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HBO's Chernobyl |OT| Do you taste something metallic?
- Thread starter Wrexis
- Start date
Every scene of this so far has left me feeling really tense/kinda claustrophobic. This is a really good mini-series and if there's people waiting for the final ep to air so they can binge it...I can't say I don't recommend the show, but I don't know if I could experience it that way. Like, this really is a rare case where I need the week long break between episodes
Just gonna round off various thoughts..
Definite shout out to the understated soundtrack. It is thematic without being over-barring which is a tough line to walk.
Unless I had a black out I am surprised we've made it through two episodes without a prominent shot of the ferris wheel. I am not sure if this is a budget thing or general restraint. Time will tell.
I am a sucker for a silent scene with prominent characters knowing how every second can really count. When it dawns on Legasov that Shcherbina doesn't realize they are essentially on a slow fizzle suicide mission. The delivery and time to absorb being cut through with the abrasive phone ring was just good.
Similar to the above, time compression is always difficult trade off. I personally would have loved more time paid to the evacuation but I understand ultimately the end result is "they left" and depending on the time scale of the next three episodes may have been the right choice.
I am fine with various scientists being compressed into a fictional character though this is likely going to be the biggest sticking point in terms of an accurate portrayal of history. I am slightly more ambivalent about demanding your way into a literal nuclear catastrophe in the Soviet Union, but in that particular example it at least works thematically with the fictional character forcing her way into the story so I'm fine with it at this point.
Definite shout out to the understated soundtrack. It is thematic without being over-barring which is a tough line to walk.
Unless I had a black out I am surprised we've made it through two episodes without a prominent shot of the ferris wheel. I am not sure if this is a budget thing or general restraint. Time will tell.
I am a sucker for a silent scene with prominent characters knowing how every second can really count. When it dawns on Legasov that Shcherbina doesn't realize they are essentially on a slow fizzle suicide mission. The delivery and time to absorb being cut through with the abrasive phone ring was just good.
Similar to the above, time compression is always difficult trade off. I personally would have loved more time paid to the evacuation but I understand ultimately the end result is "they left" and depending on the time scale of the next three episodes may have been the right choice.
I am fine with various scientists being compressed into a fictional character though this is likely going to be the biggest sticking point in terms of an accurate portrayal of history. I am slightly more ambivalent about demanding your way into a literal nuclear catastrophe in the Soviet Union, but in that particular example it at least works thematically with the fictional character forcing her way into the story so I'm fine with it at this point.
Man the second briefing scene in this episode makes the disaster seem much better knowing that it didn't nuke two countries.
This show has a knack for making even the simplest imagery and moment feel so tense. Like the opening with the calls to various reactors to ask if there are problems, getting near instant replies...and Chernobyl's just being a dial tone.
The ceaseless line of nurses dumping firefighter gear in a growing mound
The painfully slow shot of the helicopter passing through the reactor cloud and then just dropping like a stone
The miles of buses stretching into the horizon
The ceaseless line of nurses dumping firefighter gear in a growing mound
The painfully slow shot of the helicopter passing through the reactor cloud and then just dropping like a stone
The miles of buses stretching into the horizon
Holy shit this show is awesome. The cast, music, direction, dialog. Fuck yeah!
Great way to wash the taste of Thrones out my mouth.
Great way to wash the taste of Thrones out my mouth.
The word is cliche now but the "aesthetic" is absolutely breathtaking.
It definitely did, here's a screenshot from the moment in the show where the blades make contact with the wires:
I'm watching on Crave (Canada) and the quality is terrible. Definitely couldn't make out wires.
Yeah, didn't know that "problem" until a documentary I saw a couple years ago. I assume the next episode is the mad dash to try to avert that impending catastrophe.
May have fucked up the math on https://www.historicalstatistics.org/Currencyconverter.html or may be reading it wrong but that seems to say 400 rubles was $99US then
I hate to say it, but they shouldn't have given those three guys radiation meters. They're dead either way, and hearing the meters is only going to make them panic.
I imagine it also might have also helped them to figure out where they had to go? Not sure if that was an intent
There are conflicting reports. I really need to read Midnight in Chernobyl to see if it offers any further insight but those guys at the end apparently survived. Or at least two are believed to have survived. If anyone has a good source or know if it is covered by Higginbotham in the book I'd love to read it.
HBO's doing the companion podcasts to this every Tuesday, right? I'm looking forward to the one for this tomorrow if so
The last scene with the geiger counter going crazy and the lights fizzling out literally gave me a small panic attack.
I both love this show for it's brilliantly tense atmosphere and theming and also hate it because I feel like I'm being suffocated by the very things I love about it.
I both love this show for it's brilliantly tense atmosphere and theming and also hate it because I feel like I'm being suffocated by the very things I love about it.
I was looking for the ferris wheel as well and there was one very brief shot of it at the end of EP1. About 57 minutes in on HBO GO in the shot right after the cloud over the trees you can see it inbetween two buildings in the middle of the shot. Hope you can find it too!
The music is so damn eerie, I think it is one of the main reason the episodes maintain the stress throughout the hour long duration.
Just finished this week's podcast. I love how every time they talk about how a scene seems almost unbelievable, they go "well actually we toned it down cause the real version was crazier".
Damn haunting episode, especially that ending, The rad counters getting progressively louder, those and the slushing of the water being all that you hear and the flashlights the only source of light, and three men sent in to prevent the apocalyptic scenario that was described. Goddamn.
Damn haunting episode, especially that ending, The rad counters getting progressively louder, those and the slushing of the water being all that you hear and the flashlights the only source of light, and three men sent in to prevent the apocalyptic scenario that was described. Goddamn.
Their group was selected because they knew the facility really well. I suppose it could have simply been for added tension. It was certainly effective on me.
Fantastic second ep. Some folks are critical of the Pripyat Evacuation being compressed. But turns out, in real life it only took couple of hours:
Pripyat radio transmitted the evacuation orders at 1pm.
The eerie loudspeaker announcement started at 2pm and everyone was told to evacuate in less than an hour.
By 4:30 pm, the city was evacuated.
https://www.history.com/news/chernobyl-disaster-coverup
Pripyat radio transmitted the evacuation orders at 1pm.
The eerie loudspeaker announcement started at 2pm and everyone was told to evacuate in less than an hour.
By 4:30 pm, the city was evacuated.
https://www.history.com/news/chernobyl-disaster-coverup
Yeah, I suspect it will peak out in wide shots here and there. We did catch an eye full of the Palace of Culture in the walk up to the hotel. I figured we would catch a good look at the amusement park either leading up to or during the evacuation so now I'm not sure.
I mean.. they've got to do the swimming pool, right? I mean, they pretty much have to. By law. By my law.
Less that it happened fast, rather that I would have liked to see more of that impact of needing to leave, being told to drop everything and go now. The first episode really captured the horror of the citizens being unaware of the dangerFantastic second ep. Some folks are critical of the Pripyat Evacuation being compressed. But turns out, in real life it only took couple of hours:
Pripyat radio transmitted the evacuation orders at 1pm.
The eerie loudspeaker announcement started at 2pm and everyone was told to evacuate in less than an hour.
By 4:30 pm, the city was evacuated.
https://www.history.com/news/chernobyl-disaster-coverup
Incredible episode as expected. The ending shot was so horrific and the Geiger counter was key throughout that whole scene. I've been playing Fallout 4 recently and the association in my head of Geiger ticks = danger, get out, completely carried over to the show. I felt nervous at the start and thought that amount was high but once the ticks jumped to near TV static levels my heart started racing.
Now, did we actually see the workers accomplish their goal in the show? From what I saw it seemed unclear, they moved in and found a pipe label to follow and then came upon some bubbling water. At this point their Geiger counter was blowing up and they started moving back and then seemingly got turned around and disoriented before their lights went out. Before I read about what actually happened to them can someone clarify if I missed something or not? I don't recall seeing them flip a switch or whatever but like I said above, the scene was intense.
Now, did we actually see the workers accomplish their goal in the show? From what I saw it seemed unclear, they moved in and found a pipe label to follow and then came upon some bubbling water. At this point their Geiger counter was blowing up and they started moving back and then seemingly got turned around and disoriented before their lights went out. Before I read about what actually happened to them can someone clarify if I missed something or not? I don't recall seeing them flip a switch or whatever but like I said above, the scene was intense.
WOW. I love this show already. I have always been fascinated with Chernobyl ever since learning about it way back in my undergrad chem class
Can someone explain to me what happened (or if they didn't reveal it yet) to Aleksandr Akimov and Anatoly Sitnikov?
Pictures of them here thanks to SmiteOfHand's graphic
https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-volunteers-divers-nuclear-mission-2016-4
Can someone explain to me what happened (or if they didn't reveal it yet) to Aleksandr Akimov and Anatoly Sitnikov?
Pictures of them here thanks to SmiteOfHand's graphic
From the articles I read earlier - apparently the whole flashlight thing might have been a myth as its not well documented. Thought I read that all the men survived. There was a misunderstanding about the 3rd guy as he had the same name another employee who die of radiation poisoning
https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-volunteers-divers-nuclear-mission-2016-4
Question about iodine tablets: I know they block radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid, but what effects of radiation poisoning does that prevent specifically?
I made a reference image.
(I left Legasov off for now as might as well do a state / committee follow up image as things move forward.)
Sasha/Sacha is used as a shortened form of Aleksandr (think like Richard -> Dick) and is used interchangeably in accounts of what happened as well as the show.
thanks, needed this.
According to the CDC's website:
The thyroid gland cannot tell the difference between stable and radioactive iodine. It will absorb both.
KI (potassium iodide) blocks radioactive iodine from entering the thyroid. When a person takes KI, the stable iodine in the medicine gets absorbed by the thyroid. Because KI contains so much stable iodine, the thyroid gland becomes "full" and cannot absorb any more iodine—either stable or radioactive—for the next 24 hours.
KI (potassium iodide) may not give a person 100% protection against radioactive iodine. Protection will increase depending on three factors.
- Time after contamination: The sooner a person takes KI, the more time the thyroid will have to "fill up" with stable iodine.
- Absorption: The amount of stable iodine that gets to the thyroid depends on how fast KI is absorbed into the blood.
- Dose of radioactive iodine: Minimizing the total amount of radioactive iodine a person is exposed to will lower the amount of harmful radioactive iodine the thyroid can absorb.
I think it just means you won't get super cancer in your thyroid from iodine specifically.
The soundtrack reminds me of certain tracks from the Freedom Fighters game. It's excellent.
It's still hard for me to believe how much worse the incident could have been if it weren't for those three men. Fuck dude, I'm pondering on the what ifs. Large uninhabitable areas for at least a century, crazy.
It's still hard for me to believe how much worse the incident could have been if it weren't for those three men. Fuck dude, I'm pondering on the what ifs. Large uninhabitable areas for at least a century, crazy.
To lessen the panic the people leaving were told they would only be gone for 3 days initially, so most of them just packed up for a brief weekend away essentially. They didn't know they were never coming back.
