Chernobyl | Golden Skate

Chernobyl

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
4.50 star(s) Rating: 4.50/5 2 Votes
Title: Chernobyl

Genre: Drama

First aired: 2019-05-06

Creator: Craig Mazin

Cast: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter, Jessie Buckley, Adam Nagaitis, Sam Troughton, Robert Emms, Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins, Alan Williams, David Dencik, Mark Lewis Jones, Ralph Ineson, Barry Keoghan, Alex Ferns, Fares Fares, Michael McElhatton

Overview: The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.

 

Ross74

Medalist
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
I watched the first ep last night. Very disturbing and difficult to watch, even though I’m very familiar with the details of the disaster. Plan to keep watching but dh said he needs a few days before he can watch again. Gripping and very well done.
 

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
87006-hlLXt2tOPT6RRnjiUmoxyG1LTFi.jpg

Title: Chernobyl

Genre: Drama

Creator: Craig Mazin

Cast: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter, Jessie Buckley, Adam Nagaitis, Sam Troughton, Robert Emms, Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins, Alan Williams, David Dencik, Mark Lewis Jones, Ralph Ineson, Barry Keoghan, Alex Ferns, Fares Fares, Michael McElhatton

First aired: 2019-05-06

Overview: The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.



 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I watched the 1st 3 episodes last night because 3 friends recommended. It's definitely bleak and intense and well made. There's a lot that the world didn't generally know about the incident.

During the 1st episode I was thinking why do the people working at the reactor seem incompetent? Why are people staying outside during a radioactive event? Of course, we know more now and discover that their equipment was inadequate. Also, the East German's kept their children indoors while the kids near the event were still acting like nothing had occurred.
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
By far one of the very few best films I have watched in my 60 years. And I have watched a lot.

I was on the other side during that year of 1986. I was in the Polish military when that happened. Anyway, what I want to say is that the film's one of strongest points are incredible details. The clothes, paints on walls, ink, pens, chairs, cars, buildings, villages, apartment interiors, offices, the way people talked to each other. Some of reviewers complain that Russian characters speak clean British English, however, it doesn't bother me at all. Yes, they speak English, but they behave and look totally Soviet. They make me feel I am back in those times.
The film was made in Lithuania and Ukraine. I visited Lithuania last year and there are plenty of places over there that look exactly like in the 1980s during communism. Or real socialism, which is the system 1/4 of American population (the progressives) is trying to bring to the US today.
And the pace and mood of the film surpasses the best thrillers. Even horrors. Plus, the background music is electrifying. Most of time the music is in the form of dosimeter buzz.
I cannot recommend this film more. It's a must see for everybody.
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
I remember that disaster well, the Russians only admitted it after a few days as the higher radiation levels were noticed in other countries (e.g. Sweden and Finland)...
 

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I don't know if I have a stomach to go on, the episode 3 was so tough to watch... how humans can let other humans to die in such pain but would put down a dog to spare it suffering...

I was a 20-year old student in Kiev at the time. We were young, naive and just plain stupid so we swallowed all the lies we were told. The locals knew more of course about the situation and at least tried to protect themselves. Most of us were far away from home living on the College campus, many without even own TV or radio (not that the info there amounted to anything), the College officials told us that everything was under control and there was no danger so everyone should stay put, those who leave without a med cert would be expelled (later it transpired that they send own families away). The list of suggested protective measures such as it was in circulation we assessed in a very peculiar way – the ones that suited us we adopted with gusto such as an advice to consume x-amount of vodka & red wine a day (I believe that might actually have saved us from much worse outcome) while disregarding the others:
- to keep windows closed – in 30C heat? - no way!
- to clean daily all the floors, shoes & outdoor clothes – too lazy
- not to eat fresh fruit & veg – well, the strawberries were so huge (of course they were!) and dead cheap (naturally- nobody else bought them) how you can possibly resist that?
And the ‘best’ of our stupidity was not to cancel but go camping 15 km north of Kiev, we left I remember on the 29th April just when the rumours began to spread like a wildfire about risk of second explosion, and were planning to stay till the end of May holidays (the 9th May) but somehow returned earlier because everyone was feeling a bit ‘funny’ but we thought it was a food poisoning or something…
On our return we found the city literally deserted (we completely missed the panic & mass exodus which as the live accounts told were of a war time proportion). After that not much changed we were just getting on with usual things preparing for our summer exams. The eerie thing about radiation is that no matter what you are told it is so hard to believe as there is no taste, smell or anything. But I remember the moment when it finally hit me, I was outside looking up admiring famous Kiev chestnut trees which just burst into blossoms and while that was expected at this time of the year there was something so odd about it that I could not stop staring at it till finally I realised that every flower kinda split in two or three ‘candles’ and not the one as usual. At that moment I realised with all the frightening clarity that we were told a pack of lies. Here was a proof of effect on flora and if the plants had such signs of mutation what was really happening to humans? (the anomaly about chestnut trees didn’t end there by the way, after the usual May flowering ended that spring they flowered second time in June which never happened before or after).
.
People tend to associate radiation mostly with cancer and while it does increase a risk of cancer there are other things you get for dead sure, most people I knew suffer now with inflamed thyroid, anemia, immune deficiency and dental problems (as radioactive strontium replaces calcium but not as strong as the latter).
@Ross74 - oh I do agree, I had to watch on Sunday three episodes of BBC 'Wives & Daughters' (period drama) in a row to shake off the feeling of gloom and doom. Oh the 19th century, the blessed time, scientists not yet gone that far in satisfying their curiosity as splitting atom...did they really have to? hope they all burn in hell :devil:
 

Ross74

Medalist
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
I don't know if I have a stomach to go on, the episode 3 was so tough to watch... how humans can let other humans to die in such pain but would put down a dog to spare it suffering...

I was a 20-year old student in Kiev at the time......

@Ross74 - oh I do agree, I had to watch on Sunday three episodes of BBC 'Wives & Daughters' (period drama) in a row to shake off the feeling of gloom and doom. Oh the 19th century, the blessed time, scientists not yet gone that far in satisfying their curiosity as splitting atom...did they really have to? hope they all burn in hell :devil:

Tutto, thank you for your very personal and poignant story. I can't imagine having been a real-time witness to all of this. It's like everyone there was the subject of a very evil experiment.

I would have been willing to binge watch the entire series to get it over with and move on to something a little less disturbing, but my husband is having a hard time watching and he squirms through an entire episode. Although he thinks it's an excellent series, he needs a break of a few days before he can resume watching. It's so much to process. The ending scene for each episode has left us in shock.
 

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Tutto, thank you for your very personal and poignant story. I can't imagine having been a real-time witness to all of this. It's like everyone there was the subject of a very evil experiment.

I would have been willing to binge watch the entire series to get it over with and move on to something a little less disturbing, but my husband is having a hard time watching and he squirms through an entire episode. Although he thinks it's an excellent series, he needs a break of a few days before he can resume watching. It's so much to process. The ending scene for each episode has left us in shock.

Thank you Ross74,
You are right that exactly how it feels now -like we were participants in some clinical trial, only nobody bothered to ask for our consent nor to pay us.
But there are hundreds of thousands who suffered so much more and the official records tell us to believe that only 31 people died as a result. Anyone after watching the series can really believe that?
 

Ykai

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
I just watched the first episode. I don't know if I can watch the rest of it. It is heartbreaking to watch all the innocent people walk into this horrible death, and I can imagine there is more to come in the following episodes. The meeting down in the basement was insanely cruel, such twist of mind. I need to take a break. But it is greatly done.
 

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Watched the fourth episode yesterday, practically feeling glad that it is coming to the end and as I understand the last one moves from the site of disaster - may be easier emotionally

It is reported that there has been 40% rise in Chernobyl 'tourism'since the series started and in bookings for coming months
 

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Just to let you all know that Sky is to air another program as a follow-up to the series, 'A Real Chernobyl' at 9pm on Tuesday - apparently interviews with survivors & such
 

elbkup

Power without conscience is a savage weapon
Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Country
United-States
I am watching the series now and am horrified by the inhumanities contained therein..

I also remember a fairly recent documentary about the wildlife that now inhabits the deserted landscape and the scientists who are studying the creatures that have settled there... eye-opening..
It speaks,to the resilience of the earth, it's ability to heal.. and hope.
The Wild Wolves of Chernobyl (Russian). https://youtu.be/QaF_JSz7erQ
 
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luckyguy

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
A user from ex USSR at Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know if it is representative.

Something is weird with this. Russians speaking with British accent, or boring plot, or unnatural acting - I don't know what's wrong, but I stopped in the middle of the 1st episode. I am from ex USSR myself and I lived in an area close to Chernobyl back in 1986. It wasn't like that at all. Waste of budget, I dunno why critics are so ecstatic about this BS

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/977759831/tvratings
 

Tutto

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
A user from ex USSR at Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know if it is representative.



https://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/977759831/tvratings

I don't know I read enormous amount of reviews on IMDBs by people from Ukraine/former USSR and like 99% of them are more than favourable :
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7366338/reviews?ref_=tt_ql_3

In Russia the official response was half muted half negative one, stemming I think from 1) annoyance the way USSR looks in the story 2) embarrassment that tributes to the heroes of Chernobyl were paid by the West whereas in their own homeland they often neglected/overlooked
Well we really could not expect the Russian president who is effectively KGB man to be happy with it, could we ?
But I also read a lot of reviews by ordinary people in Russia who have nothing but praise
Yes there are some inaccuracies but who cares in the end when exactly the helicopter went down - in April or October, the fact is it did. For a story it worked better that way - I have no problem with it.
I personally feel they went too far with naked miners - it didn't make sense for 2 reasons -1) it just so unlikely and uncharacteristic for Soviet people (just remember there was no sex in Soviet Union - ha ha ) 2) one thing all men were acutely aware was radiation effect on reproduction system so the private parts were tried at least to be protected by all means
2) I think the plant personnel was portrayed in an one dimension way. I've read many accounts and it is clear that the ordinary guys at the plant did some really heroic things in the first 24 hours after the explosion and in some ways a way more valuable things than the firemen but it somehow gets overlooked
3) the series could have touched another layer of deceit/ cover up which took place but didn't - I am talking about how doctors were made a part of conspiracy - they were forbidden to give a diagnosis of ARS and therefore when somebody died from a different reason it could not have been added to Chernobyl death toll. That was a masterstroke of Soviet Machine - when the cover -up didn't work - lets downplay it as much as we can, and when it became obvious that casualties were likely to run in thousands rather then hundreds they came up with that.. as well as with 'revising' the allowed levels of radiation
All in all I 'd say the show is compelling it made people talk, think, remember as never before - is it not what the art is for?
 

luckyguy

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Thank you Tutto for your post. I have not seen the miniseries yet. But I also take seriously the negative comments:

"The series has nothing to do with the real story. It was created on the materials of the Western press and permeated with hatred for the Soviet Union, so that the Western audience kept all its stereotypes. The main idea is that the authorities of the Soviet Union were more terrible than the Chernobyl disaster."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4911043/?ref_=tt_urv

"So overall, this had the potential to be a good show, but it was completely - and needlessly - ruined by pushing a hateful ideology."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4905978/?ref_=tt_urv

"....the whole story feels like a bit of propaganda."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4926144/?ref_=tt_urv

"But really surprised how it is possible for the authors to use in the story the most speculative cliches of soviet propaganda."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4836808/?ref_=tt_urv
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
Thank you Tutto for your post. I have not seen the miniseries yet. But I also take seriously the negative comments:

"The series has nothing to do with the real story. It was created on the materials of the Western press and permeated with hatred for the Soviet Union, so that the Western audience kept all its stereotypes. The main idea is that the authorities of the Soviet Union were more terrible than the Chernobyl disaster."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4911043/?ref_=tt_urv

"So overall, this had the potential to be a good show, but it was completely - and needlessly - ruined by pushing a hateful ideology."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4905978/?ref_=tt_urv

"....the whole story feels like a bit of propaganda."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4926144/?ref_=tt_urv

"But really surprised how it is possible for the authors to use in the story the most speculative cliches of soviet propaganda."
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4836808/?ref_=tt_urv

I do not take seriously these comments. I could post many many more from persons living in the Soviet Union at the time or persons living in Russia, and Ukraine, now who believe that this show is true to life, accurate within the confines of the show, and the farthest thing from propaganda that there could be.

Luckily, like skating, the show exists for everyone to watch and make up their own mind. Just as I would not be dissuaded by Internet poster’s opinions of a skater from actually watching that skater, I would not be dissuaded, or convinced, by Internet poster’s opinions of a TV show.

I watch and decide for myself:)
 
TV show information provided by The Movie Database
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