tonight on "nightline," reality fights. scenes like this and this and this. a wave of real violence sweeps reality tv. is this steady diet of hard knocks creating a nation of violence june can is? on deadly ground. monster earthquakes and all the experts failed to predict how big they'd be and where they would hit. we look at why it's so hard to call the next one as a new report today urges the u.s. to be ready. and farm to fork. how do you make chicken exciting? would you believal fall that? it's good, and really easy, according to one of america's best chefs.

see how on tonight's plate list. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 30th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. well, when americans watch reality tv, we aren't really looking for models of good behavior. but lately the bad behavior you see on some tv shows has sunk to a new level. in the old days, think 1993, mtv's "real world," a cast member could be expelled for getting physical. now it's almost as if the shows want the cast to brawl, scratch and scrum. but the question is, how is watching them fight each other affecting us? here's andrea canning. >> reporter: it's the disturbing brawl between two teenage girls caught on tape by their friends, looking on and even egging them on to keep fighting. what was it like being involved in that fight? >> i was upset, scared, shocked.

>> reporter: the alleged attacker is janelle evans, the star of mtv's "teen mom." >> mom, shut up. >> reporter: in this video licensed by abc news, evans can be seen attacking her former friend who says the fight was all over janelle's ex-boyfriend. do you think the show indirectly perhaps led to this fight between the two of you? >> i think it did because she used to be a really sweet girl, fun to be around. and since she's been on the show, she's just got a big head. she's been angry at the world. >> reporter: their fight is just the latest example of a string of violence incidents between reality stars on screen and increasingly off screen. the emotional, sometime brutal brawls have become a staple. like in this lover's quarrel on "jersey shore." to this table-flipping tirade on the real housewives of new jersey." to this alcohol induced rage on

"kourtney and khloe take miami." it's a scene stealer. a publicist dream. when a pro mow showed snooki on "jersey shore" being punched, it went viral online, doubling the show's ratings. >> i think the biggest danger is the fact that we are really becoming desensitized to things that are really awful and traumatic to watch. >> reporter: stacy kaiser is a psychologist, who also plays one on tv. she's appeared on "celebrity fit club" and "diet tribe." >> what is going on in you? >> i'm two seconds from bailing. >> reporter: still, she worried that watching this stuff is altering everyone's sense of reality. >> things that we used to look away from are things that we watch on television on a daily basis. it sends a message to viewers that it's something that is socially acceptable to our

society these days. >> reporter: janelle evil vans isn't the on "teen mom" star in trouble. amber portwood faces felony charges for attacking her on again off again fiance while their young daughter was in the next room. she's pleaded not guilty. does every reality show need a bad girl? >> yes. >> reporter: are you that girl? >> i am that girl. >> reporter: jade mccool of "the hills" and "hold little's world "admits she's made a good living out of being bad. >> i'm marked the instigator and marked, you know, the girl who has all the sexy friends and comes in with a posse of 100 hot girls and stirs up trouble. >> reporter: the former playmate's temper earned her the nickname bunny with fangs. >> this is traumatizing. >> reporter: take a look at this. tell me how you feel about it. >> i'm going to [ bleep ] punch her in the [ bleep ] face every time i see her. >> reporter: are you embarrassed by this scene? >> oh, my god yes.

>> reporter: how much do you think is the personalities on the show and how much of it is being driven by the producers when it comes to violence? >> producers have a big role in what's happening on the show. and they create a lot of the drama and they start a lot of the fights. >> push me. >> come on. >> sometimes they come up to you and they'll be like, okay, so and so said this about you, or, when you went up there, she was nice to you, but behind your back, she said she slept with your boyfriend. >> reporter: but you could say, i'm not going to do that. >> if you say no in a lot of situations, either, you know, they'll think you're being uncooperative and try to film without you. >> reporter: so you feel you have to be a certain way to be relevant on the show to continue on the show? >> i feel like you sign your life away when you sign a contract for reality tv. you have sold your soul. >> reporter: the parents television council analyzing reality tv programming and what they found is a startling trend.

show content is actually shifting from scenes of sexual activity to more scenes depicting violence. >> there used to be a time when the things we see on television today would have been edited out immediately and now it's something that's okay. >> reporter: "holly's world" is centered around holly madison. and while her reality show might seem the least likely to feature violence, even it has succumbed the need to be bad, by bringing jade on. we are talking about what you're not used to, violence in reality shows. >> like "jersey shore"? >> reporter: exactly. so how do you become successful without it? >> i think being successful without caving into things like a violent moment or something like that, you just have to have things that, the audience members can rheal to but in a more glamorous setting. >> reporter: so, is cattiness a happy medium for drama? >> i think cattiness is probably definitely a happy medium. something that, you know,

doesn't involve anything illegal and -- it's like a soap opera, keeps people tuning in. >> reporter: this is a casting director for shows like "the real housewives of new jersey." it's his job to find the personalities that will create scenes like this. >> stop it! >> in casting business, this term, the it factor, she's got the fire in her eyes. there is a sense of entitlement that a lot of people have, and as a reality casting director, i hear a lot of times, i deserve a reality show. i deserve to be seen. >> reporter: still, bad behavior seems to follow a lot of reality tv characters offscreen. ryan jenkins, a former contestant on "megan wants to be a millionaire," is believed to have murdered his wife before committing suicide. ronnie on "jersey shore" was indicted on aggravated assault charges in december for allegedly knocking a man unconscious. >> those are ugly. they are all ugly.

>> reporter: brian was recently arrested for threatening domestic violence. his attorney says this was an argument with raised voices. >> i like to parallel some of these reality shows to a caged tiger that is used to being in the wild. if you put anyone into a confined space where they're being watched all the time, they start to feel anxious, aggressive, they begin to overthink things and begin to behave in ways that are way more extreme than they would on a normal day. >> reporter: as for the "teen mom" fight that's gone viral online, it may be just another case of a reality star looking to extend her 15 minutes of fame. for "nightline," i'm andrea canning in oak island, north carolina. >> reality tv there. our thanks to andrea for that. and just ahead, this decade's seen some of history's biggest earthquakes, but no one saw them coming. so, is there a way, a better way, to try to predict them? j?j?j?j?j?j?♪ j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?j?

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because natural is not only good, it also tastes good. nature valley -- 100% natural. 100% delicious. >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> science can predict to the second when the sun will set tomorrow. we know how the tides move and when to expect meteor showers. we track hurricanes closely enough to name them. we can even foresee volcanic eruptions. what science can't do, despite the high stakes involved, is tell us when and where the next big earthquake will hit. so, what makes it so hard? here's yunji de nies. >> reporter: the japanese are the most earthquake ready in the world. but even their top scientists underestimated the potential of the fault that broke open and shook this country to the core.

around the world, the story is frighteningly similar. one fault line after another severely underestimated or even unknown. few expected the 9.1 quake in 2004 that ignited a series of tsunamis across the indian ocean, killing more than 200,000 people. geologists were surprised by the magnitude of the haitian earthquake two years ago, killing hundreds of thousands. here in the united states, so many remember the north ridge quake in '94 and another in santa cruz in 1989. they all happened in places without warning, where no one knew the ground would shake until the buildings around them began crumbling down. earthquake drills are common in california, where school children are taught to dive under desks. but it turns out the rest of the country should start learning, too. idaho, montana, nevada and south carolina have all had quakes

measuring 7.0 or higher on the richter scale. >> we have a number of cities in the east that are at risk for major earthquakes. boston. new york city. charleston, south carolina. >> reporter: that's right. geologists say that new york city, a city of more than 8 million people, has a high probability of having a deadly earthquake in the next 50 years. there are six seismic faults threatening the country. the most dangerous zone isn't out west, but in the midwest in this red zone, at the cross section of missouri, kentucky, tennessee and arkansas. and if a major quake hit there, the destruction could be much worse. >> the central united states is a hard coal slab that allows energy to travel very efficiently. in california, the rocks are relatively hot and shattered and energy dissipates quicker. >> reporter: and today, a record from the national academy of sciences, warning that the united states has failed to prepare. they're calling on the government to deploy earthquake early warning systems.

do a better job of identifying high risk areas and improve emergency preparedness. that's something many californians are doing on their own. >> what happened in japan, our earthquake supplies have been selling out. it's hard to keep it on the shelf. >> there are over 12 million people in l.a. if something major were to happen like happened in japan, we'd be kind of out of luck, i think. >> reporter: we visited an earthquake simulator to learn how to survive a 6.2 magnitude quake. clearly they didn't warn me before they turned it on. oh my god. that was so strong. >> yeah. >> reporter: and i didn't know what to do. >> exactly. >> reporter: what is the right thing? twl we >> what i tried to do, to push you underneath there. >> reporter: there are a lot of things you can do before the ground starts shaking. you can secure electronics and furniture. the biggest sellers are the kits, with essentials like food

and water. these pacts stay fresh for five years. just drink two of these and eat these two and that would be enough for a whole day. >> doesn't look like much. >> well, it isn't, but you don't want to be carrying your entire kitchen with you. >> reporter: also inside, a blanket and hand crank flashlight. this could keep you alive for five days. >> most people are asleep, they have a very apathetic attitude about most things in life. they say, oh, whatever happens. those are the people i consider will be part of the problem instead of part of the solution. we had three earthquakes in chile, two in new zealand, and then japan. now, who is left? california. so, we are sitting ducks for an earthquake. it not a question of if. it's a question of when. >> reporter: i'm yunji de nies for "nightline" in california. >> a question of when for t. for the top ten tips on how to prepare yourself, go to

abcnews.com. thanks to yunji de nies for that. coming up, a top chef gives us step by step direction s to the cross roads of hungry and us step by step direction s to the cross roads of hungry and delicious. guess which way shipping costs are going? the u.s postal service has no fuel surcharges. combine that with low online pricing... and your shipping costs... ..could head in a whole new direction. it's time to rethink your shipping. introducing crest 3d white enamel renewal toothpaste. it not only removes up to 90% of surface stains in just two weeks, it also strengthens and rebuilds your enamel. new crest 3d white enamel renewal toothpaste. life opens up when you do. by giving me huge discounts on rooms hotels can't always fill.

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we step now into a serious kitchen and in the hands of some shes, simple ingredients can seem to unlock hidden levels of flavor, if some sorcery were involved. well, there's imagine nick the air after shea gallante's new york restaurant. here it is in tonight's plate list. >> sunday night dinner, you know, i'm usually off on sundays, so, my night off we usually have dinner together. daddy usually doesn't wake up

until everyone's eaten breakfast. having small children, you know, usually, bump me on the head at 7:30 in the morning. get up. wants to play wii at 8:00 in the morning. some alfalfa hay. herbs, some sage, thyme and rosemary. going to put the chicken right in there. brush it with a little bit of drum butter. the interesting part of this is, we seal it with a bread doubt. cut it into strips. press it around the edge. all the way around. take the top. press it down. put this in the oven. i remember as a kid living up in the county, taking the corn right from behind our house and cooking it in a barbecue. it was more fun going and taking it and putting it in a bag and running back to the house

than -- i remember eating it but and it was good. but the whole enactment of going and grab your own food see how our chicken is. i don't know. what do you think? voila. we have some celery root puree. this is a ragu. there you have it. just like grandma didn't make. delicious. my grandmother was a typical italian-american red sauce, the holidays were always the same, you know, the same sequence, it was like, you know, appetizers and then, you know, we had soup and then we'd have pasta and entree and salad and fruit and nuts had to be served. i hated the fruit and nuts. let's just go to dessert. we are going to take garlic, olive oil. red onion. p pancetta. a little bit of lard.

we're going to come back and add fennel. these are all the items that are going to make the sauce. the octopus has been braised already. this pasta is very thin. only going to take about a minute. garlic bread crumbs. that's it. cooks talk, they tell stories all day, but for the most part, there's an expectation. everyone has a job to do. not that i'm the boss and you guys are my workers, but there's definitely a hierarchy and there has to be respect among everyone. not just myself and them, but you know, for each other. and i think that that carries through, you know, through the entire restaurant. enjoy. >> looking good. thanks for watching abc news. we hope you check in for "good morning america." sam champion is tracking a big spring snowstorm winding up to whack the northeast. and we're always online at