'THE STORM,' 8-10 P.M. SUNDAY, CONCLUDES AUG. 2

Science fiction has always told us not to dabble with the natural world.

“The Storm” – an NBC mini-series, warns us anew. A weather-altering effort goes terribly wrong.
Still, many of us would dabble if we could. Just ask the “Storm” stars.
“There are three things I do not miss about Connecticut — January, February and March,” said James Van Der Beek, who plays an earnest scientist.
He escaped the cold when while filming “Dawson's Creek” in North Carolina, but found new problems. “Right after I'd bought property, we had about three hurricanes … I remember hearing that the one hurricane-relief concert had been canceled due to another hurricane.”
Elliott had more than three bad months to deal with in Toronto. “You'd walk out the door and the snow was up to your neck … With a shovel, we were tunneling toward the road to go to school.”
Some Canadians savor the character-building, but not Elliott. “I hated the cold,” he said. “And when the opportunity arose to come (to the U.S.), I jumped in my car and left immediately.”
California wasn't enough of a change; he also spends a lot of time in the Bahamas.
So these guys understand the notion of wanting to change the weather. In this case, good intentions are soon subverted by a scheming businessman (Treat Williams) and a secretive general (Elliott).
The scientist quits, then spends much of the mini-series on the run.
“There's a ton of action,” Van Der Beek said. “I was outside, underneath the rain towers, about every night. It was a very wet shot for sure.”
This wasn't one of those films that fakes things using green-screen effects. Bradford May – “the most underrated director in Hollywood,” said Elliott, who worked with him often on “JAG” – blasted his actors with wind, rain and light machines.
“It was … right there – everything from the lightning flashes to the wind,” Van Der Beek said.
At least, it wasn't real Canadian or Connecticut weather. Sometimes, the fake stuff is easier.