Just watched the final episode of the incredible story of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. This was yet another fantastic series on Sky Atlantic. If you can't get Sky, do whatever you can to see this series. I, like many on here, lived through the time when this disaster happened, but I had no idea quite how close Russia came to almost complete destruction. They were 2 days from a secondary, huge nuclear explosion which would have devastated most of the Country and would have had a terrible effect worldwide. Only the bravery of many ordinary people prevented this from happening. Then a scientist bravely exposed how much the Russian Government were covering things up. Only his secretly made tapes exposed the truth. Chilling to watch knowing that it actually happened.
We've been discussing this over on the review thread Col. It truly is a masterpiece, and last nights final episode was fascinating, finding all the facts that led to the disaster during the trial. You've got to feel for Legasov, although hopefully he is now held in much higher regard. Interesting to hear that Gorbachev points to Chernobyl as one of the main reasons leading to the fall of the Soviet Union. 999s put me on to some podcasts on YouTube with the writer discussing each episode, and it's frightening to realise how much of the stories told are true - some very brave men, and women, out there. Don't think any other nation could have dealt with the aftermath in the way they did though, conscripting well over half a million civilians to go and clean up a massive area, all at risk of further contamination themselves.
I have not seen it yet, but I have heard that it is very good. This thread has given me the incentive to find access to the episodes. Thanks!
Yep, it's a brilliant series, the detail that has gone into the set design to capture a very particular time and place is particularly breath taking. The script is also sparse and intelligent, and the performances of the cast are outstanding. Really chilling stuff that leaves a haunting impression. To lighten the tone. here's a joke I can remember hearing in the school yard at the time: Why should you never wear Ukrainian underpants? ..... Because Chernobyl fallout.
I’m really sorry but I thought it was good....but not fantastic. Watched episode 4 last night which was one of the best ones so far but before that I thought it was sometimes a bit....’ploddy’. I’m no reviewer and obviously in a very tiny minority but I’ve seen much better series......eg ‘The Tunnel’, ‘Gomorrah’ and ‘The Deuce’
Russia to make its own show about Chernobyl that implicates the US 7 June 2019 please log in to view this image Image copyrightSKY UK/HBO Image captionAt least 31 people were killed and many more were injured in what was the world's worst nuclear power accident Russian state TV is working on its own version of Chernobyl, a series based on the worst nuclear accident in history. The NTV drama will deviate from the acclaimed HBO series - and from historical reality - by claiming that the CIA was involved in the disaster. Director Aleksey Muradov claims it will show "what really happened back then". HBO's miniseries, which concluded on Monday, received the highest ever score for a TV show on IMdB, as well as a 9.1 rating on Russian equivalent Kinopoisk. But in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia's most widely-read tabloid, Mr Muradov said his version of the show "proposes an alternative view on the tragedy in Pripyat". "There is a theory that Americans infiltrated the Chernobyl nuclear power plant," he told the paper. "Many historians do not rule out the possibility that on the day of the explosion, an agent of the enemy's intelligence services was working at the station." Chernobyl disaster: 'I didn't know the truth' Will Gompertz reviews Chernobyl The Hollywood Reporter reports that the Russian culture ministry has contributed 30 million rubles ($463,000; £363,000) to the show. The No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded on 26 April 1986 in the Ukrainian city of Pripyat. At least 31 people were killed in the immediate aftermath, and the effects continue to be felt to this day. please log in to view this image What did Russia think of HBO's Chernobyl? please log in to view this image There has been plenty of praise in Russia for the authenticity of Chernobyl. Izvestia newspaper declared it a more 'realistic' portrayal of the era than most Russian films manage. There's also admiration of how the series conveys the heroism of ordinary people. But there's been a crescendo of criticism, too. One columnist declared the show a plot to undermine Russia's current atomic agency. Others called it American 'propaganda', blackening the image of the USSR and exaggerating the callousness of the Soviet response. No-one disputes that it's got people talking. They're been busy sharing their own Chernobyl stories on social media, with younger Russians often hearing them for the first time. So one Twitter user thanked the series for 'giving us back our history.' In the end, as one commentator concludes, the main reason for the backlash is likely a feeling of shame that it was the US that told the tale of Chernobyl, not Russia itself. please log in to view this image The show has been particularly unpopular with Russian state TV and the country's tabloid newspapers. Speaking to TV website Teleprogramma, columnist Anatoly Wasserman said: "If Anglo-Saxons film something about Russians, it definitely will not correspond to the truth." Chernobyl: The end of a three-decade experiment The people who moved to the Chernobyl exclusion zone This, he continued, was because "they don't like us" and "they cannot understand us". Komsomolskaya Pravda published several negative articles about the show - including one floating a conspiracy theory that it was produced by competitors of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear company, to ruin the country's reputation as a nuclear power. please log in to view this image Image copyrightSKY UK/HBO Image captionThe show has been praised for its attention to detail But reviewers in independent media outlets praised its writer Craig Mazin for his minute attention to detail. Slava Malamud, a US-based journalist who grew up during the Soviet era in what is now Moldova, wrote on the independent Russian news site Meduza that "the respect and meticulousness the show's creators brought to their work is breathtaking". "Like I see the license plate for a car in one scene has the real numbers for the [Kiev] region," he said. "Who's going to notice that in America or England?" please log in to view this image A challenge to rosy views of Russia's past Adam Robinson, BBC Monitoring - The world through its media For the Kremlin, the topic of history is a highly sensitive one - especially about the Soviet Union. Official media now tend to paint a sanitised, idealised vision of the USSR, and portray Putin's Russia as its spiritual heir. This makes it easy to see any critical view of the Soviet past as an attack on the Kremlin's ideological power base. It's a narrative it seeks to completely control and guard from outside influences - particularly from a West it sees as hostile. Some Russians feel the version of reality offered by Kremlin-controlled media is not entirely unlike the lies told by the Soviet state. As a result, perhaps the most dangerous idea was the key question running though Chernobyl - what is the cost of lies?
I watched this and agree it was not that great It made the Russians look like a bleak race who live under a dreadful regime... grey and chain smokers on a backdrop of plain paint or grubby 1950’s interiors... very stereotypical imo. We paint America as paradise continually and in contrast paint Russia and others as a bleak void Same with War Films the Germans can’t never ride their motorcycles and always end up in duck ponds
The makers have been praised widely, including from some in Russia about the authenticity of the production. Apparently the buildings, cars, clothes etc were spot on. It was superb imo. However, the hype is just typical of these days; everything is the best thing so far etc. For me, nothing will ever equal The Sopranos.
Same with that Eve thing imo Hype does take these shows to a level that imo doesn’t come close to some of the big shows like Breaking Bad GOT or Twin Peaks Imo they are the bench marks Luther has been very good at times It’s entertainment that’s all but credit to those when they get that right The most enjoyment I get is the comedy Countyfile I honestly cry with laughter at times ... it’s so bad it’s super funny ... I would love to see the presenters do a proper days work in the countryside it would kill them imo
I admit that I do not even remember the last time that I watched a TV mini-series, but based on various very strong recommendations, this week I have watched all five episodes of Chernobyl, and I admit that really enjoyed it! Apart from the general story-line which is very well told, I was able to assess it both as a "physicist" as well as a person who is now resident in "Eastern Europe" for almost 30 years and has both taken part in and has witnessed the the "changes" in the region. I really must praise the massive "attention to details" which make it really authentic. I don't mean the obvious fact that it was filmed at the Chernobyl sister plant in Ingnalina, Lithuania (which is being decomissoned) which obviously makes a very realistic set, but the "small details". The clothes, glasses, haircuts, telephones, flats, peoples' homes, offices, hotel receptions and rooms, business meeting rooms, hospitals, cars, buses, trucks, etc, as well as people behaviour have been well researched and portrayed in an extremely realistic way. Nuclear physics, nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants, as well as radiation are also complex technical issues which are difficult to easily explain. Here the programme also did very well to explain what needs to be known, as well as the effects of radiation contamination. A very enjoyable series which both my wife and I enjoyed at many levels.
