First ep was great. Not quite what I expected but still brilliant. I expected a bleak, horrifying experience, but I didn’t expect them to thrust into it that quickly. That second (?) scene where you can see the reactor explode in the background, and then the delayed force hitting the apartment complex was utterly chilling. Same goes for Jared Harris’ opening monologue.

Yeah, I watched this tonight and it was good. I knew the maesters were up to something.

I grew up in a town full of chemical refineries. I can still remember the sound and the way the house shook when a plant exploded ten miles away. At first, I thought the fridge had fallen over. That scene was incredibly realistic.

Thanks for posting this. I watched the first episode last night and listened today, and it was fascinating. Should be noted that they spoil some details about how the series is going to unfold (I know, I know, it's a historical event--what they spoil is what future episodes will cover, some of which were a surprise to me). But overall, a good engaging conversation on the artistic process behind the show.

Loved the first episode. Those scenes of the people in Pripiyat watching from a distance when the ash begins to fall on the was just chilling. Stuff of nightmares right there.

It was pretty good. Definitely watching the rest

This show is right up my alley but also the stuff of my nightmares

Face your fears, ruddo, it's really good.

Oh I've watched it. I love it. But it's crazy. I remember when this happened, and even though they were commies, how this hit my community hard. We were in the evacuation zone of Three Mile Island just a few years prior so everyone saw what might have been for us.

Episode 2 of this is just...wow. Terrifying.

I love the choice of film they use for this too.

The helicopter crash was something else. I expected it to explode, but the empty thud was actually more horrifying. Not sure if that actually happened, hope they talk about it on the podcast.

The podcast is great. I was curious about the female scientist and they answered my questions about her.

Interesting article about the helicopter missions:
http://www.collectivemag.com/chernobyl-helicopters/

Really riveting story. I'm trying to avoid reading articles online about the specific details. I was 12 when it happened, and remember it being all over the news at the time. I've watched a few docs on it since, but don't recall a lot of the details of the immediate aftermath.

The way this show sounds is one of the best parts. That thud that ST mentioned earlier and the slow rise of the radiation meter in that last scene of part two all add to a terrifying silence surrounding this whole thing.

Oh yeah that radiation meter in the last scene was heart-pumping. I figured they were just going to throw it away because at that point, you are dead.

I mentioned early in the thread that there were a couple of moments in the whole disaster and clean-up that I was eager to see dramatized, and those guys volunteering to do that was one of them. The firefighters' gear was another---there are YouTube clips of people going into that hospital with radiation meters and that room with their coats is still one of th hottest spots in the city.

Here ya go:

I wonder if the scene when the hospital staff wasn’t wearing gloves when removing the clothes was a production error, but after listening to this week’s podcast, I realize that there was a lot of ignorance when it came to radiation back then. Still, if you are afraid enough to remove contaminated clothes and put them into quarantine for a long, long time, why would you not wear gloves?

I think it was just artistic license to keep highlighting the sheer ignorance and chaos of it all.

The sound design is incredible. At first i found that Geiger counter annoying and wondered why they even bothered to bring it with them knowing that it was basically a suicide mission, but the way it gets more intense to the point where it completely overwhelms the soundtrack and then their flashlights go out...if that happened in a video game i'd be shitting my pants.

I can understand that. Now that I think about it, it also helps highlight the theme that on some instinctive level, everyone is in a denial about what is happening. that goes beyond party politics. "This is awful, but it could never happen to me."

I know this will just get more terrifying as it goes, but this show is just beautifully done. In a harrowing way, of course.