First time watching CHERNOBYL (and I'm already so angry)

[@mckrackin5324]

Addie cries about the dog... Ohnoz...

[@tsrgoinc]

Yeah, Episode 4 is going to destroy her!

[@tehvvisard]

iykyk

[@zodiac_blue9116]

For real… ugh.

[@neptunusrex5195]

She’s gonna need therapy 🫣🙈

[@JohnnyJohnny-f5o]

I know, when I watched it all I could think was "thank god I'm not a dog person."

[@ScottGibbs]

Possibly the best 5 hours of TV over the last 20 years. Amazing and heartbreaking and enraging.

[@airborngrmp1]

I've wondered for years just how we would deal with the aftereffects of the end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Having a superpower rival was the best and worst thing to happen to the United States (having competition and a singular opponent to focus our political, social and economic power on helped to push the technological development evident today, however the ideological incompatibility of the two systems forced ours to become deeply ideologically partisan in an unsustainable way for a healthy Republic to function). Since at its heart the Cold War was an ideological struggle, there isn't a particularly effective means of writing the history in an unbiased manner - which leaves the subsequent generations a gap in understanding that is difficult to fill (I really have a hard time trying to get my kids to understand how the Cold War rivalry of even the 1980's affected the domestic social and political environment in a way that was impossible to ignore, and which is fully lost upon them). I still hold the opinion that losing our external locus of danger/rivalry/ideological nemesis as a nation (and our immediate collective celebration of 'victory' without even the most basic understanding of what it meant, or what the fallout of 50 years worth of global zero-sum-game ideological partisanship was going to look like) directly explains our current domestic and international rudderless-ness as a society. The brilliance of this particular show was it's ability to bring the Soviet system to life, and expose it's total inability to confront even the most pressing and obvious problems without first rendering them into acceptable ideological terms - regardless of the actual reality of the event. The Soviet system liked to appear as infallible, and the inevitable solution to the future of social and political relations of the world - in reality it was a tenuous, totalitarian system where accountability for mistakes (whether avoidable or not) were hazardous to the individuals' health, and led to a system and culture of finger-pointing at others and ass-covering for yourself. A system incapable of innovation or even basic, honest self-assessment and reflection on its failures - because according to itself, and as an article of faith, it was incapable of making mistakes.

[@theivory1]

It is in my opinion the best TV series ever created.

[@saviourself687]

Pikalov, the general that drove the truck with the dosimeter, was an absolute legend. He not only drove the truck to take the risk for his men, but he knew that a general would not be able to be ignored. He repeatedly told younger soldiers to stay out of the dangerous areas because "They had not yet become fathers". He worked tirelessly during both the initial disaster and the subsequent cleanup ('liquidation'). He was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union (the highest award of the USSR) for his efforts at Chernobyl, and passed away in 2003 in his mid seventies.

[@agp11001]

Decorated war hero, fought at Minsk, Kursk and was part of the assault on Berlin. Got his degree and worked up his way to Commander of the Chemical Troops. Did reconnaissance himself during the war, even as he was acting commander of Artillery, so I guess there was no question that he would do some pretty dangerous stuff himself. Damn respectable guy.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Well, NOT every BIG STARs does that!

[@TheJerbol]

goated

[@jamiepasquariello2652]

So Russia is our ally? Male sure you remember that in November

[@TheJerbol]

@@jamiepasquariello2652 what are you, 10?

[@habadasheryjones]

"This will be easy to get through quickly." Yeah if your own tears from watching episode four don't wash you away before you watch episode 5.

[@OneColdMonkey]

"I'm So Angry" could pretty much be an alternate title for this show. 😂

[@arctan2010]

And she have not yet read the end credits of episode 5! 😬

[@benn454]

Welcome to communism

[@valjean76]

my biggest worry is that people watching this miniseries (which came out in 2019) didn't appreciate that it's not about lies that those in the soviet union told themselves about science but us in English speaking countries. (hence why they speak english). It's not about "those naive communists."

[@XTRaptor]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@valjean76eh. they speak English because it’s produced by an English speaking company, for an English speaking audience, portrayed by English speaking actors. You can say that the show is highlighting how PEOPLE lie for their personal gain even against Fact or overwhelming evidence, but to say that it’s actually about English speaking countries specifically just because the actors are speaking English and not Russian is a bit of a reach. At least I would require something more substantial than just English speaking people speaking English. Also there was nothing naive about “those communist” the show goes out of its way to highlight the how far high ranking officials go to “not be embarrassed” and even highlight how the USSR was a “country obsessed with not being humiliated” never mind all the stuff about the KGB and how they silence scientists, of which English speaking countries have no equivalent to unless your implying the FBI,CIA or MI6 are going around silencing American/British scientist?

[@Mr.Ekshin]

@@benn454 - Yup... this is "Socialism 101"... this should be mandatory viewing for all those college kids who've been taught that socialism is cool.

[@shihonage]

I grew up in Moldavian SSR, neighboring Ukrainian SSR. In 1986 I was 9 years old. The Chernobyl announcement appeared on our TV. It was 15 seconds long. You can actually find it on KZbin. It downplayed everything and made it sound like a routine minor event. My dad was called up to clean up Chernobyl. His life was saved at the staging site, where people were putting on ineffective masks and stuff. His commander said, "you have a family already, right? Go home".

[@sitting_nut]

don't take this for real history. far from it. this is a very well made, well acted, show, depicting real events and real people, their heroism and cravenness, as well as ingrained problems of a tottering bureaucratic state. but its also problematic; its main overarching narrative is deliberately false and propagandist. that is not good in a show about "cost of lies". to avoid any spoilers, i will just point to one of many instances from this 1st episode that contribute to that false narrative - in reality legasov sent his "tapes" to editor of pravda, one of the main propagandist outlets of ussr; to a person linked to the ruling faction at the time. it was quite unlike what is depicted in show with secret drop, under the cover of taking out garbage. their depicting him as a person living alone(when he was a family man) is forgivable dramatic license to make plot tight. their changing recipient from an elite person, to an implied secret dissident is not. he was opposed by, and was working against someone, before he allegedly committed suicide, but who? difference between show's answer and real answer, is where falsehood comes in. and these changes multiply and always with same tendency, for a purpose . that is why show is problematic.

[@neddhu]

The guy who said that...gave your father his life black. A hero.

[@UninstallingWindows]

I grew up in Estonia, and my father was supposed to go too, but luckily he had kids, so he was allowed to stay - but my classmates father wasn't so lucky. He did his duty and came back....but his health was wrecked till the rest of his life. He died of cancer in his 60s, i think.

[@shihonage]

@@UninstallingWindows I'm sorry. Yeah in USSR everything was bad. Just everything. People these days don't understand.

[@fuzzy__dunlop]

24:24 - "the dog, the dog. That's going to break me". Uh oh 😲

[@cobrazax]

oh it will...so much more...

[@ChrisReise]

27:35 Yes, On 4 May 1986, just a few days after the initial disaster, mechanical engineer Alexei Ananenko, senior engineer Valeri Bespalov and shift supervisor Boris Baranov stepped forward to undertake a mission that many considered to be suicide. They were advised that if they did not survive their families would be taken care of. The outcome of their mission would decide the fate of millions of people.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

I’m not sure I can fathom the bravery it would take to do that🫡

[@EpimethiusPSN]

The Firemen's clothes were dumped in the hospital basement due to them being irradiated . . . they are still there.

[@StarkRG]

@Nulli_Di Given how much the clothes have already decomposed, I think they'll cease being recognisable as former clothes and may not even be recognisable as rags and bits of boots long before they're no longer contaminated.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

​@Nulli_Diis still 500 rogen in 2012

[@DayBlueberry-F]

Awesome! I was feeling like I was too happy this week, can't wait to cry alongside you!!

[@AddieCounts]

Hahaha

[@darthsphincter909]

Legasov and Scherbina are my favorite part of the show. Like a good buddy cop movie.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

the acting is just out of this world. 2 of my favourite actors. the bench scene, later on, is my favourite moment of the series.

[@Sindrijo]

And the music...

[@tileux]

Scherbina died only 4 years after chernobyl. Almost certainly from cancer, but scherbina himself created the law that banned disclosure of the cause of death of people involved in the chernobyl clean-up, so we will never know. What we do know is that, as at january 2022 the ukrainian government was paying disability pensions to over 300,000 victims of chernobyl - and the treatment of chernobyl’s victims was one of the few things that multiple corrupt ukrainian governments did properly. Legasov, of course, died on the second anniversary. His friends all say his death was a protest, but he too may have had cancer. Until russia has honest government, we will never know.

[@Stevtrek]

The two extremes... the cowardice of the leadership vs. the bravery of the workers. So many did what they needed to do, knowing full well how dangerous and deadly what they were doing was.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

40 years later & nothing has changed there😞

[@Ryan_Christopher]

@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192What do you mean? Even in the midst of a war we still have not had any radiological incidents in Chernobyl. Plenty has changed since ‘86.

[@stephenpmurphy591]

​@@Ryan_ChristopherI believe he means cowards still sneak about causing disasters and the brave of heart clean up the mess. It applies to every aspect of human life.

[@sitting_nut]

don't take this for real history. far from it. this is a very well made, well acted, show, depicting real events and real people, their heroism and cravenness, as well as ingrained problems of a tottering bureaucratic state. but its also problematic; its main overarching narrative is deliberately false and propagandist. that is not good in a show about "cost of lies". to avoid any spoilers, i will just point to one of many instances from this 1st episode that contribute to that false narrative - in reality legasov sent his "tapes" to editor of pravda, one of the main propagandist outlets of ussr; to a person linked to the ruling faction at the time. it was quite unlike what is depicted in show with secret drop, under the cover of taking out garbage. their depicting him as a person living alone(when he was a family man) is forgivable dramatic license to make plot tight. their changing recipient from an elite person, to an implied secret dissident is not. he was opposed by, and was working against someone, before he allegedly committed suicide, but who? difference between show's answer and real answer, is where falsehood comes in. and these changes multiply and always with same tendency, for a purpose . that is why show is problematic.

[@Kirill_Fedorov1970]

bullshit, its mostly lied film about catastrophe

[@andrewrippel6164]

My favorite anectode about this show is that all of the non-diegetic scoring is a recording from an ACTUAL nuclear reactor. Absolutely genius composer, and it really amplifies the eerieness to me

[@AddieCounts]

YES! It adds so much to the show

[@sitting_nut]

don't take this for real history. far from it. this is a very well made, well acted, show, depicting real events and real people, their heroism and cravenness, as well as ingrained problems of a tottering bureaucratic state. but its also problematic; its main overarching narrative is deliberately false and propagandist. that is not good in a show about "cost of lies". to avoid any spoilers, i will just point to one of many instances from this 1st episode that contribute to that false narrative - in reality legasov sent his "tapes" to editor of pravda, one of the main propagandist outlets of ussr; to a person linked to the ruling faction at the time. it was quite unlike what is depicted in show with secret drop, under the cover of taking out garbage. their depicting him as a person living alone(when he was a family man) is forgivable dramatic license to make plot tight. their changing recipient from an elite person, to an implied secret dissident is not. he was opposed by, and was working against someone, before he allegedly committed suicide, but who? difference between show's answer and real answer, is where falsehood comes in. and these changes multiply and always with same tendency, for a purpose . that is why show is problematic.

[@ferchrissakes]

23:00 The helicopter didn’t crash due to radiation; its blades hit the steel cables on the crane and broke. It’s not super obvious in the show, but you can see it happen; the crane hook falls as the cables are cut and the helicopter blades disintegrate. It’s how it happened in real life - there’s footage of that crash. That’s not to say the radiation wasn’t absolutely awful, but it didn’t pluck a helicopter out of the sky. The pilot simply got too close to the crane, no doubt due to smoke reducing visibility, and flying in the updraft from the fire probably wasn’t easy to begin with.

[@andyb1653]

Also, the crash didn't happen during the fire-fighting phase. It happened months later, during the construction of "The Sarcophagus". Since the show doesn't really detail The Sarcophagus structure, they moved the crash to the firefighting phase.

[@Victoratify]

@@andyb1653 Yes, this series is full of blatant lies and mixing up facts.

[@LoveEachDay94]

​@@Victoratifythey made a podcast talking sbout the changes fheyvmade and why so maybe listen to that

[@Victoratify]

@@LoveEachDay94 I've seen these rotten excuses from filmmakers before. Let the fools believe them. Almost everything in the series is a lie, except for the name Chernobyl and the characters' surnames.

[@timothymclain]

People should know that all the music in the series was remixed with sounds recorded at nuclearpower plants. Makes it even more creepy. What a series.

[@waterbeauty85]

Boris' line "This is what has always set our people apart. A thousand years of sacrifice in our veins" reminds me of what an American astronaut who worked aboard the Russian Mir space station as part of an exchange program said. Whenever there was an emergency (and because the station was not incredibly well build, emergencies were common) they first put the American into the Soyuz escape capsule then went and fixed the problem without him. He said that this was because Russians believe that their history and culture make them better prepared for dealing with hardships (and sacrifice) than people in the west, especially Americans. so they thought that he needed to be "sheltered" from difficulties on the station. He eventually had to assert himself to gain their trust and respect so he could participate fully as a member of the crew.

[@TheOffkilter]

yes and that spirit has been manipulated by sooo many successive Russian regimes to allow them to both cause and ignore untold misery upon their people. Russian history is a tragedy, but often one of their own making.

[@beefjezos2713]

While I dont disagree that the Russian people are surely used to hardship…It sure is a convenient cultural identity to explain away generations of their own people subjugating them and ensuring they will never even know what a better life is.

[@shakawhenthewallsfell8570]

That cliffhanger at the end of episode 2 with that Geiger counter buzzing away while everything goes pitch black... cinematographic gold.

[@Rem91067]

And more harrowing than any horror movie Hollywood has ever produced; made all the more so because unlike “Hellraiser” or “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, Chernobyl actually happened.

[@lillykawaiifox]

When I tell you I freaked out on that scene. I thought they would be gone 😟

[@Ghost_PM11]

This is gonna go from anger to a deep sadness really fast.

[@StarkRG]

And then back to anger.

[@danielpopp1526]

So to better understand the radiation exposure rates they’re talking about, Roentgens per hour is equal to dose (REM: Roentgen Equivalent Man/Mammal) per hour for a person. So when they say 3.6 roentgens per hour, that’s equal to a dose of 3.6 REM per hour. The 50/50 survival rate dose (with proper medical treatment) is 500 REM. The guaranteed death dose (even with proper medical treatment) is 1000 REM. Which means the roentgens per hour the general read means a guaranteed lethal dose at 4 minutes. And that’s only when you’re exposed to radiation. In that disaster, there was tons of radioactive material in the air. When it gets on your skin and in your lungs from breathing, you’re being constantly exposed to radiation, including particulate radiation that is a lot more damaging than the standard gamma radiation.

[@elric5371]

Well back then, but now the ld/50 with immediate medical care is actually 800 rem, with the Ld/100 being 1300 rem.

[@danielpopp1526]

@@elric5371 no, back then 50/50 was 1000 REM, and lethal was higher. I should know, I work with radioactive material as part of my job.

[@elric5371]

@@danielpopp1526 no, the ld 50/60 was 500 rem before Chernobyl but Chernobyl showed with medical intervention the ld 50 can be increased much higher in isolated cases up to 800 rem.

[@danielpopp1526]

@@elric5371 no, it wasn't. It was higher before Chernobyl. Again, I know this because I work with radioactive material. I just renewed my IRRSP. Stop spreading misinformation about radiation

[@elric5371]

@@danielpopp1526 no it wasn’t lol, medical treatment has increased the ld/50 sources and effects of ionising radiation by unscear makes that clear, you stop spreading misinformation.

[@ChrisReise]

14:11 I felt the same way when I first watched this. They've LITERALLY had THREE people SEE the lack of a reactor and that one guy kept saying, "you're wrong".

[@Smokie_666]

Very true but throughout history it is proven people in power, any level of power, do not need to pay attention to common sense if they don't want to. I am not saying there might not be consequences, but those don't always land on the right people either.

[@benn454]

Welcome to the Soviet Union.

[@cutecumber2593]

it's not as easy as it seems. The moment Dyatlov went out of the control room he SAW graphite on the floor. He knew what happened. But he also knew, that admitting to a mistake this big in Soviet Union was basically suicide. There was a long chain of people responsible for this catastrophe, but they all pale in comparision to the Soviet Union itself. Maximise the profit with the least amount of costs. Even if it may cost you your life. Sad reality

[@elric5371]

@@cutecumber2593thats fiction, in reality it was Dyatlov himself who persisted that the reactor exploded, but he fell down vomiting by 5 and was overruled by Fomin and co.

[@asmrhead1560]

This miniseries is a brilliant essay on "the cost of lies". When people think they can concoct a better version of reality by believing hard enough in the lies they're telling, atrocities happen.

[@fabiorusso8751]

6:57 The "eyes of Medusa": while you look at the burning reactor, it has already killed you. Girl, this series will truly tear your heart out: it's one of the best shows I've ever seen, but you will cry a lot.. trust me..

[@shaneday5573]

I was 8 years old in 1986 (England) and remember seeing the news. So watching this show gave me more insight into the disaster.

[@keefriff99]

This series is more disturbing and terrifying than most horror movies, and the anger you feel is well-justified (and only just beginning, sadly). It has a lot to say about our current situation as well.

[@d-4azerty755]

Before Chernobyl, there was an absolute belief among engineers and civilian authorities that a nuclear reactor explosion of the RBMK type was impossible. This conviction was partly due to the design of the RBMK reactor and a lack of understanding of the risks associated with its operation. What seems frustrating in this series is due to our knowledge of the devastating risks of a reactor explosion, but on many levels, they were so clueless.

[@gavinderulo12]

Technically the reactor itself didn't explode

[@123rvr]

22:56 Was a real helicopter crash over Chernobyl they have it on documentary they flew too close to a wire this is the actual footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKaxpZqPqatnfKs

[@PickledShark]

Just don’t take this to be a documentary. They’ve taken creative liberties with a LOT, both in terms of the effects of radiation exposure, the actions of individuals, and the risks of nuclear explosion. It’s great entertainment, but if you want to understand what actually happened you’re much better off with a proper documentary or book. Still a great series, but take it with a grain of…. iodine

[@iKvetch558]

Here is a sort of standard comment I post on this series...hope you do not mind me copy/pasting it. 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. However, the more you learn about the history of the RBMK reactor and of the Chernobyl power plant, the more you may come to 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...but that only matters if you intend to keep learning about the disaster after you are done with the show. Also, it is important to remember that this show has very few lessons regarding nuclear power in the West...it pretty much only applies to the Soviet Union or other similar totalitarian society. And on Part 2 I usually post something like... In this episode, there were a few things the makers of the show changed for various reasons. For one thing, the character who said that they should close off the city in the first episode and is evacuated in this one, did not exist...he was added for dramatic purposes. Also, the helicopter crash did not happen so soon after the explosion...it really happened months later in October, 1986, and had little to do with radiation. As I mentioned in my comment to episode 1, once you are done with the series, the History vs Hollywood article on the show is a must read.

[@oslafoirausuebutuoy5457]

16:59 Something like that had never happened before.

[@tsrgoinc]

You asked were the people on the bridge too close? I was 14 and lived in London UK 1986, 1299 miles away and that was considered too close!

[@pyatig]

Just stop, please. I was 11 and 200 miles away in Odessa. Bridge was def too close but your precious island had nothing to fear

[@robcoz98]

One of the final performances of actor Paul Ritter who played Anatoly Dyatlov before he sadly died in 2021. Although he has had many roles over the years, he's quite famous in popular culture in the UK for the sitcom Friday Night Dinner where he's a comedic powerhouse

[@mattybob12310]

SHIT ON ITTTTT!

[@Gr8Buccaneer]

"i hope the family gets payed.." well,thats not america...

[@ravenofroses]

in terms of accuracy, there are a lot of details and events that were merged together or smoothed out for the sake of narrative cohesion. like in reality, there were TONS of scientists working around the clock to contain the disaster and minimize loss of life, not just legasov and a rogue belarusian physicist. but condensing the team into just a couple people makes the narrative flow better and emphasizes the struggle of the scientists and workers to make the state understand just how serious the situation was. certain real people have been portrayed as more rude or blatantly uncharitable than they perhaps were in reality, and conversations you see between different characters may have played out a little differently. this miniseries is a warning not to allow convenient lies to get in the way of recognizing and solving urgent problems, and every moment of runtime is devoted to furthering that message. (also you'll see what happened to all the people you saw being carted off to the hospital later, and this was one of a few places where they actually TONED DOWN what happened IRL. it's brutal in the show, but the reality was somehow even worse.)

[@ariochiv]

I don't know which is more terrifying: that you're in the pitch dark, or that you know that the radiation is so severe that it killed all of your flashlights.

[@vkdeen7570]

actually that type of radiation has no effect on those types of lights. it was more the fact that they had really shoddy equipment and crap flashlight that kept flickering on and off due to bad batteries or wiring. the fact it was flooded was actually lucky for them along with the fact that the majority of the blast went upwards. Water is a fantastic neutron shield

[@Beliefish]

Its always funny to watch non-communist people reacting to how communisem actually works

[@mckrackin5324]

Your frustration is just beginning. You have barely scratched the surface of the lunacy and heartbreak of this situation. I know certain upcoming scenes are going to wound your soul.

[@mentrazzo]

It's always fascinating to see the frustration younger people experience watching this series. Anyone who didn't grow up during a stretch of the Cold War thinks that the USSR will listen to experts about Chernobyl; the Soviets preferred to make problems go away by pretending they never happened and threatening or killing anyone who disagreed. Stopping the spread of information was paramount.

[@pyatig]

You def were born during the Cold War cause western propaganda is strong in you

[@eltrueabdul611]

FYI: Nowadays, one of the most dangerous places on esrth is the basement of the hospitsl where the firefighters were attended. Their uniforms are still there snd staying in the room for enough time can get you permanent consequences.

[@sfaonetime]

Welcome to the USSR or modern day Russia...

[@gnarl80fi]

Show is great, a lot things you didn't know by just googling. Good choice Addie.

[@sylverlokkshinbreaker6090]

Everytime I watch a reaction to this show I am reminded that people today have no idea just how bad, controlling, manipulating and cruel the Soviet Union was. From nerve gas use in Afghanistan, to Chernobyl, to pogroms and Siberian vacations. And people complain about 3 decade old arms scheduled for destruction being sent to Ukraine to stop Soviet Union 2.0

[@robertvenegas6113]

There is an inaccuracy worth noting in the 5AM local committee meeting. Plant director Viktor Bryukhanov (1935-2021) initially advocated evacuating Pripyat, but was persuaded otherwise. However, this information was not available in any english sources until after this miniseries aired. Series creator Craig Mazin has gone on record that - had he been aware of this - he would have written that scene differently.

[@hermanrobak1285]

11:20 "Seal off the city! Noone leaves! [...] Contain the spread of misinformation." History does not (quite) repeat itself, but sometimes it rhymes.

[@mrtveye6682]

So true. For sure the communist block during the time of the cold war took this "keep it a secret" to the extrem. But it would be completely naive to think this can, will and had never happened anywhere else in the world.

[@laurencaulton103]

For anyone who thinks we're safe, the Chernobyl facility was taken over by the Russian army during the early part of the invasion of Ukraine. They eventually pulled out, but the site is still in danger. Control and safe maintenance of the site is paramount, yet this war continues. Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Fukushima on the coast of Japan. The Soviets told the world that everything was under control. But radiation levels in Europe told the truth.

[@shihonage]

You ask "why is the hospital not equipped". As someone who grew up in USSR, I have to tell you that I grew up from childhood without having anesthetics during dental visits. That's why. USSR was full of systemic scarcity, it was a third-world country. We had no toilet paper, either. We used free government newspapers, it was a routine practice. You had to crumble them a lot before they could be used as toilet paper.

[@IH8YH]

was just a little child when this happened, born and living in WEST Germany and i do remember there was a period where me and my brother were not allowed to go outside and everyone was scared shitless. With all the cancer in the following decades in even healthy living people, the true death toll of this disaster will never be truly known...

[@IH8YH]

also the Geigercounter going crazy will always be the scariest sound for me. no competition comes even close

[@gamepat9]

I remember that too. I don't know if it was because of that, but I also remember the teacher gave us an iodine pill every day for a while (1990) when school started in south west germany. And they didn't want to say why we had to take them.

[@WhatIsMisophonia]

Chernobyl bunches my panties. Nuclear energy is one of the best things we have, and we're not using nearly to the extent that we need to because of fearmongering, and this show, which is improperly viewed by many as a "documentary", takes massive liberties with the reality of the situation. Some things they get right, but NO for example, there was no chance the whole of Europe was going to be heavily effected by this meltdown as they imply. The Chernobyl incident was an example of how to do nuclear as wrong as possible, and yet even if they continued to build reactors that way, it would still have been safer than their coal plants.

[@gregpeacock5497]

There is also the other end of the spectrum of downplaying the possible severity of the accident. First of all, I am whole heartedly in favor of nuclear energy. If done correctly, it is a very safe way to produce energy. However, too many corporations are only interested in making maximum profits and cut corners, which is something that simply cannot be done with nuclear energy. And yes, had the water tanks blown, all of eastern europe would have been affected. Or do you think exposing 3 further cores would do nothing?

[@WhatIsMisophonia]

​@@gregpeacock5497 First of all, the tanks wouldn't have blown anyway because the corium would not have blown up in contact with water; Melting through the concrete dilutes it, cools it, and kills the fission. It would still be super hot, but at that point it would have simply reacted like lava flowing into water and solidified, though because it was still radioactive, the water would have eventually boiled off. Secondly, even if there had been enough steam generated so rapidly that it had exploded, it would have been much much smaller than in the show. Thirdly, we're not talking about anything weapon grade here; Once the fission is stopped, the uranium they mention is no longer an issue, and certainly not like a bullet. Its half-life is so long, you'd have to take in more than a few dust particles for it to be a threat. Even the more radioactive particles like cesium settle out fairly quickly, and even if they get blown into the upper atmosphere, rain washes them out of the air and into the ground where they are greatly dispersed. Of course this doesn't mean radioactive fallout from nuclear disasters isn't a problem; Just that it is massively exaggerated.

[@daliilars3350]

28:03 Close your eyes and listen... 😏

[@havok6280]

Worth noting, we've had nuclear power for 80+ years. There have only been 3 major incidents. Nuclear power is remarkably clean and safe.

[@benn454]

It's literally the future. Fossil fuels are going to run out soon and are the primary cause of climate change. Solar should be the future, but current solar panel tech is too inefficient.

[@MarkG-nl4oq]

Yes but authoritarian governments aren’t safe. This could of been avoided but the interests of protecting the state and promoting unqualified bureaucrats came first

[@havok6280]

@@MarkG-nl4oq obviously. But that criticism doesn't apply to western democracies. That's why Germany, France, and the US closing nuclear plants is stupid.

[@MarkG-nl4oq]

@@havok6280 No disagreement here

[@thatperformer3879]

@@havok6280 And that's the point, tyrants want to take away all our best tech so we are completely reliant on them. You don't shut down a nuclear reactor and push "green" energy agendas because you have the well being of your people in mind.

[@salto1994]

oh boy, you are into a big one here. looking forward to future reactions to the show. RIP Paul Ritter who played dyatlov, he died from cancer :/

[@theswedishdude1]

"i'm curious if that first episode is the angriest i'll be" whoa boy, you in for some stuff.

[@newmoon766]

The US nearly had its own Chernobyl at Three Mile Island in New York.

[@johnclawed]

Three Mile Island is in Pennsylvania, not New York. There was a small release of radiation but no risk of explosion, and it has containment buildings that can hold the worst possible explosion based on the maximum amount of water that can flash to steam. It's a 5 on the scale (wiki/International_Nuclear_Event_Scale) whereas Chernobyl and Fukushima are both 7.

[@Tigermania]

It was scary watching the news in 1986 and seeing which way the wind was going to blow the nuclear contamination across Europe.

[@stonecoldku4161]

"Please allow me to express my concern as calmly as possible...WE ARE F**KED! WE ARE ALL F**KED!. That's as calmly as I can be given the circumstances." Is what I wish he had said.

[@Nobli82]

Yes, I would not call his second try any calmer... He knew way too well how f*cked up they were. He suffered from PTSD in real life, a major contributing factor for taking his own life. Rest in peace, Valery Legasov, you did everything you could.

[@DavidMacDowellBlue]

08:14 The real Dyatlov was nothing like this at all. He was a harsh supervisor but was popular, and he was one of the first to realize the core had blown up. He tried to save as many people as he could, suggesting several people go home--they chose to stay. This series gets lot of relatively small details wrong, and fictionalizes others. But the overall story is accurate in most ways. Please, please, please be careful about watching episode four. Give yourself some time before watching it.

[@SpearM3064]

"I wasn't sure it would affect the helicopter itself" -- it didn't. Remember, this is a dramatization. Some events were exaggerated for the sake of squeezing everything into a 5-hour miniseries. For example, the helicopter crash happened MONTHS after the explosion, and it had nothing to do with the radiation. It got too close to one of the cranes, and a blade broke off. Another example, remember the firefighter who picked up the graphite? In real life, his hand did not have third degree burns in a matter of minutes. THE NEXT DAY... a full 24 hours later... he was complaining of swelling and stiffness in that hand. (He survived, btw.) There are other examples where the story deviated from actual events, but I'm avoiding spoilers until after you've seen more episodes. EDIT: Here's another example. The three workers who went in to pump the water from the tanks were NOT dead within a week. In fact, two of them are still alive today. Also, radiation does NOT do that to flashlights. Flashlights are pretty simple... battery, switch, light bulb. Now, if it was something more complicated, like a smartphone, yeah... it'd probably destroy the smartphone. The batteries in the flashlights wouldn't last as long, but they wouldn't just go dead like that.

[@jayc5373]

In the show the helicopter hit the crane as well. You can see it if you watch closely.

[@salto1994]

FYI the scene with the helicopter happened a few months after the incident and the rotor blades hit the cable of a crane and it crashed

[@Niinsa62]

Stellan Skarsgård. His first movie role was here in Sweden, in Bombi Bitt and Me. In 1968, a four part TV movie. It is a bit of a Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn story, set in 1930´s Sweden. The Southernmost part, where people move and talk slow. But that doesn't mean they think slow, they just think more. The author, Fritiof Nilsson Piraten, who wrote the novel the movie was based on, back in 1932, had a background story very much like the "I" of the novel. Kind of Tom Sawyer. The son of a railway station master, in a quiet Southern Swedish town. He later became a lawyer, practicing law in my home town of Tranås, but spending most of his time writing this novel, and other novels. He was a very good lawyer, so he could do that. Stellan Skarsgård played Bombi Bitt in the movie, a kind of Huckleberry Finn character. Sixteen years old, and larger than life! Like when he drained a river to steal the crawfish in the river! That is a classic! Oh, and the author. Fritiof Nilsson Piraten. The last part of his name means "The Pirate", and he got that name after being a very young sailor and telling ripping yarns to his friends. His gravestone is famous here in Sweden, it doesn't even carry his name, but only the words "Here lies a man who never did anything on time, until he actually died on January 31, 1972". There is a street named after him here in Tranås, Piratens gata. The Pirate´s Street. Where he had his lawyer's office, but didn't do much lawyering. Well, he did some lawyering, and he was so good at it, he didn't have to do more than that. He was a storyteller. So when Stellan Skarsgård in 1968 played Bombi Bitt, who was a very well known novel character here in Sweden since 1932, he made super stardom immediately!

[@PeeVee1979]

There's also the Chernobyl podcast that was dropped at the same time as the series.

[@crowfoot1199]

podcast is EXCELLENT, highly recommend.

[@Yevgeniy-Incognito]

Episodes 3 and 4 are the most horrifying. Glad that you are reacting to this show! Don't forget to watch a short epilogue after episode 5. There will be some real footage that is very interesting and will explain what happened to Chernobyl after disaster and what happened to all the people that were involved in the liquidation.

[@Sir_Alex]

Oh wow, Chernobyl, I'm glad you are watching this .... Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård's performances are outstanding ...

[@TheFioda]

"control the spread of misinformation."... Now, WHEN have I heard this recently...?

[@oslafoirausuebutuoy5457]

When this show came out I saw a video comparing side to side scenes of the show with real footage of Chernobyl. It seems pretty accurate. It included footage of the helicopter falling in real life. There are several videos of that on youtube, actually. Crazy footage, you can see the backside of the helicopter bending in the air as it starts falling.

[@Iceman-135]

The soundtrack to this series was composed entirely from nuclear power plants. That's why it sounds so eerie.

[@krashd]

There was a lass called Addie who did something noble That noble thing was to watch episode one of Chernobyl She pressed play on the video and recorded her exploits. I've just fucked up this limerick because I used the word exploits. I'm getting there Dad, I'll be the poet you never wanted me to be!

[@ronron2254]

Seven Sundays next...its a filipino movie.....🇵🇭🇵🇭

[@toxicgamers1113]

Chernobyl Power Plant had 4 reactors. Reactor number 4 exploded in 1986, the other operated until they all got decomisioned in 2000 (2 shut down in 1991 due to an accident, 1 shut down in 1996, 3 was finally started being decomissioned in 1999). Imagine working in the other reactors knowing what happened literally 200 meters away from you. Also there were other accidents there. In 1982 reactor 1 partially melted down. No one noticed it for 7 hours and when it was discovered it was kept a secret. In 1984 reactors 3 and 4 had serious incidents. According to declassified KGB documents, Soviets already knew in 1984 that Chernobyl Power Plant is the most dangerous power plant in the world. In 1991 turbine in reactor 2 caught fire and the roof collapsed. They stopped using this reactor then.

[@philshorten3221]

Addie.... Your NOT ready! Get those tissues and brace yourself 😢

[@aryonllewellyn]

Hello, Addie. Would you please react to the 1978 movie 'The Medusa Touch', if you haven't already?. Thanks.

[@smavtmb2196]

So glad you're watching this show Addie. It's definitely a roller coaster of emotions. Not suprising Soviet officials didn't want to take it seriously. Truth isn't what they cared about clearly. Super frustrating. The series is incredible and heartbreaking. HBO handled this tragedy extremely well. Everyone should watch this series. Also the actor's were amazing. Its clear they all wanted it to be as authentic as possible.

[@elric5371]

No it’s not they clearly wanted to murder real characters with lies and spread soviet propaganda.

[@queenigelkotte]

They were not prepared because this was thought impossible.

[@Short_Round1999]

In the USSR when something they deem impossible is happening their response was always “No way. That’s not possible, you’re dilusional”

[@MichaelRBlair]

"Nobody is listening to facts" Welcome to 99% of human history

[@avostorm8111]

Hey just FYI, Dyatlov was portrayed really poorly in this show. He was a hard ass but was fair. He wrote to Akimov and Leo family expressing they weren't to blame.

[@TheFalconerNZ]

What angers me is the fact that the people in power DIDN'T even what to accept the POSSIBILITY that something could go that wrong then did everything to hide the truth when the truth was accepted. But what angers me the most is that if it happen again today in ANY nuclear powered nation denial & coverup would still be the first reaction. Granted it would only be for hours until the 'People in Power' were told & they had made preparations to 'Save Guard National Security' but governments worldwide REFUSE to acknowledge when they just make mistakes let alone when they are BLATANTLY WRONG as they will ALWAYS pass the blame by saying they were given the wrong/incorrect information to make the right decisions.

[@tinfoilpapercut3547]

"Contain the spread of misinformation" Sound familiar, folks?

[@MaskinJunior]

The Tjernobyl disaser was hidden untill it was discovered by Sweden at the Forsmark Nuclear station because the radiation was higher outside the building than inside. (It is a facianting story in itself)

[@bigbark4627]

This show blew my mind apart! I nvr realised the scope of Chernobyl! After watchin I still knew I didn't fully comprehend wat I'd jus seen! This stayed with me for mnths & mnths & mnths! 😵

[@aarrgghh]

@15:38 -- oh don't worry. even if what's coming won't make you more angry, there's plenty that'll make you heartbroken and nauseous.

[@Niinsa62]

Oh, and the show is directed by the Swedish director Johan Renck! He is Stakka Bo! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXixfGCZhNmridU

[@tylerbrown5526]

Oh...oh no. Buckle up for sadness and frustration.

[@Death0Row]

Ruzzian propaganda same today as back then...they never changed or learned

[@DorfVG]

A bit late but the radiation didnt dorectly cause the helicopter to crash. Its rotors hit the crane cables which broke the rotor, presumably either. Ecause the radiation messed with the controls or caused enough nausea in the pilot to not realize he was flying into the crane

[@stevehawes5018]

Buckle up, Addie. Episodes 3 & 4 will gut you, just like it did to all of us. Power through them with tissues close by…episode 5 is the payoff. Looking forward to your reaction to them all.

[@BattleAngelFan99]

Addie, I swear I think you and I know each other if you're who I think you are. You look like her and have her name. I don't want to say more for fear of exposing personal details, even geography might not be something you want people to know, not that any of it is obviously embarrassing that I can imagine. I guess I'll say Florida maybe 4 or 5 years ago? A couple names you'd know if you're who I think you are, Tisa, Amy, Conley, Steve, Jill... or I could be wrong.

[@petercolson2990]

So many people have difficulty watching Episode 4 "The Happiness of All Mankind", but I had to go ahead and read Midnight in Chernobyl (I believe that's the title of it, it's been a while), based on testimony and may or may not be completely accurate, but the description of what radiation does to a body and knowing what the men exposed went through, Episode 3 was just as harrowing for me

[@johnnygood4831]

And Russian soldiers took control of Chernobyl when they attacked Ukraine. The unprotected soldiers disturbed radio active dust and are wandering around in it. I don't have anything good to say about Russian leaders, so I won't.

[@thatlonewolfguy2878]

"50,000 people live in this city", I wonder where we've heard that before Does "50,000 people used to live here... now its a ghost town" ring a bell anyone?

[@JohnBham]

In 1986 I was in the Army, stationed at Fort Lewis, WA. One of my duties as a member of a Chemical unit (we dealt with Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear detection and cleanup) was to go around the base and take Geiger readings when the news broke. It wasn't long before I had numbers to report- not enough to hurt us, but trace amounts of Chernobyl radiation was in our air nonetheless.

[@swbigfan1]

You know the fireman's outfits that you asked about the hospital staff touching? They remain in the hospital basement to this day, they are still dangerously radioactive!

[@neptunusrex5195]

I first saw this series on another reactors’ channel (I follow several 😅, I like getting various opinions and insights) and then I went out and bought the dvd myself. Spent next few months doing obsessive deep dive researching everything I could get my hands on about Chernobyl. Showed the series to my mom and was able to give commentary on stuff that id researched and explained more of the technical stuff. We watched one episode every couple days because it was so heavy for her, plus it’s alot of information and stuff that happens so it’s good to take a day or two to let everything sink in and let your brain process it all. Anyway one episode every other day or so. She loved it as hard as it was to watch, she learned so much and even now nearly a year later she’ll hear something on the news and she’ll think back to what she saw on Chernobyl and how insane the government was, how hard the experts had to fight just to be able to do their job and help, and how much the people were kept in the dark and suffered so much just because the government was so concerned about image. I also showed the series to my dad. We watched one episode a night, and I again gave commentary based on what I’d researched and he was glued to the screen and listened to me explain stuff and he’s not very good at following things or keeping up with the plot and such but this series he was glued and laser focused and he really enjoyed it, he said it was amazing and that he learned so much about not just the accident but what Soviet culture was really like and what the people themselves were like etc

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Such a well made series. Even if it were a work of total fiction, the way they brought the Soviet Union of the mid 1980’s back to life is outstanding. The only thing that’s noticeable (and this happens with every period piece) is the haircuts on the actors. It’s tough to bring back our terrible hairstyles from that era, lol.

[@wakkadakka9192]

Please don't be fooled by these "historically accurate" promotions. This show is closer to Star Wars than to actual history. Amount of small and big mystification is too damn high, just a couple for example: -Legasov never hid the tapes. He openly gave them to his friends, and committed suicide only a year later due to poor health. -Dyatlov never yell or insult anyone, didn’t threaten anyone, and never denied the reactor explosion - but hey, let’s make a bastard out of a real person, the series needs an antagonist. -At that moment in the series when they are only arguing that city needs to be evacuated - the real Chernobyl was completely evacuated a day ago already. -Medics underwent training, including radiation accidents, once every six months and were fully prepared and equipped for such an event - but hey, let's show that medics are stupid and worthless, never miss the opportunity to show how bad communism was. -The real Minister of Coal Industry was a very famous and respected man who began his career as an ordinary miner - hey, let's once again portray a real person as a scum, and let's show how ordinary people despised the communist management. -The real firefighters who were the first to arrive at the power plant were buried with all honors in the memorial cemetery - hey, let's show that they were buried in a random hole in the ground filled with concrete, because commies are evil you know. -At that moment in the series when Legasov accuses KGB that they never began to fix reactors even though they promised - in reality 12 out of 19 reactors have already been fixed, other 7 were in the process of it. And many, many other examples. Some call it "overdramatization", others call it "propaganda", but the point is the same - it's a fictional story for an impressionable public who is not interested in the truth. Turning real people into idiots and bastards and calling it history is the key to a successful series about evil commies. I'm Ukrainian and my father was one of the liquidators of the Chernobyl catastrophe, for me personally this series is an insult. There are many reasons to dislike the communist era, but inventing fake ones and calling it historical truth is simply low. It's sad that so many people actually perceive this as some kind of documentary.

[@DavidMichaelson-j7n]

I remember when this happened. I was far away so it didn't affect me at all, but it was still horrifying. Later in my life I worked with an amazing person who had been in Minsk when this happened. Later he died from a very rare form of thyroid cancer that was fairly common among people who were exposed to the fallout from Chernobyl. So he was a victim of this. This mostly accurate. Not perfect. But amazingly good.

[@Reblwitoutacause]

This show coming out in 2019 was so ironic. I felt like i was living a Truman Show or waiting for Ashton to jump on the screen and shout "Prank'd! 🤪"

[@jeffcameron536]

Imagine the moment when Legasov, knowing what he knows about nuclear accidents, is told he is going to the plant. He knows then, that his life is being drastically cut short and will be over soon, but cannot refuse. Buy stock in Kleenex! You're in for a rough couple days, but it's SO well done. It may be the best show you watch.

[@enola5956]

Welcome to the Soviet Union... no one leaves!!💩 And today Russia wants those times back...🤬

[@baslifico]

It's worth watching to understand what happened, but I'm afraid you may find this quite a rough journey.

[@GodfatherCZ1]

20:55 And this is basically how the whole Eastern block worked , in a nutshell ... stupid political officials without erudition , downplaying of problems and accidents etc .. the most important thing was how loyal you were to the Communist party

[@shag139]

@25:50 she says thermal explosion but then says megatons which is completely false.