10 Brutal TV Moments You Won't Believe Were Allowed To Air
3. Chernobyl - Radiation Poisoning
HBO's masterful dramatisation of the Chernobyl Disaster boasts some of the gnarliest scenes ever put to screen. We see several sufferers of acute radiation syndrome succumbing to an array of sickening after-effects.
Blackened, bruised lips and bleeding sores left, right and centre are just the start with the victims' skin ultimately dying and their bedsheets turning yellow. The level of agony depicted is stomach-churning thanks to the exceptional quality of the make-up and unflinching camera work. One almost feels like they're in the hospital room, watching up-close some of the most painful, slow-burning deaths on record.
Almost too effective in lifting a lid on the horrors of one of the USSR's greatest catastrophes, Chernobyl left many viewers without an appetite by the time credits rolled. The series' focus on institutional dysfunction and dishonesty lends a sense of anger to the proceedings and the lies surrounding the poor people suffering this grim fate.
Most devastating of all is the pregnant wife of a firefighter visiting him as he gradually succumbs to his illness. It's an emotional meditation on the decent, normal folks whose lives were ruined by the meltdown.