HBO's Chernobyl Mini-series drops next week.

105,097 Views | 688 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by gigemJTH12
hunter2012
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AG
Such a depressing episode. Their people are just speciallized cattle, told to jump into the fire and perish when their specialty is required. Not only that but their legacy is to be buried to maintain the proper state message. I both pity and fear a world like that. Lyudmilla being ignorantly/neglectfully allowed to stay with Vasily is even more gut wrenching.
Swarely
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BBRex said:

**********zYo! said:

The scenes where the firemen literally melt. That looks like a horrific way to die - holy *****


Those scenes were shocking. I knew there would be some rough scenes, but I wasn't expecting that.


I literally gasped out loud.
Swarely
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I need to go rewatch the first episode again because I've already forgotten the names of the guys in the control room. And obviously I didn't recognize them in their advanced state.
Bunk Moreland
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Also, I sat and listened to the entire credits sequence tonight. So haunting.
Shelton98
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AG
Swarely said:

I need to go rewatch the first episode again because I've already forgotten the names of the guys in the control room. And obviously I didn't recognize them in their advanced state.
I watched the documentary that was referenced earlier in this thread..... it really helps in understanding who the real bad guy was (other than the reactor design) that caused the explosion. And Chernobyl was not the first nuclear reactor disaster that he was apart of.
Sarge 77
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Why don't they put these poor guys out of their misery. Give them cyanide or a bullet, either way would be more merciful.


Swarely
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So, this is actually from a Japanese incident; but, there are some NSFL pics of a body with a lethal dose of radiation kept Ali for almost 90 days. Seriously, click on this at your own peril.

https://www.unbelievable-facts.com/2016/12/hisashi-ouchi.html
HtownAg92
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AG
This series is so incredible and haunting. Superb acting and cinematography. The cold, stark, utilitarian depiction of 1986 Soviet Ukraine oozes through every scene.

The main protagonists are played greatly, and so are some of the "lesser" players, such as Gorbi. You can see his struggle with being stoic and maintaining the illusion of power while hiding his shock and torment. I liked the head of the KGB also, and his description of their role.

But my new favorite person is the miner foreman. Such a badass. DGAF who is making the orders, his men come first. "We're still wearing the fooking hats, though".

Is the big guy in their first scene Joer Mormont?
Thunder18
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The control room/firefighter scenes were haunting, if this series doesn't win all the awards for makeup/fx they need to stop giving the awards.

On a more positive note, I would watch an entire series based on the crew chief and miners (provided they stayed fully clothed)
Thunder18
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Hah we posted similar thoughts simultaneously! Yes that was Jeor Mormont as one of the miners.
bobinator
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Another great episode.

I still think condensing all the bureaucracy down to just a handful of people is an interesting choice. In some ways I get it for the sake of storytelling but in some ways it changes the perception of events.

Those guys weren't dying alone in a hospital, there were ALL KINDS of government officials coming in and out badgering them trying to get the whole story of what happened.
BenFiasco14
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I didn't know "Trust, but verify" was a Russian proverb
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
k20dub
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One thing I wish we would see more of is the town's reaction to all of this going on. We got some in the first episode when they didn't now what was going on, but how about now that everyone knows how dangerous this situation is? Has the town not been evacuated yet?
dahouse
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I go down the rabbit hole all the time looking for pictures and information. The fact that this happened in the USSR means that there is very little photo/video documentation available. I'm sure there's videotapes and pictures locked away somewhere that the world will never see.
Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04
Bregxit
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k20dub said:

One thing I wish we would see more of is the town's reaction to all of this going on. We got some in the first episode when they didn't now what was going on, but how about now that everyone knows how dangerous this situation is? Has the town not been evacuated yet?


Pripyat evacuation began the first or second day and was completely evacuated within a week. Everyone should be long gone by now.
bobinator
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Part of the problem is that the radiation itself destroyed a lot of the photos/videos.

One thing I thought was interesting is that when the investigators who were looking into the causes of the accident/whether anyone should be charged/etc, a lot of the documents were also contaminated so they had to wear protective suits even to just look at the records. And then when that was over a lot of those records were buried because of the radiation as well.

Between the various groups of the USSR lying to each other, lying to foreigners AND how much was contaminated, there's not a ton of primary source material.
bobinator
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Yeah, we saw Pripyat be evacuated last week. I wonder if we're going to get to the children's evacuation in Kiev or not. It was a huge deal, but seeing as how we've kind of focused in on a couple vignettes of this story I don't know if it really fits the narrative.
DG-Ag
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Shelton98 said:

Swarely said:

I need to go rewatch the first episode again because I've already forgotten the names of the guys in the control room. And obviously I didn't recognize them in their advanced state.
I watched the documentary that was referenced earlier in this thread..... it really helps in understanding who the real bad guy was (other than the reactor design) that caused the explosion. And Chernobyl was not the first nuclear reactor disaster that he was apart of.

Do you remember the name of the doc? I've scrolled through and can't seem to find it. Thanks.
Bregxit
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DG-Ag said:

Shelton98 said:

Swarely said:

I need to go rewatch the first episode again because I've already forgotten the names of the guys in the control room. And obviously I didn't recognize them in their advanced state.
I watched the documentary that was referenced earlier in this thread..... it really helps in understanding who the real bad guy was (other than the reactor design) that caused the explosion. And Chernobyl was not the first nuclear reactor disaster that he was apart of.

Do you remember the name of the doc? I've scrolled through and can't seem to find it. Thanks.


Zero Hour season 1 episode 1. Just look up Zero Hour on Youtube.
schmendeler
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Quote:

Has the town not been evacuated yet?
did you miss the whole town getting on buses and leaving? that's why the dogs were following Legasov and Shcherbina around while they were walking at night. there is no one there to feed them.
k20dub
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schmendeler said:

Quote:

Has the town not been evacuated yet?
did you miss the whole town getting on buses and leaving? that's why the dogs were following Legasov and Shcherbina around while they were walking at night. there is no one there to feed them.
Now that you mention that, I do remember it. Just didn't seem like anyone was freaking out. I guess they didn't know exactly how bad it was going to be.
Punked Shank
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I have to remind myself they consolidated the scientist and brains of the committees into very few characters. Dont mind the decision at all but just need to remind myself once an episode.
bobinator
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From all accounts the folks in Pripyat did a pretty good job of not freaking out. Actually getting folks out of the town was fairly well organized all things considered. Now, that's about the only part that was fairly well organized. Families were split up and most people had no idea where they had taken everyone else. They basically just drove out of the exclusion zone and just dropped people off wherever there was room so people were spread out all over with no way of contacting each other.

Kiev on the other hand was mostly an all-out disaster from the get go.
94DallasAG
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Darwin Awards candidates (found this in the Timeline Article link earlier)

Sergey Chernenky was stationed in the zone soon after the accident and was responsible for catching looters, who were numerous. These people wanted to make money selling contaminated goods in the markets of Kiev. Sergey recalls that two people once tried to steal a car from the zone. They were able to drive a short distance before they died. The contaminated car had a radiation reading of 6000 roentgen.
G Martin 87
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bobinator said:

From all accounts the folks in Pripyat did a pretty good job of not freaking out. Actually getting folks out of the town was fairly well organized all things considered. Now, that's about the only part that was fairly well organized. Families were split up and most people had no idea where they had taken everyone else. They basically just drove out of the exclusion zone and just dropped people off wherever there was room so people were spread out all over with no way of contacting each other.

Kiev on the other hand was mostly an all-out disaster from the get go.
Craig Mazin explained in the podcast that Pripyat was an "Atom City", designed to be a fully independent community with integrated services and prioritized supply chain specifically to support the power plant. Living there made you part of a privileged class. They would have been less likely to panic, I suppose.
Swarely
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Just finished the latest podcast. Excellent as always.

Would be nice to see the deleted scenes someday.
Teddy Perkins
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AG
ham98
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Did the real miners have such a gfy attitudes towards the bureaucracy in real life? If so major props to them
Robert C. Christian
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ham98 said:

Did the real miners have such a gfy attitudes towards the bureaucracy in real life? If so major props to them

Per the podcast yes. Coal was the main driver of the USSR's powerplants. Coal miners apparently had large pull due to this. I am sure it is exaggerated for narrative but, may not have been too far off.
hunter2012
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ham98 said:

Did the real miners have such a gfy attitudes towards the bureaucracy in real life? If so major props to them

Also think about the topsy-turvey Communist mindset. There's nothing more "worker" than the coal miner. On top of the energy reliance I would imagine that much of the middle/upper bureaucracy were former miners. I would think they would be well connected with previous miners that were stationed higher up in the party.
Boo Weekley
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I would definitely watch a comedic spinoff about the crew chief and his miners.
easttexasaggie04
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AG
I would want something covering my junk while working in that tunnel. I don't care if it was some Fruit of the Loom. I want something between my goods and that reactor.
Joseph Parrish
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Great show. I listen to the podcast after every episode too.
Boo Weekley
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So a deal I read claimed that it is estimated that about 29 people died as a result of Chernobyl. It's gotta be WAY higher than that right? I would think the cases of cancer and other illnesses in the following years would be much higher. Hell, I assumed the immediate death count in the months following the tragedy had to be higher than 29.
schmendeler
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AG
Those are direct deaths from the explosion and resulting radiation, not the deaths from fallout, etc. Those were estimated anywhere from around 5,000 to 90,000+.
 
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