Creator: Craig Mazin
Actors: Jared
Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson
This HBO
limited series won 10 Emmys and had numerous other nominations for
excellence. Still, despite the accolades,
I didn’t really want to watch people going through the horror of radioactive
contamination.
But I was
curious, so I made myself comfortable in front of the TV and watched it. What an experience! Folks, this story is not about the resulting horrors
of a nuclear blast. Rather, it’s about
how humans, no matter their livelihood, age, ethnicity or character, step up to
the plate and become heroes during times of inescapable danger.
After the
Chernobyl nuclear explosion, the Russian government decides not to reveal the potential
horrible outcome of the blast. Meanwhile,
people begin to die. It is an ugly,
painful way to die.
Three people
decide they will do whatever it takes to expose the true story behind the explosion,
not so much for the sake of truth itself, but because other countries must be
warned of a flaw in the system which will ultimately result in an
explosion. The area is so contaminated
that staying in the blast vicinity for any period of time is guaranteed contamination.
Jared
Harris, Stellan Skarsgard and Emily Watson portray the three people who are
determined to get the true story out. As each episode reveals more and more of
the real danger, we see how each character accepts the inevitable truth of the
situation.
For the volunteers who go back inside the
building to prevent an even greater blast, it’s a suicidal act for which their
families will only receive a few dollars as compensation. For the miners who agree to strengthen the building’s
foundation to withstand pressure buildup, it’s a guaranteed case of death by
radiation.
This is a
beautifully written story about the depths and heights people reach when
disaster strikes. People make heroic
choices every day. What kind of coward
would I be to deny myself the chance to honor it?
TAGS: Chernobyl,
Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson, Jared Harris, Johan Renck, Craig Mazin
