We use cookies to enhance your visit to our site and to bring you advertisements that might interest you. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Read our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Terms of Service to find out more. Your use of Ranx’s Services is subject to these policies and terms.
Got it
Introitem thumbnail image

Best Episode of HBO's Chernobyl

24th Jul 2019
Ranked by 3
Views: 1.6K
Shares: 0
1
0
0
0
more
Flag content as:

Right on the heels of Game of Thrones finale, HBO, in collaboration with SKY, came out with a gem of a miniseries - Chernobyl. Within weeks after release, the show shot up to the top of IMDB's best TV shows list beating out the likes of Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Band of Brothers. It is hard to think of a show that is as stunning on a technical level and in terms of writing. Its portrayal of radiation as an invisible "monster" that can only be detected with dosimeters easily makes it one of the scariest shows ever to grace TV. It expertly blends horror movie elements without ever falling into the canned tropes of the genre. On the contrary, it is very respectful to the real events of the actual disaster in 1986 and is always mindful of the fact that this is a real place with real people that were, and still are, affected by the tragedy. What immediately stands out to viewers of the series is how real it seems, so much so that it could very well have been a documentary. Despite the heaviness and immense scale of the event, the show does an incredible job of focusing on the personal horrors and agonies faced by people introduced in the show - which makes it immediately more relatable. Even famous individuals, whether they be scientists or politicians, are depicted with all their foibles, concerns and worries in a viscerally real way. Arguably, the biggest success of the show is that it allowed people around the world for the first time to learn about the incredible heroism and sacrifice of the Soviet people in trying to save a continent - facts that were hidden from the public for more than 30 years.

SHOW MORE

Best Episode of HBO's Chernobyl

Item image_1
#5.

Episode 5 - Vichnaya Pamyat

5/5
0
0
• • •
Flag this list item as:
Itunes Ad Thumbnail
...
Vichnaya Pamyat, which is a reference to the Eastern Orthodox funeral exclamation "Memory Eternal", is the name of final episode of the series. And it is only fitting that here at last we learn the truth about what caused the disaster. In what is likely be an Emmy winning performance by Jared Harris who played Legasov, we are provided with a lucid explaination of how the faulty design of the reactor core coupled with the negligence of safety precautions during a safety test by Anatoly Dyatlov deputy chief-engineer of the Power Plant caused an explosion. Prior to Chernobyl it was thought that an RBMK reactor, the type of reactor used in Chernobyl and many other places, could not explode under any circumstance let alone in the low power setting the test was being conducted at. Exposing this truth however would be costly - Valery, Boris and Ulana end up risking their reputations, careers and even their lives. From the perspective of the Soviet Government apparatus, informing people that the flaw in the core was the result of a cheaper reactor design which the government was aware of and wilfully hid from the public was intolerable. And on top of that, admitting that he too was forced to participate in the lie upon duress sealed Valery's fate. He was too well known to just dispose of unceremoniously - so the government chose to silence him in other ways. In the end, disillusioned with the failure of the authorities to confront the design flaws, he took his own life. This final act was instrumental in motivating the Soviet Nuclear industry to finally address the design flaws of Chernobyl-type RBMK reactors.
See less
Profile image
Current Average Ranking

Drag and drop to sort list. Click to browse.

Introduction
Rank
  • #1
  • #2
  • #3
  • #4
  • #5

    Submit to make your ranking count.

    Add the first suggestion!
    Write the first comment!
    • comment profile image
      1000 characters remaining