GENIUS-Season1 (2017)

Albert Einstein

IMDB Rating: 8.4/10

Elliptical Focus Rating: 4/5

A periodic drama released by National Geographic which mainly follows the life of great personalities. Season 1 is based on the life of the greatest physicist of all time, Albert Einstein. This series is based on the 2007 book Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson who is an American Writer and Novelist, well known for his biographical accounts of many famous personalities. The first episode of the series was first aired on 25^th April 2017. It has total of 10 Episodes of 50 minutes each.

Genius showcases different shades of Albert Einstein. From a young lad who is always at disagreement with his father to world’s renowned Physicist with a list of controversies. From a very young age, he was overwhelmed by the invisible forces of nature and wanted to learn only physics which was not the notion of education at that time. His initial struggle to convince his parents and others about his choice of work and knowledge is well displayed in the series. Series starts in Berlin when Einstein is a well-known name and Hitler’s influence is spreading in Germany like wildfire. Seeing the hate for Jewish Community in Germany and the assassination of his dear friend Walter Rathenau, Einstein decided to take flee Germany. The story often runs in flashback describing the struggles faced by Einstein in joining Zurich Polytechnic. It involves characters of many real-life scientists who have played an important role in his life like Heinrich Weber-the man responsible for Einstein’s Admission in Zurich college, Phillip Lenard- biggest professional rival, Fritz Haber- Einstein dearest friend and the creator of chlorine gas which killed thousands of soldiers during the World War, Madam Currie, Pierre Currie, Max plank- who noticed Einstein Principle of Relativity and helped him win the Nobel prize and many more. These real-life scientists, their contribution in Science and their brainwash during the time of war is described beautifully.

Series DVD poster 

Einstein has involvement in developing and formulating many solutions to Scientific problems. His biggest achievement which made him win Nobel prize in is the Theory of Relativity. The series describes his journey of Thinking about this Relativity in much detail which thrilled me as a science enthusiast. His professional life was well known to the world and his excellence in his work is well documented.

However, Albert Einstein was also known for his notorious personal life. From having a troubled relationship with father, meeting his first love Mileva Maric with whom he started a family, had two sons but that marriage went through a difficult divorce. His extramarital affair with his cousin Elsa and the circumstances under which he was forced to end his marriage with Mileva is very touching. The troublesome personal life because of marrying Mileva who is not Jewish and is not liked by Einstein’s mother who always tries to separate them.  The series well describes the pain of Mileva Maric and how her constant fight with old ideologies of not considering women and men, partners in professional and household responsibilities. The relation of Einstein with his two sons, Hans and Eduard are portrayed with great sincerity. There are some grey areas in the series also. Like when Einstein published his Theory of Relativity for the first time he didn’t mention the name of Mileva Maric who was his sole companion in his struggle to publish his paper when questioned he answered casually that it didn’t blink to him to add her name. Whereas there was Pierre Currie who was ready to refuse Nobel prize if his wife was not considered for Nobel prize as well with him.

In later years, Einstein was given citizenship of USA and he was working in Princeton University, New Jersey. The idea of Atomic Bomb and the bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki defamed Einstein. He was emotionally furious about being dragged into this politics. It was in New Jersey, he took his last breath enjoying family time with his grandchildren and son. The series also showcases the famous urban legend that the doctor did a post-mortem of Einstein separated his brain and wanted to do research on it but was refused by his son Hans.

In totality, Genius-Season 1 is a well-crafted life documentary of Albert Einstein. It showcases his life, his struggles, his achievements and his passion for knowledge. It is a must watch for Science Enthusiasts though I don't claim the correctness and portal of some characters. I would recommend it.