From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tornado Chasers | |
|---|---|
 Season 2 title screen of Tornado Chasers | |
| Genre | Documentary Weather |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "Tornado Chasers Theme" |
| Composer | Jay Galvin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 + Special season |
| No. of episodes | 24 + 7 specials |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Production locations | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Cinematography |
|
| Running time | 20–28 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | TVN |
| Release | September 21, 2012 – May 4, 2014 |
| Related | |
| Storm Chasers | |
Tornado Chasers is an American documentary series that premiered on September 19, 2012, on TVNweather.com.[1] The program follows Reed Timmer and his team of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the United States and Canada. Season 2, funded largely through a successful Kickstarter campaign,[2] commenced on September 30, 2013.[3] The series is a two-time Webby Award Honoree, once for Best Documentary Series in 2013,[4] and again for Best Editing ("Home, Part 2") in 2014.[5]
Tornado Chasers was filmed each year during storm season in Tornado Alley, using Timmer's Norman, Oklahoma, home as a base. Contrary to previous series about storm chasing, Tornado Chasers takes a more personal approach, conveying the chronological, authentic storm chasing experience.[6] During the 2012 season, Timmer's team mainly consisted of Dick McGowan, Chris Chittick, and Terry Rosema. For the 2013 season, Timmer reconnected with Joel Taylor, joined the KFOR-TV NewsChannel 4 Oklahoma City severe weather team, and welcomed broadcast meteorologists Jim Cantore and Ginger Zee as guest chase partners. He also introduced the new Dominator 3, the largest of his armored intercept vehicles.
The episode titled "Home, Part 2" which debuted on December 5, 2013, ends with a dedication to all who lost their lives in the Moore, OK tornado of May 20, 2013. The season 2 finale titled "Nemesis, Part 2" which debuted on January 23, 2014, ends with a dedication to Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, Carl Young, all of team TWISTEX, as well as amateur chaser Richard Henderson, all who lost their lives in the El Reno, OK tornado of May 31, 2013.
During the 2012 season, which consisted of 12 episodes, Timmer continues chasing during the year following the final season of Discovery's Storm Chasers. Joel Taylor left the team. Team members for the 2012 season included Dick McGowan (Dominator driver), Mike Scantlin (driver/shooter), and Chris Chittick (shooter).
In late February 2013, TVN launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a second season of Tornado Chasers. The campaign was enormously successful, almost doubling the original goal.[2] Production commenced on April 5, 2013. This season saw the return of Joel Taylor (albeit briefly) to the team, and Reed became a field correspondent for the KFOR-TV storm team in Oklahoma City. A new Dominator vehicle, "Dominator 3," joined the fleet and featured the latest vehicle intercept technology. Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel also joined Timmer in the Dominator for some of the bigger tornado events, and Ginger Zee from ABC News joined Timmer's team for the May 20, 2013, Moore tornado event. The TVN team also runs into Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young days before the multiple-vortex tornado took their lives.
Season 2: Ultimate Tornadoes (2014)
[edit]
After the completion of the second season, seven supplemental episodes were produced.[7] These episodes featured extensive content, such as an extended "tornado cut" of the season, behind the scenes, and educational material. These episodes premiered on February 18, 2014.[8]
The entire Tornado Chasers series is available from TVN On-Demand.[7] Season 2 is also available on Hulu[9] and Amazon Prime.[10] The second season is also available on Blu-ray.[11]
An ebook titled The Making of Tornado Chasers: Behind the Scenes of the Groundbreaking Documentary Series was released on August 20, 2014.[12] It was written by executive producer Ken Cole, along with a foreword by Reed Timmer, and features journal-style remembrances from the production.
- ^ "Tornado Chasers 2013 Season". TVNweather. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ a b "Tornado Chasers by Reed Timmer — Kickstarter". Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Tornado Chasers S2E1 - Liftoff". TVNweather. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Webby Award Honoree 2013". Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Webby Award Honoree 2014". Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ Schaffer, Grayson (December 5, 2013). "The Second Act of Reed Timmer, Extreme Storm Chaser". Outside Online. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ a b "TVNweather Tornado Chasers Episodes". tvnweather.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Tornado Chasers S2B1 - Tornadoes of 2013: The Ultimate Cut". TVNweather. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Watch Tornado Chasers Online - at Hulu". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
- ^ "Watch Tornado Chasers: Season 2 | Prime Video". Amazon.
- ^ "Tornado Chasers Season 2 (2013) Blu-ray". merchandise.tvnweather.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ The Making of Tornado Chasers: Behind the Scenes of the Groundbreaking Documentary Series.
- Official website
- Tornado Chasers at IMDb
- TornadoVideos.Net
- Storm Chasers on YourDiscovery.com
