Chernobyl Review: An Horrifying Look At The Human Toll Of The World's Worse Nuclear Disaster

"What Is The Cost Of Lies?" This is the first and last sentence of HBO/Sky's five part miniseries. The story was created/written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck. It depicts the worst nuclear disaster in history. I remember hearing about the Chernobyl disaster (which occurred on April 26, 1988 at 1:23:40 AM) but I never knew the specifics of what actually happens.

This series is excellent in that it shows us the sacrifices of many, many individuals as they struggle to try to contain the disaster. The story focuses on four main characters.

Valery Legasov- played by Jared Harris- A nuclear physicist and deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute. He was ordered by the Kremlin to assist with the disaster. His life was later ruined by the government after he spoke out about what was really happened. Valery's suicide bookends the series. He hung himself two years to the day after the explosion. His death and the tapes he left behind eventually led to the truth regarding the disaster being uncovered.
Boris Shcherbinna- played by Stellan Skarsgard- Council of Minister's Deputy Chairman. Initially very harsh, he comes to rely on Legasov's opinion.
Ulana Khomyak- played by Emily Watson- Another physicist. Ulana is only one of the main characters who did not exist IRL. Her character was created as a composite of several other scientists.
Lyudmilla Ignatenko- played by Jessica Buckley- a woman whose husband (Vasily) is called int o to contain what they initially thought was a roof fire. Despite warnings, she holds his hand in his final hours. Pregnant at the time, she loses the baby. She is told she can never have children but miraculously has a son afterward.

The fate of those responsible was left till the final episode. Anatoly Dyatlov (who caused the disaster due to his pig headedness) was sentenced to 10 years hard labor. Until his death in 1995 from an illness related to radiation exposure, he refused to take responsibility for anything that happened. Victor Bryukhanov and Nikolai Fomin got the same amount of prison time as Dyatlov. The design flaw of the RBMK reactors that ultimately caused the disaster was corrected to prevent the same thing from happening elsewhere.

Did Anatoly make really bad decisions? Absoluately. Were the RBMK's flawed by design? Definitely. But what made issues even worse was the establishment's desire to save face by ignoring the situation. Even people in Sweden knew something horrible had happened. The inability of the Soviet power structure to admit the truth led to even more fatalities.

In the end, the USSR government says 31 people died as a results of the accident. Other's estimate between 4000 and 93,000 people died in Ukraine, Belarusa and Russia. Those immediately exposed (such as the plant workers and firefighters) died within three months. There are some 20,000 documented cases of thyroid cancer in children (who are particularly susceptible due to their age). Thirty thousand people were displaced from their homes in Pripyat---never to return. As the series states "we will never know the actual human cost of Chernobyl".

If you want to learn more about this series, check out the companion podcast "Chernobyl" available on iTunes. It features writer Craig Mazin and NPR's Peter Sagal discussing the show. Very informative.

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Excellent! "Cerrnobyl" provides a horrifying look at the human toll of the world's worst nuclear disaster. The attention to detail, story telling and compelling portrayals make this a "must see" series. The show should be a big winner during awards season. Over the course of five episodes we learn of the monumental effort of hundreds of people. They bravely gave their lives to try to contain the meltdown. Without their sacrifice, the outcome could have been MUCH worse. I kept yelling at the TV for them to run far away. But we know they didnt. The average citizen had no idea what they were dealing with. The Soviet government insisted only 31 people died. More accurate estimates are between 4000 and 93,000 eventual deaths-- many the result of thyroid cancer. All I can say is watch the series for yourself... and prepare to have your heart broken.