Things I love about Chernobyl, the HBO series
This past weekend I watched the fantastic TV series Chernobyl, on HBO.
I loved it! I consider it one of the best TV shows I’ve seen this decade. Although it didn’t reach the heights of Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, it was far better than other shows I’ve seen recently — many of which will leave the public consciousness in a few months, and most will barely reach a year.
But Chernobyl is a drama with real substance.
It had more than a light scaffolding of plot and science. The fabric of the show goes deep into it’s foundation, just like the fluffy dough of a grandma slice (yes, it’s been too long since my last).
I realised that the writers had done something different to the usual historical disaster-drama. Their decisions were very intentional. After listening to the companion podcast, reading up on the history and science of the disaster, and reflecting on my own experience of watching, I was able to understand what made this show special.
So, here’s a run-down of the top reasons why I loved Chernobyl, and why I think you will too.
Restraint
The Chernobyl accident was undoubtedly terrible. It resulted in the deaths of hundreds to thousands of people1, cost billions of dollars to mitigate, and contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union.
So you might expect the show to be huge, full of bombastic language, stressful scenes, and anxiety-inducing revelations.
But instead, the producers decided to keep it small2. A tight 5 hours of quality content: all killer, no filler.
They controlled themselves and focused on the communicating a reality of what happened, instead of overly dramatising it for the screen.
My favourite example of this is the choice to direct the narrative from the perspective of those involved — an intimate, personal, and relatable story3. The scenes of the young liquidator learning how to dispose of pets is the most heartfelt4, but the clearing of contaminated graphite from the roof is the most striking — do give it a watch if you haven’t already:
Even the music — typically huge and heavy, a character in itself in the thriller genre — was instead subdued and foreboding. In the previous clip on the roof, a simple Geiger counter acts as an involuntary percussion instrument and lends the scene most of it’s tension. And just give this sparse playlist a listen.
The overall effect of this restraint is that you develop trust with the show-makers. You trust them to give you an honest accounting of the events, and they repay your trust by telling you a story about the collapse of a global superpower.
Dialogue
Perhaps my favourite aspect of the show was it’s use of language.
This is a personal affection — language, with it’s ability to express the deepest beliefs of a culture and a person — is something I simply love.
So, here are some excellent uses of language from the show:
My favourite Soviet greeting: “comrade”5
Technocratic phrases that only career civil servants would think of; in this case, the Secretary of the KGB: “trust but verify”, and “circle of accountability”:
Le Carre would be proud.
The bizarre speech about the goals of a Leninist nation by the chief judge:
The embarrassing put-down from a miner: “if these [masks] worked you’d be wearing them”:
Attention to detail
I love the show’s focus on minute, seemingly inconsequential details.
At a surface level, the haircuts, clothing, and architecture effortlessly transport you to 1980s Soviet Union. Even the details of the uniforms and buildings are accurate: the small grey dosimeters, the helmet of the miners, and the layout of the reactor building are all true to reality.
The most intriguing aspect is the robot used for the clean up of the roof — the Joker. With it’s garish yellow exoskeleton and comic-book lettering it seemed like fiction made for the screen. But no — after a quick Google I found out it was true to form!
There are, of course, things I don’t link about the show: it’s occasionally clunky writing, more tell then show, the scientific and historical inaccuracies6, and it’s failure to accurately portray Soviet relationships of power7.
But overall, the creators were able to achieve something special: to take something complex — the Chernobyl disaster — and to explain it effortlessly. That’s true genius.
Do let me know your thoughts on the show!
Till next week 👋
The true number is disputed, but it could have been much more, if not for the heroic contributions of first responders and liquidators.
Broadly speaking… there are a few factual inaccuracies they used to build up drama, for example, a heightened risk of the second steam explosion following the core meltdown.