Oh My Gosh!—March 12, 2018
The discs come in plastic snap cases. They play fine. The Manhattan series is terrific. I love period shows that take a little history and make it dramatic fiction, in other words, they breathe life into the subject, make it interesting. If you like Manhattan (2014-2015) you might like Granite Flats (2013-2015) or Taken (2002). All three series are set during WWII or shortly after. They are about secret government programs. Manhattan is about making the first atomic bomb, like the movie Fat Man and Little Boy (1989). Taken is about UFOs and alien visitors, sort of a fictionalized version of Project Blue Book. And Granite Flats is about the experimental drug program MKUltra (the CIA mind control program). All three series have great story arcs. They start and finish strong and have great middles. One difference is the smoking and drinking. There is smoking and drinking in almost every scene in Manhattan, which was set during the era when soldiers received packs of cigarettes with their meal rations. Ever been around a chain smoker? In Taken there’s a scene where Crawford says his doctor prescribed cigarettes for hypertension. Imagine that. I don’t remember any smoking in Granite Flats, but that might just be my poor memory. If the above don’t sound interesting you might like a couple of space race shows. I spent a month on a space race binge. First I read Space by James A. Michener. Then I watched two movies, The Right Stuff (1983) and Apollo 13 (1995), and then two great series, From Earth to the Moon (1998) and The Astronauts Wives Club (2015). They’re a great combination. If the above shows don’t sound interesting here are a few of the series I really enjoyed watching more than once. I love good miniseries like Band of Brothers (2001), Frank Herbert’s Dune (2000), Into the West (2005), Lonesome Dove (1989), Pride and Prejudice (1995), Taken (2002) and The 10th Kingdom (2000) because they have beginnings, middles and endings, like a good novel. Other shows I’ve really enjoyed include Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), Breaking Bad (2008-2013), Cowboy Bebop (1998), Downton Abbey (2010-2015), Firefly (2002), Game of Thrones (2011-2019), The IT Crowd (2006-2013), Jericho (2006-2008), Lost (2004-2010), Merlin (2008-2012), Rome (2005-2007), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010), Stargate: SG-1 (1997-2007), Stargate: Atlantis (2004-2009), Star Trek The Original Series (1966-1969) and Star Trek Voyager (1995-2001). I didn’t list any contemporary series I’m following that don’t have an end date yet, not conducive to binge watching from beginning to finish, or the hundreds of other fantasy and science fiction shows I’ve watched. If you like reading try some of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi authors: Richard Adams, Palo Bacigulupi, Suzanne Collins, Abe Evergreen, Diana Gabaldon, Hugh Howey, George Martin, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, and Andy Weir. Read more
Bob Dow—September 5, 2024
Not entirely factual, but a great telling of the Manhattan Project story with a lot of personal drama subplots built-in to keep the story going. The acting is great, the production values are high, and for me, this works better than Oppenheimer. There are a lot more viewpoints of the same event from people in very different circumstances. The show has a similar lived-in feeling to a great AMC show I loved about the early Silicon Valley days called Halt and Catch Fire. This ends sort of abruptly at the end of Season Two, but it's still great. Read more
Mojo Filter—April 14, 2015
A powerful series, with characters that grab you and keep your interest. It is a wonder that America was able to create the first A-Bomb at all, with the constant politics, security precautions, and meddling of the military, who barely understood any of the work going on there. The characters are outstanding composites of actual people who were there, and the actors are superior and absolutely perfect for the storyline. You get the feel of what life was like for them, in this place where the lines between citizen and prisoner are blurred. As you watch each episode, you worry, that at any moment, anyone among them could be mistaken for a spy, or could actually be a spy, and shot on the spot. Through it all, these top scientists, from around the world, working at a place in the desert (Los Alamos) that did not exist on any map, having to constantly keep their eyes on the prize, and put the needs of their families and friends behind the military's need to get the bomb before the Nazis. This is a great and important drama series! I strongly urge everyone to watch it. You will not be disappointed. Read more
AlchemystAZ—April 29, 2015
Even though it is a fictional-behind-the-historical drama, it really is amazing and accurate with respect to the sort of characters who inhabited the military/physics/engineering world at that time. My late father knew them. Having worked in the 1960s extension of that world, I know first-hand the distribution of fools and idiots and ignoramuses, and including a very few eccentric geniuses. I hope the Second Season includes people I met, like Feynman and Teller. The sets are great and the acting perfect. Who came up with the blackboard math poetry? The actual equations are all online and unclassified. You can DIY... your own nuclear weapon. Welcome to a world still on the brink. I'm waiting for the next Broken Arrow or asteroid or comet to start WWIII. Read more
MrB—June 12, 2015
This was a friend's recommendation and although it didn't instantly appeal, I gave it a go. It turned out to be a hidden gem! The development of the atom bomb, codenamed The Manhatten Project, merely underlay for the internecine struggles of two opposing chalkboard theorists and their minions. There's also conflict aplenty in the home life as the isolated encampment simmers in the desert heat; betrayal, tragedy and latent sexual desires all come to the boil. You could label 'Manhatten' as basically a soap opera albeit a very glossy one but that would be disingenuous as, typical of the high standard of production value and accomplished acting, this a cut above. There are too many great performances from a very large ensemble to start listing but..... Rachel Brosnahan, Harry Lloyd, Carole Weyers are fab plus it was fun to see Peter Stormare cameoing as the eccentric Russian explosives guru (what else!) and Richard Schiff (Toby Zeigler of West Wing) being uber creepy as the CIA spook. Give it a go! Read more
