Chernobyl - HBO/Sky *Spoilers*

how.gareth

Jasis this is savage tv, especially after the game of thrones disaster, how many episodes left now?

2smiggy

how.gareth wrote: »

Jasis this is savage tv, especially after the game of thrones disaster, how many episodes left now?

2 left

errlloyd

Itssoeasy wrote: »

I will get around to watching this but does this episode deal with the liquidators ? Those poor bastards had an awful life after even if it was short.

The episode ends with the conscription of liquidators. I guess we'll see them in episode 4. I don't think the show is going to deal much with the future

dasdog

I loved the joke about the

Soviet apple slicer

.

AMKC

Arghus wrote: »

Not for the faint of heart this week.

No punches pulled in depicting the horror of death by radiation poisoning.

An absolutely horrible way to die.

cozar wrote: »

The ending with the steel coffins ...heartbreaking

And then the cement over them as well.

harr wrote: »

Poor poor ****ers what an absolutely terrifying way to go... I would hope someone would put me out of my misery.
The miners were some crew...

Same here. Better to die quick than go trough that knowing there is no cure and you can't end the pain yourself.

All the episodes so far have been very good. They really hit home how close we all came to armagadem and the very brave people who stopped even worse from happening.

2smiggy

sugarman wrote: »

Second attempt at watching the first episode tonight after giving it a go over the weekend but I just cant get into it for some reason. Feels very unauthentic / low budget with the British accents and choice of cast.

Low budget is definitely not how I would describe it, in my opinion.

gandalf

sugarman wrote: »

Second attempt at watching the first episode tonight after giving it a go over the weekend but I just cant get into it for some reason. Feels very unauthentic / low budget with the British accents and choice of cast.

That's exact opposite that a lot of people who grew up behind the iron curtain are saying. They are saying it's got the look of that era bang on.

Tbh I found the accents strange at first but once you get into it you don't notice them. It's not feel good but it's excellent and gripping television.

Gimme A Pound

Holy... the poor guys in the hospital... that was stomach churning.

The miners - heroes. Their main guy (Trevor from Eastenders!) was fantastic.

theteal wrote: »

Is the constant attachment of armed guards a communist state thing or a nuclear plant during the 80's thing, or a combination of both? The whole time there was a sense of the front line engineers afraid to speak up for fear of punishment.

Soviet state thing I'd say.

fritzelly wrote: »

cannot believe a woman in soviet Russia having that much influence

Communist regimes, in their "everyone is equal" guises (when it suits) can be pretty egalitarian between the sexes. When it suits though, as I said.

Jurgen The German wrote: »

Excellent TV.

For anyone that has in interest in the possibilities of what could happen in the event if a nuclear war, check out Threads. It's a 1980s BBC commissioned docudrama. It is as terrifying and sobering as any "horror" movie I've ever watched and I've watched a crap load of them. Its available through various other sources and Severin Films released it on blu ray last year.

It's beyond belief scary. As is The War Game (also mentioned) and The Day After. People must have been sh1tting themselves in the 80s.

CrankyHaus wrote: »

As I understand it, very high levels of radiation distort electronics. I never heard about it with torches but certainly the robots later provided for clearing the roof all failed

Cars don't start either, as far as I know? Or am I talking baloney?!

Atoms for Peace

Absolutely terrifying episode, if sellafield ever blows I'll be looking for cyanide rather than iodine tablets.

Atlantic Dawn

Wonder how many of these people who risked their lives are still alive, these people deserve crowd funding to have a good life for the remainder of their years.

fritzelly

Seeing the slowly putrifying bodies was some gruesome viewing for what is not an horror movie

Gimme A Pound

fritzelly wrote: »

Seeing the slowly putrifying bodies was some gruesome viewing for what is not an horror movie

Jesus Christ I felt sick.

And when they didn't show the last guy and Emily Watson's character couldn't hold in her upset... When she told Jared Harris later that the poor man's face was gone, it makes me think she must have been looking at a talking skull.

Shuddering...

Atlantic Dawn

Such a pity it's not going to run for longer, could have easily done 8-10 episodes on the aftermath.

fritzelly

Zaniyah Gigantic Caricature wrote: »

Jesus Christ I felt sick.

And when they didn't show the last guy and Emily Watson's character couldn't hold in her upset... When she told Jared Harris later that the poor man's face was gone, it makes me think she must have been looking at a talking skull.

Shuddering...

What they showed was not far off bones, some great makeup, cannot imagine how you would be trying to care for them and watch them as they slowly liquify away

Gimme A Pound

God yeah, the psychological damage - PTSD, survivor's guilt - must be massive.

So many dramas and documentaries - even comedy dramas :rolleyes: - now seem to get the "Contains scenes some viewers may find distressing" treatment at the beginning, and then you watch the whole thing and wonder what they were on about.

But by god it's appropriate for this episode of Chernobyl. A few "leave the room" bits for some folk for sure.

extra gravy

How were they not screaming in pain? Maybe the body goes into shock at that stage.

fritzelly

extra gravy wrote: »

How were they not screaming in pain? Maybe the body goes into shock at that stage.

Everything is dying I guess so no nerves or anything, brain shutting down etc

Gimme A Pound

It seems like... decomposition while alive. Just... horrendous.

Tokyo

gandalf wrote: »

Tbh I found the accents strange at first but once you get into it you don't notice them.

I find that the accents add far more to the show than they take away, TBH. It gives the viewer an immediately relatable handle on the social classes in play - working class *sound* like working class. Far better than the usual faux-Russian "I am not gas station. This is sophisticated laboratory" you find in movies like Armageddon.

Tipsy McSwagger

mike_ie wrote: »

I find that the accents add far more to the show than they take away, TBH. It gives the viewer an immediately relatable handle on the social classes in play - working class *sound* like working class. Far better than the usual faux-Russian "I am not gas station. This is sophisticated laboratory" you find in movies like Armageddon.

Or John Malkovich in Billions with his painful Russian accent.

2smiggy

One thing I've learned is not to mess with Russian coal miners !!

buried

The scene where they don't show Akimov in the Hospital 6 bed was genius. You don't see what sort of sickness he is in and the fact that the camera doesn't show you him either allows your own mind to create what sort of horrific state he could have been in. Which in a lot of ways is more harrowing to witness even it's not showing on the screen. Its just great work, proper writing, proper adult drama and its badly needed. All the actors are doing a great job too. Once again the sound design is fantastic, and the metallic drone ambient soundtrack almost has the radiation spilling out the screen and the speakers.

Sittingpretty

Such a horrifying episode.

I had read an account from Itechenko’s wife once that during his last days he was coughing up pieces of his lungs and liver.

Absolutely horrific deaths those poor men got.

Henry Ford III

Best thing on TV currently. It's so dark.

cozar

whats the story with turning on the switch that caused the blast,? any nuclear physicists on boards? would love to know in "layman's terms" what caused the blast.

Mundo7976

cozar wrote: »

whats the story with turning on the switch that caused the blast,? any nuclear physicists on boards? would love to know in "layman's terms" what caused the blast.

Id presume we're going to find out after ulana gets released and continues the investigation

PhilOssophy

cozar wrote: »

whats the story with turning on the switch that caused the blast,? any nuclear physicists on boards? would love to know in "layman's terms" what caused the blast.

I'm not a nuclear physicist, but I did study physics in college, and read a book on the disaster a few years ago.

My understanding is as below, and I am 100% open to contradiction!

They were trying to test what would happen if there was a power cut (or failure). The pumps which were providing water to the reactor core would cut out in the event of a power cut. They were trying to test if the turbine could continue to provide power to the pumps (thus keeping the reactor core cool) while the backup generators were started up.

In such a test, they were supposed to reduce the output of the reactor to 120MW or something like that. That was supposed to be the test.

However, Dyatalov ordered that they reduce it to 0MW, neither Akimov or Toptunov felt this was the correct thing to do (and they had studied nuclear physics which Dyatalov had not) but they did what they were told. Apparently at this level, the core becomes unstable and both were uncomfortable with the request, but as it came from a superior they did it anyway. The theory was that at 120MW they could easily shut off the reactor by pressing the A5 switch or whatever it was called. Apparently this would have been fine and the test would have been a success.

Once they reduced the output to 0MW, they lost control of the reactor, the switch did not work due to an effect called the positive void coefficient of nuclear fission (i'll let you google that yourself, its beyond my pay grade here!!), which basically meant the control rods were no longer able to be pushed down fully to shut off the fission. What happens then is a massive spike in temperature in the core, followed by a meltdown, followed by an explosion.

Akimov and Toptahuov did everything right, it was the call by Dyatalov to completely turn off the output which caused this explosion. I think that's why Dyatalov was seen commiting suicide in the opening scene of the series.

I hope this is something of an explanation!

sc86

see a few complain about british accents etc , would they prefer it was in russian with subtitles?

its the best tv i have saw in years , i dont normally watch tv only for sport but this has me hooked

the lady that is question the workers in the hospital , what is her name and what became of her?

i cant believe there is holiday tours to this place , wife has already turned that idea down!

cozar

PhilOssophy wrote: »

I'm not a nuclear physicist, but I did study physics in college, and read a book on the disaster a few years ago.

My understanding is as below, and I am 100% open to contradiction!

They were trying to test what would happen if there was a power cut (or failure). The pumps which were providing water to the reactor core would cut out in the event of a power cut. They were trying to test if the turbine could continue to provide power to the pumps (thus keeping the reactor core cool) while the backup generators were started up.

In such a test, they were supposed to reduce the output of the reactor to 120MW or something like that. That was supposed to be the test.

However, Dyatalov ordered that they reduce it to 0MW, neither Akimov or Toptunov felt this was the correct thing to do (and they had studied nuclear physics which Dyatalov had not) but they did what they were told. Apparently at this level, the core becomes unstable and both were uncomfortable with the request, but as it came from a superior they did it anyway. The theory was that at 120MW they could easily shut off the reactor by pressing the A5 switch or whatever it was called. Apparently this would have been fine and the test would have been a success.

Once they reduced the output to 0MW, they lost control of the reactor, the switch did not work due to an effect called the positive void coefficient of nuclear fission (i'll let you google that yourself, its beyond my pay grade here!!), which basically meant the control rods were no longer able to be pushed down fully to shut off the fission. What happens then is a massive spike in temperature in the core, followed by a meltdown, followed by an explosion.

Akimov and Toptahuov did everything right, it was the call by Dyatalov to completely turn off the output which caused this explosion. I think that's why Dyatalov was seen commiting suicide in the opening scene of the series.

I hope this is something of an explanation!

thanks for that, great explanation.!

The Specialist

sc86 wrote: »

see a few complain about british accents etc , would they prefer it was in russian with subtitles?

its the best tv i have saw in years , i dont normally watch tv only for sport but this has me hooked

the lady that is question the workers in the hospital , what is her name and what became of her?

i cant believe there is holiday tours to this place , wife has already turned that idea down!

She never existed (she is a single character to represent a group of scientists that worked with Legasov).