Chernobyl (HBO) | The Boneyard

Chernobyl (HBO)

John

John

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Watched the first episode last night and was thoroughly impressed. This is going to be another great HBO mini-series if they maintain the level of the first episode.
 
I was looking forward to the start of this series for months and the first episode did not disappoint. This has the potential to be one of HBOs best.
 
Looking forward to this one. May start it tonight. Glad to see the positive reviews.
 
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Episode 2 was just as good. The tension and the stakes are through the roof. There aren't enough superlatives. The only minor quibble is the ludicrous bureaucracy verges on the comedic at times which undercuts the seriousness of the events, but then that's Soviet Russia for you. I'm sure it was intended as well.
 
I watched the second episode last night, and it was outstanding. I had read
about the Chernobyl divers a few years ago but had completely forgotten about it. It's amazing that there is so little recognition for three men who literally saved 100 million lives. The fears expressed in the show that the steam explosion would render most of eastern Europe uninhabitable were not blown out of proportion. Interviews and records released after the fact show that this was exactly what their nuclear experts were predicting. With apologies to Churchill, never have so many owed so much to so few . . .

My wife has also been fascinated by the show, as her PhD advisor was involved (and given some kind of award by the government of post-Soviet Belarus) in the post-accident work in contaminated areas.
 
This show is great. I was hoping they weren't Hollywood'ing this up for TV, and it sounds like they are keeping this pretty true to the facts.

I did read that two of those divers are still alive today (one died of a heart attack 15 years ago), and they seem to have avoided getting completely destroyed by radiation.
 
Mots010 said:
This show is great. I was hoping they weren't Hollywood'ing this up for TV, and it sounds like they are keeping this pretty true to the facts.

I did read that two of those divers are still alive today (one died of a heart attack 15 years ago), and they seem to have avoided getting completely destroyed by radiation.
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And I liked that in the post-episode discussion they explained that the woman scientist wasn't real - that she was a amalgamation of a bunch of different people and why they did it. Appreciate the honesty / explanation.
 
The show is not only a dispassionate and -close to accurate- retelling of the disaster. It is a very true depiction of how the Russian communism government operated. Centralized government functions in spite of itself. Loved the scene where the high government official threatened to throw the scientist off the helicopter because he was receiving information in a way he didn't like.
 
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J187Money said:
And I liked that in the post-episode discussion they explained that the woman scientist wasn't real - that she was a amalgamation of a bunch of different people and why they did it. Appreciate the honesty / explanation.
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I ran out of time. i definitely need to watch the post episode discussion now.
 
Excellent stuff. Consider that an endorsement from someone that works in the industry.

I am a bit surprised they didn't spend at least some time on how they got to that point, if even to try and dampen generic fears of nuclear power based on all the things they did wrong.

Funny that despite everything that came out of Chernobyl - Infrequently Performed Test criteria - I had never heard of the divers. I wondered if that was a hollywood writer invention, but turns out it wasn't.
 
All caught up.

How awesome is Stellan Skarsgard? Has he ever done a bad job in any role?

This show does a great job of capturing the depressing Soviet feel of that place and a feel that still kind of lingers in that part of the world. This immersion coupled with the great casting and story telling make this whole thing excellent.

Those scenes with Gorbachev are probably my favorite so far. Also the speech where Shcherbyna appeals to the plant workers to volunteer to “go into that water” was great stuff too.

 
Palatine said:
The show is not only a dispassionate and -close to accurate- retelling of the disaster. It is a very true depiction of how the Russian communism government operated. Centralized government functions in spite of itself. Loved the scene where the high government official threatened to throw the scientist off the helicopter because he was receiving information in a way he didn't like.
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Terrifying what happens in a society when truth no longer matters.
 
ZooCougar said:
All caught up.

How awesome is Stellan Skarsgard? Has he ever done a bad job in any role?

This show does a great job of capturing the depressing Soviet feel of that place and a feel that still kind of lingers in that part of the world. This immersion coupled with the great casting and story telling make this whole thing excellent.

Those scenes with Gorbachev are probably my favorite so far. Also the speech where Shcherbyna appeals to the plant workers to volunteer to “go into that water” was great stuff too.

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Skargard is amazing. His character is not that bright, but has excellent political instincts, and Skargard portrays him perfectly.

The end of the second episode is pretty intense.
 
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ZooCougar said:
How awesome is Stellan Skarsgard? Has he ever done a bad job in any role?



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I want uconn to use that speech he gave the plant workers when looking for volunteers at the final media timeout of close games to pump up the crowd, but I fear the part about deaths might be a bit of an issue.
 
This is a pretty riveting series. Beyond the things mentioned, at times it also seems to do horror better than some actual horror movies.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Terrifying what happens in a society when truth no longer matters.
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Completely agree. The power of denial is amazing. So blinding that the people living in it prefer it to accepting reality even at the cost of their lives. Even when they know.
 
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I'm 3 shows in. Loving it. Just such a gripping story, and they made it very human. And the way the USSR operated was very effectively portrayed.
 
For whatever reason I had it in my head that last night was the finale... glad to be wrong there.
 
traitor71 said:
Very enjoyable series. I was 15 when it happened, and like most 15 year olds, just didn't realize how serious it was. I started looking around on you tube and came across this video. It really is amazing how different the news was back then.

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I'm the same age and I was living in Rome during that time. I spent all day outside the day its cloud floated over Italy.
 
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