I have been watching the drama “Chernobyl” on Sky Atlantic and it is so good that I thought I would promote the series on my website. Regular readers will know that nuclear power and nuclear weapons are subjects that bother me greatly and, over the years, there have been numerous posts on the topics – see some links below.
Telling the story of the 1986 nuclear power station explosion from the perspectives of those dealing with the aftermath, “Chernobyl” is terrifying, bleak, brutal and brilliant.
Whilst it is a dramatization, the writers and producers haven’t gone all “Marvel” in terms of the central characters (no superheroes or villains) they are instead portrayed as ordinary people with terrible decisions to make.
The cast list is decent and the actor performances, excellent.
The five-part story is an unrelenting, roller-coaster-ride of reaction to one challenge after another and tells of denial, misinformation, misunderstanding, Soviet political machinations and then the dawning realisation that the disaster had genuinely apocalyptic implications. Whilst the explosion of the power plant was catastrophic enough, it could have been so much worse without the selfless actions of so many people that surrendered, or seriously shortened, their lives to improve the outcomes for others.
At one point the viewer is shared the details of the significant threat of a thermonuclear explosion that if not addressed would cause devastation across swathes of Europe. The solution, 48 hours to drain some under reactor water tanks by hand. The personnel selected to do this surely dead men walking.
Another illustration, in episode four there is a scene where graphite from the reactor core is emitting so much radiation from the roof of the plant that it is burning-out the machines airlifted in to place to push it off. In the end the only option was to send up soldiers to face the danger. Soldiers on the roof faced their entire life’s normal allocation of radiation in 90 seconds.
For the Russians the handling of the disaster was akin to going to war; in order to win serious sacrifices were necessary and they just had to be faced head on.
The writers don’t try to sugar coat or hide any aspect of the pernicious horror of radiation exposure, but it’s not addressed in the way a horror movie might portray it. Instead of things causing you to jump or shriek, the pace is slow and mercilessly poignant and thought provoking. Examples include families watching the reactor fire unaware of the fallout blowing all around them, fireman putting out fires not being aware of the radiation that is effectively melting them in the way that a normal fire might melt plastic, family members cuddling poisoned relatives and receiving dangerous radiation doses themselves in the process etc.
Whilst the subject matter is miserable, the drama isn’t devoid of hope or positivity, there are elements of humour, evidence of deepening respect-based relationships, the quest for truth and the taking of responsibility whatever the cost.
The fear over here
I was 15 years old when the disaster took place, I remember being scared at the time about the radiation that was reaching/affecting the UK. I felt a sense of helplessness that there was nothing I could do to protect myself/my folks and a resignation almost that I might as well just get on with life. I still don’t really know just how much danger I/we were exposed to, though I am going to do some more research on that subject now. From memory, I think that the southern counties were less affected than Scotland, Northern Ireland or North Wales.
Coming back to the present, I thoroughly recommend this series. The story needed telling, it’s been told with respect to those who suffered but with a grittiness that makes it feel very real. You can’t watch this without having your brain engaged, and you won’t be able to watch without thinking about it afterwards.
Whilst the last season of Game of Thrones was a bit disappointing, Chernobyl gets a full five-star rating from me.
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Telling the story of the 1986 nuclear power station explosion from the perspectives of those dealing with the aftermath, “Chernobyl” is terrifying, bleak, brutal and brilliant.
Whilst it is a dramatization, the writers and producers haven’t gone all “Marvel” in terms of the central characters (no superheroes or villains) they are instead portrayed as ordinary people with terrible decisions to make.
The cast list is decent and the actor performances, excellent.
The five-part story is an unrelenting, roller-coaster-ride of reaction to one challenge after another and tells of denial, misinformation, misunderstanding, Soviet political machinations and then the dawning realisation that the disaster had genuinely apocalyptic implications. Whilst the explosion of the power plant was catastrophic enough, it could have been so much worse without the selfless actions of so many people that surrendered, or seriously shortened, their lives to improve the outcomes for others.
At one point the viewer is shared the details of the significant threat of a thermonuclear explosion that if not addressed would cause devastation across swathes of Europe. The solution, 48 hours to drain some under reactor water tanks by hand. The personnel selected to do this surely dead men walking.
Another illustration, in episode four there is a scene where graphite from the reactor core is emitting so much radiation from the roof of the plant that it is burning-out the machines airlifted in to place to push it off. In the end the only option was to send up soldiers to face the danger. Soldiers on the roof faced their entire life’s normal allocation of radiation in 90 seconds.
For the Russians the handling of the disaster was akin to going to war; in order to win serious sacrifices were necessary and they just had to be faced head on.
The writers don’t try to sugar coat or hide any aspect of the pernicious horror of radiation exposure, but it’s not addressed in the way a horror movie might portray it. Instead of things causing you to jump or shriek, the pace is slow and mercilessly poignant and thought provoking. Examples include families watching the reactor fire unaware of the fallout blowing all around them, fireman putting out fires not being aware of the radiation that is effectively melting them in the way that a normal fire might melt plastic, family members cuddling poisoned relatives and receiving dangerous radiation doses themselves in the process etc.
Whilst the subject matter is miserable, the drama isn’t devoid of hope or positivity, there are elements of humour, evidence of deepening respect-based relationships, the quest for truth and the taking of responsibility whatever the cost.
The fear over here
I was 15 years old when the disaster took place, I remember being scared at the time about the radiation that was reaching/affecting the UK. I felt a sense of helplessness that there was nothing I could do to protect myself/my folks and a resignation almost that I might as well just get on with life. I still don’t really know just how much danger I/we were exposed to, though I am going to do some more research on that subject now. From memory, I think that the southern counties were less affected than Scotland, Northern Ireland or North Wales.
Coming back to the present, I thoroughly recommend this series. The story needed telling, it’s been told with respect to those who suffered but with a grittiness that makes it feel very real. You can’t watch this without having your brain engaged, and you won’t be able to watch without thinking about it afterwards.
Whilst the last season of Game of Thrones was a bit disappointing, Chernobyl gets a full five-star rating from me.
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Related Posts
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