Creators:
Craig MazinDirected by:
Johan RenckScreenplay:
Craig MazinCinematography:
Jakob IhreComposer:
Hildur GuðnadóttirCast:
Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson, Jessie Buckley, Paul Ritter, Adam Nagaitis, Robert Emms, Sam Troughton, Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins (more)VOD (4)
Episodes(5)
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1:23:45 (E01)
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Please Remain Calm (E02)
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Open Wide, O Earth (E03)
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The Happiness of All Mankind (E04)
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Vichnaya Pamyat (E05)
Plots(1)
Chernobyl, a five-part miniseries co-production from HBO and Sky, dramatizes the story of the 1986 nuclear accident, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history – and of the sacrifices made to save Europe from unimaginable disaster. On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and as far as Scandinavia and western Europe. Jared Harris portrays Valery Legasov, a leading Soviet nuclear physicist. As part of the response team, he was one of the first to grasp the scope of the unparalleled disaster that occurred. Stellan Skarsgård plays Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina, who is assigned by the Kremlin to lead the government commission on Chernobyl in the hours immediately following the accident. Emily Watson portrays Ulana Khomyuk, a Soviet nuclear physicist committed to solving the mystery of what led to the Chernobyl disaster. (HBO Europe)
(more)Reviews of this series by the user Isherwood (4)
Chernobyl (2019)
This is an event. The initial puzzlement has a quick half-life, as those disembodied moments eventually stand out more than the tangible pressure. It’s a screenwriting university on how to handle the "based on a true story" license while staying in observation mode. It’s a perfect study of human arrogance, lack of humility, and unwillingness to face the truth. A live broadcast of lies that has been coming to us for over thirty years. With all due respect to all the criticisms, the hype is well deserved.
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1:23:45 (2019) (E01)
Here, reality plays to the (dis)advantage of the film medium. A paradox that will be built upon or undermined in future episodes. Factual accuracy as a means of detached narrative, which no one would believe in the field of fiction even if they wanted to. I want more of a relationship with the characters; otherwise, from the position of a neutral "documentary" with a generous budget behind it, it's a fundamentally missed opportunity.
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Please Remain Calm (2019) (E02)
...and reality is worse than any conceivable fiction. To hell with personal planes, here you don't look into the core, the core looks into you. Iodine tablets instead of popcorn.
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Vichnaya Pamyat (2019) (E05)
The most exciting physics lecture of all time. A nuclear split between superb acting and clean editing. The speech about lies that owe a debt to the truth is a screenwriting pearl that appears only once a season.
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