I haven't seen the HBO show (although I've watched the BBC documentary some have said it's based on), but while radiation is creepy I actually find it a strangely encouraging story. It took a lot of screwups and broken safety culture for things to get that bad, and the serious consequences were quite localized. If Chernobyl is the bar we have to clear for safe nuclear power - well, that doesn't seem too hard!

I guess that's probably an unusual perspective though, and most people will just be reminded that radiation is scary.