Unfilmable 45: Chernobyl

Never thought I’d see the day where I stumble into duckfaq gold

6r9dlee

🤡

Samuel Bennett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pSsg2Dn2Jc&ab_channel=videogamedunkey

Kevin Sottek

I love 'Chernobyl', but I find your series 'Unfilmable' to be unlistenable. I think your understanding of the film and tv industries almost laughably naive. Which isn’t a crime. Not knowing how a thing works isn’t a crime. But you speak about it with absolute authority, knowing less than nothing. But I love ‘Chernobyl’. So instead of deleting the episode the moment it dropped into my feed, I left it there, trying to decide if I should listen to it. I held onto it for three months and finally, today, decided I’d give it a shot. Five or six minutes in, I laughed out loud to hear Gary refer to Emma Watson. Maybe I’d mis-heard? Then he did it again. He said Emma Watson was playing Ulana Khomyuk. He did it a few times and I kept waiting for Kole to correct him. The correction never came and I turned the episode off in disappointment. How can I trust your insights if you can’t get basic facts right? Emily Watson plays Ulana Khomyuk. What can explain tihis error? Sexism? Sloppiness? Gary said he watched the series five times. Five times, and he hasn’t noticed that Emma Watson isn’t in it? Then he, presumably, both of the hosts presumably, prepared to record a podcast about the show. Did they do any research at all? Did they have any basics on a notepad somewhere? Like, the name of the female lead in the series? Sexism or sloppiness? Probably your sexism, your unconscious bias, made you sloppy. So, that’s it for me. Thanks for the great videogame content over the years but I can do better than this with my monthly Patreon subscription.

pxlcrow

Good stuff guys. Long time listener, recent sub. Love this show and your commentary.

Joshua Valverde

Loved this and it finally got me to stop procrastinating on this series. It was an incredible 5 hour experience.

Gorehoff

I work for the Dept. of Energy at a nuclear demolition site. I was very excited hear what your take on this would be. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who found this terrifying. Even though nuclear energy is among the safest energy available, if shit hits the fan it hits hard.

Cory P

Great episode. You had me double taking thinking wait Emma Watson was in this?! Oh it was Emily Watson

Jonathan shields

I listened to half of this and then bought the series on YouTube. Thanks for the recommendation!

Jonah Guibbert

Similar to how Gary makes himself cry, I think about my silly dumb puppy Gibby getting thrown up on and how miserable he would be (smelly, slimey, gross) whilst not knowing why this has happened to him. Always breaks my heart. Pets get into us man.

Zaylin

I'm not sure if this was incepted into my head from a stray comment, but looking down into the blasted out reactor was like seeing the birth of an eldritch god.

Erik North

About a half hour into this episode, I had a familiar thought: "I need to stop listening to this and just add the damn [videogame/movie/tv show] to my schedule. Looking forward to revisiting this episode in a few weeks... or, perhaps tomorrow night, if I get sucked in. Cheers!

Gryphon Strom

I’m 26 and I can’t imagine running a nuclear plant. I would’ve blown that shit up way faster.

Aidan fleming

As you can imagine, I can't get any of my friends to watch Chernobyl, so thank you for covering it here. Tears in my eyes as I'm listening to the podcast, walking down the street walking my dogs, recalling the events of the series anew.

Ken Yuen

I think unfilmable might be my favorite podcast on duckfeed. Love you guys talking about movies and tv series!

Ipoop4U

I assure you, I am on board with "Yeah, but death toll of capitalism is absolutely huge, it just doesn't make as concise a story." For me, and we recorded this a while ago, so I don't know how much comes across in episode, but the tragedies of Chernobyl are largely human. I do believe the USSR had a lot of problems, and I also think the chernobyl incident probably exemplifies a lot of them, but I agree that's not the end of the story on the USSR or communisim. -GB

Duckfeed.tv

this was a sick episode that made me want to watch the show. i think what irks communists like myself about the way chernobyl is portrayed is as unique to the soviet union because of the evils of communism. and while the boys here clearly state that it's just 'one instance of an ideology', it does feel like there's a certain type of scolding when it comes to 'propaganda' and the general business of running a country in crisis that simply isn't present when it's 'the west'. to say, in this episode that 'the soviet union isn't good', it's just such an exasperatingly reductive statement, i understand why people who have spent their lives having to explain their politics would be prickly about it, especially from two guys who are so careful not to hurt people's feelings. the ussr was an incredible project, beautiful, and doomed, and one whose failures can teach us a lot. and while ignoring those failures is childish and silly, i find it a much sadder to fate to believe that it was some unique evil with bad intentions, because what exactly is learned then? especially when that's exactly what the literal capitalist empire wanted?

Bryn Nieboer

As someone who's lived near the Hanford Nuclear Site in the US a very common thing you hear from Radilogical Control Technicians (the people who are gradually cleaning the site) are things called "Black Rooms" which are sealed rooms filled with so much radiation that opening them will kill you. The real scary thing though is that some of the indicators for these rooms have deteriorated. So, everytime a crew comes across an unopened door they have to call in to make sure it's not a Black Room entrance.

Jonathan Scratch

This reminds me of listening to the short Gary “special” on this show back in 2019. It was a different time and place, and while this isn’t germaine to this episode, it just reminds me of how important Duckfeed has been to me in general for the last several years. Anyway… Carry on!

Jack Corrigan

Great episode! And even though I was already on board with it having horror elements you guys do a great job explaining in it why you feel that way too. Also, as far as the people needling about the errors in the show especially the composite of many scientists being put into Emily Blunts character. I think most of them are just being pedants or are arguing in bad faith. Like I can kind of see the issue where it takes away from the collective cooperation of many comrades to resolve the issue and thus makes a more western/capitalist singular hero who is right and it's the group who is wrong. But even that is a bit of a paranoid stretch and I only come to that conclusion because of my own paranoia as a leftist. Such a great episode, another banger for my favorite series you guys do on here.

Careless Wanderer

Kole here. I blocked SomeCallMeStalin for being a pain in the ass and also picking fights with people on the page. Feel free to disagree with us but don’t spam us with provocative, bad faith questions or call our intentions into doubt. We make our positions very clear on the shows, and it’s not something we can or want to spend time debating.

Duckfeed.tv

I enjoy listening to them and hearing their takes on things! What’s it like to hate Internet personalities so much you pay them 10 dollars a month to debate them?

Sarah Cleary

Brendan how’s it feel to simp for Internet personalities. “Muh authoritarianism”. Lol

SomeCallMeStalin

Did not expect you guys to do this but really glad to have a reason to revisit this show!

Sarah Cleary

All of your comments are pretty obviously based on a weird beef with the Russia Ukraine war, and where you think the boys fall on that. Anyway, it’s a really well done show which is more of a commentary on authoritarianism and how people in power will hide the truth from those it effects until it’s inconvenient to do so. Chernobyl could have easily happened in a capitalist controlled country, if the creators intent were to be anti-communist they failed in that. I hope you give it a chance (:

Sarah Cleary

I never mentioned Russia… Chernobyl was SSR Ukraine.

SomeCallMeStalin

You’re paying people you hate for the opportunity to ask these questions, pretty silly.

Sarah Cleary

Is this a pro NATO podcast?

SomeCallMeStalin

Are you a cia agent? Because no real leftie is this insufferable. A real communist would do even the most base amount of research (like, you know, listening to the damn podcast) before slinging ignorant accusations at fellow comrades.

Nobody

No it is not, but based on previous interactions I'm doubtful you will accept that answer. I'm going to ask you to stop getting confrontational and repeatedly calling our motivations into question any time something related to Russia comes up. - K

Duckfeed.tv

SomeCallMeStalin

If you’re a fan of late Soviet nuclear hubris, check out Meltdown: 3 Mile Island on Netflix for the uniquely American Capitalist take. In Chernobyl, you’re right in that many of the initial characters accepts the lie because the reality is either impossible or too horrible to consider. In 3 Mile, following one engineer whistleblowing on the power company, the lie is accepted because otherwise the budget might be slightly affected, despite equally catastrophic consequences at stake.

Nobody

and Titchy Gren in Dark Souls 2

BAAAAAARNES

How on earth is this sort of thing fun for you? Like, we're not looking to debate in the patreon comments, my dude!

Duckfeed.tv

Cool fact: Con O’Neill (Bryukhanov) also voiced Mohg in Elden Ring

Aaron Ketterman

SomeCallMeStalin

My friend's mom is from Russia. She didn't live where this accident happened but close enough that it made her paranoid, so much so that she took 2 hour scrub showers everyday while she was pregnant.

Cinnamon Toast Cunt

This episode was so good, I don’t even need to watch the show. Gary and Kole described it in such breathtaking detail it was like listening to Moses as he was coming down from his trip. Up the mountain. I will probably listen to this more than I play the next Fallout, 100%

CacharoRosieSaurus

I’ll have to listen to the podcast then! I still wouldn’t mind you guys opening up the show to any movie you want to talk about, regardless of genre.

Allen Mozek

I think we make a pretty argument for this being part of the horror genre, personally.

Duckfeed.tv

Dang, thought this was gonna be a small series. The show was so intense.

Joe Binson

Chernobyl is such an incredible piece of art! I can’t wait to listen to this podcast! I’ve noticed that Gary’s picks often veer off from the horror genre, but there’s a nominal attempt made to walk back to Unfilmables high concept. You guys are in charge of this beast, so why don’t you just open up the show to all movies without having to shoehorn it into horror? Comedy? Animation? Drama? Sure! Kole seems much more excited by the horror genre & its tropes than Gary. He just doesn’t seem as into it & id rather listen to excited Gary than grumpy Gary. I love their film talk & wouldn’t mind it if it weren’t about spooks. Maybe a more general film podcast could work? I know I’d listen! I’d enjoy that freedom more than fitting not horror films into a horror film podcast slot.

Allen Mozek

Great show! But it's thesis is a little flawed. I'm looking forward to listening to this

shea dewar