I wasn't actually planning to write this as a 2019's kick-off post (ok I know it's halfway through 2019 already, beg your pardon! haha) but I can't stand not to share this for the thing I'm gonna tell you about is simply fascinating and irresistible.
So yeah, did I tell you I'm kinda fan of TV series? Not that devoted one actually but I know some of them which is really good and binge-worthy: Modern Family, Lie To Me, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, Midnight Diner, Chefs Table, Our Planet, and a couple of K-drama series. Family-themed, slow-paced shows were my favorite ones but I wouldn't deny to try something novel. This time I'm gonna highlight few of them.
Now let's move on to what possibly be the creme de la creme of this post. After a not so pleasant/satisfyintg finale of Game of Thrones last month, I dug into a number of TV series recommendations to find GoT substitute. I thought it would take me long to move on from GoT but instead it's an easy job (man I'm just too good at goodbyes #jk). Blame the technology as its vast and immensely rapid development served me outstretched choices of good TV shows. In less than a month after GoT ended, I discovered another TV series which I think is on par to GoT as they scored 9.7 out of 10 on IMDB and got 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is, by far, the top rated TV show of all time. Nuts, isn't it?
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| img via here |
First, on the top notch: Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones played a huge part in my TV series career (ok this sounds exaggerating, but reality check: it was) as I've been following them for quite a long while. Long enough to say that it's the only series I've put a commitment to hahaha! I mean this show has made us wait for another season in months even years voluntarily. But frankly speaking, I (plus half of the world, I bet) was not satisfied with its closing episode considering the storyline failed to address the proper way to terminate its casts' stark characters. We had our expectation sky-rocketed then submerged into deep sea. Though it ended not in a way we had expected before, I'd always consider Game of Thrones as hell of a work. Even the word 'exceptional' is an understatement to expose how much the show made us feel. Well done, GoT. To those of you who haven't tried GoT yet, I suggest you to watch it soon as possible. Note that the first 9 episodes were the most boring one (lol), please bear with that because only by passing through it, you can understand the remarkable journey that follows.
Now let's move on to what possibly be the creme de la creme of this post. After a not so pleasant/satisfyintg finale of Game of Thrones last month, I dug into a number of TV series recommendations to find GoT substitute. I thought it would take me long to move on from GoT but instead it's an easy job (man I'm just too good at goodbyes #jk). Blame the technology as its vast and immensely rapid development served me outstretched choices of good TV shows. In less than a month after GoT ended, I discovered another TV series which I think is on par to GoT as they scored 9.7 out of 10 on IMDB and got 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is, by far, the top rated TV show of all time. Nuts, isn't it?
It's Chernobyl. An original miniseries created by HBO which was aired for the first time in May 6, 2019. The series contains only 5 episodes and by the time I write this, the finale episode has just aired on TV (sorry we got a situation here *as expected, delayed post*, the show ends few days ago). Some of you might find the title quite familar because it comes from the same Chernobyl as the nuclear accident happened back in Ukraine on 1986. Let's take a glimpse on given explanation by HBO on its website:
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and as far as Scandinavia and western Europe.
Jared Harris portrays Valery Legasov, a leading Soviet nuclear physicist. As part of the response team, he was one of the first to grasp the scope of the unparalleled disaster that occurred. Stellan Skarsgård plays Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina, who is assigned by the Kremlin to lead the government commission on Chernobyl in the hours immediately following the accident. Emily Watson portrays Ulana Khomyuk, a Soviet nuclear physicist committed to solving the mystery of what led to the Chernobyl disaster.
The
pilot episode begins with its lead character's, Valery Legasov,
monologue over a recording device. He questioned something that in some
way hit me (and you too, maybe) in certain notes: "What is the cost of
lies? What is the cost of truth?" The questions then became key point of
what this series is about. Spoiler (but not so spoiler): the show ended with the same questions.
The show narrated the story of world's worst civilian nuclear disaster happened at Chernobyl's reactor number 4 in Pripyat, Ukraine decades ago. This is based on true story, I repeat, this is based on true story. All this time I only knew Chernobyl tragedy was about the power plant having some technical issues that it blown up, produced ashes containing radioactive, and spreaded fatal radiation nationwide that citizens living close to the zone were found dead or alive but suffered cancer. Today I'm so glad I watched this because the show depicts something beyond the tragedy. Not only it displays how sickening corruption and greed can be, but also how confusing it is to stand in between reality and morality. Speaking of the roles, oh, it just can't get any better. We watchers are privileged to get to know each of the character deeply eventhough in a short time. Each of them seems super-realistic with their human, vurnerable, and flawed sides. In the other hand, they also showed up their heroic side so that we can easily symphatize on what they did. The same goes with Dyatlov character that exposed evilish attitude even by the look (sorry for judging but ..). He mustered all the bad stuff that can possibly grow in a single human being. Legasov, Khomyuk, Shcherbina, and the plant workers who were on shift that night stood out as true heroes to the tragedy, of course with a price to pay. From there we can see how dilemmatic the situation was for the lead roles especially because they lived under the strict governing system of USSR at that time.
Thanks to Comrade Legasov, I'm sorta getting my nuclear-physics PhD in only 3 days. *lel*
Final verdict: the plot is very very well-tailored. They keep me under great suspense as if I, like other 3 lead roles, was subjected to find the explanation upon why and how the tragedy happened. While in fact, I'm just someone on the other side of the screen (Fortunately, I am. Of course with no desire to stand in the real scene *getok meja*). These five episodes reminds me so much of five stages of grief introduced by Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance which is exposed in each episode respectively. This is just outrageously good and truly terrifying at the same time. Although there's been polemic as Russia government said the show didn't even close to showing up the real situation (which I strongly oppose), I urge you guys to watch this one. You just won't regret it.
The show narrated the story of world's worst civilian nuclear disaster happened at Chernobyl's reactor number 4 in Pripyat, Ukraine decades ago. This is based on true story, I repeat, this is based on true story. All this time I only knew Chernobyl tragedy was about the power plant having some technical issues that it blown up, produced ashes containing radioactive, and spreaded fatal radiation nationwide that citizens living close to the zone were found dead or alive but suffered cancer. Today I'm so glad I watched this because the show depicts something beyond the tragedy. Not only it displays how sickening corruption and greed can be, but also how confusing it is to stand in between reality and morality. Speaking of the roles, oh, it just can't get any better. We watchers are privileged to get to know each of the character deeply eventhough in a short time. Each of them seems super-realistic with their human, vurnerable, and flawed sides. In the other hand, they also showed up their heroic side so that we can easily symphatize on what they did. The same goes with Dyatlov character that exposed evilish attitude even by the look (sorry for judging but ..). He mustered all the bad stuff that can possibly grow in a single human being. Legasov, Khomyuk, Shcherbina, and the plant workers who were on shift that night stood out as true heroes to the tragedy, of course with a price to pay. From there we can see how dilemmatic the situation was for the lead roles especially because they lived under the strict governing system of USSR at that time.
 |
| img via here |
Final verdict: the plot is very very well-tailored. They keep me under great suspense as if I, like other 3 lead roles, was subjected to find the explanation upon why and how the tragedy happened. While in fact, I'm just someone on the other side of the screen (Fortunately, I am. Of course with no desire to stand in the real scene *getok meja*). These five episodes reminds me so much of five stages of grief introduced by Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance which is exposed in each episode respectively. This is just outrageously good and truly terrifying at the same time. Although there's been polemic as Russia government said the show didn't even close to showing up the real situation (which I strongly oppose), I urge you guys to watch this one. You just won't regret it.
Reac
