Manhattan

Is it possible to play a believable genius scholar who is also obsessively maniacal and at times sociable and friendly? Yes, that's possible. Look at Frank Winter, played by John Benjamin Hickey, in Manhattan. And it's not just him, the entire cast is amazing. Not least our own Katja Herbers as Dr. Helen Prince. Manhattan is the code name for a secret project to develop the first atomic bomb in 1943. This is what this series is all about. In 1943 a project is set up to develop a bomb that is to be the final hit. It will mean the end of WW2. To this end, a camp is set up in a desert near Mexico, where the best minds of the time are brought together. The finances were unlimited and so were the facilities, circumstances, accommodations, laboratories, personnel, etc. The assignment: make an atomic bomb. The theory was already there, but as mentioned at the beginning of the series, you can't throw a theory out of a bomber. And, spoiler alert, the outcome is already known. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The topic above is really something for a 50 minute documentary on National Geographic. In addition, this series on the site has a score of 6.3 which, at the time of writing, is slowly creeping up to 6.7. That's not all. So what do you have to watch for 9 hours and 19 minutes? A good film/series transcends the story. There is layering. That is certainly the case in this series. Manhattan is primarily a drama series. The gentlemen with their wives and then among themselves. I read in the reviews at IMDb call it "Manhattan Housewifes". Nice idea, but that certainly doesn't cover the load. It is more the personal feuds between the highly qualified intelligentsia, the strange environment and circumstances. It is all very nicely displayed. The camp itself is said to have been recreated in a terrifyingly natural way. In addition, it is again a pleasure to enjoy the design in clothing and surroundings, as in all series that take place in those times. For that reason alone, but there is more, much more. . The drama does not consist of who has what with whom and who does it with whom? According to the makers, the drama is mainly, or does the drama arise from, secrecy and secrets and what secrets do to a relationship. Everything was secret. And then in a cascading form. There are a few people at the top who know everything. Then the scholars who only know their part. And below that nobody knows anything. Women (that's the wives of course, not Dr. Katja) staff and security don't even know what's happening let alone what the target is. In 1943 the war was in full swing. How it will develop and how long it will last is unknown. Germany in the 1920s and 1930s was the absolute leader in physics and mathematics. Whoever can make the first atomic bomb wins the war. One such bomb on Berlin and the war in Europe is over. That was actually the aim. Conversely, New York and Washington are directly on the west coast. Easily accessible to the Germans. These are considerations that we, familiar with the result, find strange. However, Germany capitulated on May 8, 1945. The bomb was just not ready yet. But Japan was still a rewarding target. Three months later, August 6, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Three days later the second bomb fell. This was actually intended for Kokura but there was too much cloud. Then fly on to Nagasaki. That's how things go. So yes, a drama series. But one with an invisible sword. It is fascinating what is mainly unknown. But also how scientifically diligent searches are made to unveil the unknown. The outcome haunts to this day. The fact that we are not going to bomb in a remote province of Russia but in regions of Syria and Iraq can be traced back to this. It is thanks to the efforts made by the scientists in this series. Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam were not built in 3 minutes, but they can be destroyed in this time. Russia has a trump card. IS has no trump card. C'est Approx. And to end with a generally accepted inference. The atomic bomb did not bring peace, but it did end the war. And to this day, everything can be ended with the now improved version. So watch.

Manhattan IS also an unexpected gem. A series that receives belated appreciation. And fans who can write for a long time.