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7 episodes

Oppenheimer - Miniseries

First aired Oct 29, 1980Season 1

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.

Episodes

Episode 1 still

Episode 1

Episode 1

NR
Oct 29, 198050 min

1938: Robert Oppenheimer meets and decides to marry the hard-drinking, much-divorced Kitty, although his friends and relatives dislike her.

Episode 2 still

Episode 2

Episode 2

NR
Nov 3, 198050 min

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.

Episode 3 still

Episode 3

Episode 3

NR
Nov 12, 198050 min

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.

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Episode 4

Episode 4

NR
Nov 19, 198050 min

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.

Episode 5 still

Episode 5

Episode 5

NR
Nov 27, 198050 min

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.

Episode 6 still

Episode 6

Episode 6

NR
Dec 3, 198050 min

1949: A few years after the war, Oppenheimer finds himself regarded as a security risk, and must face the HUAC committee.

Episode 7 still

Episode 7

Episode 7

NR
Dec 10, 198050 min

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.