Chernobyl

My husband grew up near Kyiv and his father drove one of the buses that evacuated the civilians from Pripyat. I have heard his stories of the disaster; the people's concerns, fears and sacrifices. We watch this together and he is amazed at it's authenticity. The set detail, the way the Soviet regime hierarchy functioned, the denial and secrecy surrounding the disaster. He tried (as he usually does when watching a Western production based in or about that part of the world) to find errors or inconsistencies but has not been able to - yet.

The acting is impeccable by all, the filming is top notch, the sounds used to heighten the tension versus music. The way they are able to capture that exact feeling of anxiety, horror, disgust and sadness all rolled into one is admirable.

I have completed the series and it definitely ranks as one of the best. This story has been waiting to be told and there is hands down no one better than HBO to do it. Russia has said it intends to produce its own Chernobyl program, it will be interesting to compare the two. Theirs will purportedly label the CIA as the perpetrator....

The first episode somehow surpassed my expectations for what this TV Show would do with the biggest nuclear disaster ever! Without giving any spoilers besides the obvious, the cinematic quality is unbelievable! I found myself looking at many transition scenes with disbelief, a complete state of shock- that's how good the first episode of HBO's mini-series "Chernobyl" was! The writing wasn't LEGENDARY but it was great, but most importantly, consistent! Every actor did an amazing job at portraying each character and their feelings, which ultimately, led to a even greater ambience. When the episode ended, I was left with a feeling like if I was in Chernobyl! I felt like I was contaminated by radiation. Although that might sound silly, I really felt unwell after watching "Chernobyl"! That just shows how incredibly effective the first episode was on displaying the horrific events that took place in Chernobyl, and how many lives were absolutely destroyed and affected following the disaster. So far, a must-watch!

'Chernobyl' is scarier than most horror movies in that it is a dramatization of actual, real-life horror experienced by thousands of people on that fateful April 1986 morning and the years that followed. This disaster has haunted the nation, Europe, and the rest of mankind more than three decades later. And that creeping dread permeates the whole show. It's difficult to watch. But it certainly makes it a must-watch.

I was born in Pripyat. I was four years old when the accident happened. Watching it is more horrifying than living through it. We didn't know what we were dealing with. It's not like a hurricane or an earthquake that takes you by surprise and causes massive destruction. Here everything looked normal, that day was just like any other day and yet you were told to abandon everything and just leave. The immediate casualties of the accident were not huge, but it had an enormous impact on lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I often think what my life would be like if this didn't happen.

This mini series is a masterpiece, perfect in every way. Some people are complaining here that the actors don't speak Russian. I'm a native speaker of Russian and Ukrainian, I don't want the actors to speak Russian. You get so consumed by this show you stop noticing what language they speak.

It's not a documentary, so not each and every detail is accurate, yet I would still call it authentic. The creators got the important stuff right... Both of my parents worked at Chernobyl plant, I grew up hearing stories and versions of what happened. I think this show is the best depiction of the Chernobyl disaster and the stories of its victims. This show is to remind all of us of the cost of lies.

A Belarusian here, born in 1983. Parents were scientists, knew everything on the 27th. Chernobyl is never forgotten in Belarus and all the details of the tragedy (a flawed reactor, Soviet style apparatchiks in control, a failed experiment, a clumsy cover-up) are widely known. Yet the series managed to depict the horrible events in a way never before seen. A definite tour de force, I had to literally pause a couple of times to comprehend what had just been shown. Goose bumps and tears, what a masterpiece. Likvidatory - heroes, who contained Chernobyl - should never be forgotten.

Grim Soviet atmosphere depicted accurately apart from some very very minor details. Surprised that a Swedish director who made music videos for Madonna and his English-speaking cast managed to portray Chernobyl events better, than anybody from the countries most traumatized by the explosion.

The tragedy will live forever because of this haunting masterpiece, what a brilliant creative achievement.