Paul Ritter, who plays Dyatlov, had been a popular sitcom actor who no one dreamed had this kind of performance in him. Sadly, he didn't get a chance to build on it further as he was killed by a brain tumor just two years later.
When the two engineers looked into the core, I swear that's more terrifying than any horror film I've ever seen. It's like looking into the heart of Hell itself. And they really did it.
One of my patreons, a reactor, put up a list of TV series to see what viewers wanted to see first. I pushed hard for Chernobyl, my argument being with only 5 episodes he could do a quick reaction and start on a new series after that. But the series with the most votes was Game of Thrones. Oh Yay, 8 seasons to get through. I'll be years before he gets around to Chernobyl. Glad you guys are doing it!
Prior to Chernobyl there was the Lake Karachay incident in '68 which was very effectively covered up to the point where we still aren't sure how bad it was
The creators behind the show opted against miming a Russian accent in favor of the actors natural accents so that way they can express emotion fully and freely… the creators felt it more important to capture the humanity rather than the historical accuracy at least in this regard
If you haven't already seen "Silkwood" (1983), it has a stellar cast and is a true story about a worker at a plutonium processing plant. Also, "The China Syndrome"(1979), is about a nuclear reactor & also has a stellar cast.. (I am pretty sure both of you would recognize most, if not all, of the actors/actresses in these movies...I hope you will add them to your list, if you haven't seen them already.
"The China Syndrome" is indeed a great movie, an old-school thriller that's paced differently compared to the hasty shakycam movies we have today... :)
I was 4 years old and I remember this. My mom and dad were SHOCKED. Mom became anti-nuclear power plants and I only became MORE anti after I saw this and "Chernobyl's Heart" (a 50 minute documentary about children born with birth defects, teenagers who get cancers, and the same hole in the heart in the 2nd and 3rd generations of people born AFTER the Chernobyl accident; but the birth defects were horrific!). I still remember the fear I felt because my PARENTS and everyone around were feeling the same way.
It's silly to be anti nuclear these days, modern reactors are incredibly safe and there's virtually no waste anymore. The reactor at Chernobyl was a terrible design, known to be temperamental and prone to fault, ancient for its time and should never have been built. More nuclear would eliminate fossil fuel and give us plenty of cheap energy, at least til something like fusion arrives.
@ it’s been about 4 years but yeah , it’s pretty safe though. There was a waitlist, I just went for a day. Everyone gets a dosimeter but you can spring for a Geiger counter for about 10 usd extra.
yeah, I was there about 8 years ago and it was the most off-putting and thought provoking place I have ever been. And I have been to a lot of eerie places...Auschwitz, Dachau, Sobibor, the killing fields museum and some of the locations in Cambodia.
Yet another show that is incredibly hard to watch but is a must watch at least once in a person's life. The lessons in this series are so important the most critical being blind obedience to authority is a trap that serves no real good except to maintaining that control. Spoiler below; The worst part of this mini-series is that they played down the severity/impact of the disaster to make it acceptable to watch as in the animals shown later weren't the healthy looking creatures shown but creatures walking about in the process rotting to death.
Really great series, and I'm so glad you guys are reacting to this! There are some inaccuracies in the series; I assume they were chosen for dramatic effect, so I don't mind so much. I'm just grateful that someone has cinematically paid attention to this horrible event.
This is in my top 5 series. I was 15 when it happened, living near a nuclear power plant in Wisconsin (that we took a tour of in junior high school), and I remember it being on the news, and discussing it in class in high school. There are some inaccuracies and things they changed, but I am aware of it and I do not care. It is just so well done.
You guys should watch The Terror at some point, if you haven't yet. Based on a true story. What little has been guessed about what happened. Chernobyl is worth every second too. So horrifying, but it's good to know.
My favorite part is how each character has their own development arc of fearing the radiation more than they fear Soviet punishment. Gulags were real, radiation is hard to imagine. But eventually everyone realizes.
And to think two years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine, one of the routes they took was through Chernobyl, and they actually dug down into the radioactive ground to build temporary defensive positions, only pulling out of the area once they started coming down with radiation sickness symptoms.
I'm so glad the actors don't speak English with a fake accent. If you've already decided to use English instead of the language they speak in-universe (or spoke in real life, in this case), it's not somehow "more realistic" to have everyone fake an accent.
"Nobody has masks on or anything." Because of the Soviet Union. Everything that had the potential to make the State look bad was kept secret, even if the lack of that knowledge had deadly consequences. One has to remember when watching this show, that it IS a dramatization. It's not a documentary; there are "errors" or "mistakes" or "changes" - whatever you want to call them - versus what actually happened, in some aspects of the story. None of it really changes anything substantial though I'd say; the series captures the flavor of the event really rather perfectly (or so I say, not having been present myself - although I did live through the event as a 14-year-old in a country not incredibly far away.) The show itself is like a perfect storm of the right actors coming together with the right director, and the right writer (edit: and the right composer, let's not forget!) The overall quality is fantastic, it's like wave interference; every aspect of the show seem near-perfectly aligned, boosting and propping up everything else around them. :) The first episode is best described in one word as "apocalyptic", I think. Is there nuclear war, one character asks. Are the Americans bombing? Well, no. But almost. And the unwillingness to realize the full scope of the disaster is very indicative of the Soviet mind-set. I can still remember to this day how I was standing in the kitchen of the house I grew up in at the time, listening to the radio when news reports first mentioned detecting radiation at a Swedish nuclear power plant, which they initially thought was a leak from the power plant itself, and then the unfolding of all the rest when it became clear it was a Soviet nuke plant that had blown its top. It's all so strange, looking back. The news of radiation fallout ending up in forests, making it impossible to forage for mushrooms or berries, or hunt game that had eaten of irradiated foliage in the afflicted areas. Through most of the 1990s, caesium fallout levels came up again and again in the news, eventually it faded away and you forgot about it - until this TV series hit. :O And then it all came flooding back...
While a lot of research did go into this show, and it is phenomenal, I wouldn't say that it's a "meticulous" recreation. I don't mind most of the liberties taken, including the character assassination of Dyatlov (though was it really necessary to make him a cartoon villain version of himself?). The representation of Lyudmila Ignatenko makes my blood boil, though, especially as she's still alive and she suffered harassment and hate mail as a result of the show.
Paul Ritter, who plays Dyatlov, had been a popular sitcom actor who no one dreamed had this kind of performance in him. Sadly, he didn't get a chance to build on it further as he was killed by a brain tumor just two years later.
This miniseries was so INCREDIBLY WELL DONE!!
Perfect from top to bottom!
When the two engineers looked into the core, I swear that's more terrifying than any horror film I've ever seen. It's like looking into the heart of Hell itself. And they really did it.
A real-life Eldritch Horror.
I was so excited to see you guys start this series.
😊
One of my patreons, a reactor, put up a list of TV series to see what viewers wanted to see first. I pushed hard for Chernobyl, my argument being with only 5 episodes he could do a quick reaction and start on a new series after that. But the series with the most votes was Game of Thrones. Oh Yay, 8 seasons to get through. I'll be years before he gets around to Chernobyl. Glad you guys are doing it!
8 seasons and nothing but disappointment at the end. Thanks for tuning in!
Looking forward to this...especially during these challenging times we live
Prior to Chernobyl there was the Lake Karachay incident in '68 which was very effectively covered up to the point where we still aren't sure how bad it was
"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe."
- Dr. Leonard McCoy
No way! My favorite mini-series! You guys made my day!
❤
The creators behind the show opted against miming a Russian accent in favor of the actors natural accents so that way they can express emotion fully and freely… the creators felt it more important to capture the humanity rather than the historical accuracy at least in this regard
Same with Death of Stalin.
It worked for Sean Connery. 👍
This series was fantastic. What a nice surprise to see you both watching it!
If you haven't already seen "Silkwood" (1983), it has a stellar cast and is a true story about a worker at a plutonium processing plant.
Also, "The China Syndrome"(1979), is about a nuclear reactor & also has a stellar cast..
(I am pretty sure both of you would recognize most, if not all, of the actors/actresses in these movies...I hope you will add them to your list, if you haven't seen them already.
"The China Syndrome" is indeed a great movie, an old-school thriller that's paced differently compared to the hasty shakycam movies we have today... :)
I was 4 years old and I remember this. My mom and dad were SHOCKED. Mom became anti-nuclear power plants and I only became MORE anti after I saw this and "Chernobyl's Heart" (a 50 minute documentary about children born with birth defects, teenagers who get cancers, and the same hole in the heart in the 2nd and 3rd generations of people born AFTER the Chernobyl accident; but the birth defects were horrific!). I still remember the fear I felt because my PARENTS and everyone around were feeling the same way.
It's silly to be anti nuclear these days, modern reactors are incredibly safe and there's virtually no waste anymore. The reactor at Chernobyl was a terrible design, known to be temperamental and prone to fault, ancient for its time and should never have been built. More nuclear would eliminate fossil fuel and give us plenty of cheap energy, at least til something like fusion arrives.
Roller coaster of emotions in this amazing series....A+
Definitely!
Here for this. Heavy show, just be prepared!
If you’ve ever been there it’s haunting for sure. It’s a Very eerie place
@ pretty positive they have other issues right now.
@ it’s been about 4 years but yeah , it’s pretty safe though. There was a waitlist, I just went for a day. Everyone gets a dosimeter but you can spring for a Geiger counter for about 10 usd extra.
yeah, I was there about 8 years ago and it was the most off-putting and thought provoking place I have ever been. And I have been to a lot of eerie places...Auschwitz, Dachau, Sobibor, the killing fields museum and some of the locations in Cambodia.
Yet another show that is incredibly hard to watch but is a must watch at least once in a person's life. The lessons in this series are so important the most critical being blind obedience to authority is a trap that serves no real good except to maintaining that control.
Spoiler below;
The worst part of this mini-series is that they played down the severity/impact of the disaster to make it acceptable to watch as in the animals shown later weren't the healthy looking creatures shown but creatures walking about in the process rotting to death.
Really great series, and I'm so glad you guys are reacting to this! There are some inaccuracies in the series; I assume they were chosen for dramatic effect, so I don't mind so much. I'm just grateful that someone has cinematically paid attention to this horrible event.
You're in for a very rough ride! 5 episodes of emotional bad road.
This is in my top 5 series. I was 15 when it happened, living near a nuclear power plant in Wisconsin (that we took a tour of in junior high school), and I remember it being on the news, and discussing it in class in high school. There are some inaccuracies and things they changed, but I am aware of it and I do not care. It is just so well done.
You guys should watch The Terror at some point, if you haven't yet. Based on a true story. What little has been guessed about what happened.
Chernobyl is worth every second too. So horrifying, but it's good to know.
Hildur Guðnadóttir got an Emmy, two Grammys and an Oscar in the span of a year for the soundtracks of Joker and Chernobyl. Outstanding work.
She's the first person from Iceland to even be nominated for an Oscar.
😊@@Rmlohner
very impressive.
My favorite part is how each character has their own development arc of fearing the radiation more than they fear Soviet punishment. Gulags were real, radiation is hard to imagine. But eventually everyone realizes.
i couldnt bring myself to sit and watch this show so im glad you guys are reacting to it
It's crazy that I was 9 when this happened and yet I never heard about it until sometime in the 2000s.
Just saying that you and your mom are amazing. Love y’all 😘
Thanks!
❤
awesome video, cant vaid for the rest of these
And to think two years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine, one of the routes they took was through Chernobyl, and they actually dug down into the radioactive ground to build temporary defensive positions, only pulling out of the area once they started coming down with radiation sickness symptoms.
Amazing show choice guys, sit back and be informed 😢. I imagine you know a lot about this event, but still....
13:33 Nick is not a fan of regurgitation.
No, he is not!! 😊
Soviet - proof that a theocracy doesn't necessarily need a god.....
I'm so glad the actors don't speak English with a fake accent. If you've already decided to use English instead of the language they speak in-universe (or spoke in real life, in this case), it's not somehow "more realistic" to have everyone fake an accent.
This series makes everyone so angry
So frustrating!! 🤬
Rightly angry I think. It is horrifying that the government failed so hard. On purpose.
I find myself getting angry at the ignorance and cluelessness of many of the reactors.
@ in what way? Just being unaware in general?
Excellent series! Amazing acting from all. 💯👍👏
21 minutes? How'd you manage that?
HORRIBLE editing, that is how. And most of the 21 minutes is them talking before and after.
When will you react for the last planet of the apes movie which is Battle for the planet of the apes ? The 1973 one ?
We did do that one! 😁 It's part of the last Planet of the Apes double feature we did.
It is a good series but very little it shows is actually true.
"Nobody has masks on or anything." Because of the Soviet Union. Everything that had the potential to make the State look bad was kept secret, even if the lack of that knowledge had deadly consequences.
One has to remember when watching this show, that it IS a dramatization. It's not a documentary; there are "errors" or "mistakes" or "changes" - whatever you want to call them - versus what actually happened, in some aspects of the story. None of it really changes anything substantial though I'd say; the series captures the flavor of the event really rather perfectly (or so I say, not having been present myself - although I did live through the event as a 14-year-old in a country not incredibly far away.) The show itself is like a perfect storm of the right actors coming together with the right director, and the right writer (edit: and the right composer, let's not forget!) The overall quality is fantastic, it's like wave interference; every aspect of the show seem near-perfectly aligned, boosting and propping up everything else around them. :)
The first episode is best described in one word as "apocalyptic", I think. Is there nuclear war, one character asks. Are the Americans bombing? Well, no. But almost. And the unwillingness to realize the full scope of the disaster is very indicative of the Soviet mind-set.
I can still remember to this day how I was standing in the kitchen of the house I grew up in at the time, listening to the radio when news reports first mentioned detecting radiation at a Swedish nuclear power plant, which they initially thought was a leak from the power plant itself, and then the unfolding of all the rest when it became clear it was a Soviet nuke plant that had blown its top. It's all so strange, looking back. The news of radiation fallout ending up in forests, making it impossible to forage for mushrooms or berries, or hunt game that had eaten of irradiated foliage in the afflicted areas. Through most of the 1990s, caesium fallout levels came up again and again in the news, eventually it faded away and you forgot about it - until this TV series hit. :O
And then it all came flooding back...
While a lot of research did go into this show, and it is phenomenal, I wouldn't say that it's a "meticulous" recreation. I don't mind most of the liberties taken, including the character assassination of Dyatlov (though was it really necessary to make him a cartoon villain version of himself?). The representation of Lyudmila Ignatenko makes my blood boil, though, especially as she's still alive and she suffered harassment and hate mail as a result of the show.