Chernobyl

The HBO mini-series opens in April 1988 with Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) recording his conclusions and opinions regarding Chernobyl.  After carefully wrapping the cassette tapes in paper and hiding them for some unknown contact, he kills himself.  The narrative resumes with Lyudmilla Inatenko wandering her apartment in the middle of the night when she spots an explosion.  Moments later, the shockwave hits and her husband joins her to stare at the distant blaze.  Meanwhile, inside the nuclear plant, the technicians are trying to determine what just happened.  Anatoly Dyatlov (Paul Ritter) is the man in charge but he spends all his time laying blame and denying that there has been an explosion.  Nuclear plants meltdown but they do not explode.  Soon, Lyudmilla's husband, Vasily, departs for the fire; he is a firefighter.  As he fights the fire, it becomes obvious that the site is highly radioactive but the fire must be fought.  It is at this point that Legasov is summoned to a meeting in Moscow where he learns of the disaster and is dispatched with Deputy Minister Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgard) to determine the severity and provide solutions.  The situation is indeed dire and many Russians must sacrifice their lives to save millions.

The 5 part series shows both the heroic efforts to contain the disaster and also the political minefield of doing so in a communist state.  At one point, they get their hands on a German robot which fails immediately because it is rated to the 'stated' radiation level rather than the actual radiation.  Lying is too often the default setting and it proves catastrophic.  Without a robot, more Russian men must clear radioactive debris.  By the end, one has massive respect for the Russian people and contempt for the Russian government.

Great acting, high drama, and even educational.  Thumbs up!