By: Anton Massopust III

HBO has done lots of really great series over the years including The Sopranos, Sex in the City, and of course, Game of Thrones. One of the best new mini-series that’s out is HBO’s “Chernobyl”. The series talks about the terrible tragedy that happened back in 1986. This is a real hardcore 5-part drama about a group of people trying to do the right thing over incredible and dangerous odds. The Chernobyl disaster occurred back in 1986 when a nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded unexpectedly during a safety test. Although the power plant workers thought that was impossible, they told the main director that the core had exploded, and no one knew why. They were told it was impossible. 

Part 1 of the story talks about what happened after the explosion, and why the Russian government tried to cover it up, even sending firefighters to fight the fire with no protective gear against radiation.

Our main character, Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) a nuclear scientist who has been put on a commission by Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev himself. He is sent in with a Russian bureaucrat to find out what has happened at Chernobyl. It is important to deal with what has happened.  Legasov warns them not to fly over the exposed core and asked to explain to the Soviet Army that this is no ordinary fire and nothing like this has ever happened on the planet. So, they begin the long process of extinguishing the fire. They evacuate the town when another scientist, Ulana Khomyuk (Emily Watson) has to warn them there’s even a greater danger if the water tanks they thought where empty were not empty – they were full because of negligence. They left the water from fire trucks unattended and the water tanks were filled. The water was building up to cause a huge chemical explosion that could wipe out most of Europe and go as far away as East Germany.

Part 3 talks about cleanup and how they have to stop a nuclear meltdown while using coal miners underneath the nuclear power plant and use it liquid nitrogen in order to cool it. The firefighters and power plant workers died from radiation burns. How exactly did this happen and why? How can they prevent it from happening again?

It is purely well-acted by many British actors who you might know from other works getting inside the mindset of Russian bureaucracy that many people were so paranoid of back in the 1980s. They really live by the motto: trust but verify. Should we watch “Chernobyl”? Yes, it is well acted, but I said a very hard heavy drama. It’s definitely worth watching. 

The makeup is completely accurate when showing how radiation burns. The score for this mini-series is creepily haunting. The use of certain sounds will send chills down your spine. Definitely watch “Chernobyl”. It’s on HBO. Check your listings for time and channel or watch it on demand.