HBO "CHERNOBYL"

[Decibel_116]

There is a lot of videos of Chernobyl on Youtube in documentary format. I watched a video last weekend that was filmed by one of the Soviet service men that were called in to deal with the disaster immediately after the accident. Filmed from his perspective as he engaged in the "liquidation" effort. I couldn't stop watching. A very honest video.

 

[hnash53]

Chernobyl is great TV. Shows like this educate and re-educate many people... myself included... while a documentary might not appeal to a significant portion of population.

A series like this has been dubbed a "docudrama." One can learn much from docudramas. It can lead to further investigation when one's interest is piqued.

As mentioned above, a difficult series to watch... I was riveted for most of the series. And the horror of a nuclear disaster... well done.

I wonder how many Google searches for "chernobyl" followed the introduction of episode 1.

My 2 cents...

 

[teal'c]

https://www.livescience.com/65642-chernobyl-tourism-up.html

 

[slow_jazz]

Very well done show.

 

[Beatnik]

With one of the main characters a total fabrication, that leaves 50% of the series questionable ? Was the whole script just dreamed up, did others not mentioned actually play those roles or was it all fiction, etc ?

I don't get why they would do this, but thats my opinion. People see this and believe it as fact.

Mickey mouse at the end made me think of the mockumentary "artist" that did that shipwreck treasure crap.

 

[gadget73]

Its much easier to have one character fill that roll than large councils of scientists and engineers. Can you imagine if they faithfully re-enacted those meetings with all those people to come up with a precise timeline of events? It would not make for good television. Having one character that sort of stands in for those groups to provide the answers that they came up with makes it much more digestible. The aftermath of that explosion was not handled almost entirely by just 3 people but it would be awful cumbersome to present in 5 hours what actually occurred over a span of years and involved large numbers of people.

so as for the filming on location, that little clip at the very end where they show the firefighter's gear still laying in the basement of the hospital. I recognize that video. Its from someone on youtube called bionerd23. She's done a number of videos from within the exclusion zone.

http://t.co/IZe8ywEnup

worth a look if you're interested what things look like there now.

 

[Tom Brennan]

On a history forum I visit some Russians are asserting the show is anti Russian and pro German and Polish. ?!?

 

[Pio1980]

On a history forum I visit some Russians are asserting the show is anti Russian and pro German and Polish. ?!?

Outsider criticisms of the Soviet buerocracy might be taken as anti-Russian, but those that endured its "foibles" know the truth.

 

[Asmodeus2112]

The BBC documentary about building the sarcophagus for the ruins of Chernobyl was pretty amazing. I highly recommend.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6396950/

 

[Tom Brennan]

I've been watching the show, quite a bit of bullshit. Such as showing people with radiation sickness being sources of radiation; that's just total bullshit. There are fictional incidents and the show's claims about deaths other damages are suspect.

The show works as drama and entertainment but if you want real history this isn't it.

 

[gadget73]

Thats actually not completely impossible but it very much depends on the particulars. If they're rad sick and still contaminated, then yes. Surface contamination would be washed off at the beginning of any treatment so thats largely a non-issue. If it was ingested in sufficient quantity, then it is possible for a person to be radioactive. I expect the people that died were more from external exposure rather than digesting enough stuff to make them hot though.

 

[Pio1980]

Thats actually not completely impossible but it very much depends on the particulars. If they're rad sick and still contaminated, then yes. Surface contamination would be washed off at the beginning of any treatment so thats largely a non-issue. If it was ingested in sufficient quantity, then it is possible for a person to be radioactive. I expect the people that died were more from external exposure rather than digesting enough stuff to make them hot though.

Ingesting/inhaling alpha particle emitting isotope particles is the literal kiss of death, beta and gamma as well of course.

 

[PabloX]

"The character Ulana Khomyuk was created to represent them all and to honor their dedication and service to truth and humanity"

So the whole show is questionable.

There are practical limits on how much a movie or series can portray in terms of a true story. That's partly a result of time and budget constraints but also how much the viewer will be able to keep track of. No, that aspect alone doesn't make it questionable.

 

[PabloX]

If you want some background on the series, including why they made certain choices in how they told the story, this podcast is very good.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chernobyl-podcast/id1459712981

 

[Pio1980]

Conflation for reasons of economies is normal for docu-drama, Take it for what it is and otherwise, parity check reliable internet sources for factual background information.