Chernobyl HBO

[Pato del Muerto 53,331]

2 hours ago, RPM said:

The Soviet Union wasn't known for their flair. It looks like what I'd expect to see in communist government buildings. The Kremlin is a magnificent palace. Hospital No. 6, not so much.

Well the kremlin does predate the Soviet Union by a significant amount of time. 

[Celery Man 21,076]

When I visited Moscow I was amazed at how beautiful their whole aesthetic is. Except for all of the Soviet shit.

[troph 25,089]

The Soviet Union wasn't known for their flair. It looks like what I'd expect to see in communist government buildings. The Kremlin is a magnificent palace. Hospital No. 6, not so much.

I’m talking more about the hues of the entire show not the buildings and decor or fashion and it’s a common way western film depicts Eastern Europe and Russian in the Soviet era, I could be wrong but life isn’t as drab as the film makes it seem. I could be imagining it though I’m going to pay closer attention.

 

[RPM 26,560]

16 minutes ago, troph said:

I could be wrong but life isn’t as drab as the film makes it seem.

I haven't been there, but my image of what late 80's Soviet life was like is pretty much what they are showing. Drab colors, party first, trickle tidbits to the submissive. I haven't seen anything to change that. I'm sure they had festivals and whatnot where things perked up. So does Rock City, Wyoming and it's drab as hell there, too.

[PilotsError 2,342]

was there no episode last night?

[DaysOff 8,157]

Mondays

[troph 25,089]

I haven't been there, but my image of what late 80's Soviet life was like is pretty much what they are showing. Drab colors, party first, trickle tidbits to the submissive. I haven't seen anything to change that. I'm sure they had festivals and whatnot where things perked up. So does Rock City, Wyoming and it's drab as hell there, too.

That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about technical cinematography and whether they used filters to enhance the drab effect. I spent some time searching last night and couldn’t find any film geek discussions. Just a curiosity.

[Guest Lobo]

^

good point.  Not the actual physical items like clothes and cars, but just the hues and filters have a 1960's feel rather than 1980's.  We know they were 20 years behind on personal items, but the whole aura of the show (not just the places literally under radioactive snow), is 20 years behind as well in terms of the cinematography and lighting and production design.  It's a very powerful, but very subtle effect that I appreciate very much.  

On a political note, we've known the Soviet Socialists had forsaken aesthetics for function in physical spaces and homes and vehicles, etc.  It was function first, a distant second was form, and a non-existent third was aesthetic.  But what we really see with Chernobyl is that their functionality was almost non-existent as well.  So much of what they touched turned to shit.  Look at Germany of that era.  Functionality, engineering, logistics, operations.  All critical to the German model.  However, their shit also looks and feels cool.  

Anyway, even in these horrible circumstances, the Soviets (Russians plus their Eastern European comrades/subjects) were an incredibly colorful people.  Despite their centuries of hardship, crappy food, shit weather, and ugly women---they were optimistic, boisterous, musical, fun drunks, rowdy, always laughing, etc.  The only way these people would have signed off on that monolithic grotesque pile of shit they called cities back then was with a gun to their heads.  So that's precisely what they got.  Even the sunlight seem to suffocate them, and this show does a good job depicting that it wasn't just the State apparatus that kept them smothered, just the very air oppressed them and kept them decades behind.  

[Francisco 2.0 32,543]

On 5/21/2019 at 6:55 PM, TexasMan said:

I need to make this my ringtone. 

The world is your huckleberry.  Something I just whipped up.

Both formats; m4r for iPhones and mp3 for Android.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9ok22q7oo5s68c1/AABKTpTCjuPTsWr1x2WJphcba?dl=0

 

[Burt Macklin 19,211]

Can’t wait for tonight’s episode! Would highly recommend Voices from Chernobyl and Midnight in Chernobyl if you haven’t read them yet.

[Pato del Muerto 53,331]

Is this going to tell us how the thing exploded? Or do I have an independent research project on my hands?  Because now that I know it’s not supposed to be able to explode, I have to know why it did.   If they even know. Not like they could head into the core and look around. 

[JOSEYWALES66 1,850]

These episodes just get better and better.  Very moving.  

[Deej 77,671]

Dead babies and dogs...this week, on "Chernobyl"

[RPM 26,560]

2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Is this going to tell us how the thing exploded? 

Like your Mom, just the tip makes her go wild.

[bolverk 30,231]

Three comments about tonight's episode:

1) Did anyone else have the feeling something really tragic was going to happen to that young conscript out shooting dogs? It's a great testament to the tone and feel of this show. The whole keeps me on edge and filled with dread the whole time.

2) The role reversal of the military commander in charge of the scientist has been subtle but palatable. It's the old guard party guy who's now fed up with the Soviet bureaucracy and lies while the scientist has become more pragmatic about putting lives on the line.

3) The contrast between the beat up Soviet truck with the heavily duct-taped driverside door briefly passing in front of the newfangled German robot was a really incredible cinematographic shot.

[Buzzrock 15,115]

They definitely use the Matrix / Se7en color palette.

I felt like they were making a point of showing that everyone smoked. It started with Valery putting out his cigarette in a bit of a prolonged shot and then there were a few others, ending with showing that Pavel had taken up smoking.

That roof-clearing scene was awesome. Thousands of men at 90 seconds apiece is a helluva way to clean up a mess.

[maninblack 7,975]

Amazing depiction of all the events. Each episode is intense in so many ways.

[Jack Straw 2,955]

16 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

That roof-clearing scene was awesome. Thousands of men at 90 seconds apiece is a helluva way to clean up a mess.

Maybe they addressed it and I missed it but I wasn’t clear - were there shitloads of those guys assigned to a single 90 second shift, or were they each doing multiple shifts, just limited to 90 seconds per shift? 

[Deej 77,671]

I believe I remember reading each person did one shift. 

[Bama Chick 28,596]

Maybe they addressed it and I missed it but I wasn’t clear - were there shitloads of those guys assigned to a single 90 second shift, or were they each doing multiple shifts, just limited to 90 seconds per shift? 

In the behind the scenes thingy after the show - I don’t know if they show it on broadcast HBO but it’s on the app - they mention 700,000 men were used.

After reading “Voices of Chernobyl”, I knew the part about the liquidation of the animals was coming but I’ll be damned if it still wasn’t an absolute utter gut punch.

I don’t know what it says about me that I can watch scene after scene of human beings being killed and suffering but once the animal killings start, I’m a mess.

I know logically it was really a kindness. They all would have suffered painfully and died horrific deaths from the radiation but man, those poor puppies and kitties.

[maninblack 7,975]

700k estimate for the whole job. Only a few thousand to clean the debris from the roof...

https://screenrant.com/chernobyl-hbo-biorobots-roof-real-explained/

Quote

Just as Jared Harris' Valery Legasov mentions in Chernobyl episode 4, staying on the roof for more than a minute or two would be detrimental to a liquidator's life expectancy. So in order to further protect the biorobots, their uniforms/protective gear would be discarded after single-use, since the material would be highly radioactive. And this process went on for quite some time. Throughout the summer of 1986, 3,828 biorobots shoveled the radioactive debris off of Chernobyl's roof. At first, it was believed that approximately 3,400 men did this job, but the real number came out at a later point. In fact, this part of the process was the subject of a 2011 Ukranian documentary, titled Chernobyl.3828.

 

[FartingMonk 3,612]

10 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Is this going to tell us how the thing exploded? Or do I have an independent research project on my hands?  Because now that I know it’s not supposed to be able to explode, I have to know why it did.   If they even know. Not like they could head into the core and look around. 

It wasn't a nuclear blast.  It was a steam explosion.  So what happened was they ran high power ops prior to the testing.  High Powe ops causes xenon to show up and lower reactor power.  Power went down to the "intermediate range.". They didn't understand the xenon transient so they shut off a pump.  When they shut off that pump, they went prompt critical.  Basically a huge ass uncontrolled power surge.  That caused all that water to instantly vaporize into steam.  Expansion ratio is something like 1600 to 1.  So it cause a huge pressure transient which was the explosion.  Steam explosion.  I was trying to explain this to my buddies and the best demonstration I could think of is to get a hard boiled egg unpeeled and microwave it for 15 seconds.  Get a plastic fork and poke it.  That steam release will be so strong it will shear the fork in half and if you're really brave get a bowl of water.  An egg and put it in the microwave.  And hit the start button.  That steam explosion after 30 seconds will be so powerful it will blow the door off your microwave.  That's chernobyl with an egg

[Parliament 14,559]

21 hours ago, Lobo said:

  Despite their centuries of hardship, crappy food, shit weather, and ugly women---they were optimistic, boisterous, musical, fun drunks, rowdy, always laughing, etc.  

So they're all Iowans.  Got it.

[Eskimohorn 5,675]

“Best episode yet!” - Lincoln Riley and Bob Stoops

[WhatTheBuck 28,904]

On May 27, 2019 at 9:33 AM, troph said:

That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about technical cinematography and whether they used filters to enhance the drab effect. I spent some time searching last night and couldn’t find any film geek discussions. Just a curiosity.

That's done digitally. It's pretty common. I think the first time I saw it used was in O Brother, Where Art Thou? where they gave everything a sort of sepia-toned look to make it seem old-timey. They used it in Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers to give them sort of an old movie reel quality. They used it in Matrix to give the computer world a greenish hue. It's rampant nowadays. 

I think it works fine in Chernobyl. It helps convey that drab soviet style. I saw a documentary sometime back where they went back into the abandoned buildings near Chernobyl and they looked exactly like they do in the show. 

[Pato del Muerto 53,331]

Used to be a chick that rode her motorcycle into the hot zone and took pics of school rooms and offices and homes and posted them on a blog. Was basically a time machine. 

[retread 2,951]

^ I posted some links to her page upthread. She now takes her daughter with her.

https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/index.php?/topic/9040-chernobyl-hbo/&tab=comments#comment-1263572

 

[WhatTheBuck 28,904]

Speaking of documentaries, I also saw one on PBS some years back about the design, construction, and installation of the containment structure around the plant. That was amazing. 

Of course, that feat of engineering was outsourced. 

[Nolacycling 893]

Good morning fellow comrade Bio Robots.   yeesh

Edited May 28, 2019 by Nolacycling

[Nueces River Rat 5,739]

On 5/25/2019 at 12:53 PM, Native Horn said:

All caught up now, and man, this series is both depressing and captivating.  Episode 3 was really well done.  Love the miners and their zero f's given attitudes.

Caught up on the series this weekend.  Exactly right about the  Miners and especially their leader.    I think he cared too much for the government.

[kevwun 16,269]

1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Speaking of documentaries, I also saw one on PBS some years back about the design, construction, and installation of the containment structure around the plant. That was amazing. 

Of course, that feat of engineering was outsourced. 

I saw that one as well and it was really good.  May have to see if I can find it to rewatch it.

[oSuJeff97 3,438]

Yeah this show is amazing.  This and Barry and the two best shows on TV this year, and it's not close.

[Nivek 17,330]

Also makes me feel like a pussy cause I don't know if I would do the same

Nah. Just research those awarded the MOH. Those guys didn’t wake up with BAMF wallets and eat rocks for breakfast. They did what they had to. (There is a netflix program and there was a particular story which caught my attention about a soldier who lost his entire squad due to a fake surrender by Germans. So this guy hold out and single handedly prevents the Germans from breaking through the line. He also squares up against a fucking tank and wins).

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

Yeah, probably not gonna watch that episode again.  Wife was hiding under the covers most of the time.

[Zepol87 9,308]

Just watching last nights episode. That opening scene, yikes

[wutang75 459]

Yeah this show is amazing.  This and Barry and the two best shows on TV this year, and it's not close.

Both are up there for sure. Wish we had a thread for overall TV shows. I think Fleabag is in that conversation (not to derail this thread).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Turkleton 145]

16 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

 

In the behind the scenes thingy after the show - I don’t know if they show it on broadcast HBO but it’s on the app - they mention 700,000 men were used.

After reading “Voices of Chernobyl”, I knew the part about the liquidation of the animals was coming but I’ll be damned if it still wasn’t an absolute utter gut punch.

I don’t know what it says about me that I can watch scene after scene of human beings being killed and suffering but once the animal killings start, I’m a mess.

I know logically it was really a kindness. They all would have suffered painfully and died horrific deaths from the radiation but man, those poor puppies and kitties.

 

Once this started, the wife turned to me and said "I'm done with this show". I understood, but i'm in it for the long haul....

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

Until I decide to name a website after the quote above.

[Cheeseweasel 26,439]

11 hours ago, FartingMonk said:

High Powe ops causes xenon to show up and lower reactor power. 

Bingo. They mentioned Thermal Utilization Factor in the report that Ulana Khomyuk discovered that was scrubbed by the KGB.

[FartingMonk 3,612]

The main thing they fucked up on was starting shit on night shift.  Never start a major evolution on night shift. 

[Guest Lobo]

1 hour ago, Turkleton said:

Once this started, the wife turned to me and said "I'm done with this show". I understood, but i'm in it for the long haul....

Long haul?  The last 53 minutes?  You are so brave!   

[Turkleton 145]

48 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Long haul?  The last 53 minutes?  You are so brave!   

Season, duh!!

[Constant 6,840]

4 minutes ago, Turkleton said:

Season, duh!!

It’s a mini-series. It’s over after the next. 

[troph 25,089]

Lives of others is an example of this - East Germany shots were gray and cool toned, west Germany were more warm toned. I do like the use of hues like that but on a realistic film I’d rather they not. Anyway I’m just being a geek on this no biggie. The show is legit awesome imo.

[Nivek 17,330]

Three comments about tonight's episode:
1) Did anyone else have the feeling something really tragic was going to happen to that young conscript out shooting dogs? It's a great testament to the tone and feel of this show. The whole keeps me on edge and filled with dread the whole time.
2) The role reversal of the military commander in charge of the scientist has been subtle but palatable. It's the old guard party guy who's now fed up with the Soviet bureaucracy and lies while the scientist has become more pragmatic about putting lives on the line.
3) The contrast between the beat up Soviet truck with the heavily duct-taped driverside door briefly passing in front of the newfangled German robot was a really incredible cinematographic shot.

If you know you are going to ditch the trucks you send in a working but shitty one.

[RPM 26,560]

21 hours ago, bolverk said:

3) The contrast between the beat up Soviet truck with the heavily duct-taped driverside door briefly passing in front of the newfangled German robot was a really incredible cinematographic shot.

Just saw that scene again. It's lead shielding, not duct tape.

[bolverk 30,231]

21 minutes ago, Nivek said:

If you know you are going to ditch the trucks you send in a working but shitty one.

While I hear what you're saying and agree, I can also tell you unequivocally that their military vehicles were not much better shape in the Summer of 1993 when I spent a summer in a study abroad program in a town called Wust in (by then) former East Germany. I was one of about 25-30 American students staying with local families during the evening and studying at the town's elementary school during the day.

Each weekend we'd hop on a small bus and take an excursion to some site, and on one occasion (I think on our way to Dresden), we passed a column of Russian military stopped on the side of the road because the lead truck had broken down. They had popped the hood and there were about a half-dozen very skinny Russian soldiers just standing around smoking cigarettes. The state that their vehicles were in was something to behold (the Russian military still had bases in Germany - even after the reunification - until 1994).

As a 22-year-old American student raised to fear the Soviets, I just felt sorry for them when we passed by.

[bolverk 30,231]

2 minutes ago, RPM said:

Just saw that scene again. It's lead shielding, not duct tape.

Ah, that makes sense as they had mentioned stealing the lead from elsewhere for shielding.

[TwiceHorn 31,987]

4 minutes ago, bolverk said:

While I hear what you're saying and agree, I can also tell you unequivocally that their military vehicles were not much better shape in the Summer of 1993 when I spent a summer in a study abroad program in a town called Wust in (by then) former East Germany. I was one of about 25-30 American students staying with local families during the evening and studying at the town's elementary school during the day.

Each weekend we'd hop on a small bus and take an excursion to some site, and on one occasion (I think on our way to Dresden), we passed a column of Russian military stopped on the side of the road because the lead truck had broken down. They had popped the hood and there were about a half-dozen very skinny Russian soldiers just standing around smoking cigarettes. The state that their vehicles were in was something to behold (the Russian military still had bases in Germany - even after the reunification - until 1994).

As a 22-year-old American student raised to fear the Soviets, I just felt sorry for them when we passed by.

And those were all six months old probably.  Soviet and Eastern Bloc vehicle technology was really fucking miserable, right up to the bitter end.  They managed to build decent tanks and armored vehicles, but after that  . . . .

[bolverk 30,231]

1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

And those were all six months old probably.  Soviet and Eastern Bloc vehicle technology was really fucking miserable, right up to the bitter end.  They managed to build decent tanks and armored vehicles, but after that  . . . .

True. The family I stayed with still had a mid-80s Trabant. Good lord what a piece of shit.

I should also point out that Wust was about 5 miles from a Soviet-designed nuclear power plant that had been under construction but never completed because of the reuinification, which we were grateful for because of having Chernobyl still fairly fresh on our minds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendal_Nuclear_Power_Plant