Chernobyl (miniseries)
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Chernobyl is a five episode 2019 HBO miniseries about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union in 1986. Kicking off with the initial explosion of Reactor #4 in the early hours of April 26, 1986, the series documents the gradual emergence of the scale and massive dangers of the accident, initial efforts by authorities to cover it up, and clean-up operations. Starring Jared Harris as nuclear scientist Valery Legasov, who struggles to convey the extent of the disaster, and Stellan Skarsgård as Boris Shcherbina, a party bureaucrat sent to accompany Legasov.
The series has received critical attention and acclaim, being nominated for 19 and winning three awards at the 71st Emmy Awards.
Tropes used in Chernobyl (miniseries) include:
- Chernobyl Disaster
- Composite Character: Ulana Khomyuk, who didn't actually exists in real life, but represents several Ukranian and Soviet scientists that tried to uncover and solve the situation.
- Corrupt Bureaucrat: Omnipresent through the series
- Driven to Suicide: Legasov, exactly two years after the catastrophe - however, this is the first thing to be depicted in the first episode, before cutting to the explosion two years earlier.
- Memetic Mutation: "3.6 roentgen per hour. Not great, not terrible."
- Only Sane Man: For much of the earlier episodes, Legasov is the only one who truly appreciates the scale of what has happened, with plant operators lying to and misleading higher officials in an effort to cover their own asses.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: Chief Engineer Dyatlov, to memetic extents
- The Queen's Latin: Most of the cast is British and most of them use their native accents.