Genius (National Geographic Channel series)

Anyone watching this? I just saw the first episode which starts with Walther Rathenau being assassinated in Weimar Berlin. A couple of gratuitous sex scenes but I guess that's to be expected, and a few moments where it's a bit cliched like "Bah, you'll never develop a new scientific theory Albert! Become an engineer like me." "No father, one day I will show you." Also a familiar face from Mad Men plays an American underling to J.Edgar Hoover called Geist.

I'll give it another episode at least. There's a bit of interesting theoretical talk with special effects. I hope they'll recreate some of the 1939/40 NY World's Fair at some point.

 

I read that for a show about a genius, it was pretty mediocre. I don't think I'll bother.

 

Did that FBI interview/ interrogation depicted at the end of the first episode actually happen?

In the show Einstein had already decided to leave Germany permanently, had accepted a position at Princeton and was about to leave the next day when he and his wife are summoned to the American Embassy in Berlin. There they are ambushed by an FBI agent/ weasel in an interrogation. He states he was sent there directly by J. Edgar Hoover, who would personally approve or disapprove of his entry into the US.

I'm not an Einstein expert, but my recollection is that Einstein and his wife were in California [he was a guest lecturer at Cal Tech?] at the time of Hitler's ascension to power. They stayed a while in the US and then travelled to England and then to Belgium. While in Belgium, he surrendered his German passport to the German embassy and then formally accepted the position at Princeton and the American offer of asylum. I don't recall Hoover obstructing his entry into the US, especially at the last minute or sending a personal emissary to question him and threaten to deny him entry. (Am I wrong?)

Is this revisionist history that has more to do with Hoover bashing and with 2017 US immigration politics than the historical record?

Perhaps someone who knows more about Einstein could help me out.

 

Here's what the National Geographic has recently put on it's website...
Why the FBI Kept a 1,400-Page File on Einstein
and here's what's on the FBI site...
Albert Einstein

 

I knew there was an FBI file on him (IIRC a book was written about this a few years ago) - but is that FBI interrogation scene prior to him moving to the US an invention to bring that issue into focus in the series? I would prefer that they had stuck to the facts as closely as possibly.

Thanks for the FBI link.

I found the Nat Geo article a bit tainted by political bias.

 

I think the gratuitous sex scene was due to Rupert Murdock's recent purchase of National Geographic. Expect more sex and less science in the future. I liked the first episode.

 

I'm thinking you're probably right about this 'Geist' person being fictitious or at best an amalgam of FBI agents. Geist is German for Mind. I find it hard to believe communism was on Hoover's (yet to be invented) radar in late 1932-early 1933 either.

A very silly moment that I'm sure was entirely fictional was the little boy in brown shirt uniform running after Einstein wanting his autograph on a nazi flag of all things and saying he wanted to grow up to be a famous scientist like him. Yeesh.

"Wenn ein unordentlicher Schreibtisch einen unordentlichen Geist repräsentiert, was sagt dann ein leerer Schreibtisch über den Menschen, der ihn benutzt aus?"

"If a messy desk represents a messy mind, what does an empty desk say about the person who uses it?"

Albert Einstein

 

I keep failing to watch episode two. I think unless I know they're showing the '39 World's Fair I'll have better things to waste time on. I guess I'm with Deesky... it's mediocre and plain manipulative. Too bad.

 

I watched 2-3 & 4 last night - good stuff - i like it.

Well filmed (inPrague) and good drama.

 

Wow- little traction here... Small wonder, I guess when the posts weren't too positive and even the OP bowed out of the series.

I liked it. I esp. liked the finale. They weren't afraid to show the flaws in a great man . I wonder did he really mistreat his 1st wife that badly (I know very little Einstein history).

I thought there was a cool parallel between the German Minister of Science (forget his name) and Hoover- both of whom had it out for Albert b/c he humiliated them (in their perception, anyway). But I also wonder how historically accurate the Hoover thrust was.

 

I don't know a whole lot about Albert Einstein but I felt they aimed kind of low with this series in certain ways that just put me off. The supposed titillation of sex scenes shoe-horned in with really clumsy cliched dramatic inventions plus the Sagan/Ludwig Von Drake explaining of scientific theories which I did like well enough... just a scrambled up mess to the point where I couldn't watch any more. I have no idea what other reviews might have been about it, or if it was a great success. Gladiator was a big hit movie that totally blew it on historical accuracy in portrayal of two Emporers (almost opposite of historical record). Genius definitely could have been a major series to me, and visually it was stunning I guess, but to me it's just another case possibly of too many chiefs and trying to please too many kinds of viewers and not serving any particularly well.

 

I am pretty ignorant about Einstein the man and so was interested in a lot of what they showed. It was far from flawless, but I was entertained- and as you said, visually it was very good. I had no problem w/ the sex scenes, as it seems fitting if ol' Albert was the playa they made him out to be. I got tired very quickly of all the cuts back and forth in time- def over-used and confusing at times to me.

They had some great themes to work with and displayed them pretty well, but there was def room for improvement. But I enjoyed seeing the struggles a great mind had to go through to get his ideas heard, then accepted, then having to deal w/ the fame, all against the rising horror of the Nazis. I think we got a sympathetic view into who Einstein was, while still showing his faults (or at least some of).

The Hoover part was fascinating, if it was true. But if the show was taking liberties w/ history, that would negate many/most of my positive feelings for the show. Whereas I can forgive Gladiator for being inaccurate (not that I realized it until you pointed it out), since that is a drama. But Einstein was a biographical serie4s and I would expect much more historical accuracy from that.

I'd love to hear from any Einstein experts how accurate this series really was.

 

Unfortunately, I went in expecting something special but, for me, it was a total snoozefest! I literally couldn't stay awake after 2 episodes so I bailed.

Just read the 2nd season of Genius will be based on Pablo Picasso.

 

And season 3 will be Mary Shelley!

 

I enjoyed Einstein. However, and it may be subject matter, but Picasso is sooooo boring. We finally gave up.

 

The Walter Isaacson biography of Einstein was pretty revealing of his toxic relationship with his first wife.