Chernobyl (TV series)

[MinionZombie]

The sole exception I can think of (apart from the stated Emily Watson character) is the depiction of Bruchanov as a villain - which by most accounts he was not. I never really saw Bruchanov as being deemed a villain at all, really more of a jobsworth or a company man, if you will. He's a part of the system, he has his place in the system, and he's quite happy with that, and with the way the system worked he reacts as the system pushes people to react. That's a bit of Hyperbole on behalf of Gorby. The Soviet Union was heading inexorably toward its end long before Chernobyl happened and it would have happened with or without it. But who knows how long it would have limped on for, even with talks going on between the USA and Soviet Russia. It's probably quite fair to say that Chernobyl - such a huge international incident, the exposure of Soviet lies and failings etc - was the final decisive event. He wasn't even at the trial, as depicted in Ep.5. Mazin talks specifically about this in the Chernobyl Podcast (again, I'd recommend listening to it). His reasoning for having Legasov and Shcherbina there is more for narrative purposes. One, there was a bit of a 'wrap up' needed for the relationship between Legasov and Shcherbina, and two (the main one) was to be able to condense an entire examination of the incident into a single episode while also explaining to the audience exactly how and why the event happened. To have shown the trial as it precisely happened would have made for dreadful television - it would have been utterly confusing with a screed of nameless random faces we've never met before, to whom the audience have no connection, your main characters would have vanished, the whole thing would have been a clunky slab of show trial legalese, and the audience would have been baffled. You're telling a true story, but you're also presenting it as a narrative drama, and the rules of real life and television are two different things ... it's impossible to make a square peg fit in a round hole, as it were.[/QUOTE] I could have done without the unnecessary and cheap political point scoring. For instance the lines by the absurdly cartoonish and completely fictional party apparatchik, "Yes, I worked in a shoe factory. And now I’m in charge. To the workers of the world." are particularly eye rolling. On the flip side we have silly reactions from modern day Russian media claiming that 'Chernobyl' was just pure propaganda, with Russian TV station NTV writing its own version to combat HBO's, in which they're trying to claim that it was a CIA operation all along. 1) So, what, that sort of nonsense didn't go on in Soviet Russia? The KGB weren't feeling people's collars? People's reputations weren't tarnished because they fell out of favour or did something 'wrong'? 2) Yeah, I've heard about that ... what a load of old cobblers.

[shootemindehead]

But who knows how long it would have limped on for, even with talks going on between the USA and Soviet Russia. It's probably quite fair to say that Chernobyl - such a huge international incident, the exposure of Soviet lies and failings etc - was the final decisive event. Chernobyl had nothing to do with the wind down of the Soviet Union. Mazin talks specifically about this in the Chernobyl Podcast (again, I'd recommend listening to it). His reasoning for having Legasov and Shcherbina there is more for narrative purposes. One, there was a bit of a 'wrap up' needed for the relationship between Legasov and Shcherbina, and two (the main one) was to be able to condense an entire examination of the incident into a single episode while also explaining to the audience exactly how and why the event happened. To have shown the trial as it precisely happened would have made for dreadful television - it would have been utterly confusing with a screed of nameless random faces we've never met before, to whom the audience have no connection, your main characters would have vanished, the whole thing would have been a clunky slab of show trial legalese, and the audience would have been baffled. You're telling a true story, but you're also presenting it as a narrative drama, and the rules of real life and television are two different things ... it's impossible to make a square peg fit in a round hole, as it were. This has nothing to with what I've said. I understand the narrative decisions that were made in the making of the program. I also understand that it's fiction and should be viewed as such. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be any dramatic licence taken at all. But, nobody should be walking away from the TV show thinking they have all the facts or thinking that the portrayal of the people involved is absolutely truthful. Nobody should walk away from any TV show or movie thinking that. But, while it was a good TV show, its "villains and heroes" approach lessens it, in my eyes. 1) So, what, that sort of nonsense didn't go on in Soviet Russia? The KGB weren't feeling people's collars? People's reputations weren't tarnished because they fell out of favour or did something 'wrong'? I didn't say that. But the KGB didn't act in the way that was presented in the program, especially with Valery Legasov. It's more dramatic licence. A shadowy "commie" spectre and it's a bit silly, because it comes across as cartoonish. That doesn't excuse real actions that the KGB engaged in during it's time, nor its precursor, the NKVD, or its successor, the FSK. But in 'Chernobyl', it was unnecessary and cheap. The KGB at the time were more concerned with putting out damage limitation propaganda for international consumption and reducing the capital that such a disaster handed to the Americans. This wasn't a hair brained fear either, especially at the height of the Cold War. But, it's not as if this type of misinformation could only happen in Russia. That type of bureaucratic desire to keep the lid on things, even to the detriment of ones own citizens, was and is endemic everywhere. Could the Politburo have done things better or differently. Absolutely. But, even so, the Russians achieved remarkable feats in managing the disaster too. A disaster that nowhere in the world had experienced, even if one could say a disaster that should never have happened in the first place. But, that's the thing about disasters. They're only disasters when they happen. And it's only after they happen that measures are put in place to combat similar scenarios. It took Three Mile Island to kick the Americans into shape about their own lacking in their nuclear industry and if there are been a full meltdown in that reactor, it wouldn't have gone down that much differently that Chernobyl did.

[EvilNed]

There are too many "villainous" roles going on and an unnecessary "evil commie" slant in the show. It comes across as a of bit petty drama. Bryukhanov is practically made up of whole cloth, and is about as fictional as Emily Watson's character. He also accepted his responsibility for the accident too. Dyatlov, as well, is almost a panto villain and was nothing like that in real life. Additionally, Shcherbina starts off as a caricature, even if he does balance out toward the end. All the KGB nonsense is pure fiction also. Legasov was interviewed, but he wasn't detained by the KGB or threatened either and he never met Chebrikov. He wasn't even at the trial, as depicted in Ep.5. Nobody followed him and he didn't have hidden tapes of information as shown at the the beginning of EP.1. The miners, as well, were never threatened at gunpoint to dig the underground tunnel to help prevent the core from further depression. All of that as done to create a certain type of sinister atmosphere and it really wasn't needed. As I pointed out, most of the actions by Dyatlov in the show are accurate. He was a cursing, domineering and hard ass of a boss. The depiction is not that far off. Only the slapping of the clipboard has no basis in reality, but the threats made to the people under him are. Most of Bruchanovs actions in the series are likewise accurate, but the series of course did not portray any of his positive sides. But he himself has admitted that when he arrived at the plant one of his first thoughts were "My career is now over" and I think his character in the show reflects that. However he was not as hard with his colleagues as he is shown here, except during stressful moments. As for Scherbina I don't think he's a caricature at all. Legasov wasn't present at the trial, that much is true, but that entire episode functions only to explain the accident it to us viewers (so I forgive it for that). However the KGB stuff is accurate. Legasov lied at Vienna and was due for a promotion in doing so, and he did record and hide tapes from the KGB. As for the Miners, all we know is that they were drafted to do the dig. The manner in which they were drafted is up for speculation. We don't know. So it's tough to single that out as something as inaccurate, because the truth is unknown to us.

[MinionZombie]

As for the Miners, all we know is that they were drafted to do the dig. The manner in which they were drafted is up for speculation. We don't know. So it's tough to single that out as something as inaccurate, because the truth is unknown to us. Something that was really interesting on the Chernobyl Podcast was hearing that the Miners were a rare group in that they held a fair bit of sway, they were literally fuelling the Soviet empire - and they knew it - so they could be brusque and hardy in the face of government. Now, 'at gunpoint' is a bit askew from the show as I don't recall them having guns pointed at them. Yes, some armed soldiers turn up, but so does the Minister for Coal (or whatever his title was) ... did they smear him with coal when they trundled off to do as requested/told? I don't know, but it certainly gets the point across as to their little extra strength as a group compared to others under that same system who'd be under the thumb of bureaucracy.

[shootemindehead]

As I pointed out, most of the actions by Dyatlov in the show are accurate. He was a cursing, domineering and hard ass of a boss. The depiction is not that far off. Only the slapping of the clipboard has no basis in reality, but the threats made to the people under him are. I'm talking about character, not "most of" his "actions". He may have been a hard ass boss to some degree, but Paul Ritter's panto villain caricature doesn't reflect the real life man. Not that it actually has to either, mind you. This is a fictional television program we're talking about here, not a documentary. Here's an interview with the real Anatoly Dyatlov. People are free to take what they want from it. He could, of course, be putting on an act for the camera. Or, more than likely, Paul Ritter was playing a "bad guy" in a TV show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8__v9EswN4 Most of Bruchanovs actions in the series are likewise accurate, but the series of course did not portray any of his positive sides. But he himself has admitted that when he arrived at the plant one of his first thoughts were "My career is now over" and I think his character in the show reflects that. However he was not as hard with his colleagues as he is shown here, except during stressful moments. And equally likewise, I am not talking about the show for its depictions of some people's actions. It's the cartoonish characterisations that sparked my, pretty mild, criticism.

[EvilNed]

There is nothing really out-of-character in the depiction of Dyatlov. In the trial he stood up and blamed everyone else but himself for the accident. If any one person ought to be depicted as a villain in the series, it's him - and it's in keeping with his personality. Bruchanov I agree with, however.

[Neil]

Just started watching this again. So good!

[MinionZombie]

Just started watching this again. So good! I watched "Ben Fogle: Inside Chernobyl" last night on Channel 5, and it's got me all interested for a re-watch myself. Seeing the hospital with the basement sealed up - because the clothes removed from the firefighters are just so damn radioactive - was chilling. The miniseries was superb. Have you listened to the accompany podcast? Six episodes - wonderfully informative about both the writing process and the historical accuracy. Very worthwhile listening to.

[Neil]

I watched "Ben Fogle: Inside Chernobyl" last night on Channel 5, and it's got me all interested for a re-watch myself. Snap... Hence me watching it Seeing the hospital with the basement sealed up - because the clothes removed from the firefighters are just so damn radioactive - was chilling. I remember in a documentary them going into that basement and measuring the radioactivity from those clothes

[Tricky]

I hope it was worth the youtube hits for this guy going down into that basement to film his geiger counter going off the scale

[MinionZombie]

I hope it was worth the youtube hits for this guy going down into that basement to film his geiger counter going off the scale Innit! Like, ooh, here's the highest reading so far on these boots covered with radioactive mud from outside the burning Reactor #4 ... better really linger beside them ... ooh, wait, a room chock-full of firemen's clothes?! Better actually go inside it ... TWICE. Bonkers! And only wearing, what, a Tyvek suit and a pretty ordinary face mask? What's really worrying are the stalkers who take things from the area - radioactive trophies - even worse are the ones who try and sell that shit online. Imagine the items that are successfully shipped around the world, oozing radiation, to then sit in someone's home continually oozing radiation over that person and everything in their home. Crazy! I was quite happy to do my dark tourism in STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl etc, ta muchly.

[EvilNed]

God damnit guys, I want to rewatch this so bad now.

[Neil]

God damnit guys, I want to rewatch this so bad now. I'd forgotten how effortlessly good the drama in it was. The music (sound effects) are also so effective. And the summary of the events in the final episode is again, so well done. Yes, watch it again

[MinionZombie]

God damnit guys, I want to rewatch this so bad now. haha - I know! Every time I see it scroll by on the list of box sets On Demand I get a bit itchy to rewatch it. I definitely will rewatch it some time, that's for sure. Maybe sooner rather than later, once I've finished the current show I'm binge viewing. I'd forgotten how effortlessly good the drama in it was. The music (sound effects) are also so effective. And the summary of the events in the final episode is again, so well done. Yes, watch it again Agreed. So well written, which is the main thing, and then on top of that you've got wonderful performances, super cinematography and direction, and quite importantly with a true life historical event as complex as this one - editing. As you say, that final episode really lays it all out. While it sidesteps the truth a bit (i.e. the scientist chap wasn't actually present at the actual hearing), it manages to wrap up the mini-series perfectly in terms of the history, the plot, and the characters - and visually it helps the viewer a great deal (with those 'good' and 'bad' placards, as it were, being moved and removed as he explains exactly what happened and why). It was accessible without being 'dumbed down'.

[Neil]

It was accessible without being 'dumbed down'. Nice way to summarise it...