Oppenheimer (1980)

Name: Oppenheimer
Rating: 6.7

Rating: 6.7

Synopsis

Spanning 1938 to 1953, theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer leads the effort to develop the atom bomb during the Second World War. When revealed, his work initially makes him a hero in the United States, but an ever-changing world soon sees him recast as a security risk.

First Air Date: 1980-10-29

Last Air Date: 1980-12-10

Number of Seasons: 1

Number of Episodes: 7

Created By: Peter Prince

Networks: BBC Two

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Sam Waterston as Robert Oppenheimer
John Carson as Narrator
Jana Shelden as Kitty Harrison
Christopher Muncke as General Kenneth Nichols
Edward Hardwicke as Enrico Fermi
David Suchet as Edward Teller
Peter Whitman as Robert Serber
Manning Redwood as General Leslie Groves
Matthew Guinness as Hans Bethe
John Morton as Robert Wilson

Seasons

Miniseries (1980)

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Episode 1 (1980-10-29)

1938: Robert Oppenheimer meets and decides to marry the hard-drinking, much-divorced Kitty, although his friends and relatives dislike her.
Ep. 2: Episode 2 (1980-11-03)

1942: America is at war. Now in charge of the top-secret Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer's left-wing politics mean that he's constantly under surveillance by the FBI and others.
Ep. 3: Episode 3 (1980-11-12)

1943: Oppenheimer is appointed director of Los Alamos, but his past Communist associations alert the FBI. Meanwhile, his extramarital relationship with the neurotic Jean Tatlock comes to a tragic end.
Ep. 4: Episode 4 (1980-11-19)

Summer 1944: With the death of President Roosevelt, the future of the Manhattan Project seems doubtful. Oppenheimer finds himself more and more at loggerheads with Teller.
Ep. 5: Episode 5 (1980-11-27)

May 1945: The European war is over but the conflict with Japan rages on. Oppenheimer discusses the almost completed atomic bomb with the Secretary of War. However, his colleagues have misgivings.
Ep. 6: Episode 6 (1980-12-03)

1949: A few years after the war, Oppenheimer finds himself regarded as a security risk, and must face the HUAC committee.
Ep. 7: Episode 7 (1980-12-10)

December 1953: Oppenheimer's examination by the committee proves disastrous and his career with the AEC is finished, whilst that of his rival Teller flourishes.