Chernobyl (HBO SERIES) | Episode 1 "1.23.45" | FIRST TIME WATCHING

[@riffgroove]

This is a brutal series. Prepare yourselves.

[@tomgerasch560]

I come from Berlin, almost 2000 km away from Chernobyl. For almost a year we weren't allowed to play outside as children, even sports lessons in school were only held in the sports halls. We weren't allowed to eat fruit and vegetables from Central Europe either. It was quite scary, especially because I was already old enough to understand what was happening in the USSR.

[@daryllyew62]

That was the actual emergency call.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

I believe I saw otherwise in one of the behind-the-scenes, but it's accurate.

[@tawogtrailers]

​@@dudermcdudeface3674that call and text existed long before the series, so yes it was the real call

[@Reblwitoutacause]

Its an accurate recreation of the call. Similar to the news broadcasts in a later episode.

[@Aaniel_al.Meara.]

Unexpected but very appreciated. Was watching you cause of MCU and some other films but as a Ukrainian myself I will really enjoy watching this with you.

[@lastgaianking]

If you're curious, the firefighter that had the burn to his hand, that's called a Beta-burn caused by acute radiation exposure.

[@MrLofwyr]

Keep in mind that when this happened, USSR was still a thing. Ukraine, back then, was an USSR territory. In the USSR regime, nothing was more important than the regime. People are born and die. People were expendable. It's irrelevant the number of people that die, as long as the soviet union greats isn't put in check.

[@ghost-anon]

so about the same as modern day russia.

[@MrLofwyr]

@@ghost-anon Pretty much. Putin is in a revivalist journey to make Russia "great again"

[@kazimierasmickus8097]

@@ghost-anon it was russian history since early times. russia never changed

[@ghost-anon]

@@kazimierasmickus8097 I know, pretty bad is it not.. care less for their people let alone those they force into such reckless mismanagement and subjugation.

[@MaskinJunior]

How Chernobyl was handeled sparked the Ukrainian independance movement why they to this day fight russia so valliantly.

[@G1NZOU]

There are one or two inaccuracies, and a couple of events are swapped around in the timeline for the sake of fitting it all into a 5 episode miniseries, but they nailed the visuals and also the sense of dread and stress that people actually involved with the event would have felt, the audience shares some of that and you essentially feel sick with worry at the end of every episode.

[@Dragon-Believer]

More than one or two. It's full of made up stuff. But it's a good drama. I think episode 1 is incredible. It kinda goes off the rails after that.

[@G1NZOU]

@@Dragon-Believer True but I'm not going to mention them here cause of spoilers.

[@Bulbman123]

@@Dragon-Believer Let's be real here, a big part of this show is basically just "Communism bad!" that being said I do love this show still. It's a bit like Band of Brothers, fantastic show, just don't take it as a history lesson.

[@m.s.6545]

You have no idea what fear we had back then. In 1986 I was 14 years old, lived in southern Germany and delivered the newspaper at 4 a.m. before school started. In the pouring rain. Also at the end of April and beginning of May 1986. Imagine, everything before social media, no Facebook, no Twitter, no cell phones, no cable television. I can still remember the first news on television that if you were out in the rain you should shower afterwards, the sandboxes in the children's playgrounds were dug up and the contaminated sand was removed, the vegetables were destroyed from the field, no deer or wild boar, etc from the forest. was allowed to eat. Everything was too contaminated with cancer-causing cesium-137. I've never been so scared again in my life! The series may not be 100% accurate, but it reflects the fear of that time 100%. Couldn't finish watching the series! PTSB!

[@PeeVee1979]

I was born in -79 in Finland and my memories aren't as vivid but what I do remember is the sandboxes like you mentioned. It was recommended that from time to time you should mix the sand. Also picking up berries and mushrooms from the forests was not something you should do. In Lapland eating reindeer meat was also a big no no for a while.

[@davidmichaelson1092]

I had a close friend and colleague who was a physician in Minsk when this happened. He died young from a rare form of thyroid cancer many years later. This form of cancer was far more common in people exposed to the fallout from Chernobyl. He almost certainly died because of Chernobyl. He left a wife and child.

[@Yevgeniy-UA]

This show is so well done. It's based on real historical events, not documentary, so it might be a bit dramatized, but it's still worth watching 👍👏 Don't forget to watch a short epilogue after episode 5. There are some real footage that explain a lot of what happened after an accident.

[@Tom-Mac1975]

I was 11 when this occurred. God bless them all.

[@RippanYT]

There will be plenty of tough scenes, but the payoff is worth it. Amazing series!

[@tawogtrailers]

Episode 4 is tough

[@vicmanpergar]

@tawogtrailers I think episode 3 is harder

[@tawogtrailers]

@@vicmanpergar they both are

[@vicmanpergar]

@@tawogtrailers ofc they both are, the whole thing is very hard, I personally find the third one harder.

[@Bruce-Wayne79]

It’s definitely terrifying and sad when you see all the horror these people are gonna go through after being exposed to the radiation of the nuke reactor. It gets worse. ☢️

[@RobertYoungDev-Historian]

It was my first year of college when this occurred. I remember the event and I learned about it via the very news report they use later in the show. I distinctly remember talking about it with my dorm mate at the time and both of us like most 80's kids (I think) knew about the dangers of a meltdown at a nuclear plant but all the reports used the phrase "an explosion at a nuclear power plant". That slight change of phrase was the difference between all of us freaking out and just going on as if this was just another event. Also, remember this is during a time when the cold war was still a thing and we had grown up with it our entire lives... the simple fact that the Soviets (Appeared) to be working with the international community made us more complacent. In short... we believed what we were told because many of us were still too naive to question what we were being told.

[@kevinburton3948]

You're in for one helluva ride with this one!

[@PeeVee1979]

After each episode I would absolutely listen to the Chernobyl Podcast.

[@Onz70]

"Is it war?" You have to remember that this happened during the Cold War.

[@Not-Impressed..1821]

The guy that asked for a cigarette actually lived

[@tubekulose]

The oppressive music is by Icelandic cellist and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, who has created quite a lot of film and TV scores so far. Her music is notorious for its eery vibes.

[@Pinkielover]

Everything gets pretty much covered

[@Eddy0042]

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember with this show is that this is not a story - it actually happened (it's just dramatized). We are likely still feeling the effects of this now in 2024, medically, and definitely financially. Regardless of what people will say about inaccuracies - the writers did an amazing job of portraying what really happened in a format that works for TV - they had to make difficult decisions and to me made the right ones. AND - be careful with the comments if you don't want your reaction to be spoiled - there are some cruel people on here...

[@UdoOgbonna]

the liquidators that come to clean up the aftermath is insane

[@PUARockstar]

yep, that's my dad for you

[@gordonjenner2375]

Dyatlow´s own son died because of a nuclear accident on a submarine. So he was a frustrated and bitter man. But he was not like that in the show where he turned into a scapegoat.

[@exipolar]

Re how radiation works: In response to your query about the “radius” of the explosion. There was a very minor “shockwave” blast of radiation caused by the explosion but this only registered as above background levels and wasn’t itself harmful. The real harm here is that the open reactor is continuously shooting radiation and radioactive contaminants straight up into the air. These contaminants mix with air moisture in much the same way that produces acid rain, except here we have something far worse: radioactive rain. Superficially, radiation works somewhat like heat but also like contamination (but deadlier). Like how heat can spread and warm things around it, it can make nearby things radioactive themselves (called contamination). Likewise, that large rock the fireman picked up is akin to a still flaming red hot brick from an oven; it has collected a lot of radiation from the reactor fuel. However, unlike heat, you cannot “cool” radioactive sources, you cannot making something that is radioactive into something nonradioactive; you can only wait for it to “cool” off on its own. The show actually does a good job of revealing the dynamics of how exposure impacts people.

[@leathewolf]

Dyatlov really was like that, according to his surviving colleagues. Not all the time, but enough. He threatened people's jobs. The Cherenkov effect causes a blue glow--when the core is under water. Dyatlov was lying through his teeth and Fomin, at least, would have known. All the people in the episode with names are real. Concerning the denial: You had to pretend that the SOviet Union was a worker's paradise where nothing ever went wrong. If you surfaced an issue, it was all your fault. They set out to build a tractor factory. Work fell behind, but no one dared to take the hit. So the paperwork moved on on schedule. Finally the fire marshall showed up to inspect and found a cement slab. Concerning radiation": The people were told that radiation was good, it cured cancer, it was a sign of technological progress. And if the Americans nuke us, don't worry, Civil Defense has it covered.

[@JulitaPio]

Hildur Guðnadóttir is responsible for the music in this series. She also did the soundtrack for Joker, Tar, Sicario. Fantastic musician from Iceland 😊❤ P. S I was one year old when this happened but my two sister were much older, had to drink a disgusting liquid once a day. I'm from Poland🇵🇱

[@DecSteele]

“Can you guys taste metal?” 😶

[@gordonjenner2375]

Everytime while i am welding metal!

[@hepunk]

This is such a great mini series. The feelings of dread and horror it evokes is sobering because despite the "killer" being invisible, it's real, and ever present.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Sam! Thanks, Tristan! ☢ It is an excellent series. Much of it is difficult to watch. I hope you'll love it, as I did. 🔸 Since Tristan kept mispronouncing nuclear, a good way to remember is that it sounds like it's spelled... nu-clear (new-clear). That's what our science teacher drilled into us. 🤣

[@andrewcharles459]

Like the old "Vapors" LP from the 80s called "New Clear Days" which had a picture of a weather map with radiation symbols on the cover.... 🙂

[@auntvesuvi3872]

@@andrewcharles459 🍻

[@ZakCrimsonleaf1]

As requested, trivia regarding Chernobyl (both the event and the show), in no particular order. Much of it is from the book, Midnight in Chernobyl. The music designer for the series won an award, I believe. She took sounds from the various alarms and notifications in a real RBMK reactor control room and played around with them to make the ominous noises you hear. The Chernobyl power plant had its own dedicated fire station, they were onsite within minutes without anyone needing to call, and they in turn called in all the firefighting units from Pripyat to Kyiv. People are tasting metal because when the level of ambient radiation is high enough, it ionizes the air, just like a bolt of lightning. This interacts with the substances of the human tongue to create a weak electric current, just like a little battery, so you taste copper. It smells like a lightning storm. It's hard to get an idea of the scale, but the power plant building is twenty stories high, and the vent stack is another twenty stories on to of that. They ran all the way up with hoses to put the fire out. One fireman knew exactly what they were looking at and told his fellows, 'Lads, that's the guts of the reactor. If we're still alive tomorrow, we'll live forever. But first we're going to put out that fire.' Dyatlov had a great deal of experience in the nuclear industry and was extremely intelligent, but had a bad habit of refusing to change his conclusions once made. He was hard to work with on the job, even for his friends. The incident occurred at 1:23:45 AM, hence the title of the episode. In fact, Viktor Brukhanov wasn't a bad husband, to answer your question, although he was an often absent one due to the demands of his work, he was often awake into the early hours of the morning. In Soviet work culture of the time, it was well known that if anything went wrong, someone would be held accountable. As such, everyone's first priority in the event of an accident would usually be to find a subordinate to pin the blame on before your superiors could pin the blame on you. Everyone tended to exaggerate their accomplishments to look good to their superiors and said superiors would then further exaggerate things, resulting in the people supposed to administer the command economy having little idea about real conditions, and in administrators regularly dressing down their subordinates to maintain authority. As others have noted, also, the USSR was very image-conscious and relentlessly squashed news of anything that might make them look bad to the rest of the world or might embarrass powerful and important people. There are three basic types of radiation, alpha, beta, and gamma. Alpha particles are big and heavy, a piece of paper would block them. If they're inhaled, though, they can be incredibly lethal. Beta particles need a solid surface to stop, like a sheet of tinfoil. They stick to the skin and eat into the muscles and tissues, causing beta burns, the tissue starts melting away. Gamma rays are high-intensity beams that punch through anything except a thick sheet of lead or several feet of reinforced concrete. Naturally, all three types were present at Chernobyl, all that ash, dust, and fallout from the explosion and fire has absorbed so much radiation that it's become stupendously radioactive itself. If you handled fallout-contaminated materials, you'd get a dose, but people cannot become radioactive like objects can, radiation isn't like a disease, you can't get it from touching others. The people of Pripyat are in grave danger simply from remaining in the area, but not from each other. A huge swath of pine forest near Pripyat really did die soon after the incident, the needles all turned bright red and fell off, causing that part of land to become known as the Red Forest.

[@classiclife7204]

Well now they have no need to watch it

[@bobsandler4563]

Stay with it. It’s a tough watch sometimes but it’s the best series I’ve seen in the last 10 years.

[@gordonjenner2375]

Tasting metal means that you smell ozone. It´s the same smell that you can smell while a heavy thunderstruck. It´s because of ionizing the air.

[@mikedignum1868]

And now there is a war taking place in the surrounding area.

[@sannankhan2112]

Sad thing about this series is this is based on true event it really happened 💔

[@iKvetch558]

Here is a sort of standard comment I have posted on a lot of the reactions to this series that I come across...hope you don't mind me copy/pasting it here. One thing I will add, is that the more I learn about the history of the RBMK reactor and of the Chernobyl power plant, the more I feel that a lot of context is left out of the show, and it could have been more accurate if it had revealed some of that. This a really good series...one of the best ever made...but the producers did get some things wrong. Some things were changed intentionally for the purposes of storytelling, and the makers of the series put in a series of notes at the end of the last episode of the series explaining some of them. They also have a podcast that they put out along with the show in which they talk about other things they altered from the history and why. However, I do recommend you check out the History vs Hollywood article on Chernobyl when you are done watching the whole series, so you can find out about the other things that the producers got wrong that they do not admit to. Definitely wait until you are done with the series so you do not spoil anything for yourself.

[@gordonjenner2375]

The RBMK was the world´s first reactor used for producing civil energy. Two years earlier than the USA did.

[@iKvetch558]

@@gordonjenner2375 Indeed, but it was TINY...and a thousand times better built than the gigantic RBMK-1000 reactors later built in significant numbers...so building one small version was obviously not the problem. Also, I could be wrong, but I believe the first major design flaw...the high positive void coefficient...was not discovered until the first RBMK-1000 was built in the late-1960s.

[@gordonjenner2375]

@@iKvetch558 Even the RBMK that are running today have this positive void coefficient. After the accident they made the graphite part of each control rod longer so it is not possible to pull them all out of the reactor any more. Instead of 18 seconds (Chernobyl type) the emergency shutdown only takes 8 seconds now. Four of the 211 control rods are completly made of boron now for an safe shutdown everytime. They also installed control elements for each of the thousand water valves at the bottom of the reactor so if one of the thousand will stuck and will not let water to its channel the engineers wil see it suddenly and can react.

[@supervhs123]

When you have finished this show I highly recommend finding the hbo Chernobyl podcast. This expands and explains some of the decisions of the show.

[@Readwandx]

Craig Mazin, the creator, is amazing. If you like/love Chernobyl, should check out his other work, The Last of Us

[@raymondmarier8340]

Quick suggestion for the reactors. Stop reading these comments. I just watched another reactor and she knew most of what happened due to well meaning viewers letting her know what happened to certain characters, or what real and what was dramatized. The show is extremely well written and paced. You will get most of what you want by just watching the show. There are documentaries that you can watch later if you want to get deeper into the history. But, for some reason, some watchers seem to ignore spoiler warnings for historical dramas. Read the comments when you are done watching the series…

[@2tone753]

II am a German, 62 years old. Here in the "old" Federal Republic of Germany (before the reunification of the western part of Germany) it was "extraordinarily" strange that none of the leading people at the nuclear power operators, in the immediate or further away areas, of a nuclear power plant. The, Those who praised this type of energy generation so much were probably not so convinced of the safety of the power plants. When it comes to Chernobyl, the only thing that can be said is that it was socialism/communism in its purest form. The individual is to blame, but never the absolutely inadequate technical conditions and this type of reactor, which is absolute crap.

[@gordonjenner2375]

The RBMKs still are in operation today and they are the first reactors used for civil purposes. Two years before the USA did. After Fukuschima they all had to think about nuclear energy at least and they can´t blame it only on soviet socialism. The KGB warned the government (Gorbatschow) but they didn´t listen. The hole story is more complex than just a TV- Show.

[@gottagowork]

I recommend watching through the show before reading comments. Another reactor was disgusted by the amount of spoilers, and I see the same thing happening in these comments.

[@gordonjenner2375]

If someone don´t like comments it could be closed easily. What´s the problem?

[@xboxman1710]

Key thing with rediation exposure. How much and for how long.

[@signalnine2601]

I'm delusional, get me to the infirmary.

[@SC457A]

A real life horror story

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

In Soviet Union, power plants you!

[@emoartist12]

This was such a great miniseries. I’ve watched it 3 times. Shit was crazy on what the Russians did. Makes you think on what they still do!

[@Rascool69]

Amazing show but also horrifying

[@jovanjorgovan23]

This is a fantastic miniseries, that made an attempt to expose the extent and consequences of Soviet propaganda, while telling a Soviet propaganda version of the events, shockingly enough. Make sure to check out the 3 part KZbin series about How HBO Chernobyl got it wrong. But only after you finish this mastefully executed show because it will ruin it for you, permanently.

[@canucksfan9332]

Listen to the companion podcast

[@persallnas5408]

"nucelar"? Ok W

[@cherylsims5636]

Hi Guys. This series is historically accurate. i must tell you some things. First off to the Soviet Union the MOST IMPORTANT thing to them is IMAGE. So to report a disaster is just as bad as the incident it self. If your told to do something you cannot refuse. if you do your shot on the spot or sent off to prison. The KGB (Soviet Secret Police) classified anything to do with nuclear as secret that why there are no plans, or equipment for disasters. People have no training on this with very few exceptions. The one thing they do use filmakers license is with radiation. if your at the spot where an atomic bomb exploded your die form heat not radiation. Exposure to radiation works slower, days, weeks, months, years, depending on level of exposure. Also you CANNONOT transfer radiation from one person to another once their cloths removed and body washed, so keep this in mind Nice reaction. Ask me any questions you like i will reply. Each episode will get emotionally worse and worse, Be ready to cry. You will not find out what happened and why until the last episode. Be sure you watch all THE ENDING CREDITS

[@MoyLoaf]

Not THAT accurate

[@Dragon-Believer]

Very little in it that is accurate. It's been thoroughly debunked.

[@cherylsims5636]

@@Dragon-Believer You MUST be Ex USSR?

[@Dragon-Believer]

@@cherylsims5636 it's weird how people get mad at the people who tell them they were fooled. And not at the people who fooled them. I saw people getting really angry on Facebook when they were told that pics were AI.

[@cherylsims5636]

@@Dragon-Believer Well son I have watch DASHA REACTS channel , and she grew up right near this area. Now lives in Canada. So Im inclined to believe what she has told more about this incident than others. There are certain a things about radiation we know so this is not questionable. There are things about the Soviet Union we know so these are also unquestionable Just look at the current Russia Ukraine war. How many soldiers were sent in the ""Exclusion zone" who dug in and now dead of radiation. Need i say more?

[@ReligionIsSilly]

going in clueless, should be fun, or annoying and frustrating.

[@AshHale24]

Please watch Dune Prophecy!!! ❤

[@philipturner9087]

Not shine glow

[@tyhawkins7757]

It’s not a documentary, it’s a horror movie.

[@philipturner9087]

Fun bits you are watching the wrong show. Most of the names are real people . . .

[@ryanduggan7632]

Welcome to the Soviet Union….

[@gordonjenner2375]

...were nobody was homeless...and 40 years of no war in europe...very bad indeed....

[@ryanduggan7632]

@gordonjenner2375 oh buddy....maybe you'll learn when ur older....

[@PUARockstar]

@@gordonjenner2375 no homeless? Not true at all. The dedicated word for the homeless "бомж" was invented during soviet times even. No war in Europe? Well, the soviets used to occupy Germany and many other states, holding the centre and east of Europe hostage. Like they've brutally crushed Czechoslovia and Hungary protests with tanks. That mad part of authoritarian and totalitarian communists that supported that are called tankies, they are defending countries like russia, north korea, china etc. in their every decision however inhumane to this day.

[@gordonjenner2375]

Please don´t believe everything that you hear and see in this show. It´s a show, based on true events but it´s not 100 percent correct in which it shows the characters and the conversations. Some things are over dramatized other things aren´t shown at all. So don´t take this too serious.