Fans of blockbuster Oppenheimer, which hit cinemas last week, can now find out more about the fascinating physicist in a relaunched TV series from the 1980s.
Following the release of Christopher Nolan’s epic feature film, which brings the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer to the silver screen, the has put its classic series boxset of the same name on .
Starring Sam Waterson, 82, who went on to become a household name with starring roles in Law and Order, The Newsroom, and Grace & Frankie under his belt, the series originally aired in 1980.
It tells the story of how Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spent years developing and designing the atomic bomb, which came to fruition
It also touches on Oppenheimer’s rivalry with Edward Teller, and his being stripped of his security clearance by the US Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s.
The Bafta-winning seven-part series stars John Carson, Christopher Munke, Jana Shelden, Kate Harper and David Suchet alongside Waterson.
Nolan’s blockbuster smash hit Oppenheimer, starring frontman , 47, has been a massive hit at the box office.
Starring opposite Florence Pugh, who plays his on-screen partner Jean Tatlock, Murphy embodies Oppenheimer and his work on the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.
Expectations were high for Nolan, with the writer-director-producer having a reputation for ‘event’ moviemaking thanks to past successes including Inception, the Dark Knight trilogy and Interstellar.
have been strong, with Metro’s own critic Tori Brazier saying Nolan has produced a ‘taut and twisty intelligent blockbuster that asks its audience to think along with the film.’
Now, with reviews rolling in claiming it ‘a towering achievement’ in , and an ‘Oscar calibre masterpiece’ by , it’s no wonder that has predicted the feature film could be Nolan’s first to see multiple Academy nominations.
The film has, however, received criticism by David Baddiel, 59, for the fact Oppenheimer was Jewish – and Murphy who plays him, is not.
Baddiel hit out at Murphy’s casting, with suggesting in a new article for , that he isn’t totally on board with Murphy portraying ‘the father of the atomic bomb’.
Baddiel penned an article titled ‘Oppenheimer liked to pretend he wasn’t Jewish — like the film.’
He penned: ‘Another day, in which a famous Jew is played by a non-Jew.
With the blockbuster being picked apart by some, those who want to find out more about the true story may get their fill from the original series about the father of the atomic bomb.
You can watch every episode of the original Oppenheimer series now on . The show will also be aired weekly on BBC Four on Saturday nights starting on 12 August.
