Chernobyl Episode 1 Review: More Terrifying Than Any Horror Movie

"Chernobyl" is a new five part mini series from HBO and the UK's Sky network. It's tells the story of the world's worst nuclear disaster which occurred on April 26, 1986. Some estimate the death toll eventually reaches 93,000 people. The "official" Soviet total is 31. Quite a difference.

There is also a companion "Chernobyl" podcast hosted by Ira Glass of NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". It includes discussions with producer/writer Craig Mazin and director Johan Renck. It is available on iTunes and other streaming sites. The podcast answers some of my questions (such as why no one has a Russian accent).

The first episode is entitled "1:23:45". This is the exact time in the morning that an explosion at the Cherobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine occurred. At this time, Ukraine was still controlled by the Soviet Union. The tragedy unfolds on multiple levels. The people at the plant and in the nearby town of Pripyat dont realize the direness of the situation. The leadership does not respond appropriately after to being lied to (either intentionally or accidentally) by Chief Engineer Anatoly Dyatlov. Instead of evacuating everyone, they decide to cut the phone lines to protect against "misinformation". They are all more concerned with maintaining their positions than with the welfare of the citizens.

At the beginning of the story, Valery Legasov (who led the Chernobyl investigation) asks "What is the cost of lies"? On the two year anniversary of the disaster he records his story on cassette tapes and hides them outside. Valery then hangs himself. This should give you an idea of what kind of story we're dealing with.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). HBO's "Chernobyl" is off to a great start. It is heartbreaking to think of what will become of these people. I wanted to tell them to run away as quickly as possible...and to tell all the citizens to evacuate. But they dont have the training or equipment to understand or deal with a disaster of this magnitude. And the Soviet leadership turns a blind eye to the tragedy in favor of protecting their positions.