# Chernobyl - Sky/HBO mini-series



## smmudge (May 9, 2019)

Anyone watch the first episode of this? I love cold war nuclear stuff. Think I've got a metallic taste in my mouth now...

Spoiler: a reactor core explodes!


----------



## Spymaster (May 9, 2019)

I watched about half of it but didn't really get into it. The English accents jarred with me a bit too. I've resolved to wait until it's all available then try to binge it.


----------



## Sprocket. (May 9, 2019)

Not watched yet.
Though this is why I never wear Russian Y-fronts!


----------



## flypanam (May 9, 2019)

is it more sky than HBO or more HBO than Sky? Sky's dramatic output is pure shite. Which would be a shame as it could be an excellent drama.


----------



## moochedit (May 9, 2019)

Seen the adverts. Is it any good?


----------



## smmudge (May 9, 2019)

Hmm i don't really know what characterises HBO or Sky so I'm not sure. But I enjoyed it (ok like i said not hard with this kind of stuff). However I enjoyed the realistic elements, for instance I think the control room looks like the real thing. I like that they kept all the technical stuff in, you kind of have to go with it a bit and not try to understand too much and it works. The performances are very good imo.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (May 9, 2019)

I thought this was a film, but now I know it's a series I'll watch it. Is it an episode a week?


----------



## T & P (May 9, 2019)

It’s not one of those documentary + dramatised account hybrids where they mix  up footage real people’s interviews with a dramatised narrative played by actors is it? I can’t stand those...


----------



## smmudge (May 10, 2019)

T & P said:


> It’s not one of those documentary + dramatised account hybrids where they mix  up footage real people’s interviews with a dramatised narrative played by actors is it? I can’t stand those...



No it's just a drama. They had a ten second audio clip of a real emergency call from the time but that's it.

5x 1 hour episodes. I think I saw a couple of trailers beforehand but didn't do it justice imo.


----------



## pesh (May 12, 2019)

Cheers for the heads up, will give it a try... the BBC dramatisation Surviving Disaster with Adrian Edmondson of all people playing the lead investigator is worth checking out as well...


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 12, 2019)

The first episode is wonderful. It's got a huge sense of creeping horror, and should make you angry too.


----------



## telbert (May 12, 2019)

Watched ep1 tonight. Hooded Claw is bang on with the creeping horror  description. Really good, quite dark without trying to be iykwim.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 14, 2019)

Episode 2 continues the excellent work. And probably not the ideal thing to watch just before bedtime.


----------



## Ming (May 15, 2019)

Shit. Just watched the first one. Really good. Poor fuckers.


----------



## Ming (May 15, 2019)




----------



## Pac man (May 15, 2019)

Watched episode 1, won't be watching anymore.


----------



## Epona (May 15, 2019)

I watched episode 1 earlier, utterly horrific - will watch the rest.


----------



## Oula (May 15, 2019)

pesh said:


> Cheers for the heads up, will give it a try... the BBC dramatisation Surviving Disaster with Adrian Edmondson of all people playing the lead investigator is worth checking out as well...


This was amazing. Edmondson was a revelation. I had forgotten the title of it so thank you.


----------



## T & P (May 15, 2019)

I checked the first episode and it was pretty good. Not sure the other half was so enthused by it, but then the subject matter is grim. Will check further episodes.


----------



## smmudge (May 15, 2019)

Does the second episode have lots of surprise vomitting? Hate seeing people vomit, even fake vomit.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 15, 2019)

smmudge said:


> Does the second episode have lots of surprise vomitting? Hate seeing people vomit, even fake vomit.



Not compared to episode one, no. The scope moves a bit outward from the immediate disaster site for a lot of the episode.


----------



## smmudge (May 15, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> Not compared to episode one, no. The scope moves a bit outward from the immediate disaster site for a lot of the episode.



Ok good. Other half is on nights so we're saving it for the weekend (and the daytime lol).


----------



## Scaggs (May 16, 2019)

Finding this fascinating, the hierarchies of the soviet state institutions mainly. Don't know how realistic it is but it feels real. The volunteers who had to drain the water tanks and the relationship between the scientist and the government official were particularly striking. I can't imagine US or even UK workers agreeing to do that, knowing their chances survival . I'm interested to read more about Chernobyl now.


----------



## Sprocket. (May 17, 2019)

I thought the first two episodes were okay, but I await the episode 3, to see if the cliffhanger at the conclusion of E2 is true to life or whether artistic license is used.


----------



## cybershot (May 17, 2019)

95% on the tomatometer! Looks like I need to get involved!


----------



## wayward bob (May 21, 2019)

i've been failing to find a decent rip of this, will wait until there's a whole series to binge. but it did lead me to this doc which is astonishing, i hadn't a single clue about the scale of the impact/operation.


----------



## Sprocket. (May 21, 2019)

Heroes true heroes they saved Europe.


----------



## equationgirl (May 21, 2019)

I've been watching it, so many firefighters and miners gave their lives so that many more would live. It's harrowing stuff but very detailed. The relationships in communist Russia are particularly interesting, especially the woman nuclear physicist who established what happened.


----------



## smmudge (May 22, 2019)

Still loving it. I didn't know about what they had to deal with after it exploded either, and how much they actually managed to divert further doom! Pretty impressive really, guess we're quite lucky. But why can't the fire fighter's wife just do what she's told!!! 



equationgirl said:


> I've been watching it, so many firefighters and miners gave their lives so that many more would live. It's harrowing stuff but very detailed. The relationships in communist Russia are particularly interesting, especially the woman nuclear physicist who established what happened.



The nuclear physicist is one of the few characters who isn't real, but based on a number of scientists I think who independently figured out what was going on, and probably the other impending disasters after the initial explosion.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 22, 2019)

smmudge said:


> The nuclear physicist is one of the few characters who isn't real, but based on a number of scientists I think who independently figured out what was going on, and probably the other impending disasters after the initial explosion.



She's a proxy for a whole bunch of scientists who were involved in the discovery, mitigation, investigation etc. That makes sense dramatically, and Emily Watson is nailing the part. They all are I think - an extremely able cast.

Amid all the continuing grimdark, the reaction of the miners to the First Secretary for Coal, or whatever he was, was genuinely funny.


----------



## Plumdaff (May 22, 2019)

Sprocket. said:


> I thought the first two episodes were okay, but I await the episode 3, to see if the cliffhanger at the conclusion of E2 is true to life or whether artistic license is used.



I've been listening to the accompanying podcast and if anything they've cut out stuff that did happen which was so tense or dramatic as to strain credibility. And yes what happened at the end of episode 2 did happen. The podcast is also good at going into detail about the Soviet psychology which not only caused some of worst mistakes but also was behind some of the most astonishing heroism. 

I think this is great and beautifully acted. Bonus points for seeing more of Evil Trev from Eastenders than I ever expected.


----------



## mauvais (May 22, 2019)

I'm guessing but I think Sprocket was waiting to see how the cliffhanger panned out at the start of ep 3, i.e. did it end up with a more dramatic conclusion than in real life. I was too.


----------



## smmudge (May 22, 2019)

I read on wiki that those three at the end of ep 2 survived, two are still around today and one died of heart failure in 2005. So wasn't quite the suicide mission they thought it would be?


----------



## Plumdaff (May 22, 2019)

mauvais said:


> I'm guessing but I think Sprocket was waiting to see how the cliffhanger panned out at the start of ep 3, i.e. did it end up with a more dramatic conclusion than in real life. I was too.



Yes I can see I misread it. Still it bears repeating that they have been very careful not to oversensationise.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 22, 2019)

smmudge said:


> I read on wiki that those three at the end of ep 2 survived, two are still around today and one died of heart failure in 2005. So wasn't quite the suicide mission they thought it would be?



As it turned out, no, their suits and breathing apparatus shielded them well. Not that they'd have known that at the time! The number of deaths directly attributable to fatal radiation exposure at Chernobyl isn't all that many considering the circumstances - it's less than a hundred and mostly confined to first responders, plant operatives, people who lived very close to the plant. 

The numbers for the longer term secondary effects of the wider radiation release are less easy to pin down - decreased life expectancy, increases in cancers, foetal abnormalities etc. That's ultimately a statistical exercise, but I doubt anyone disputes that many tens of thousands were adversely impacted.


----------



## Sprocket. (May 22, 2019)

I have not seen episode three yet. My concern was whether the three diving heroes were seen to perish.
I will return.


----------



## Sprocket. (May 23, 2019)

I cannot imagine how horrific the injuries and conditions of injured people that the hospital 6 staff had to contend with.
It must have been brutal and devastating.  We can only guess at the lack of information that must have impeded most aspects of the aftermath.

Nice to see miners portrayed as they are across the globe.
As I said above, all heroes.

Hopefully the series continues to be as good.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (May 23, 2019)

Yes, this is a fantastic series. All the more terrifying as the events actually happened. Great acting as well, it's got me gripped.


----------



## sim667 (May 24, 2019)

I've been dowloading this to watch, when I get time...... I've heard good things.


----------



## Motown_ben (May 27, 2019)

We've binge watched most of this over the weekend and it's been totally absorbing but also horrendous to watch. 

Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk


----------



## D'wards (May 27, 2019)

I recall reading about the first responders who rushed in knowing it was a suicide mission but did what they can to save lives.

These people are true heroes


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 28, 2019)

That song and dance number in the middle of episode 4 was pretty unexpected!


----------



## not-bono-ever (May 28, 2019)

Anywhere I can find this without a sky sub ? Was out there for a day 18 months ago. It’s a fascinating if scared place


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 28, 2019)

not-bono-ever said:


> Anywhere I can find this without a sky sub ? Was out there for a day 18 months ago. It’s a fascinating if scared place



Now TV, I guess. But it's not hard to find very good copies online.


----------



## mauvais (May 29, 2019)

This is pretty interesting, there's a thread for each episode if you keep going:


----------



## Dandred (May 30, 2019)

Fantastic acting and camera work, the truth is blurred a bit, but gripping stuff.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 30, 2019)

The guy who directed it was in one hit wonder Stereo MCs-a-like Swedish dance duo, Stakka Bo, fact fans


----------



## pesh (May 31, 2019)




----------



## weepiper (May 31, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> The numbers for the longer term secondary effects of the wider radiation release are less easy to pin down - decreased life expectancy, increases in cancers, foetal abnormalities etc. That's ultimately a statistical exercise, but I doubt anyone disputes that many tens of thousands were adversely impacted.



We'll never know if this is what really caused it, but here is my dad writing:


----------



## Rosemary Jest (May 31, 2019)

Cheers for that, absolutely terrifying.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 31, 2019)

weepiper said:


> We'll never know if this is what really caused it, but here is my dad writing:



I dimly remember at the time some reporting that there was quite likely to be many localised hotspots under the plume.


----------



## Supine (May 31, 2019)

Chernobyl affected livestock up here for years and years!

Chernobyl sheep controls lifted


----------



## Johnny Vodka (May 31, 2019)

Just watched the first ep.  It's good and I'll continue watching, but don't believe THE BEST SHOW EVER hype.  The decision to film in English works against it and there was at least one unintentionally funny moment.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 1, 2019)

Not bad, but the accents jar, as the English working class/middle class accents carry political and social connotations that don't sit with the USSR.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 1, 2019)

Watched a bit more.  It feels like a very good piece of eerie horror _fiction_, but the language choice/accents (British and at least one American) just makes it impossible for me to relate it to the real story.


----------



## Part 2 (Jun 1, 2019)

Interesting. I think it works far better without people doing bad Russian accents. The characters stories are more relatable imo. It's like a real life Threads.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 1, 2019)

Yeah. The accents don't bother me at all.


----------



## Balbi (Jun 1, 2019)

weepiper said:


> We'll never know if this is what really caused it, but here is my dad writing:
> 
> View attachment 172779
> View attachment 172780
> View attachment 172781



tree frogs dad works in nuclear power and they knew something awful had happened somewhere within a day or so because all their radiation badges went off - but when they were outside the building


----------



## Ming (Jun 2, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> The guy who directed it was in one hit wonder Stereo MCs-a-like Swedish dance duo, Stakka Bo, fact fans


I think Noel Gallagher ripped off the tune for Columbia from Here We Go Again.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 2, 2019)

Part 2 said:


> Interesting. I think it works far better without people doing bad Russian accents. The characters stories are more relatable imo. It's like a real life Threads.



It should have been filmed in Russian with English subs.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

In agreement with much of this: Review: ‘Chernobyl,’ the Disaster Movie. Some clumsy story telling.

Concerning the accents,it should clearly have been done in Russian with Russian-speaking actors. If they were going to make up a female scientist, why give her an English middle class accent with its inescapable connotations of privileged upbringing  and a private education? Emily Watson doing a silly inflection to her voice in an attempt to hide her discomfort at the charade. Plucky miner who stands up to the party apparatchik and speaks with an English regional accent? Course, that's what we know from here in England. It's accessible, but it's hokey Hollywood bullshit all the same.

Radioactive blue sparkly graphite debris FTW. FFS, glowing red hot at least.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 2, 2019)

Russian with Russians and we wouldn't be having this discussion, because it wouldn't be commercially successful.

The same thing was true and worked for The Death of Stalin. Turns out Zhukov wasn't from Yorkshire.

Your linked article is really mean-spirited.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

Mean-spirited? Not at all. It's very even in tone and not vituperative.

I think the desire to show plucky, western-style operatives at the heart of the Soviet state, questioning superiors etc is a narrative device of the highest conceit and insults the position of those who had to deal with the disaster.

Frankly, the documentary on Youtube that recreates the scene in the control room is more chilling and feels far more accurate than anything in this series.

A missed opportunity.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 2, 2019)

There's literally no praise for the series in that piece.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

Camera work, editing, acting and CGI were competent, but that's pretty much a baseline for any big-budget series these days.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 2, 2019)

You'll award it 'competent'? Have a look at yourself, this is miserable shite. It's a really good series; sure, you can question choices like the accents, or query historical accuracy, but the relentlessly negative review is unjustifiable. The NYT review was a month ago, pre-airing, and you'll struggle to find viewers that agree.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 2, 2019)

mauvais said:


> Russian with Russians and we wouldn't be having this discussion, because it wouldn't be commercially successful.



  I'd prefer uncompromising to commercially successful.  Anyhow, there most definitely is an audience for foreign/subtitled shows.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

mauvais said:


> You'll award it 'competent'? Have a look at yourself, this is miserable shite. It's a really good series; sure, you can question choices like the accents, or query historical accuracy, but the relentlessly negative review is unjustifiable. The NYT review was a month ago, pre-airing, and you'll struggle to find viewers that agree.



Western spin on a Soviet tragedy. No insights.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> English regional accent


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

Well he wasn't from London right


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

There's some very interesting docs out there, for example _The Battle Of Chernobyl_



If you don't want to trawl the Tubes, there's a handy t*rr*nt out there that collects together nearly fifty documentaries, drama-docs and pieces of archive footage, including this one and the afore-mentioned _Surviving Disaster _episode.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

This review makes an interesting point about healing between ex-Soviet nations and is understanding of the compromises made in the production.Russia Should Have Made HBO's ‘Chernobyl’


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> In agreement with much of this: Review: ‘Chernobyl,’ the Disaster Movie. Some clumsy story telling.
> 
> Concerning the accents,it should clearly have been done in Russian with Russian-speaking actors. If they were going to make up a female scientist, why give her an English middle class accent with its inescapable connotations of privileged upbringing  and a private education? Emily Watson doing a silly inflection to her voice in an attempt to hide her discomfort at the charade. Plucky miner who stands up to the party apparatchik and speaks with an English regional accent? Course, that's what we know from here in England. It's accessible, but it's hokey Hollywood bullshit all the same.
> 
> Radioactive blue sparkly graphite debris FTW. FFS, glowing red hot at least.



The graphite wouldn't have been glowing red because this is real life not a bugs bunny cartoon.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> Well he wasn't from London right


TBF the actor has lived in London for most of his adult life


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> This review makes an interesting point about healing between ex-Soviet nations and is understanding of the compromises made in the production.Russia Should Have Made HBO's ‘Chernobyl’





> I know for a fact from several reporting trips that Russian miners don’t drink vodka right at the mine, before they wash off the coal dust.



This is slightly problematic, because it directly conflicts with the unambiguously-expressed statements on the subject by some of the actual miners in_ The Battle Of Chernobyl_.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> Western spin on a Soviet tragedy. No insights.



Reviewers from former soviet nations (including mrs Frank) have described it as the most accurate western depiction of life in the soviet union ever made but OK.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 2, 2019)

Johnny Vodka said:


> I'd prefer uncompromising to commercially successful.  Anyhow, there most definitely is an audience for foreign/subtitled shows.


Is there? There certainly was, but foreign language cinema is on its arse these days. I read somewhere you could expect to lose 90% of the audience (possibly American) if introducing subs. But it's a daft discussion; the whole thing would be different. It would almost certainly need to be made by Russians too, so your complaint really is why haven't Russian TV studios made a high budget series about Chernobyl.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

mauvais said:


> Is there? There certainly was, but foreign language cinema is on its arse these days. I read somewhere you could expect to lose 90% of the audience (possibly American) if introducing subs. But it's a daft discussion; the whole thing would be different. It would almost certainly need to be made by Russians too, so your complaint really is why haven't Russian TV studios made a high budget series about Chernobyl.


Given recent _fraternal issues_, I suspect a filmed-on-location Ukrainian/Russian co-production may be off the cards for the immediate future.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 2, 2019)

mauvais said:


> Is there? There certainly was, but foreign language cinema is on its arse these days. I read somewhere you could expect to lose 90% of the audience (possibly American) if introducing subs. But it's a daft discussion; the whole thing would be different. It would almost certainly need to be made by Russians too, so your complaint really is why haven't Russian TV studios made a high budget series about Chernobyl.



There was an audience for Les Revenants, Deutschland XX, various Scandanavian things, so, yeah.  It might not be as big as the audience for US shows, but it's there.  Imagine someone made Brexit: The Series, but with a bunch of Greek actors speaking in Greek...


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

Johnny Vodka said:


> Imagine someone made Brexit: The Series, but with a bunch of Greek actors speaking in Greek...



Makes perfect sense, for a domestic Greek TV context.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> Reviewers from former soviet nations (including mrs Frank) have described it as the most accurate western depiction of life in the soviet union ever made but OK.



The reviewed from the Moscow Times pointed out some obvious errors.

The graphite casing residue was reported as glowing red hot. Aside from blue flash ionisation and water stored cooling tanks you won't see a blue glow from radioactive material.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> The reviewed from the Moscow Times pointed out some obvious errors.
> 
> The graphite casing residue was reported as glowing red hot. Aside from blue flash ionisation and water stored cooling tanks you won't see a blue glow from radioactive material.


No glowing red hot in this archive footage from the roof during the ‘bio-robot’ Liquidation effort:


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> The reviewed from the Moscow Times pointed out some obvious errors.
> 
> The graphite casing residue was reported as glowing red hot. Aside from blue flash ionisation and water stored cooling tanks you won't see a blue glow from radioactive material.



So an experienced firefighter saw something glowing red hot and decided to pick it up?


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

DaveCinzano said:


> No glowing red hot in this archive footage from the roof during the ‘bio-robot’ Liquidation effort:
> 
> View attachment 173042



No sign of blue glowing, either. Because it's bollocks. My point is not that it was red, but that red hot (when the firefighters attended) would be more likely than glowing blue, which is ridiculous.

Plutonium 238 heating graphite container red hot.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

Poi E said:


> No sign of blue glowing, either. Because it's bollocks. My point is not that it was red, but that red hot (when the firefighters attended) would be more likely than glowing blue, which is ridiculous.
> 
> Plutonium 238 heating graphite container red hot.



I'm not quite sure what your point is then, the graphite in neither the original firefighter arrival scene, nor the bio-robots-on-the-roof scenes, wasn't glowing - either red or blue:


----------



## mauvais (Jun 2, 2019)

The only thing that was blue IIRC was a vertical beam of light above the reactor.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 2, 2019)

mauvais said:


> The only thing that was blue IIRC was a vertical beam of light above the reactor.


This sort of thing?


----------



## mauvais (Jun 2, 2019)

Yup.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 2, 2019)

Well, this could be my mistake! I could have sworn there was blue glowing material when the firefighter first arrived. I shall have to take my blue tinted specs off and re-watch it.

i did get really really stoned to watch this ahem


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 2, 2019)

it a bit gripping innit. one episode in


----------



## smmudge (Jun 2, 2019)

I totally get that it should be in Russian to be more authentic, and I'm more than happy to watch TV or films with subtitles. But I really like that it's in English on this occasion, without fake Russian accents. It's just a way to make the experience more immersive, if you were there you wouldn't be hearing it in a foreign language with subtitles, you'd hear in a language you'd understand. So I do appreciate that they've done it this way.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 2, 2019)

Fake Russian accents are universally awful on TV and in movies (yes you Jodie Comer in Killing Eve) so I'm very glad they didn't go for that option.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 2, 2019)

smmudge said:


> if you were there you wouldn't be hearing it in a foreign language with subtitles, you'd hear in a language you'd understand



As long as you understood Russian.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 2, 2019)

One key detail I thought was a mistake: everything written you see in the show is in Russian, not Ukrainian. Turns out 1985 was pretty much the peak of Soviet suppression of the Ukrainian language in favour of Russian.


----------



## smmudge (Jun 2, 2019)

Johnny Vodka said:


> As long as you understood Russian.



Yes as long as you understood the language you were conversing in then you'd understand what you were saying


----------



## Badgers (Jun 4, 2019)

IMDb Top Rated TV Shows

Highest rated telly show on IMDB apparently. Not sure how representative that is


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 4, 2019)

Was speaking to a Lithuanian the other day about this - huge amount of money was spent out there during the making of it. The town of Pripyat is filmed in a post Stalinist suburb and it’s not that dissimilar to Pripyat itself, even down the socialist realism artwork kicking about.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 4, 2019)

Watched the first episode of this tonight - so gripped, we're watching the second one tomorrow, which is as close to binging I ever get, so it must be good!


----------



## neonwilderness (Jun 4, 2019)

I finally got round to watching the first episode tonight, so I’ll come back to this thread when I’ve watched the rest. 

First impressions were good, but I struggled a bit to take Paul Ritter/Dyatlov seriously. I kept half expecting him to take his top off and complain about being “bloody boiling” Friday Night Dinner style


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 4, 2019)

neonwilderness said:


> I finally got round to watching the first episode tonight, so I’ll come back to this thread when I’ve watched the rest.
> 
> First impressions were good, but I struggled a bit to take Paul Ritter/Dyatlov seriously. I kept half expecting him to take his top off and complain about being “bloody boiling” Friday Night Dinner style


Harry Potter's dad is in it too, took me ages to place him


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jun 4, 2019)

Seeing as there's folk just posted about the first episode I'll spoiler this about the last



Spoiler



Really well done. The trial and the relevant flashbacks to the lead-up to the explosion were expertly marshalled, and the coda was very, very moving. An absolutely tremendous piece of work all round. Craig Mazin's script, Johan Renck's direction (formerly known as Stakka Bo  ) the sound design, incidental music, casting and acting all outstanding


----------



## moochedit (Jun 5, 2019)

Badgers said:


> IMDb Top Rated TV Shows
> 
> Highest rated telly show on IMDB apparently. Not sure how representative that is



I think a lot less people will have voted on chernobyl on imdb so far than on shows like game of thrones or breaking bad so it may come down over time.

 I thought it was great but not anywhere near "best of all time".


----------



## treefrog (Jun 5, 2019)

Balbi said:


> tree frogs dad works in nuclear power and they knew something awful had happened somewhere within a day or so because all their radiation badges went off - but when they were outside the building



Papa frog has got some stories about working in Scottish nuclear power around that time. The fear because all the alarms were going off and the slow realisation that it wasn't any British or European reactors so must be the other side of the curtain, but not getting any information. The uncertainty must have been quite something.


----------



## sparkybird (Jun 5, 2019)

Watched the last one yesterday. Wow, very powerful. Didn't sleep too well last night as a result.


----------



## Plumdaff (Jun 5, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> Reviewers from former soviet nations (including mrs Frank) have described it as the most accurate western depiction of life in the soviet union ever made but OK.



In fact, many people from the former Soviet Union have said that this is a far more accurate depiction than would be possible were it a Russian production!

Eta. The final episode is very powerful. We haven't listened.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 5, 2019)

neonwilderness said:


> First impressions were good, but I struggled a bit to take Paul Ritter/Dyatlov seriously. I kept half expecting him to take his top off and complain about being “bloody boiling” Friday Night Dinner style


He's be eating a lovely birra five-legged squirrel before the series is over


----------



## Poi E (Jun 5, 2019)

Plumdaff said:


> We haven't listened.



Clearly Killer 'hot particle': Sellafield coast 'like Chernobyl and Fukushima exclusion zones'


----------



## Plumdaff (Jun 5, 2019)

Poi E said:


> Clearly Killer 'hot particle': Sellafield coast 'like Chernobyl and Fukushima exclusion zones'



I was thinking particularly about how we are (not) reacting to the facts of climate change.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 5, 2019)

Ah, so we'd better build more nuclear plants.


----------



## smmudge (Jun 5, 2019)

Loved the last episode, and nice tribute to Scherbina in the Scherbina / Legasov scene which was a nice touch, it's true it could have gone a lot differently if they'd had someone else in charge of the clean up.

I didn't realise the tomb that encases it now will only last 100 years. That's nothing really, this is something that humankind is going to have to deal with for the rest of our days, and it will probably still be there when we're on our way out, and then we won't have the tools or resources, will it just break down and the core be exposed again?

I also had no idea how many notable incidents Sellafield has had. It must have the worst safety record of any nuclear facility around!


----------



## Plumdaff (Jun 5, 2019)

Poi E said:


> Ah, so we'd better build more nuclear plants.



Is this a reply to my post which said nothing for or against nuclear plants? My point is that the message of Chernobyl is far broader than the dangers of radiation.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 5, 2019)

smmudge said:


> I didn't realise the tomb that encases it now will only last 100 years. That's nothing really, this is something that humankind is going to have to deal with for the rest of our days, and it will probably still be there when we're on our way out, and then we won't have the tools or resources, will it just break down and the core be exposed again?


The New Safe Containment is there for a variety of reasons, one of which is to allow decommissioning. You don't want dust escaping into the environment, for example. So it's a cover, not a tomb.


----------



## smmudge (Jun 5, 2019)

mauvais said:


> The New Safe Containment is there for a variety of reasons, one of which is to allow decommissioning. You don't want dust escaping into the environment, for example. So it's a cover, not a tomb.



Ah right fair enough. How long's it gonna take to dismantle completely?


----------



## mauvais (Jun 5, 2019)

smmudge said:


> Ah right fair enough. How long's it gonna take to dismantle completely?


AFAIK it's not been determined.


----------



## 2hats (Jun 5, 2019)

mauvais said:


> The New Safe Containment is there for a variety of reasons, one of which is to allow decommissioning. You don't want dust escaping into the environment, for example. So it's a cover, not a tomb.


Of course, the NSC won't be any use if a serious fire (summer lightning anyone?) tears through the red forest. Plenty of assorted radionuclides lying around and absorbed into the vegetation to loft into the atmosphere...


----------



## mauvais (Jun 5, 2019)

2hats said:


> Of course, the NSC won't be any use if a serious fire (summer lightning anyone?) tears through the red forest. Plenty of assorted radionuclides lying around and absorbed into the vegetation to loft into the atmosphere...


It's already happened.

Prime Minister Says 'Don't Worry,' But Scientists Concerned About Chernobyl Wildfires


----------



## Sprocket. (Jun 5, 2019)

Watched the last episode this afternoon. It is miraculous that Europe survived and that the Red Army’s last great battle at Chernobyl saved it.

The state paranoia about being beyond responsibility is still hard for us in the west to understand. The lies and deceit that led to the incident and the aftermath were criminal.


----------



## Sprocket. (Jun 5, 2019)

The high incidence of cancer rates rising across the continent will always question how many people were and are still being affected by this disaster.

The series had its faults but told a story that needed telling. Respect and thanks to all those who took part in the real incident, real heroes.


----------



## 2hats (Jun 5, 2019)

mauvais said:


> It's already happened.
> 
> Prime Minister Says 'Don't Worry,' But Scientists Concerned About Chernobyl Wildfires


Except they've all been relatively small, ultimately contained and not in the immediate vicinity to the west of the reactor hall where a lot of the reactor core rained down.


----------



## MrSki (Jun 6, 2019)

Sprocket. said:


> The high incidence of cancer rates rising across the continent will always question how many people were and are still being affected by this disaster.
> 
> The series had its faults but told a story that needed telling. Respect and thanks to all those who took part in the real incident, real heroes.


I spent a day & night sitting in a puddle in a cave in what was supposedly the fallout rain. This was on the Greek islands (Ios) & information & communication was not great but the locals new they could not eat their sheep or goats. Still fingers crossed I am still here without any signs of radiation poisoning.


----------



## Sprocket. (Jun 6, 2019)

Fingers crossed MrSki.

The total casualties that follow the spike in in cancer deaths from Chernobyl will possibly never be known.

Like the thousands of American citizens known as Nevada downwinders.
Those who were recklessly contaminated by atomic bomb testing.
Deaths are numbered between 20,000 and 90,000. Welcome to the Atomic Age.


----------



## Dandred (Jun 6, 2019)

This is why communism can't work.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 6, 2019)

Dandred said:


> This is why communism can't work.


Is it? Why? Seems like a strange take-away from this series.

It's clearly why a bunch of things like state secrecy can't work. But aside from questions about whether such a thing could happen in the West, you've presumably just watched a several hour demonstration of communism working, at least in part.


----------



## Plumdaff (Jun 6, 2019)

Dandred said:


> This is why communism can't work.



I didn't see it as anti-communist. I saw it as a massive condemnation of the Soviet system, any system, in which lies become more important than the truth. I thought it was a timely warning about us we ignore at our peril.

It clearly was a huge tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the people who lived under the Soviet system, and the power of the collective.


----------



## Part 2 (Jun 6, 2019)

At times while I was watching I was envisaging people I know who would claim the disaster as a failure of communism, as though disasters don't happen and lies aren't told anywhere else or under any other system.


----------



## moochedit (Jun 6, 2019)

Part 2 said:


> At times while I was watching I was envisaging people I know who would claim the disaster as a failure of communism, as though disasters don't happen and lies aren't told anywhere else or under any other system.



Yeah i have seen a few posts by american republicans on facebook on how the chernobyl series shows how evil communism/socialism is and this is why you must never vote democrat etc.


----------



## smmudge (Jun 6, 2019)

I did worry it would be full on anti-communist in the first episode when the grand maester of Winterfell did his speech in the bunker, but in the end I think they were fairly balanced, included the shit bits of the system but also the good bits, ie what people were willing to do and sacrifice. The denial at the start and the attempt to cover up doesn't seem specifically communist or Soviet to me, I think that would be the case anywhere!


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 6, 2019)

How easily terms like communism are chucked around on social media. It’s not surprising I had to give my kids a quick explainer as to what the USSR was when we started watching this.


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 6, 2019)

finished and cancelled my free week on now tv. Thats was pretty good. With this and Berlin babylon, Sky seem to have hit a big budget drama sweet spot.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 7, 2019)

Plumdaff said:


> In fact, many people from the former Soviet Union have said that this is a far more accurate depiction than would be possible were it a Russian production!



And sure enough the Russians do seem to be making their own version. Only it'll be about how the CIA done it.

Russia Is Making Its Own 'Chernobyl' Blaming America for the Whole Thing


----------



## Poi E (Jun 7, 2019)

smmudge said:


> I also had no idea how many notable incidents Sellafield has had. It must have the worst safety record of any nuclear facility around!



In the words of Kraftwerk:

"Sellafield 2 will produce 7, 5 tons of plutonium every year.
1, 5 kilogram of plutonium makes the nuclear bomb.
Sellafield 2 will release the same amount of radioactivity.
Into the environment as the Tschernobyl every 4.5 years.
One of these radioactive substances, Krypton 85, will cause death and skin cancer."

Sellafield is a fucking nightmare. I know an ex-employee employed under the old outsourcing. I am afraid for an accident.


----------



## pesh (Jun 7, 2019)

binged the whole lot over 2 nights, pretty sure i can taste metal now. 
deserves its score on IMDB in my opinion.


----------



## moochedit (Jun 7, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> And sure enough the Russians do seem to be making their own version. Only it'll be about how the CIA done it.
> 
> Russia Is Making Its Own 'Chernobyl' Blaming America for the Whole Thing



Jazztastic


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 7, 2019)

Just watched episode 2.  Pleas remain calm.  Top, top class tv.  Genuinely affecting.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 7, 2019)

I'm reading Svetlana Alexievich's Chernobyl Prayer alongside watching this. Highly recommended. It includes the original testimonies from several of the people portrayed in the TV show.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 8, 2019)

Dandred said:


> This is why communism can't work.



Windscale fire - Wikipedia
Three Mile Island accident - Wikipedia
Tokaimura nuclear accident - Wikipedia
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster - Wikipedia

All nuke industries are effectively state industries, no matter what bullshit spouting nuclear accountant might tell you, and all try to hush things up. Which is a bit tricky with radiation.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 8, 2019)

Poi E said:


> Sellafield is a fucking nightmare. I know an ex-employee employed under the old outsourcing. I am afraid for an accident.


I went on a school trip to Sellafield once. There were alarms going off and people in hazmat suits running around. Noone seemed particularly arsed so I guess that was just a normal day.

Then in the visitor centre at the end they went to show us on some model as to how steam drives a turbine. This involved boiling a kettle and the kettle blew up.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 8, 2019)




----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 8, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> And sure enough the Russians do seem to be making their own version. Only it'll be about how the CIA done it.
> 
> Russia Is Making Its Own 'Chernobyl' Blaming America for the Whole Thing



At least it'll have Russians speaking Russian.


----------



## Mr.Bishie (Jun 8, 2019)

Poi E said:


> Windscale fire - Wikipedia
> Three Mile Island accident - Wikipedia
> Tokaimura nuclear accident - Wikipedia
> Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster - Wikipedia
> ...



Could this be accident number six waiting in the wings? 

Cracks found in nuclear reactor that could lead to the evacuation of Edinburgh


----------



## Sprocket. (Jun 8, 2019)

Johnny Vodka said:


> At least it'll have Russians speaking Russian.



Lying to one another in Ukrainian/Russian.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 8, 2019)

Sprocket. said:


> Lying to one another in Ukrainian/Russian.


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 8, 2019)

Finished this tonight.  Excellent tv.

It was the director of the old Cat People and Night of the Demon  that said something like 'don't show the monster, people's imaginations are worse' and there's a huge bit of that about the whole thing.  Danger is defined by a clicking sound, sometimes.   That sound is horrendous.  It's like your life speeding up.

Great all the way through...but for me episode 2 was the best of them all.


----------



## a_chap (Jun 8, 2019)

So intrigued was I by all the posts here* about the series that I took up Netflix's offer of a 7 day free pass and watched all the episodes.

Glad I did 

I then spent quite a while trying to find anything else that was worth watching. I shall be cancelling my free Netflix trial as a result.

*obviously not just _here_. Do you think I trust you lot that much...?


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 8, 2019)

a_chap said:


> So intrigued was I by all the posts here* about the series that I took up Netflix's offer of a 7 day free pass and watched all the episodes.
> 
> Glad I did
> 
> ...


Don't do that...it's full of amazing shit.

Try Godless or Orphan Black or Daredevil.


----------



## a_chap (Jun 8, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Try Godless or Orphan Black or Daredevil.



Why?


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 8, 2019)

a_chap said:


> Why?


Top quality adult tv with great cinematography, quality writing, surprisingly good acting and a compelling narrative?


----------



## a_chap (Jun 8, 2019)

Top quality "adult" TV? Hmm...


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 8, 2019)

Orphan Black is about clones...my favourites were Helena and Alison.



Daredevil...well...here's a scene.  Take your time and realise.


----------



## seventh bullet (Jun 8, 2019)

mauvais said:


> Russian with Russians and we wouldn't be having this discussion, because it wouldn't be commercially successful.
> 
> The same thing was true and worked for The Death of Stalin. Turns out Zhukov wasn't from Yorkshire.
> 
> Your linked article is really mean-spirited.



The Death of Stalin didn't work at all.


----------



## iona (Jun 8, 2019)

a_chap said:


> So intrigued was I by all the posts here* about the series that I took up Netflix's offer of a 7 day free pass and watched all the episodes.
> 
> Glad I did
> 
> ...



Not on netflix  Or is it on one of the foreign netflix you have to fuck about with vpns to get or something?


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jun 8, 2019)

iona said:


> Not on netflix  Or is it on one of the foreign netflix you have to fuck about with vpns to get or something?



He probably means Now TV


----------



## a_chap (Jun 8, 2019)

Ah... apparently I meant "Now TV" all along


----------



## a_chap (Jun 9, 2019)

I just received an email...



I replied saying "Apparently I missed Netflix".


----------



## Balbi (Jun 9, 2019)

As someone has pointed out elsewhere, if Three Mile Island had melted down in a similar fashion - would the U.S have committed so much human resource to it?


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Jun 9, 2019)

Brilliant telly, watched the last episode this evening. Had me gripped all the way through. No telly does that to me these days.


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 9, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Brilliant telly, watched the last episode this evening. Had me gripped all the way through. No telly does that to me these days.


Was a bit like the last half our of Free Solo, kinda.  Stretched 6 hours.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 9, 2019)

Funnily enough was talking to my neighbour who installed thermocouplings for sellafield magnox. He explained how you had to shear off the magnesium container to extract fissile material, which explains the origins of the frightening radioactive magnesium swarf.


----------



## treefrog (Jun 9, 2019)

I'm really enjoying the podcast that goes with the series as well, where the writer sits down to describe what they changed (and why), and some of the decisions they made. It's fascinating stuff and I appreciate that they're not pretending it's 100% accurate, but being very open about where creative license was taken.

We've just finished episode 3. Poor Vasily, it's unimaginable.


----------



## Poi E (Jun 10, 2019)

Hey, not got enough of your own waste from nukes? Uranium hexafluoride for Chester.

Minister launches £1bn nuclear facility near Chester


----------



## a_chap (Jun 11, 2019)

Interview with Anatoly Dyatlov (English sub-titles) in 1994, a year before his death.



(watching it at 1.25x speed helps)


----------



## flypanam (Jun 11, 2019)

flypanam said:


> is it more sky than HBO or more HBO than Sky? Sky's dramatic output is pure shite. Which would be a shame as it could be an excellent drama.



I for one was wrong. Totally gripping, we're watching it again.


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 11, 2019)

Tourism to Chernobyl is going through the roof following this series.


----------



## smmudge (Jun 11, 2019)

not-bono-ever said:


> Tourism to Chernobyl is going through the roof following this series.



Doh I've always wanted to go, left it too late!


----------



## Supine (Jun 11, 2019)

smmudge said:


> Doh I've always wanted to go, left it too late!



Later the better i reckon!


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 11, 2019)

its like $80 for a full day including lunch. pics up on Maidan square at 8Am


----------



## treefrog (Jun 11, 2019)

not-bono-ever said:


> Tourism to Chernobyl is going through the roof following this series.


I see what you did there


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 11, 2019)

It truly is a once-in-halflifetime experience


----------



## Supine (Jun 11, 2019)

DaveCinzano said:


> It truly is a once-in-halflifetime experience



That went down like a lead balloon


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 11, 2019)

Can you do gift cards for it?


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 11, 2019)

Supine said:


> That went down like a lead balloon


Sorry, am I boron you?


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 11, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Can you do gift cards for it?


Yes, they are available on a wide variety of denominations - £3.60, £3.60, £3.60, £3.60, or if you are feeling super-generous, £3.60


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 11, 2019)




----------



## treefrog (Jun 11, 2019)

DaveCinzano said:


> Yes, they are available on a wide variety of denominations - £3.60, £3.60, £3.60, £3.60, or if you are feeling super-generous, £3.60


Not great, not terrible.


----------



## neonwilderness (Jun 11, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Brilliant telly, watched the last episode this evening. Had me gripped all the way through. No telly does that to me these days.


I’ve just finished and it was the same for me. 

I thought the bit at the trial with Legasov explaining the moments leading up to the explosion was pretty good. Simple enough to follow with the cards, but went into enough detail to explain it well. 

The last few minutes with the real photos and facts was a nice touch too.


----------



## Sprocket. (Jun 11, 2019)

It was the photos and few biographical lines at the end that made the series more poignant for me neonwilderness.


----------



## moomoo (Jun 11, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Watched the first episode of this tonight - so gripped, we're watching the second one tomorrow, which is as close to binging I ever get, so it must be good!



Likewise. Watched the first one tonight and am going to watch the second tomorrow.


----------



## keybored (Jun 11, 2019)

a_chap said:


> Interview with Anatoly Dyatlov (English sub-titles) in 1994, a year before his death.
> 
> 
> 
> (watching it at 1.25x speed helps)


----------



## Plumdaff (Jun 11, 2019)

If you haven't been following Slava Malamud's Twitter for her Russian perspective on the series she's now going through the subtleties of the Russian language when it comes to describing levels of drunkeness. Well worth your time


----------



## a_chap (Jun 11, 2019)

Link?


----------



## Plumdaff (Jun 11, 2019)

a_chap said:


> Link?


On my phone and tricky this evening will try to do so tomorrow.


----------



## keybored (Jun 11, 2019)

a_chap said:


> Link?




Then just read every tweet after that.


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Jun 14, 2019)

Just finished the 3rd ep (yeah, I'm slow).  That was an incredibly unsettling ep, mainly thanks to all the body horror.  I do now think it's kind of brilliant but I still can't tie it to real events due to the language.  Still feels more like a brilliant, disturbing work of fiction.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jun 14, 2019)

Johnny Vodka said:


> Just finished the 3rd ep (yeah, I'm slow).  That was an incredibly unsettling ep, mainly thanks to all the body horror.  I do now think it's kind of brilliant but I still can't tie it to real events due to the language.  Still feels more like a brilliant, disturbing work of fiction.



Svetlana Alexievich has a view on the programme and the compromises made, if that's of any interest

Belarusian Nobel Laureate Says HBO Series Has 'Completely Changed Perception' Of Chernobyl


----------



## treefrog (Jun 15, 2019)

On my phone so don't have a link, but currently watching Chernobyl 3828 on YouTube. A fascinating Ukrainian documentary (dubbed) about the liquidators that cleared the roof. Absolutely incredible stuff, it was even more terrifying than they depicted on the show. 

Some of the older liquidators would do double shifts on the roof to spare younger men. Shows what really happened to the German robot.


----------



## tommers (Jun 15, 2019)

Just finished it last night. Thought It was amazing. Really bleak, the bridge scene in the first episode was awful but also really astonishing what they did to avert even worse things and what Lugazov did to make sure it didn't happen again. Astonishing, not even really for the telly show but for the actual events.

The miners, the kids on the roof, the three guys under the reactor... just the amount of self-sacrifice and heroism on show. Really affecting.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 15, 2019)

The bloke who plays Legasov is also Anderson Dawes in The Expanse. Never would have spotted that.


----------



## Supine (Jun 15, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> The bloke who plays Legasov is also Anderson Dawes in The Expanse. Never would have spotted that.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jun 15, 2019)

treefrog said:


> On my phone so don't have a link, but currently watching Chernobyl 3828 on YouTube. A fascinating Ukrainian documentary (dubbed) about the liquidators that cleared the roof. Absolutely incredible stuff, it was even more terrifying than they depicted on the show.
> 
> Some of the older liquidators would do double shifts on the roof to spare younger men. Shows what really happened to the German robot.



Others were sent out twice because their superiors couldn't be bothered with the hassle of finding, transporting, equipping, training and accommodating more men.


----------



## Threshers_Flail (Jun 15, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> The bloke who plays Legasov is also Anderson Dawes in The Expanse. Never would have spotted that.



Was also in Mad Men, he's a fine actor.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 15, 2019)

Threshers_Flail said:


> Was also in Mad Men, he's a fine actor.


Looking more and more like his dad, the older he gets


----------



## Balbi (Jun 16, 2019)

If you didn't catch him in The Terror last year, you're missing a bloody terrifyingly good series. The lad who plays Vasily the firefighter is in it too.


----------



## Buddy Bradley (Jun 17, 2019)

Threshers_Flail said:


> Was also in Mad Men, he's a fine actor.


Was also in Todd Solondz's Happiness, way back in the day, coincidentally also playing a Russian.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jun 17, 2019)

I rather liked him in B. Monkey


----------



## Mation (Jun 18, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> The bloke who plays Legasov is also Anderson Dawes in The Expanse. Never would have spotted that.


----------



## Saul Goodman (Jun 18, 2019)

moochedit said:


> I think a lot less people will have voted on chernobyl on imdb so far than on shows like game of thrones or breaking bad so it may come down over time.
> 
> I thought it was great but not anywhere near "best of all time".


It will definitely come down. It's good but it's nowhere near as good as the rating suggests. And ratings always drop as the funds diminish for paid reviewers.


----------



## Part 2 (Jun 19, 2019)

Balbi said:


> If you didn't catch him in The Terror last year, you're missing a bloody terrifyingly good series. The lad who plays Vasily the firefighter is in it too.



Cheers for the heads up. Just finished The Terror. Took a few episodes to get into but really enjoyed it. I don't usually bother with horror series.


----------



## wiskey (Jun 19, 2019)

Just embarking on E4, Chernobyl is one of the first news events I remember. 

This is the third really well made but really miserable thing I've watched on the trot .... Might need some light relief next


----------



## Balbi (Jun 19, 2019)

Part 2 said:


> Cheers for the heads up. Just finished The Terror. Took a few episodes to get into but really enjoyed it. I don't usually bother with horror series.



It does take a while but the last three or four episodes are just awful/outstanding


----------



## wiskey (Jun 19, 2019)

treefrog said:


> On my phone so don't have a link, but currently watching Chernobyl 3828 on YouTube. A fascinating Ukrainian documentary (dubbed) about the liquidators that cleared the roof. Absolutely incredible stuff, it was even more terrifying than they depicted on the show.
> 
> Some of the older liquidators would do double shifts on the roof to spare younger men. Shows what really happened to the German robot.


that was interesting thanks


----------



## pengaleng (Jun 23, 2019)

not read thread but I well loved this, did anyone catch the podcast after each episode with the creator? is well sick


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 23, 2019)

Probably worth sticking this in here if it hasn't already been, but the BBC did a good docu-drama in 2006 about this


----------



## moonsi til (Jun 23, 2019)

I have a ex colleague that I chat via text about films/tv we like & I shared I watched Chernobyl recently. He shared when his family (wife & twins) lived in Liverpool they took in kids from Belarus to take to hospital appointments & give them a bit of a holiday. Yet another dimension of this utter tragedy.


----------



## Part 2 (Aug 12, 2019)

Balbi said:


> If you didn't catch him in The Terror last year, you're missing a bloody terrifyingly good series. The lad who plays Vasily the firefighter is in it too.



Season 2 of The Terror just started. ep1 on torrents etc


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 12, 2019)

Part 2 said:


> Season 2 of The Terror just started. ep1 on torrents etc


Eh? How is that possible? The story ended and can't see how or why you could extend it further without ruining the story!


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 12, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Eh? How is that possible? The story ended and can't see how or why you could extend it further without ruining the story!


They ruined the story on S01E02. How will it matter what they do to it herein?


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 12, 2019)

Saul Goodman said:


> They ruined the story on S01E02. How will it matter what they do to it herein?


how so? I thought it was an excellent adaptation


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 12, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> how so? I thought it was an excellent adaptation


Adaptation of what?


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 12, 2019)

Saul Goodman said:


> Adaptation of what?


The novel


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 12, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> The novel


Have you ever wondered why some literature doesn't translate very well to film? Stephen King is a classic example. The Mist, Under The Dome, The Langoliers (Four past midnight), etc.
Some things should never be adapted for screen. The Terror was definitely one of them.


----------



## Part 2 (Aug 12, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Eh? How is that possible? The story ended and can't see how or why you could extend it further without ruining the story!



It's a different story. Just watched the first episode. Japanese immigrants in US, 1941, Pearl Harbour. Not sure if it's a book adaptation but I enjoyed the first one and hadn't read the book.


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 12, 2019)

Saul Goodman said:


> Have you ever wondered why some literature doesn't translate very well to film? Stephen King is a classic example. The Mist, Under The Dome, The Langoliers (Four past midnight), etc.
> Some things should never be adapted for screen. The Terror was definitely one of them.


nah, it worked very well. The Mist did too!


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 13, 2019)

Part 2 said:


> It's a different story. Just watched the first episode. Japanese immigrants in US, 1941, Pearl Harbour. Not sure if it's a book adaptation but I enjoyed the first one and hadn't read the book.


ah, interesting - might check that out


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 13, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> nah, it worked very well. The Mist did too!


In your opinion. In my opinion, both were shit.


----------



## barlimo (Aug 16, 2019)

*Chernobyl! Fantastic series made up for all the shit that's shown on the box. I will **definitely** watch it again.*


----------



## Johnny Vodka (Aug 18, 2019)

Saul Goodman said:


> Have you ever wondered why some literature doesn't translate very well to film? Stephen King is a classic example. The Mist, Under The Dome, The Langoliers (Four past midnight), etc.



The Mist (film) is very good.  Telly show is meant to be shite tho.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Aug 19, 2019)

This is on Amazon Prime now - binged it yesterday. Thought it was superb. I really like Jared Harris.

The whole story is incredible but the thing with the miners and using people to run out onto the roof for 90 seconds at a time to clear the debris is just beyond imagining.

FWIW I liked that it was done in the actors' normal voices rather than in stupid fake Russian accents. I will never forgive the makers of Child 44 for royally fucking that up by making everyone talk like the equivalent of Dick Van Dyke. I don't see the point in doing it anyway. If you're making something in English, just speak English.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Aug 19, 2019)

Just to add...I thought the way they showed the explosion right at the beginning was beautifully elegant. Through the bedroom window...the huge exploding light followed by the sound and shockwaves seconds later.


----------



## not-bono-ever (Aug 19, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> This is on Amazon Prime now - binged it yesterday. Thought it was superb. I really like Jared Harris.
> 
> The whole story is incredible but the thing with the miners and using people to run out onto the roof for 90 seconds at a time to clear the debris is just beyond imagining.
> 
> FWIW I liked that it was done in the actors' normal voices rather than in stupid fake Russian accents. I will never forgive the makers of Child 44 for royally fucking that up by making everyone talk like the equivalent of Dick Van Dyke. I don't see the point in doing it anyway. If you're making something in English, just speak English.



Indeed. the USSR had a massive range of regional accents obviously. I recall this in a dramatisation of Stalin some years ago where Stalin had an Irish accent IIRC, as if to show these differences


----------



## seventh bullet (Aug 21, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> FWIW I liked that it was done in the actors' normal voices rather than in stupid fake Russian accents. I will never forgive the makers of Child 44 for royally fucking that up by making everyone talk like the equivalent of Dick Van Dyke. I don't see the point in doing it anyway. If you're making something in English, just speak English.



This, and the film being a load of crap anyway except for the production design, from Stalin era elite apartments to provincial shithole.


----------



## seventh bullet (Aug 21, 2019)

not-bono-ever said:


> Indeed. the USSR had a massive range of regional accents obviously. I recall this in a dramatisation of Stalin some years ago where Stalin had an Irish accent IIRC, as if to show these differences



There was a BBC documentary on Stalin a few years ago which was predictably shit, apart from the mildly amusing (but coming from classist snobbery) retelling of a sneery British government interpreter/translator report during WWII saying that to hear Stalin's voice, and make sense of the folksy dialect he used, was akin to listening to George Formby talk.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Aug 22, 2019)

Saul Goodman said:


> Have you ever wondered why some literature doesn't translate very well to film? Stephen King is a classic example. The Mist, Under The Dome, The Langoliers...









I won't have a word said against _The Langoliers_!


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 22, 2019)

DaveCinzano said:


> I won't have a word said against _The Langoliers_!


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Aug 22, 2019)

DaveCinzano said:


> I won't have a word said against _The Langoliers_!



The very last scene is the survivors walking along an airport corridor and all of them, completely spontaneously and naturally, jumping up and punching the air.

I rest my case.


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 22, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> The very last scene is the survivors walking along an airport corridor and all of them, completely spontaneously and naturally, jumping up and punching the air.


Like you do.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Aug 22, 2019)

Saul Goodman said:


> Like you do.



It's what I do every time I survive an encounter with trans-dimensional reality eaters. I just find it hard to accept that a whole bunch of people would do so simultaneously.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Aug 22, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> The very last scene is the survivors walking along an airport corridor and all of them, completely spontaneously and naturally, jumping up and punching the air.



What's good for John Hughes is good for Stephen King


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 23, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> It's what I do every time I survive an encounter with trans-dimensional reality eaters. I just find it hard to accept that a whole bunch of people would do so simultaneously.


I think it's because Stephen King.


----------



## Epona (Aug 23, 2019)

I really love some of Stephen King's novels, but my heart always sinks when I see that he has been involved in the production of a film version


----------



## Saul Goodman (Aug 23, 2019)

Epona said:


> I really love some of Stephen King's novels, but my heart always sinks when I see that he has been involved in the production of a film version


This^^^
I can't agree with you enough. It's like he hands the reins to someone on a mix of acid and beige.


----------



## Kaka Tim (Aug 26, 2019)

just watched the first two episodes. fucking hell. dark, brilliant and gripping. I didn't know how massively much worse it could have been if hadn't been for the heroism of those men who went in there to avert disaster.
 I spent most of episode 1 mentally shouting at the all the workers and fireman to put radiation suits on.


----------



## Kaka Tim (Sep 15, 2019)

finished it. brilliant series. The way they  told the story was fantastic - the meticulous detective work,  the terrifying dangers and how they averted a cataclysm  through desperate improvisation and the heroism of ordinary people. how powerfully it drove home the pernicious danger of a closed, authoritarian society. And it did all this in a really understated way that was all more effective (no  dramatic music, no over emoting actors, no bolted on romantic sub plots and all the other shite) - and it explained the science really well. 
One things for sure - next time I buy some reactor control rods - no fucking way am i getting the graphite tipped ones.


----------



## Ming (Sep 15, 2019)

Kaka Tim said:


> finished it. brilliant series. The way they  told the story was fantastic - the meticulous detective work,  the terrifying dangers and how they averted a cataclysm  through desperate improvisation and the heroism of ordinary people and the how powerfully it drove home the pernicious danger of a closed, authoritarian society. And it did all this in really understated way was all more effective (no  dramatic music, no over emoting actors, no bolted on romantic sub plots and all the other shite) - and it explained the science really.
> One things for sure - next time I buy some reactor control rods - no fucking way am i getting the graphite tipped ones.


The final episode were the scientists explain how it happened in a court is amazing. Actually it’s all amazing. Such a shame it took the guy ending his life to drive the reactor changes.


----------



## Badgers (Oct 21, 2019)

Finally got round to this and yep agree with the praise. Only just starting the 3rd episode but fascinating on many levels this.


----------



## Badgers (Dec 17, 2021)

£2.99 for the series in HD 





__





						Watch Chernobyl | Prime Video
					

Starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson, 'Chernobyl' is a powerful drama exploring the truth surrounding the 1986 nuclear disaster - a story of incredible heroism and sacrifice, but also shocking lies and conspiracy.



					www.amazon.co.uk


----------



## a_chap (Dec 17, 2021)

Assuming someone paid the £2.99, is it then possible to download series from Amazon?

Asking for a friend...


----------



## Badgers (Dec 17, 2021)

a_chap said:


> Assuming someone paid the £2.99, is it then possible to download series from Amazon?
> 
> Asking for a friend...


No idea 🤔 don't think so.


----------



## Dandred (Dec 17, 2021)

a_chap said:


> Assuming someone paid the £2.99, is it then possible to download series from Amazon?
> 
> Asking for a friend...


You can still get it easily on torrent sites.


----------



## a_chap (Dec 17, 2021)

Getting anything for free on Torrent sites is a bit too unethical for me, sorry.


er.... so my friend says.


----------



## Peter Painter (Dec 17, 2021)

I watched the HBO series a while back and enjoyed it. Despite how (understandably) harrowing it was in places.

Not seen this yet. But might check it out. It'll almost certainly be a load of bollocks but it may also be interesting to see a Russian disaster movie that does some rewriting of history. I've sat through enough American ones over the years, so it'll at least redress the balance a bit.









						'Chernobyl 1986' is Russia's big-screen riposte to the hit HBO miniseries
					

On Netflix now




					www.nme.com


----------



## Ax^ (Jan 1, 2022)

thsi mini series has been on oh my to do list for a few years


but perfect new years hangover viewing whilst dying on a sofa

plus is bloody good as well


----------

