Anyone watching the Chernobyl miniseries on HBO?

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I've always been fascinated with the Chernobyl accident and the resulting (effectively) permanent damage done to the surrounding area and its inhabitants. This series has been fantastic so far, brilliantly acted with great sets and CG. It really shows what the Soviets were up against and the total denial they were in after it happened. So many people had no idea how much danger they were in. In some cases that was probably a good thing but they certainly paid for it later. Very sad.

They are four one-hour episodes into a total of five and it feels shorter than it is. Highly recommended!
 
Good to hear. We've been meaning to watch this especially now that GoT is over. Looks great based on what I've read and the little snippets I've seen.
 
I don't have HBO, but I am also fascinated by Chernobyl and everything associated with it. I have co-workers talking about it who had no idea it actually happened. They thought it was fiction....
 
The Soviets were up against insufficient containment, which is a huge component as to why things played out the way they did. The incident gave a black eye to the entire industry, which it has struggled to recover from.

While it lacks the pizazz of an HBO special, the AECL report (which is the generally accepted account of the events and how and why they unfolded) is available to read if you'd like me to link it.
 
Yes! It's really a great show, very well done.

There were a few times where I thought for sure they were making stuff up for TV -- naked miners --- nope, they really did mine naked because there was no ventilation. Also when the commander wouldn't believe that there was a problem. Absolutely crazy how arrogant they were.

And the part where the guys went underneath to pump the water out was apparently tamed down for TV; from what I understand, they saw the glowing elephant's foot and when the flashlights went out they went by feel.
 
I have been. It is an excellent show. Having been on and around submarines since I have been 19, I know a bit about nuclear power.
I have read a lot about the accident.
I think the show is done well.
 
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Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I don't have HBO, but I am also fascinated by Chernobyl and everything associated with it. I have co-workers talking about it who had no idea it actually happened. They thought it was fiction....

I was 6th grade at the time.
They administered us (school kids) 2 drops of iodine solution oral, about 2 months after the accident.
I remember 2 things:
-first, second day, the local state TV made an announcement about it, during the week at about 11 am local time (TV transmission was evening and maybe some lunch or early morning usually)
-after 2 days, they showed daily map updates with the Cloud over Europe
-could not get over the phone to my sister who lived closer to the Moldavian border, and closer to the clouds route over Western Europe, for about 4 days. Lines "down".
 
I loved the miner's joke:

Q. What's as big as a house, consumes 20 liters of fuel an hour, puts out a lot of smoke and noise, and cuts an apple into 3 pieces?

A. A soviet machine that's designed to cut an apple into 4 pieces.

I suspect Chernobyl had as much to do with the downfall of the Soviet Union as Afghanistan. Maybe more. Great series.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
The Soviets were up against insufficient containment, which is a huge component as to why things played out the way they did. The incident gave a black eye to the entire industry, which it has struggled to recover from.

While it lacks the pizazz of an HBO special, the AECL report (which is the generally accepted account of the events and how and why they unfolded) is available to read if you'd like me to link it.

Yes, would you post the link please? You e got my curiosity piqued.
 
I watched PBS Nova "Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb". Impressive structure that is supposed to last a very long time.
 
Originally Posted by The_Eric
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
The Soviets were up against insufficient containment, which is a huge component as to why things played out the way they did. The incident gave a black eye to the entire industry, which it has struggled to recover from.

While it lacks the pizazz of an HBO special, the AECL report (which is the generally accepted account of the events and how and why they unfolded) is available to read if you'd like me to link it.

Yes, would you post the link please? You e got my curiosity piqued.


Here you go:
https://canteach.candu.org/Content Library/19910101.pdf
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by The_Eric
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
The Soviets were up against insufficient containment, which is a huge component as to why things played out the way they did. The incident gave a black eye to the entire industry, which it has struggled to recover from.

While it lacks the pizazz of an HBO special, the AECL report (which is the generally accepted account of the events and how and why they unfolded) is available to read if you'd like me to link it.

Yes, would you post the link please? You e got my curiosity piqued.


Here you go:
https://canteach.candu.org/Content Library/19910101.pdf


Awesome! Thank you!
 
Loving it so far, I too am very intrigued with the accident, and have seen many documentaries about it. Seems more is learned each time. What got me was after the explosion, when the people were looking at it from their apartment, the radioactive ion air shooting a blue light straight up, and they are saying how pretty it is, not realizing what they are actually seeing.
 
Addicted to this series!
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There was so much cover-up (by the Soviets/KGB) shrouding what actually happened when it was a current event that it is enlightening (but VERY dark despairing) to finally get some truth on the whole disaster.

"Black eye" to the whole industry, or not, the warnings the facts of this incident bring to light, had BETTER BE heeded going forward (YES even with our 'superior' and now much updated technology, and much more conscientious and fastidious plant workers.)!
wink.gif
 
I was in Europe at that time. It was stressful. You couldn't eat all sorts of things.
 
Best thing this year IMO. In highschool during missle crisis and thinking we'd be radiated as we had air bases in three directions: Offut, Elsworth, Minot, Grand Forks. Always thought it would be better to vaporize than get a double snootful of radiation. Walking around near the core and essentially melting would be especially nasty, however. The Soviets were probably well served by their cynacism.
 
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