Aftermath: Population Zero (DinosaursRoar's Version)

Aftermath: Population Zero (also titled Aftermath: The World After Humans) is a two-hour American special documentary film (similar to the official verison of Aftermath: Population Zero) that premiered on Sunday, March 9, 2008 (at 8:00 PM ET/PT) on the National Geographic Channel. The program was produced by Cream Productions.

Similar to the History Channel's special Life After People, Aftermath features what scientists and others speculate the earth, animal life, and plant life might be like if humanity no longer existed, as well as the effect that humanity's disappearance would have on the artifacts of civilization. Both documentaries are inspired by Alan Weisman's The World Without Us.

Despite its controversial plot and features such as former fictional creatures and formerly extinct species, this documentary received positive reviews, gaining 9/10 of positive reviews from MetaCritic and 91% of positive reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.

Timeline
The story begins on Friday, June 13, in an unspecified year. The nature of the show and the appearance of certain vehicles suggest that it takes place in 2008, the year the program was first aired (and when June 13 of that year did indeed fall on a Friday).

(1 second-1 minute A.H.)
Millions of empty cars spin out of control and crash, while others swerve off roads and highways. Other vehicles crash, including buses in Trafalgar Square. All empty vehicles eventually crash, causing accidents all across the globe. The highways are blocked with smashed and burning vehicles. Stationary cars continue to release exhaust fumes into the air until their fuel supplies run out. Cities have begun to cool down by a fraction of a degree. Airplanes crash back to earth.

(10 minutes A.H.)
Computer systems and machines stay operational. Satellites in orbit communicate with super-computers and continue to transmit information around the globe. The machines will keep going as long as the electricity stays on. But all the fuel is used up in coal power plants. The electricity runs out and the power plants shut down. Billions of buildings supplied that get their energy from them, such as Las Vegas casinos, fall into darkness. Entire suburbs go dark. Homes, schools, hospitals and cafes are now all without power.

(55 minutes A.H.)
Certain regions rely on alternative energy sources, like Pennsylvania, which is powered by wind turbines. The turbines are still running, but at the local power station, the controls are unmanned. Computers detect a problem and shut down the system. Pennsylvania is now without electricity.

(85 minutes A.H.)
At Niagara Falls, Canada, water from the river is diverted into tunnels to turn massive wheels to create power, but now, the tunnels flood with excessive water and the power station goes offline. Parts of Ontario and New York lose all of their power. Televisions, computers, lights and other machines stop running. Mass blackouts sweep across the globe.

(96 minutes A.H.)
Within just one day, only nuclear power plants remain operational. The permanent loss of power reaches the nuclear power plants. Computers shut off the reactors and stop the reactions inside, but the nuclear power plants could cause a potential catastrophe.

(6 hours A.H.)
The last power plants in Europe fail, and the last houses go dark as lights fail. Chemical plants now have no power. Many stored gases require electricity to be cold enough to stay in liquid form. Gas storage tanks heat up until pressure release valves are activated, sending toxic gases into the surrounding environment. Hundreds of thousands of venting tanks cause many animals in the affected regions to die of suffocation.