The Drinker Recommends... Chernobyl (HBO miniseries)

Review of HBO’s Chernobyl

The Critical Drinker makes an enthusiastic exception to his usual criticism and urges viewers to watch HBO’s Chernobyl. In honor of his “Russian comrades,” he jokingly swaps his usual Jack for a bottle of “Stalli” before recapping the disaster and the series.

The Series

The show focuses not only on the reactor’s failure, but also on the confusion, denial, and human cost that followed.

The early episodes depict the explosion and its immediate aftermath: control-room staff refuse to believe the reactor has blown, residents of Pripyat watch the fire without understanding the danger, and firefighters enter the contaminated plant without protection. Later episodes follow the evacuation and desperate efforts to prevent an even greater catastrophe, then the exhausting cleanup.

The finale uses a courtroom-style account and flashbacks to explain how design flaws, poor decisions, and the Soviet culture of secrecy contributed to the disaster.

Praise and Criticism

The review highlights the contrast between officials’ denial and the courage of ordinary people—including firefighters, miners, helicopter crews, and men sent onto the reactor roof in short, perilous shifts. The hospital scenes, where radiation sickness ravages the first responders, are singled out as especially harrowing.

The Drinker also praises the production design and performances, including those of Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Jessie Buckley, and Emily Watson. He notes that Watson’s scientist character is a composite created to help tell the story.

He defends the actors’ natural English accents as preferable to fake Russian accents or hours of subtitles. He also says the show simplifies some technical details without sacrificing too much historical accuracy.

Humor and Conclusion

The jokes are characteristically dry. An engineer’s insistence that everything is fine despite reactor debris outside is treated as an obvious “bad sign.” The Drinker also says the disaster would put complaints about “PTSD” from a mean tweet into perspective.

He calls the series a gripping, sobering antidote to the disappointing final season of Game of Thrones. He closes by saying he will donate the video’s ad revenue to the Chernobyl Children’s Project.