxed emergency personnel and rotting corpses.

Many of those responsible for "Category 6," including director Dick Lowry, director of photography Neil Roach and production designer Sheila Haley, have returned for "Category 7," combining their skills to present such monumental disasters as the fall of Washington's head from Mount Rushmore and the collapse of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. For them, last year's destruction of Las Vegas, St. Louis and Chicago had just been a warm-up.

The new writers, Christian Ford and Roger Soffer, serve up a story that suggests manmade causes are responsible for a series of megastorms that have begun to spring up faster than Starbucks coffee shops. But what exactly are we doing wrong and how do we undo it? That's the mission of newly appointed FEMA director Judith Carr (Gina Gershon) and her old college boyfriend and meteorological genius, Ross Duffy (Cameron Daddo). All they need to put the pieces together is some data that can only be acquired by sending Col. Mike Davis (Tom Skerritt) on a flight into the storm and having Tornado Tommy (Randy Quaid) and Faith Clavell (Shannen Doherty) drive around the country, launching a miniature rocket here and there.

Meanwhile, perhaps fearing that the destruction of the planet wasn't enough to keep viewers interested, the writers concocted a silly plot involving the delusions of a renegade disciple of televangelists played by James Brolin and Swoosie Kurtz. The disciple (Nicholas Lea) abducts the children of Carr and Duffy, a distraction they hardly need while they race to save the planet.

There's little point in critiquing the acting other than to say this isn't a production that will embellish anyone's list of credits. Nearly everyone here is a caricature trying to make the best of a miniseries that is all about the special effects.

Still, if the ratings materialize, who's to say that next year there won't be "Category 8: Bye, Bye Universe"?

Category 7: The End of the World
CBS
Von Zerneck/Sertner Films

Credits:
Executive producers: Robert M. Sertner, Frank von Zernick
Co-executive producer: Randy Sutter
Producer: Lesley Oswald
Produced by: Peter Sadowski
Director: Dick Lowry
Teleplay: Christian Ford, Roger Soffer
Director of photography: Neil Roach
Production designer: Sheila Haley
Editors: Tod Feuerman, Scot Kelly
Music: Joseph Stanley Williams
Visual effects supervisor: Craig Weiss
Set decorator: Victoria Soderholm
Art director: Scott Russell
Casting: Susan Glicksman
Cast:
Judith Carr: Gina Gershon
Ross Duffy: Cameron Daddo
Tornado Tommy: Randy Quaid
Faith Clavell: Shannen Doherty
Donny Hall: James Brolin
Penny Hall: Swoosie Kurtz
Col. Mike Davis: Tom Skerritt
Ryan Carr: Robert Wagner
Monty: Nicholas Lea
Billy Chamber: David Alpay
Melody: Andrea Lui
Stuart Carr: James Kirk
Brigid: Lindy Booth