What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Monday, December 9, 2024

Chernobyl - 2019

This HBO miniseries has been on my watchlist for a long time. I don't know a lot about Chernobyl, and I'm always willing to learn more.

The series is broken up into 5 episodes. Each episode focuses on different problems, but there are subplots that carry through to the end of the series. Of course, the disaster as a whole is the main focus. What caused it? How are they going to contain it?

Dog lover warning - the fourth episode was so hard to watch. I understand they had to limit the spread of radioactive wildlife, but there was no way they were going to find every pet and kill it. I'm not a cat fan, but I know they are experts at hiding. But the extended story of the liquidators was heartbreaking. I closed my eyes at some points. I just can't watch stuff like that. 

On an accuracy scale, I understand this is a drama. The setting is also a place notorious for covering up the severity of things. If you think I'm exaggerating, understand it was said to be a minor accident for a while, or even better look up the official death count. The thing I love the most about watching shows based on true events is when I can look deeper into what actually happened.

To that end, I found the translated tapes of Valery Legasov, and I plan on reading through those. I also found an interview with one of the divers who opened the valves in the basement. I read through the interview, and it was super interesting. Alexei Ananenko was one of the three divers, and they actually survived their heroic actions!

Chernobyl happened in 1986. I was only 9 years old at the time, so I didn't know a lot of the details. The show really showed me a lot of the human toll that was thrown at the disaster. It's another topic I'm going to be diving into in the future. The show was really well done, and it really made me think. The facts at the end were staggering. Seriously, look up the official death count. It's ridiculous. Good Series!



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