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‘Chernobyl’: Raining Ash in My Borscht

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5 years ago

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Brought to you by the excellent film-makers at HBO, Chernobyl tells the story of one of the worst man-made disasters in history, the explosion of the U.S.S.R. nuclear power plant Chernobyl, and its lasting consequences.

The show opens with the dictation of honest memoirs about what truly happened at Chernobyl from the main man who would have cause to know, Russian scientist Valery Legasov (Jared Harris), and his absolute need for secrecy to keep these tapes out of the hands of the KGB.

After ensuring his dubious legacy, Legasov determinedly decides his own fate, to not die in the black cellars of a KGB gulag, or shedding skin and hair and wasting away from the results of seeing Chernobyl up close and personal, but rather the last gasp at the end of a rope that he himself tied. Despite his numerous faults and moments of cowardice, the show portrays Legasov as a man of sheer determination to get his point across when the situation warrants it.

Soviet politician Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgard) is elected by others to head the cleanup of the Chernobyl disaster, and from the beginning, he and Legasov clash. The propaganda machine is in full swing and Boris has been seriously misinformed as to the extent of the damage of the nuclear power plant and the subsequent necessary cleanups involved for literally years afterward. As Legasov stubbornly stays the course in what is absolutely needed to prevent further destruction, he and Boris begin to develop a mutual if grudging respect for each-other.

Though the explosion of the nuclear power plant already happened, other catastrophes are brewing inside the shell of Chernobyl, even while rescue workers and firefighters attempt to save anyone left. The protective clothing the firefighters wore while sloshing through the power plant is soaked in radioactivity and tossed into an empty room of the plant where it remains too toxic to touch, even to this very day. The poor scientists and regulators of the night shift-change caught in the meltdown, those not immediately immolated in the initial carnage, are taken to hospice where they themselves have a private meltdown, of their own poor bodies.

A few hundred miles away, nuclear scientist Ulana Khomyuk (Emily Watson) gets wind of the catastrophe of Chernobyl and surges determinedly forward to find out the truth behind what led to the original explosion. Despite strenuous objections to her gender, mental acuity and political savvy, and really any involvement at all, Khomyuk determinedly pushes herself into harms way repeatedly, to get to the buried, sometimes literally, truth. Even armed with the terrible reality behind the Chernobyl explosion doesn’t prevent Khomyuk from getting hounded by the KGB, but the shadowy Russian equivalent of the CIA won’t stop her from getting the facts to Boris and Legasov for dissemination.

The ending credit tie-ups that reveal the real legacy of what happened to these key players after Chernobyl dropped a massive surprise for the character of Khomyuk – she isn’t actually a real person, but rather an amalgamated role for all the lesser people – scientists, mathematicians, laborers, many of whom were women – who put their whole heart and mind into solving the disaster of Chernobyl and its after-effects, but never received any recognition for it.

Fraught with human foibles and arrogance, yet balanced on the other end with determination and hope in the face of increasing adversity and communist red tape, ‘Chernobyl’ gives us fascinating new insights into a historical disaster, serving as a clear warning to never dare such mistakes again.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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14 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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17 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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