Chernobyl - HBO/Sky *Spoilers*

IAMAMORON

I watched this over Christmas. I really enjoyed it, was very well made and the acting etc was good.

One thing ( or generally )

I disliked the very anti soviet/ Russian bias on the entire show. The concept that the Soviet Empire was evil is a stretch for me. I don't believe the hype that the soviet regime were more conscious of covering up the matter and that people were expendable etc.

For sure many people died and people made sacrifices, but the way the soviet regime is portrayed is almost disrespectful to all the victims involved, I simply didn't believe the portrayal of the Soviet Regime as being a sinister bureaucracy. For sure they were no angels, but hardly as sinister as on the show. I am not saying that there would have been no instances of state cover up etc, but the show seemed too insinuate this in every decision, too much for me.

But well worth a watch regardless.

Cordell

I grew up in the EE and I can say that their depiction of Soviet(-like) regimes was in fact quite accurate.

IAMAMORON

Cordell wrote: »

I grew up in the EE and I can say that their depiction of Soviet(-like) regimes was in fact quite accurate.

In what way was it accurate?

Cordell

In pretty much every way. Sinister bureaucracy, autocratic regime in which party brass and KGB were more feared than an open nuclear reactor.

pixelburp

In a nation that was fundamentally constructed as to make "The State" to be the ultimate godhead, then yeah, I absolutely believe the the Soviet Union would have had a dim view on both the rights of the individual and the preservation of those individuals above those of the state and its image.

IAMAMORON

Cordell wrote: »

In pretty much every way. Sinister bureaucracy, autocratic regime in which party brass and KGB were more feared than an open nuclear reactor.

I am sure this is very plausible, not unlike any bureaucracy. But I did find that the show portrayed the regime as having literally no empathy and an almost arrogant attitude towards the disaster? For example the committee that met at the plant that evening and then the politburo response, surely far fetched and an almost anti soviet bias here?

The show also showed the plant management as being villains, granted the state sent them to prison afterwards, but they hardly deliberately caused the disaster?

I just found the anti soviet tone of the show a bit much, I am not saying that bureaucracies are not evil , but the show I think crossed a line here which I did not believe.

Cordell

They tried to keep it secret until it wasn't possible so yes, they were quite capable of sacrificing their own people during peace time for petty reasons.

cdgalwegian

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I just found the anti soviet tone of the show a bit much, I am not saying that bureaucracies are not evil , but the show I think crossed a line here which I did not believe.

Bureaucracies arent't inherently evil; this is just a management system- it depends on the people staffing it, and the ethos that permeates it, which comes from the staff themselves to an extent, but moreso in this case the political drive direct from the politburo. Propping up the falsity of so-called communism and its supposed superiority to capitalism meant the proletarians could quite easily become fodder in the propaganda war, and face-saving; which they were in the Chernobyl meltdown.

IAMAMORON

I just found the anti soviet sentiment kind of stereotypical and for me it took away from the authenticity of the show. I think it got over emphasised and I found that unrealistic. I am not saying it did not exist, I just have more faith in the human race and I feel the show sacrificed this in favour of damning the regime. There does appear to have been a lot of license used by the producers.

IAMAMORON

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I just found the anti soviet sentiment kind of stereotypical and for me it took away from the authenticity of the show. I think it got over emphasised and I found that unrealistic. I am not saying it did not exist, I just have more faith in the human race and I feel the show sacrificed this in favour of damning the regime. There does appear to have been a lot of license used by the producers.

I have a big interest in all things nuclear and I have read a lot (well listened to the audiobooks) on the topic. I’ve listened to 5 or 6 books exclusively dealing with Chernobyl along with many others which touch on the topic. A major aspect of all books is dealing with the soviet regime and how bad it’s was. One book in particular was almost as much about the regime as the accident and trust me the show in no way over did how bad the soviet system was. If anything fitting the show into a limited time means they didn’t really have time to go into an awful lot of the stuff that went on in the system and how it’s not surprising at all how they managed the Chernobyl situation.

I don’t know what you wanted them to do with the show, ignore a major aspect of the whole system and situation and tell an inaccurate story? That would have seriously taken from the authenticity of the show.

ollkiller

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I just found the anti soviet sentiment kind of stereotypical and for me it took away from the authenticity of the show. I think it got over emphasised and I found that unrealistic. I am not saying it did not exist, I just have more faith in the human race and I feel the show sacrificed this in favour of damning the regime. There does appear to have been a lot of license used by the producers.

It actually got it spot on. I have a Russian friend who came here about 10 years ago. He's around 50 now and he said they nailed it.

Cordell

So it was so bad some people have trouble believing those who lived it. That's bad.

mrm

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I just found the anti soviet sentiment kind of stereotypical and for me it took away from the authenticity of the show. I think it got over emphasised and I found that unrealistic. I am not saying it did not exist, I just have more faith in the human race and I feel the show sacrificed this in favour of damning the regime. There does appear to have been a lot of license used by the producers.

Watch 'Battle for Chernobyl' (excellent documentary) and the circumstances that finally caused the regime to admit the accident happened plus the reference to the 'Death Parades' in Kharkov and other surrounding towns in May of that year. Also note the date that the authorities made their first national statement broadcast on the accident.

The show did not employ any artistic license on this particular matter! The documentary identifies a denial/ cover up stronger that the show alludes to - there's probably a full series of material on this alone.

Slydice

mrm wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

you included the equals sign '=02SCFubKUC8' but that's not part of it.

It can be fixed by removing the equals sign '02SCFubKUC8' or using the full link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02SCFubKUC8

mrm

Slydice wrote: »

you included the equals sign '=02SCFubKUC8' but that's not part of it.

It can be fixed by removing the equals sign '02SCFubKUC8' or using the full link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02SCFubKUC8

The Soviet regime covertly inserted the equals sign🀫

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Just finished watching this.

I enjoyed it but I’m a bit disappointed. My hair wasn’t blown back by it as much as I thought it would be. I think it’s because I had previously read a good bit about the whole thing so I knew that some things were embellished or simply not true.

On the accents - it didn’t bother me except that Jessie Buckley was doing an accent. That inconsistency annoyed me. Everyone should do them or nobody. I would have been fine with subtitles personally. It wouldn’t have detracted from it for me. But overall, people using their own accents was fine.

I found Dyatlov to be a bit too Bond villianish, with the wonky eye and priggish manner. Reports vary on how much he was like that but I found it a bit much.

I enjoyed the head miner character but hubs didn’t - he thought he was a bit signposted as the relatable salt-of-the-earth authority disrespecting hero. He said he knew straight away what the character was going to be about and found that and other characterisations a bit lacking in nuance.

When I was watching, the whole thing made me reflect that management complacency is universal. Legasov railed against the Soviet Union but the Challenger disaster kept coming to mind whilst I was watching it. The fallout of that was less far-reaching of course but was also caused by a head-in-the-sand approach to design flaws and a need to keep the shuttle mission going.

I enjoyed the old-fashioned storytelling. No bells and whistles, just here it is. The sound was great too.

I’m not sure why I’m a little disappointed. It’s not quite a top tier show for me personally and I can’t put my finger on why.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Cordell wrote: »

I grew up in the EE and I can say that their depiction of Soviet(-like) regimes was in fact quite accurate.

ollkiller wrote: »

It actually got it spot on. I have a Russian friend who came here about 10 years ago. He's around 50 now and he said they nailed it.

The threats of summary execution were apparently inaccurate.

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I just found the anti soviet sentiment kind of stereotypical and for me it took away from the authenticity of the show. I think it got over emphasised and I found that unrealistic. I am not saying it did not exist, I just have more faith in the human race and I feel the show sacrificed this in favour of damning the regime. There does appear to have been a lot of license used by the producers.

I’d have to agree. To me, the disaster seemed as much caused by more universal human flaws rather than a particular ideology. Like I said in the previous post, the Challenger disaster came to mind a lot whilst watching this. That involved ignoring warnings by scientists too and also management complacency as well as a need to keep NASA relevant and keep up appearances.

Aidric

Watched the whole 5 episodes in one sitting today. If all TV was as good as this we’d be truly spoiled. From the outset you could tell it was meticulously researched and set out to be an honest retelling of a truly horrific event. No fake tricks were needed, the horror of the reality would take care of the drama.

The writer deserves huge credit for his dedication to the reality. The casting crew were equally outstanding. All of the established main actors were uniformly excellent. Despite his limited screen time one actor stood out for me. The actor who played the KGB head Chairman Charkov was quietly mesmerizing every time he was on screen.

"trust but verify"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ebah_QdBnI

Penn

Aidric wrote: »

Despite his limited screen time one actor stood out for me. The actor who played the KGB head Chairman Charkov was quietly mesmerizing every time he was on screen.

"trust but verify"

"WHEN THE BULLET HITS YOUR SKULL WHAT WILL IT MATTER WHY?!"

sporina

The wind outside my bedroom window tonight reminds me of the music that was used in this Chernobyl series (watched it a few weeks ago).. :eek:

Cordell

Any blueish ray shooting up somewhere in the distance?

sporina

Cordell wrote: »

Any blueish ray shooting up somewhere in the distance?

not that i can see..

Prefab Sprouter

Really enjoyed the show. Fine TV series.