This TV show is so good that the only complaint I had read is that the characters speak in English when, in real life, everyone spoke in Russian. However, I was listening to "Chernobyl Podcast," and they explain why they decided to keep speaking English.
Here are my five reasons why you must watch this show.
1. History lessons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8
Having the chance to entertain and learn at the same time is almost impossible. We have the feeling that learning only comes with boredom. "Chernobyl" is an excellent example of how TV could be used to teach. It is not the same as reading about a nuclear disaster and its consequences (which included the deaths of thousands of people) than watching how this nuclear accident happened. I have learned with the show. You will finish the last episode, thirsty for knowledge.
2. Performances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8
The cast of "Chernobyl" is impressive. I think that all of them did an incredible job. Jared Harris as Valery Legasov as the principal character is incredible. I hope he will win some awards because his interpretation is impeccable. Jessie Buckley as Lyudmilla Ignatenko, the wife of Vasily Ignatenko, is another character I like. Even though her decisions are not the best, Buckley played this character with perfection. All of the actors and actresses did an excellent job.
3. Production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8
I always love how TV shows and films are capable of copying an entire time and place. In this case, you feel as if you were in Ukraine in 1986. The production of "Chernobyl" is so well done that the 1986 we lived in the US was not the same than in the Soviet Union. In the beginning, the perception of the show is in the 60s or 70s; the reason is the Soviet Union worked hard to be in the first place in technology and sports, but they were a closed society. They were not updated with the fashion trends of the rest of the world.
4. Direction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8
The direction is perfect. You can feel the radiation, the emptiness of the city, the heat of the disaster, the pain of the victims, the fear of the people to the government. The miners are a hit; their personalities and their dirtiness are terrific. The truth is that the direction makes you understand the tragedy in a profound way.
Another asset is the dialogs. I love how they explain scientist fact and vital information in the conversations. It seems natural even though they are talking about nuclear physics.
5. Shows the truth about communism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8In this story, the Russians are not the bad guys; it is the communism. For everyone who thinks the communism is a good idea (in 2019), you must watch this show. Communism only has given us sadness and death. It is a nightmare.
The big tragedy in "Chernobyl" is not only the nuclear accident (which occurred because of a sequence of the state's bad decisions); it is a fact that the communist government tried to hide the disaster. As a consequence, many people were exposed to the same radiation as forty nuclear bombs. Also, you can see how the workers at the plant were afraid of expressing their point of views, how the state machine chose the wrong people to supervise a nuclear plant and how they delivered false information.
Another critical number of Soviets had to sacrifice themselves to clean the area because their politics did not want to request international help.
You also can say, "it was not the communism per se; the bad decisions were from a dictatorial state." My answer to that is: there is not a democratic communist government in history.
"Chernobyl" only has five episodes. You can get some time and enjoy a piece of art, and there is more material you can find. One of the most important is "Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster" by the Belarusian Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich.
