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Original poster

Did anyone else have to turn Chernobyl off?

75 replies

HarryPotterFan436 · 23/05/2019 22:31

I got half an hour into the first episode and I have had to turn it off as I found it so harrowing. It was so well done and so interesting but heart breaking at the same time. I had to switch it off at the point where so many people were standing watching the fire and they took the baby out the pram. Has anyone else had to turn this off or are you managing to watch it?

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wigglybeezer · 23/05/2019 22:35

My DS1, hardened by lots of horror films and apocalyptic computer games has watched it but found it harrowing, he keeps telling me bits of it as he is so amazed and horrified at what actually happened.
I'm debating whether to put myself through it...

Squiff70 · 23/05/2019 22:39

I struggled to watch the trailers to be honest. We don't have Sky Atlantic but I've already said to DP that I wouldn't be able to watch it. It's just such an utter headfuck on a massive scale. No, not for me although I admit it's fascinating.

Pipandmum · 23/05/2019 22:41

I’m watching it with my 14 year old. I remember when it happened. She’s been googling it says the set looks just like the real place. She’s interested in what Chernobyl is like now. It’s real and a good thing for people to learn about. We’re hooked.

Original poster
HarryPotterFan436 · 23/05/2019 22:41

It was incredibly hard going wigglybeezer I don’t know how I managed to get even half an hour into it. I didn’t expect to enjoy it but I hoped to find it interesting. It was interesting but the bit I watched has left me feeling really upset. If you do watch it I hope you manage not to feel too distressed by it.

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unicorncupcake · 23/05/2019 22:43

I managed 15 minutes. I am incredibly squeamish though so not the best person to judge it by Confused DH has watched it and says it’s grim but brilliant.

Original poster
HarryPotterFan436 · 23/05/2019 22:43

I didn’t see the trailers. Perhaps if I had seen them I wouldn’t have attempted to watch it. It is a good thing for people to learn about pipandmum but it’s far too harrowing for me to cope with. I felt physically sick by the time I turned it off.

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OkPedro · 23/05/2019 22:44

harrypotterfan if you found the first half hour too much I’d suggest you don’t watch the 3rd episode. It’s absolutely awful. I am managing it but it’s tough going. What those poor people went through 💔

LibbyJeffries · 23/05/2019 22:59

Truly awful, but it needed to be to get across the horror and reality of what happened. If we don't know and understand the past, we are doomed to repeat it.

I find myself thinking about the show a lot through the day but I'm determined to see it through. Those poor people deserve to have their story told

Stopyourhavering64 · 23/05/2019 23:00

Dh and I have been watching it as we were students when it happened...we actually now live in an area of U.K. that was seriously affected by the radiation. It's extremely realistic in the dramatisation of radiation burns- episode 3 was particularly harrowing ...our ds who's studying environmental science and has also studied physics is particularly keen to watch this as he's also studied the ongoing effects
The arrogance of the state and military was incredible and the potential for an even more catastrophic disaster was only just averted by those brave souls who later went in to dampen down the reactor and knew they were going to die to save thousands of lives was just heart wrenching ...very well filmed

floraloctopus · 23/05/2019 23:05

I've recorder it but not watched it yet. Is it worse then Threads? (Apart from th obvious)

Original poster
HarryPotterFan436 · 23/05/2019 23:15

It’s horrendous to think of what those people went through. I can’t get what I have seen out of my head. floraloctopus I have never seen threads. Is that very harrowing as well?

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Whatdoyouknowwhenyouknownowt · 23/05/2019 23:20

Threads messed with my head, I think, years since I watched it.

mumwon · 23/05/2019 23:29

I remember watching threads & day after they were both made about same time dchildren were v young & I had nightmares about them because it was height of cold war so it could happen … (not much better now really) Chernobyl is gripping, horrible & real & apparently filmed in Lithuania at a "sister" nuclear power station to Chernobyl. The point is the numbers that died directly were understated & the number that were & will be affected are also understated. Although I have previously read a fair amount about this I have learnt a lot I did not know & much of it really frightening of how close we came to widespread devastation across Europe.

DocMarteens · 23/05/2019 23:32

I couldn't watch it - turned it off after 30 mins. It distressed me and made me feel too anxious. I can read about it and imagine the horror. I struggle with war films too

ineedtostopbeingsolazy · 23/05/2019 23:33

I'm really liking this a lot. I had no idea of what actually went on so it's fascinating.
Yes it's hard to watch and is harrowing but people actually went through this so I can watch it.

NeverTwerkNaked · 23/05/2019 23:37

It weirdly didn't shock me. I think though that's because I have a family member who is from Ukraine and the stories she has told me over the years, of the scale of the cover up and the awful suffering and deaths of whole families meant I had a sense of how awful it was. The official statistics bear no resemblance to the reality.

Paddingtonthebear · 23/05/2019 23:37

We are sticking with it, is it harrowing though.

But we’ve decided not to continue watching The Virtues. First episode just so...bleak. Not sure I can carry on with that one.

DilysMoon · 23/05/2019 23:38

I've watched it all 3 so far, I didn't expect to be able to as Threads absolutely terrified me as a teen and for a long time after. It is very well done but extremely harrowing. I will watch till the end, I feel almost obligated to as a pp said those people should have their story told and we must understand and never forget.

Ohmygoodness101 · 23/05/2019 23:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
HarryPotterFan436 · 23/05/2019 23:40

I honestly had no idea. I was only a baby when it happened so of course no recollection of it from then. I knew it was an awful thing to happen and about the exclusion zone and I knew people had died in it and afterwards. I had no idea how horrific it was, how painful their deaths must have been.

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ILoveDaveGrohl · 23/05/2019 23:42

I visited Chernobyl a few days ago. It's awful. Will deffo be watching this when I get back

Original poster
HarryPotterFan436 · 23/05/2019 23:45

I didn’t know you could visit Chernobyl ilovedavegrohl. Are they purely work trips to there?

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ListenLinda · 23/05/2019 23:46

Episode 3 was really hard going but i’m glad I managed to keep watching. Those poor people.

ILoveDaveGrohl · 23/05/2019 23:51

@HarryPotterFan436 nope they are strictly guided tours though. You can get pretty close to the reactor as they built a new sarcophagus for it to contain the radiation as the old original one was crumbling. Some areas still have astonishing levels so you aren't allowed to go there, mostly the soil and vegetation. Pripyat was so eerie, especially seeing the old videos of when people lived there and then seeing it now. It's bloody awful

ILoveDaveGrohl · 23/05/2019 23:53

That's the reactor in Sarcophagus 2.0