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Helen is the first explorer to return to the atoll. She comes bearing a pile of dirt which means that she's found Dry Land - the legend was true. But she's pursued by evil Smokers, led by Deacon. Helen races to the tower to defend the atoll against attack whilst the other atoll dwellers prepare their water-based weapons.

The evil smokers arrive with a hail of machine-gun fire leading to an explosion at the foot of Helen's tower, causing her to plunge 20 feet into the water. Another smoker arrives on a jetski spraying the audience with water. Now they've made the atoll safe, they signal the Deacon to arrive.

A sudden explosion in the massive fuel tank leads to the destruction of the atoll as Helen and the Mariner escape to start a new life.

"And so the Deacon's threat is ended and civilisation can start anew on Dry Land while Mariner roams the four points of the compass on the many seas of Waterworld"

The Arena
The 40,000 square foot facility contains a 23 feet-deep pool which was emptied out and widened before being painted blue for the production.
Although much of the set is modelled on that used in the film, it was all constructed specifically for the Waterworld stunt show. The scenery built for the film was designed to be easily transportable, and to be safe when it's blown apart on film. The show scenery, on the other hand, had to last for at least ten years and be repeatedly blown up, rebuilt and reset up to 15 times a day.
The entry tower that the audience passes through to enter the arena is themed after the tower used by Gregor the balloonist in the film. It contains props from the film.
The new materials were painted so they look old and rusted, and also to protect them from the aquatic environment. Steelwork was cut and welded in sizes that could be transported and then assembled and welded on site with the assistance of a number of cranes.

The waves in the water (which help to break up the surface and disguise the true depth of the pool) are generated by a drum which is moved up and down in the water.

As the pool is unheated, the performers wear wetsuits of differing thicknesses according to personal preference. There's a hot tub behind the scenes for them to warm up before or after the show.

Sound / Music

The music played throughout the performance based on themes from the film score by James Newton Howard.
Thanks to Josh James for the following information listing which parts of the movie soundtrack are used in the show, listed in order of their appearance in the live show:

Initial sound equipment:
50 x EAW and Panasonic/Ramsa speakers forming a 50,000 Watt sound system. Scenic housing for the speakers was built by Lexington Scenery as part of the set design.
In the current sound design, JBL and Tannoy speakers are used.
The lead actors wear radio microphones which relay their speech through the sound system. The sound stage manager is in the control booth at the rear of the auditorium. He or she plays back the pre-recorded music tracks and is also responsible for monitoring the radio microphones to ensure that everything is working and that the actors are OK. If there are problems with the show, the sound stage manager can talk to the actors through on-set speakers to tell them what's wrong and advise them on what to do. The sound stage manager also triggers the live "special effect" sounds (punches, explosions etc) which punctuate the show but cannot be accurately timed with a recorded soundtrack.

Safety is obviously of paramount importance - there are a number of safety devices built into the set which prevents dangerous effects (particularly pyrotechnics) from taking place if the conditions are not right. There's an electronic eye sensor across the main walkway which tells the show control computer that a Mariner has passed a certain point, which means the pyrotechnic explosion can be safely triggered.
There are also wind sensors at high level around the arena which again prevent certain effects from happening if the wind speed is too high.
Every "launch" effect (the Mariner's first entrance, the jetski and water-skiier through the wall etc) have technical operators with full view of the performers who press an "enable" button when all is set. When the show control computer gives the command to countdown and then launch, nothing will happen unless the enable button is being pressed, and other automatic safety checks come back with positive results. There are also emergency stop buttons which can be pressed if there are any problems.
As the aim is to continue the show wherever possible, there are alternatives for most of the technical effects which are put into action if the effect cannot be achieved for any reason. These ensure that the audience are usually unaware there is a problem and the show keeps running.

Jetskis
The specially modified Jetskis used in the show are Kawasaki 550s, Kawasaki X2s and Kawasaki Supersports. They've been fitted with extra bilge pumps and have had the motors modified to cope with the heavy usage on WaterWorld. The numerous tyres around the tank edges are to protect the sets (and jetskis and actors) from damage if targets are missed.

Stunts:
There are more than 50 stunts during the show, needing a wide range of skills from jetski jumps, via high wire work to high falls into water.

Stunt equipment:

Seaplane
At the climax of the second section of the performance, a 2,200lb seaplane is launched from a 30 foot hydraulic launcher before flying through a breakaway wall (with explosions), skidding across the water, and stopping 30 feet from the audience before exploding in a shower of sparks. As it hits the water it picks up another 300lb of weight of water. The seaplane is completely free-flying - there are no wires. There are wind sensors all around the arena which tell the show control computer to abort the launch if there's a chance the plane could be blown off-course.
After the audience have left, a crane (which is a part of the set) is used to lift the plane back into position.

More information: Behind the Scenes video at Trojan Vision
(scroll down to In Real Time / Water World)

The backstage area contains a continuation of the water tank, and areas for the cast and crew to relax, change into costume, and eat between shows. The photo below was taken from the loading gates at the rear right hand side of the arena.
The crew and cast backstage

Photo by thestudiotour.com, April 2006

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