First time watching Chernobyl episode 1 reaction

[@BaddMedicine]

Incredible first episode! What was your reaction? What did we miss? Badd Medicine Arcade channel kzbin.info/door/HIstVk00GtduPIXlJLdC3A Early Drops & Full Reactions on YT Memberships & Patreon: www.patreon.com/baddmedicine Backup channel Subscribe here kzbin.info/door/1CLUwA27dz-94o3FR0o3xg

[@suvijii841]

Good reaction, great series! The emergency call at the beginning was indeed the actual, original audio of that call.

[@AllInTheGame01]

Another excellent HBO mini-series that would be great to react to is Generation Kill.

[@candidwings5609]

The first watch on this series, I didn't notice how beautiful the cinematography was and how much that added to the sense of horror. Gorgeous, terrible, sickening, lovely.

[@bernardsalvatore1929]

I am operating under the knowledge and belief that this series is at least 95% accurate to what happened minute by minute!!! Obviously the exact conversations cannot be brought to us but I do believe that these conversations are as close to the real conversations as anyone will ever get for this event!!! With that said one of the most frustrating scenes in this first episode is when the one engineer was telling Dyatlov that he saw graphite on the ground in the rubble!! And Dyatlov screamed adamantly "YOU DID NOT SEE graphite!!" A statement which he KNOWS is BULLSHIT because he HIMSELF saw the graphite when he walked out into the corridor earlier in the episode and LOOKED OUT the broken windows and SAW the graphite glowing on the roof below him!!!😮😮 So he KNEW right then and there what happened but he was in complete DENIAL for the rest of his life!!! The series only gets better from here on out and they do a FANTASTIC job of breaking this event down!!!

[@BadLuckLuke]

Phenomenal series, thanks for the great analysis afterwards ✔️

[@andrewcrowder4958]

“The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, we no longer recognize the truth.”

[@laurettelaliberte8864]

Words for our times

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

I don’t get why they blame the Soviet government specifically when the same shit happens here. Nothing unique about unqualified idiots in charge (only because their dad plays gold with the CEO )and then trying to blame everyone else for their screw ups. Only after trying to suppress it through payoffs to politicians.

[@leonardodavid4670]

@@laurettelaliberte8864yep

[@leonardodavid4670]

so true

[@elric5371]

Ironic it was LEGASOV who was the biggest liar of all in the accident.

[@Notsosweetstevia]

I’m happy you pointed out the soundtrack. The composer used sounds from actual nuclear reactors to create it. In my opinion, it creates the beautifully haunting background to this amazing series.

[@crittertracker]

I was working in a nuclear power plant when I first watched parts of this series. I couldn’t figure out why the soundtrack sounded so oddly familiar, but walking through the plant later I actually recognized some of the background noises. It was freaky

[@ct6852]

Such an icky horror vibe to the music during that scene on the bridge.

[@starises4596]

The composer being the same one as for Joker makes so much sense. she's brilliant

[@elric5371]

Agree soundtrack was outstanding.

[@geneticjen9312]

Hildur Guðnadóttir, she's amazing

[@kylesiebert7171]

The bird inside the plant shows that the building is open to the outside world which it is not suppose to be.

[@nahuelma97]

Right, that's something I didn't immediately pick up the first time I watched it but upon a second or third watch I was like "waaaait, riiight" 😂

[@christophergarcia3695]

Wait a minute, there was a bird. I didn't notice.

[@blinkachu5275]

To Diamond Dave's question: Radiation exposure/dose rate can be measured roentgen (also in Sieverts but since the show doesn't tackle that, let's skip that one) A roentgen is a unit of measurement for exposure to ionizing radiation, named after the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. It measures the amount of ionization produced in air by x-ray or gamma radiation. 3.6 roentgen (per hour) is what's mentioned a few times as "eh not so bad", but it actually is quite significant The regulatory limit of roentgen for a common radiation worker can be exposed to PER YEAR is 5 roentgen That's per year The meter was stuck at 3.6 roentgen per hour, the 1000 roentgen per hour one burned out, and the 200 roentgen per hour one maxed out instantly as well To give an example: a chest x-ray is equivalent to 0.01 rem (rem is the GCS unit for roentgen, short for roentgen equivalent man) So 3.6 roentgen would be approx. 360 chest x-rays. Per hour. And that's if it only was 3.6. You can imagine with the higher numbers how much worse that is.

[@jainthorne4136]

Excellent explanation. I was just thinking of how to explain it but your description is great.

[@agp11001]

Also little fun fact: A x-ray image is called a "Röntgenbild" in German.

[@talea9593]

Wow I don't encounter many people who know about Sieverts.

[@xencmo4346]

@@agp11001 in Russian it's also called Рентген after Roentgen himself 😁

[@anahvolf]

@@agp11001 in Czech it is Rentgen :D

[@shainewhite2781]

Oh, wow, this is one of the most shocking and most powerful Miniseries ever made.

[@jaealxndr]

This and watchmen both some the best shows ever and only have one season says a lot

[@funtourhawk]

@@jaealxndr dude watchmen is hot dog water compared to this lmao

[@jaealxndr]

@@funtourhawk Only people I have met who don’t like watchmen are racists that call it woke for showing the Tulsa massacre

[@marcinmichalski1438]

Correction- not one of, it is the most shocking and powerful series made.

[@Quzga]

@@jaealxndr Yeah anyone who doesn't like a superhero show is racist, makes sense lol. Putting Watchmen next to Chernobyl is insulting to Chernobyl, it's not even close. Chernobyl is Band of brothers level when it comes to miniseries.

[@chiarafonzi9613]

Italy here. My mother was pregnant with me during the Chernobyl explosions and every vegetable and animal grown outdoors was forbidden to EAT. So all her neighbors gave her canned food or vegetables that they had managed to freeze before the explosion. And although perhaps this is not related, all those born in my year or the year after, '87 and '88, are significantly shorter than all the others born in subsequent years.

[@pickleboy6059]

It is related actually, for good part of Europe and and Asian countries in proximity. There were many birth defects, miscarriages, and various other pregnancy problems from this event

[@BlueShadow777]

Sono nato nel 1959 e sono basso, alto 168 cm. Avevo 27 anni nel 1986 e quindi Chernobyl ovviamente non ha avuto alcun effetto sulla mia statura ridotta. Non si può affermare definitivamente che coloro che hai menzionato sono bassi a causa di Chernobyl. È necessaria una prova più convincente rispetto a quanto hai accennato.

[@leichetibuca]

​@@latishabuckner8231do you speak Italian? He said the exact opposite

[@vanyadolly]

It is wild to imagine how it must have felt for people at the time. I was born late 87, but I had several older friends whose mothers had been pregnant at the time and were worried about birth defects.

[@MegaMerdeux]

​@@latishabuckner8231he never said that.....

[@casssiiopeiia]

As a Ukrainian, I appreciate this show exists. Of course, it's impossible to be completly historically accuracate, but it shows the main events almost perfectly and reminds the world the events that happened that day, which, I believe, is important to never forget. Thank you for your reaction - staying tuned for the next episodes.

[@elric5371]

All it does is promote lies which were debunked decades ago…

[@tacticorememes]

Yet, you cheer for a nazi that has killed off 4 generations of your countrymen and genocides the Donbas while suppressing all other nationalities that live in Ukraine. Way to show!

[@masamune2984]

Slava 🙂

[@laughingoutloud5742]

SLAVA UKRAINE!!! 🇺🇦❤

[@igorzimin2518]

It does not show main events even near perfect. It is disgusting what they made, and it is insult to people who dealt with tragedy.

[@xerex21212]

The thing about Dyalotov is that this was the SECOND nuclear accident he was involved in. So he was following the rules that saved him in the first accident. He didnt know this was an unprecedented situation.

[@chelscara]

He could have listened to all the workers he sent into the core instead of checking himself. He could have gone and checked it himslelf. But he didn’t. He knew. He just didn’t want to admit it.

[@amberg3893]

​@@chelscara it could be normalcy bias. It's actually common for people in disasters to mentally disassociate.

[@Sindamsc]

I hate how they show Dyatlov as a vilian while in reality he was both the bravest and smartest guy in the building, staying in the Station for days to save as many people as he could. He tried to regularly rotate people after the explosion while standing there himself without rest.

[@elric5371]

@@chelscaraum, he only sent two people to check on the core, and after they came back vomiting he ordered everyone apart from Akimov and Stolyarchuk to leave. He was the first one to realise truly the extent of the accident.

[@apieceofcoffee]

I've learned that this wasn't the 2nd, but THIRD nuclear accidents in USSR that could have been avoided if the first 2 were reported appropriately. The first's accidents reports are nearly impossible to find, but there's a few rare documents out there, only in Russian, and absolutely not enough information recorded on it.

[@moonstalker2469]

Yours is the first reaction I've seen to this series that immediately cottoned onto the significance of the soldier on the rooftop with the engineer and exactly what that meant. A lot of people who weren't directly impacted or who don't have an understanding of the politics of the USSR don't realize until much later (if at all) on in the series how significant that moment is. Outside of the shifting of blame that the upper management guys did, the moment where we see the soldier on the roof is so powerful. He says nothing, but by both his body language and the expression on the engineer's face you can tell what his presence means. There is no choice. That aura of 'you're going to do what we tell you to no matter what' is present throughout the series and it is so well done. It's never directly said, but it's a looming, lurking shadow at all times. Dyatlov was really villainized in this series. As it's said in the opening, he was the man in the room and the perfect choice to place all the blame on. In reality he was villainized significantly, but he understood what his choices led to and he spent the rest of his life not only working to atone for those choices, but to make sure the truth of why he did the things he did was out there and that the people in power who tried to cover it all up were held responsible. He actually wrote genuine apology letters to the families of the men he tried to shift the blame onto while he was in prison. It again boils down to the political climate of the time. The whole 'keep your head down, do your job, don't get blamed' thing that was so dangerous here. Shows like this one are so important because they educate. They make you want to learn more about the actual event. When I first watched this series I came away with a desire to educate myself because I had realized that I actually knew very little about radiation outside of it's really bad, will make you sick and is a very painful death if you get exposed to too much of it. Shows like this one help remind us to learn from the past, to not let the memory of the people impacted fade away like smoke. Two others that I feel have a similar impact are Band of Brothers and The Liberator if you're interested. I look forward to the rest of your reactions to the series.

[@laughingoutloud5742]

Well said!

[@TheBestPirateDrake]

The radiation in the show was not well represented, for example radiation does not spread to other people like covid. And a lot of the other things were made up for the sake of filmmaking instead of being truthful. I know there is a lot more made up details that I am missing. It is important to inform ourselves of the events.

[@LiveHedgehog]

Dyatlov was played by the late Paul Ritter. Fantastic actor. Played probably one of the most realistic dads on TV I've seen in "Friday Night Dinner". Sadly he died at a younger age than Dyatlov himself did.

[@lennyvalentin6485]

Whoah, he died? RIP fantastic actor... :( Such an amazing performance - you see more of it in later episodes. Dyatlov was obviously some kind of Dunning-Kruger syndrome narcissist, anything that went wrong was obviously someone else's fault entirely, even though they did exactly what he ordered them to do. Entirely incompetent for the position he was in, and brought there by a system where people were promoted upwards until they in fact became incompetent and then stayed there - and you had nowhere to complain about it because if you started making waves or caused a ruckus you'd get in trouble with authorities - worst of all the KGB of course. It effectively suppressed virtually all criticism; it was like the entire Soviet Union had Dunning-Kruger - anything that made the state look bad HAD to be hidden. So all the wrongs just festered, under the surface. Nothing can be fixed if you never acknowledge that something is wrong in the first place...

[@zammmerjammer]

@@lennyvalentin6485 I think part of it was that he had previously survived a bad nuclear accident, so he genuinely thought it was no big deal. Made him careless.

[@nokta7373]

@@lennyvalentin6485 That's the point. There's nothing to fix if everything is perfect.

[@elric5371]

@@lennyvalentin6485no he was not. Dyatlov was the real hero of Chernobyl and did nothing that the miniseries shows him doing. No he did not order a raise in power and no he didn’t shout or threaten people.

[@pstockmaster]

@@lennyvalentin6485 you should emphasize that you are talking about "TV" Dyatlov

[@Gondaldin]

I love that you used the Joker soundtrack in the intro because Hildur Gudnadottir who composed the soundtrack for Joker also composed the soundtrack for Chernobyl.

[@BaddMedicine]

Had to once I found out Hildur was the composer for this show. Fantastic work! Glad you caught it.

[@blinkachu5275]

One of the cooler things to note about the score is: Hildur Guðnadóttir, the person who made the score for Chernobyl, used sounds from actual nuclear reactors to make the score. It's so haunting yet beautiful

[@AlexandruFlorea1990]

As a Romanian living very close to Ukraine I love the see people react to this awesome mini series. ❤

[@d112cons]

This series is about a failure of culture as much as a failure of engineering. Sad, enlightening, and at times truly heroic.

[@aychelleff]

The final episode of this series is something I think about pretty consistently, especially when I read the news and see the things happening in the world. Can’t wait for you guys to experience this entire series. It won’t make you happy but it will still be worth it

[@alexianigollarza3583]

I feel the same, I was really scared after watching the final episode, it hits hard

[@aychelleff]

@@alexianigollarza3583 Yeah, it’s a wildly heavy show. The episode that follows Barry Keoghan’s character is also painful to watch lol

[@apieceofcoffee]

"If learning history is not uncomfortable, then it's propaganda, not history." I don't remember where I read that, but it's one of my favorite sentences. The full details of Chernobyl is still convoluted. The best book I've found is "Chernobyl 01:23:40" a fantastic research collection that walks through the science, political decisions and repercussions, and the events. Highly recommend it to anyone who's interested. I'm fascinated by this history. My parents were living in England during this and I wasn't born yet. They were told not to go outside and avoid the rain or any water that pooled because of the rain.

[@robincarrier1256]

I had just turned 11 and my family and I were living in West Germany at the time. We were told that we could only be outside for 10 minutes at a time and to shower a lot. The parks were closed and I remember the signs and people being confused and upset.

[@agp11001]

I remember when they were changing the sand in the sandboxes of our playgrounds... that was one of the things that really underlined how surreal the situation was.

[@KimSve]

I was 10 years old when this happened and I lived (and still live in) Stockholm, Sweden. This had a huge impact on us. There were a lot of food that you shouldn't eat because of radiation. So no meat from the forest animals, no mushrooms, no berries. As @agp11001 wrote, they changed the sand in all the sandboxes. Avoid the rain. I don't think that we had a limit of time to be outside though.

[@dkbivy]

As a Ukrainian who watches every your reaction I really appreciate that you decided to react to this series. It's hard to watch because you know that it's actually happened, but you need to watch to have better understanding of what was going on at that time. We still feel consequences of that horrible tragedy, and we should never forget.

[@tacticorememes]

Yet, you cheer for a nazi that has killed off 4 generations of your countrymen and genocides the Donbas while suppressing all other nationalities that live in Ukraine. Way to show!

[@laughingoutloud5742]

SLAVA UKRAINE!! 🇺🇦❤️

[@tacticorememes]

@@laughingoutloud5742 DOWN WITH ZELENSKYY!

[@dkbivy]

@@laughingoutloud5742 ГЕРОЯМ СЛАВА!

[@laughingoutloud5742]

@dkbivy I pray for the end of this horror your country and people are living through. Much love, strength and support from Alberta Canada 🇨🇦❤️✊️🇺🇦❤️

[@santiagohardy2728]

Glad you're reacting to this. I watched the entire series when it first aired. I recall the meltdown being all over the news. I was in my teens, and unfortunately wasn't much into science, so i didn't really understand what had happened, but i did understand that it was a serious catastrophic event. Trying not to spoil the series for you guys, i can say this, it's a forensic, unnerving, brilliantly written, directed, scored, cast, and acted series. When i finally finished it, it truly broke down everything in a way that made clear sense to me. An absolutely tragic event, told in a hauntingly dire, compelling, palpable, and powerfully profound way. Probably one of HBO's BEST drama series they've ever produced.

[@saulmadrid9950]

You gentlemen are in for a treat. This is a great mini series with a great cast. Enjoy!

[@JohnDAmico-ci2hz]

A horrific treat

[@kathyastrom1315]

The actor who played Fomin, the #2 guy in charge with the big glasses, also played the adult James Potter in the Harry Potter films.

[@Pharmerlynda]

Omg you are right!!!

[@EsoteriaHealing]

And we have Argus Filch from Harry Potter/ the guy with many daughters from Game of thrones. I can identify a few other actors too. It's great to see them in alternate worlds.

[@Pharmerlynda]

@@EsoteriaHealing yup!!! He was always filch to me, loved him as a crotchety old curmudgeon watch man!!!

[@miri6220]

this is one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) shows HBO has ever done. it’s atmospheric, the sound design is incredible, it’s informative (despite some dramatization), and the acting is fantastic. im so glad yall are watching this!

[@elric5371]

Informative? Some dramatisation? Don’t make me laugh. The show completely misinforms people on what happened.

[@miri6220]

@@elric5371 because of this show, I looked into what happened at Chernobyl and im aware of what was dramatized and the things they changed. it gave me a jumping off point & it taught me more about nuclear reactors than I’d known before watching (which wasn’t very much). no need to be so condescending.

[@Nyx_2142]

@@miri6220 Lol. You are an extreme minority of viewers. 90% of viewers will now move on thinking themselves experts of the events despite the show being full to the brim of lies and myth. Its not "some dramatization", its mostly dramatization. The condescension is entirely deserved.

[@maltemejlstrup4746]

​@@Nyx_2142Cry some more Russian troll

[@harrison4409]

Love hearing Diamond Dave say “holy shit” in the first 4 minutes lol

[@gnomescape]

I like how Mason Quinn picked up on using natural accents. It becomes even better as the series goes on as most of the characters you've met so far speak with an RP English accent or an Oxbridge accent because they are upper class but later as you meet labourers they speak with Northern working class accents so it gives you some idea about their backgrounds.

[@afrancis1582]

Was in my 20s so remember when this happened. But watching this series left me shocked. Really powerful TV.

[@boboca20]

OMG! HEY GUYS! I'm so happy you guys are reacting to this series, it's one of the greatest miniseries in the last decade. Thank you for this wonderfull sunday notification!

[@_mad_cat_]

13:31 Fun fact: The composer for this mini series, Hildur Guðnadóttir also did the music for Joker (2019).

[@rou_meili]

As a Ukrainian, i really appreciate that you react to this series, thank you so much. You're great guys ❤

[@thechonus3858]

I'm so excited that you guys are reacting to this - it's my favorite miniseries of all time. It's weird to say things like "You have to watch Chernobyl it's SO GOOD and I love it SO MUCH!" because of the subject matter, but these five episodes are a masterpiece in every way.

[@lisastoran5330]

As a Ukrainian, I wanna say a massive thank you for deciding to watch this show. Love your content ❤

[@tacticorememes]

Yet, you cheer for a nazi that has killed off 4 generations of your countrymen and genocides the Donbas while suppressing all other nationalities that live in Ukraine. Way to show!

[@laughingoutloud5742]

SLAVA UKRAINE!! 🇺🇦 ❤️

[@volhan.p.9722]

I am from Belarus and while getting my engineering degree we had mandatory course of nuclear physycs (my degree not related to nuclear physics in any way) and as a part of this course we studied Chernobyl Nuclear Ctastrophe step by step, minute by minute and our several exam questions was about it. This show has several scientific mistakes an urban legends, but overall it is very good portrayal of what was happening with the plant, people and government. This event can be considered as starting point for USSR destruction. My mom was college teacher at that time and was sent with her students to harvest potatoes (common practice of commune service till this day) to abandoned regions of Belarus (at that time they didn't know what happened, no one knew). Decades later she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Fortunately, she survived. Thyroid cancer is the most common cancer in our city and a lot of villages in our region are still abandoned. Every person who was born and still lives in our city/region has status "Sufferer from Chernobyl Nuclear Ctastrophe" and have some minor benefits from it. Even I have this status and I was born years after explosion. Once someone brought dosimeter in our apartment to check radiation for fun. When we checked it wasn't fun anymore.

[@evacombs9720]

I'm from the area that's the most contaminated nuclear site in the Western Hemisphere (because of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state - not a power plant, one that creates plutonium for bombs, including the one dropped on Nagasaki), and thyroid cancer is extremely common where I'm from, too. My mother didn't survive hers, but she was almost 70 when she died. She got a longer life than many do.

[@grustnyia2386]

Is it normal that, for example, the first episode in almost everything contradicts, for example, the notes of Academician Legasov, which supposedly form the basis of this work?

[@joshuacoldwater]

If you are going to state this show has “scientific mistakes” and follows “urban legends”, I would ask that you cite these mistakes and where you received what you believe is the correct information from.

[@grustnyia2386]

@@joshuacoldwater First, read the notes of Academician Legasov and compare with what is happening on the screen. In the Russian and Ukrainian segment of KZbin after its release, they made extensive reviews of this work, including with archival documents and film and video materials, with interviews with participants in the events - what the authors of the series should have done before insisting on historical accuracy . This series is nothing more than a fantasy on the topic, and with a very definite propaganda charge.

[@elric5371]

@@joshuacoldwaterbrother read insag-7, look at Chernobyl critical blog spot. the graves at Mitinskoe were vandalised due to HBO Chernobyl. Dyatlov was not a bad man, he was a hero. LEGASOV was a puppet by the Soviet Union pinning all the blame on the operators to protect the dignity of the soviet engineering, he was ironically the biggest liar in the accident. Perevozchenko never saw the caps jump, is physically impossible for the caps to jump as they are not connected to the rods, they weigh 50kg not 350. Perevozchenko was in the control room when the explosion happened. - The first responders were not buried in concrete or mass graves, individual graves in zinc coffins. - Lyudmila’s baby died from natural causes. - There was NO power surge before AZ-5 being pressed, hydraulic changes caused an increase in power by 50MW, AZ-5 was pressed because it normally would of been pressed by the end of the test. -200 MW was sufficient for the test. - Control room was calm prior to the explosion. - Hyrdogen explosion is a theory not 100% verified. - Akimov and Toptunov were not in the basement turning valves, they were on levels +24, +25 and +27. - Sitnikov was not forced to go to the roof, he volunteered. - Degatryenko did not have to be carried outside of the plant, Shashenok was the only one who had to be carried The firefighting scene is all wrong, the northern pump hall was not the main source of the fires, there were small fires scattered around their but not as much as portrayed. VPH-2 Deployed on the southern side near the turbine hall, Pripyat deployed 1 ZIL-130 AC40 63b along the turbine hall the rest on the northern side. - Beta burns don’t manifest that fast, - Ignatenko and Pravik did not climb through the ruined pump hall, they used Pripyat’s mechanical ladder truck to climb to unit 3 and the vent block. - Nina was not a section of the roof, completely made up BS, the section irl was called Lena. - Masha was not the area shown in the show, the area we see the Workers move graphite was Natasha, 8,000 roentgen. Masha was the area underneath the ventilation stack. - they completely added a level where Sitnikov looks over the core. - LEGASOV did not say all that BS at The trial. - Helicopter crash happened months after. - The ‘divers’ did not receive lethal doses, about 80 rem. - LEGASOV lived in a mansion, not a dingy apartment,

[@dailycarolina.]

There are podcasts of each episode with the showrunner, they're complementary. You should check that out, too. Also, the book Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich is so good yet gut-wrenching. It's filled with testimony of the victims and their families.

[@Nobli82]

The guy holding the door (and then covered in blood) is Sasha Yuvchenko, he actually survived, but the radiation he suffered took the toll on his health. He died in 2008, at the age of 47, of leukemia.

[@craigchalloner153]

The sound design for this show is phenomenal. Such an unusual way to score a TV show, with kinetic sounds & geiger counters instead of orchestration. Incredible stuff

[@UmbraMilla]

Let me just say this, you guys are not ready for the emotions you’ll be feeling. Anger, despair, frustration, disappointment, hopelessness it all hits in batches and it doesn’t let up, even at the very end. Your anger at Dyatlov, specifically, will never go away. Also major warning for episodes three and four. They’re both graphic, but in different ways. The fireman’s burn is only a prelude to the true horror.

[@Sindamsc]

Your anger for Dyatlov is just from an ignorance.

[@elric5371]

Bro they completely murdered Dyatlov, he was the real hero in real life.

[@Surion31]

When Diatlov went outside the room and looked outside the broken window he saw the glowing graphite on the ground. That was the point when he 100% knew what had happened. So when another person told him the same, he immediately denied it. Very strong denial, panic and fear, that outshines any rationality. He tries so hard to deny the reality that happened, because it was said to be impossible. RBMK reactors don't explode. It was impossible. As he said to the other engineer, explain to me how it happened, and of course he couldn't, because it was impossible. Doesn't change the fact that it happened and he did nothing to limit the consequences of what had happened. I'm looking forward to you guys seeing the rest of the show and finding out what actually happened to cause all this. It is really a horror film, the music, the way the shots are filmed and the reality of most of it.

[@yogerrry]

You are the first reactors i see who included the original call (with the red text, the full version is also on youtube). Its a so impactful thing in the series i always wondered why everyone cut it out

[@bura19]

Absolutely phenomenal series. There is no filler in any episode so each episode is just well paced and moves the story along quickly. I love the message behind it regarding the truth and how much lies can cost.

[@ryans413]

Episode 4 is my favourite I don’t want to spoil it for these guys but I like what they were tasked to do in that episode. And the court scene is a good part of the series.

[@Nyx_2142]

"I love the message behind it regarding the truth " Funny, considering how many lies and myths the writers put in the show. But keep on believing in radiation-absorbing babies, lol.

[@18Hongo]

​@Nyx_2142 IIRC, the show never portrays that as fact, but rather that the medical personnel treating victims of the disaster believed it. Which they may well have done - by all accounts, the response to the disaster was generally based on a "worst-case scenario" approach. There was a lot that we didn't understand about radiation poisoning, which we now understand better because of the careful monitoring of the fallout, and it's easy to mistake what we know now for what we knew then. The "Better to be cautious, because we don't fully understand this" attitude absolutely IS accurate to the Soviet response, as is the comprehensive attempts to cover up the scale of the disaster prior to its discovery by the Swedes.

[@michellehawk282]

Yess, i'm so glad y'all are reacting to this. I highly recommend also checking out the real vs show footage comparison after you finished watching the series. It really shows how much attention to detail the show runners had. Btw the emergency call was a real call and i'm pretty sure it's in ukranian, not russian as this happened in ,what is now independed, ukraine. They also went to real nuclear power plants to record sounds for the show.

[@jimjimcherie]

This is one of my favorite shows, probably my favorite miniseries. It's incredible the way its done. I cried in almost every episode I think. It's really impactful.

[@Doxymeister]

The explosion at Chernobyl happened when my boys were in grade school, so this brings back a lot of memories. We lived in Germany during the Cold War, there was a lot of paranoia going around, both ways. So glad we got sent back home before this happened, I've read the fallout from Chernobyl eventually spread all over Europe, but immediately after the explosion it was headed south. Anyway, these actors did a fine job in this series, I've watched it a couple of times now, and it's interesting to see how others react to it.

[@uLtR_Geo]

Very quickly falling in love with Badd Medicine reactions, binged at least 20 hours this week alone. Happy to be here for the ride

[@BaddMedicine]

Thank you for watching with us

[@deathskullblood2.077]

The entire incident at Chernobyl was a clusterfuck and so many were lost. I don’t remember the scientist name who said this, but what happened at Chernobyl was the equivalent of “tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon.” While the quote itself was related to the demon core and the scientists it killed, the description fits perfectly for whenever any sort of radioactive, fallout, or disaster occurs with Chernobyl being its Apex. What’s worse is this dragon’s breath was so initially hot that even now we still haven’t totally put out its flames. And it was all avoidable…

[@alexianigollarza3583]

This TV show is something else, a next level kind of thing. I remember my first watch, I was soooo scared at the end of the fifth episode, like, omg this is real, this is out there. Powerful TV show. I honestly can't wait to see the rest of the reaction videos. I want to rewatch it but to be real, I want to see your reaction 😅 so I'll wait. Thank you for this guys! Also, the face of the guy that watched the core and then turned to see the guard, his faced showed without words "we are dead, I'm dead" just WOW

[@amelieelizabethbotha6853]

The sheer all consuming terror those people must have gone through. Just imagine experiencing all this madness in real time. Just thinking about it give me chills

[@robotko_ruslan]

35:18 funny thing is - the city wasn't on lockdown, people were driving out of the city freely. The decision about mandatory evacuation was made at 10 pm in april 26th, and mandatory evacuation started at 2 pm in 27th

[@kirstypie]

So glad you’re reacting to this, I absolutely love this series. It’s extremely well done and is pretty accurate to the real disaster! Need these next parts to come out asap lol :) I notice a lot of people that react to this don’t pay attention to the text at the very end of the series so I definitely urge you guys to read it all cuz it’s very impactful. Much love!

[@nomadic_author]

Oh I'm so glad you decidedf to watch it! And can't wait to see your reaction to other episodes and the story overall. I always enjoy how respectfull and insightfull all of you are. Keep up the good work!

[@BlueShadow777]

I was 27 years old when Chernobyl happened. I live in Edinburgh, Scotland UK and there were warnings of the radioactive cloud coming our way, but it came to very little. Similarly, my family in Italy (south) weren’t significantly affected.

[@Kinjy]

Hey love the reaction and can't wait for more! Love the channel much love to all at Badd Medicine. Also props to Diamond Dave for taking all the time to edit these videos we appreciate it!

[@HiGhWaYmAn4.2.0]

Jared Harris is a brilliant actor 🙌 He's Richard Harris' son, he would be my hat in the ring for HBO's Dumbledore 👍👍

[@LadyBeyondTheWall]

Ohh I never would have thought of him for Dumbledore, but.. all bearded up and stuff and being the son of one of the Dumbledore's, it makes a ton of sense. I could definitely see that. He always comes across as "short" to me in shows, but I looked up his height and it says he's 6 foot, so maybe I just always see him with really tall people. 😂

[@HiGhWaYmAn4.2.0]

@@LadyBeyondTheWall Richard Harris was dumbledore to a T, but Jared Harris shares alot of his acting talent and temperament and he's in his 60s now, so he'd age up nicely I think 👌 as soon as I heard there was going to be a show he was who jumped to my mind.

[@billiebuffalo]

When I first saw this series, I was literally on the verge of crying from the sheer intensity and impending doom. The Soviets' preservation of image was so frustrating, I was shouting at the TV.

[@HistorianOfVaelris]

Sadly, some Asian nations today still have a fixation on saving face over saving lives. MV Sewol, Sampoong Department Store, Covid 19, Itaewon, the Rana Plaza collapse, so many cases of disasters made worse by poor goverment response, blame shifting, and saving face.

[@rafaelestebangutierrezquez4270]

Wonderful you guys are doing this! One of the best miniseries in TV history!

[@Reblwitoutacause]

FINALLY the boys watch the miniseries I’ve wanted them to since discovering their channel.

[@brianhobaugh]

One of the most chilling, harrowing, and heroic stories ever told. This is a masterpiece.

[@lisabeloved]

This is such an incredibly hard series to watch because it really happened. I love getting the chance to watch you guys react to something so serious and heavy, makes me love and respect yall even more to see your reverence and how deep your awareness and respect goes ❤

[@teish]

So happy y'all are checking out this series, I think I mentioned in one of your hp livestreams ages ago!

[@АминаКурбанова-с7ш]

Oh my God!! I am soooo happy you started this series. I literally checked a few months ago if you had reaction on this show and was so sad when did't find out anything. So I had to rewatch it by myself 😁😁 I am so excited to join you on this journey. and BTW! The recording in the beginning IS real.

[@marissanorth85]

Watched this when it came out. And a few times over since then. Absolutely incredible miniseries. Best I've ever seen. I had a friend from Ukraine in elementary school. Her family moved due to radiation. We had a dinner one night, her family and mine. Mostly as an introduction to each other's cultures and food. My dad told her dad, with her interpretation, that he was a car salesman. And then her dad explained, in his very, very limited English, that he was "the guy who stood outside door with big gun" and imitated a machine gun. And then very bluntly said "KGB." My dad's face lol I was 10 so I didn't understand. He was from Azerbaijan but had moved to Ukraine and basically was forced into it. He actually was a very kind man to me whenever I was around. Life there was kind of a nightmare after Chernobyl happened.

[@volhan.p.9722]

Well, it was a nightmare before Chernobyl too.

[@marissanorth85]

​​@@volhan.p.9722true. Still, anyone having to be uprooted from their home, country, friends, family- in chaos- isn't normal for anyone. They missed all of it. But definitely loved it here.

[@grustnyia2386]

@@volhan.p.9722 LOL!

[@brianhobaugh]

@@volhan.p.9722I think what she meant was the nightmare became copiously worse after Chernobyl.

[@caycehelderman9254]

7:05 so Adam Nagettis (who played Vasily the fire fighter) was in The Terror along with Jared Harris

[@misshell]

This was one of the greatest miniseries I've ever seen! Glad you're all reacting to it!

[@jannecapelle_art]

oh wow im so happy youre watching this!!! this miniseries left a really big impact on me. also, as a european, i forgot that not everyone in the world necessarily knows what happened in chernobyl at least in the broad terms, so watching many different people react to this has been quite interesting. im looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say!!

[@ines4706]

Watching the first episode gave me constant body chills. The tension built through the episode and the score were 👌🏻

[@louhillen8254]

An incredible mini series. Shocking and informative with one of the best last episodes I’ve seen.

[@tigqc]

To this day it still floors me this came out a year before the pandemic hit. Some of the similarities are chilling. Be sure to have tissues handy for episodes 3 and 4!

[@gretchenoliver3388]

The shot whereto black cloud is blowing over the forest, and the trees below turn orange is so creepy.

[@em_cooperx]

Can't wait for the reactions to the rest of this series! This show is such an amazing watch. The way they simply refuse to acknowledge the fact that something could've gone wrong is unbelievable.

[@lizgreer6888]

My husband is a retired nuclear submariner and studied the Chernobyl disaster in nuclear school. This is the most accurate retelling of the events ever created. Almost exactly word for word taken directly from the official records, interviews, recordings and videos. This is a masterpiece

[@dmitriiandreev1006]

Finally, guys! Cant wait next series. I was born in Minsk, in 1988 after two years from the disaster. For me these episodes are always very emotional. Keep safe❤‍🩹

[@portugalgamermanel3404]

26:11 i think the cordinator ask for people of the day shift because they have more experience (i think it's a mix of asking for help and see if he could blame someone else)

[@ch_vky148]

Guys, get ready for very heavy episodes up next... This one is like light enough at that point. Also, as the one who lives here in Kyiv, I want to thank u for watching this and popularizing more the history of terrible human mistakes, and really hope people won't do this in the nearest future. I don't want anyone have problems with health under impact of such catastrophes (I have problems with my thyroid for example) Fukushima, at this point, also was a disaster, just with a bit of different reasons of happening. Nuclear power is fine, until humans f..cked up somewhere 😒

[@chrisg922]

So pleased you’re reacting to this! One of the best mini series ever made 👏

[@Goingpostal1000]

I am so excited you guys are doing this series. So hard to watch but excellent!

[@vanessasullivan2137]

I'm so glad you guys are doing this series, it's excellent and 100% worth watching.

[@SidariYumanara]

It hurts each time, but I will never stop watching reactions to this masterpiece. Super excited to follow your journey

[@tabazail]

I only watched this recently myself, before I watched Oppenheimer even. Im kicking myself that I didnt watch this earlier. One of the best series I have ever watched. Im so keen to watch this with you guys!

[@nailagciad]

I've seen more than a couple control rooms looking exactly like the one from these series. Working in the field and living in an eastern bloc country. Their décor is on point, same goes for the whole late 80s ambience.

[@laughingoutloud5742]

Jared Harris (Legasov) is Richard Harris' son! Also has a beautiful singing voice like his father had too ❤

[@vojnov9885]

This is one of the best yet the most terrifying things I've ever seen in a show. Just the fact that it actually happened makes it so much worse. We got measurements in Czech Republic and even Germany and other places which is pretty far away. Insane stuff.

[@sawanna508]

Here in Austria as well. My mother told me stories about that time. I was four, one of my brothers two, my sister nine and my youngest brother was born two years later.

[@gailscrypto1536]

i remember when this happened i was a kid living in Scotland and we all were told not to go outside in rain for a while and not to touch any dirt on cars etc...the weather was blowing it all over europe. my mother was a nurse and wouldnt let us outside to play..was terrifying. they couldnt say how bad it was as it was unimagineable - a worst case scenario.

[@bryanandersonmt]

One of the best shows ever. Everything is good is what impressed me when i was watching, the acting is amazing of course, just look at those actors, but the music, costumes, props, set design, directing and photography impressed me so much

[@NotaRealNameThrowaway]

KZbin is good enough to recommend me stuff I tend to like watching, so after having watched this I'm pretty sure BM would pop up again, but I feel like I wanna see the next installment hard enough that I subscribed. Really looking forward to what comes next. Chernobyl is one of the VERY few pieces of media I have bought outright in the last ten years. It's incredible how _worse_ things are about to get. Having seen some of the behind-the-scenes materials, and knowing what I've known for a long time about the disaster, it's obvious the mini-docudrama skips or smudges a lot of stuff for the sake of brevity and clarity, and yet it still gets the spirit of it right.

[@Always-fd7pk]

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - George Orwell, 1984 - This is one of the best and most important tv shows ever made. Can't wait for the next episode!

[@PrimalInfinity]

This series was so gloriously eerie and haunting to watch. You guys are in for some FANTASTIC television with this.

[@АннаСтаріцина]

Just started watching the reaction. I've been waiting it from you! Answering the question about why the English was chosen as a language of speaking. Well, guess they just could not find so many actors speaking Urainian, 'cause most of the common people shown in their casual lives spoke Ukrainian, not russian, as the event occured in Ukraine. Though, of course, the "bosses from moskow" used russian. The point is that Ukrainian is quite difficult and differs from russian. What is more, it has a bunch of regional dialects, which we, Ukrainians, understand perfectly even without learning, foreingers, though, are often confused. Thus, for the episodes English is a nice choice.

[@FiveFootZero]

Absolutely amazing miniseries!!!! I’m so excited for you guys!

[@therickman1990]

The worst thing is the Russian soldiers that captured Chernobyl last year dug holes and trenches in the forests around the plant, contimating themselfs. When locals and plant workers told them about what happend here and how dangerous it is to dig and sleep in contaminated ground they thought it was just 'western lies' or something. Russia doesn't like talking about their failures. They were all trucked of a week later with radiation sickness.

[@goke8456]

Oh man, I am SO excited to see you guys take this journey. There are so many things I want to say but I don’t want to spoil anything so I will just say hang in there, this series does a really great job of answering your questions, you may just have to wait a bit. It is brutal, but also SO brilliantly acted. It is definitely worth the watch (and honestly, rewatches too).

[@ItsYuvaan]

THIS... Is a beautifully executed documentary/series. Limited episodes. Extremely effective. You understand the tragedy and the management of it while never missing out on the emotional aspects. Thank you, guys. Looking forward to your views. 🥃

[@grustnyia2386]

No, it haven't nothing common with documentary.

[@elric5371]

@@grustnyia2386yeah all it did was promote myths and misinformation.

[@LisaKokx]

Just wanted to say that I've really been enjoying the variation in content lately & how you guys adapt your reactions to match the type of content :)

[@saskavargova7655]

Fastest click ever 😅. The show is briliant,shocking and terrifying mostly for knowing is based on true events. This series are very accurate. Too acurate... And that makes it even more chilling.

[@elric5371]

Saying it is accurate is a joke

[@sadakot84]

Im from Poland. I was 2 at that time. My mom says, It was a sunny day and a lot of people was outside with their families. We didnt know that someting bad had happened.

[@codygates7418]

This series is absolutely heartbreaking. The fact that it’s based on a true story about true suffering makes it even more harder to watch. Get your tissues gentlemen. Can’t wait to see more ❤

[@Steffelchen1980]

I was 5 years when this happened. Living in Germany. We weren’t allowed to play in sandboxes for months. The windows had to stay closed for weeks. We didn’t eat fresh produce because the soil could have been contaminated and when it started to rain everyone ran inside in a panic. First time I saw my parents being afraid. And we were almost 2k km away.

[@soratorb]

I will say that for a number of things, first-hand accounts of the events differ and empirical evidence is insufficient to determine what was true, and the folks making the show had to choose which line to go with. Sometimes they chose the better story/drama, sometimes they chose the middle road, sometimes they chose what they personally believed to be true after examining the information available. I think it's notable in this episode (and the next one or two) that there probably were not folks standing on the bridge watching the glow from afar, and there probably were not kids playing during the night; the "bridge of death" is largely regarded as an urban legend. But that notable because *that's the main inaccuracy in this episode.* The rest? The rest is, as far as we know, almost entirely true. Some things did get simplified (our protagonist was not an expert in reactors; he was largely a chemist, not a physicist or an engineer), but they're a reasonable simplification for the medium (he was advised by a cadre of experts to make up for his lack of personal expertise on the subject, and this is a TV docudrama, not an NTSB report). And the story of the woman whose husband is a front-line firefighter? That one's entirely true as well (in this episode).

[@barbarahernandezgonzalez9999]

Hi guys!!❤️ Can you please react to "The Society of the Snow"? Is such a amazing movie and I would LOVE to see your reactions and opinions at this master piece directed by J. A. Bayona (same director as "the Impossible"), is based in a real flight accident and ALL the things that you can see in the film happen in real life, all in the film is real.

[@kentbarnes1955]

I'm always interested in reviews of this series. As someone who obtained a Nuclear Engineering degree just before this accident occurred (it happened during my first job out of school) I enjoy fresh reviews. For an HBO series...it does a surprisingly good job of getting stuff right (90%-ish). Yes...there are some things that are simplified (nuclear and health physics are pretty "rocket" science type of things)...and a group of people are represented by a fictional composite character...but they got the BIG picture things right. For additional information look up the Chernobyl series of videos done by Kyle Hill on his KZbin channel (of the same name). He recently visited the exclusion zone and went inside the secure containment. It's very powerful. Looking forward to your next reaction.

[@zXSleeZy]

I never get tired of rewatching this show nor watching reactions of it. Looking forward to this one!

[@ztheiss]

YEEEESSSS!!! I'm so glad you're all reacting to this mini-series!