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*Oppenheimer*
Oppenheimer
	2023 DVD cover
Genre	Biopic drama
Written by	Peter Prince
Directed by	Barry Davis
Starring	Sam Waterston; Jana Shelden; Christopher Muncke; Edward Hardwicke; David Suchet;
Narrated by	John Carson
Composer	Carl Davis
Country of origin	United Kingdom; United States;
Original language	English
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producer	Peter Goodchild
Cinematography	Rodney Taylor
Editor	Tariq Anwar
Running time	57–68 minutes
Production companies	BBC; WGBH;
Budget	$1.5 million
Original release
Network	BBC Two (United Kingdom); PBS (United States);
Release	29 October –; 10 December 1980

Oppenheimer is a biographical drama television miniseries based on the life and career of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Written by Peter Prince and directed by Barry Davis, the series is a co-production between the BBC and WGBH. It stars Sam Waterston in the title role, with Jana Shelden, Christopher Muncke, Edward Hardwicke, and David Suchet in supporting roles, and is narrated by John Carson.

Oppenheimer premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 29 October 1980, and concluded on 10 December 1980, consisting of seven episodes.^[1] The series won three BAFTA TV Awards, including Best Drama Series or Serial, from seven nominations. It received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special for Prince. For his portrayal of Oppenheimer, Waterston was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Plot synopsis

The series depicts Oppenheimer's wartime role as head of the weapons laboratory of the Manhattan Project, during which he was under constant surveillance by the US federal government because of his association with communists. It culminates in a U.S. Atomic Energy Commission hearing in 1954, in which Oppenheimer is stripped of his security clearance.

Cast

Sam Waterston as J. Robert Oppenheimer
John Carson as Narrator
Christopher Muncke as Colonel Kenneth Nichols
Jana Shelden as Katherine Oppenheimer
Kate Harper as Jean Tatlock
Edward Hardwicke as Enrico Fermi
David Suchet as Edward Teller
Manning Redwood as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves
Peter Whitman as Robert Serber
Matthew Guinness as Hans Bethe
Bob Sherman as Ernest Lawrence
John Morton as Robert Wilson
Garrick Hagon as Frank Oppenheimer
Liza Ross as Jackie Oppenheimer
Barry Dennen as Isidor Isaac Rabi
Peter Marinker as Haakon Chevalier
Phil Brown as Lewis Strauss
Sarah Brackett as Priscilla Duffield

Production

Oppenheimer is a co-production between the BBC and Boston's WGBH, which contributed 15 percent of the project's $1.5 million costs.^[2]^[3] The series was executive produced by the BBC's Peter Goodchild, who conceived the idea in 1975.^[3] After producing a series on physicist and chemist Marie Curie, he set his sights on Oppenheimer.^[2]

Release

Oppenheimer was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two from 29 October to 10 December 1980, and in the United States on PBS from 11 May to 22 June 1982, as episodes of the first season of American Playhouse.^[4]^[5] More than 40 years after its release, the series became available on BBC iPlayer following the success of Christopher Nolan's 2023 film of the same name, which also chronicles the career of Oppenheimer.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Reception

Critical response

John J. O'Connor of The New York Times wrote that J. Robert Oppenheimer was "persuasively" played by Sam Waterston and the series "is primarily interested in telling, quite absorbingly, one of the more puzzling and indeed astonishing stories of contemporary American history".^[9] Bill Carter of The Baltimore Sun called it "never less than a fascinating portrait of a truly fascinating man" while criticizing a "choppy production technique that makes much of the film seem rather raw".^[10]

Major General Kenneth Nichols disputed his portrayal in the series, saying that it "portrayed me serving as a personal aide to Groves on frequent visits to Los Alamos", when he did so only once.^[11]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
1981	British Academy Television Awards	Best Drama Series or Serial	Peter Goodchild Barry Davis	Won	^[12]
		Best Actor	Sam Waterston	Nominated
		Best Original Music	Carl Davis	Won
		Best Film Editor	Tariq Anwar	Won
		Best Television Cameraman	Rodney Taylor	Nominated
		Best Television Lighting	Clive Thomas	Nominated
		Best Film Sound	Peter Edwards	Nominated
1982	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Limited Series	Peter Goodchild Lindsay Law	Nominated	^[13]
1982	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special	Peter Prince ("Part V")	Nominated	^[13]
1983	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film	Sam Waterston	Nominated	^[14]