I've just started watching the series "Manhattan" on Hulu Plus. As something of a science nerd, I was drawn in by the chance to learn a bit more about the development of the first atomic bomb, the conditions at the base, and the people who performed the work. I found the first episode riveting, and quickly added the program to my favorites. Now, having made it through episode five, I am beginning to rethink that decision.
Any historical drama is going to be limited in just how authentic it can be. That's a given. No one was following people around during historical moments, transcribing or recording each and every word for posterity. In the case of circumstances such as those surrounding the development of the first atomic bomb, no such records would have been permitted anyway. So we are instead given a script based occasionally on notes or tapes, a few historical records, and a whole lot of "best guesses" by whoever happens to be writing the script, and therein lies the problem: It is very easy for the show to become less about what the actual people involved thought and felt, and more about what the writers and the people paying for the show want to express.
In the land of Manhattan, that viewpoint takes us into a realm of dark places and shadowy immortals. Instead of gods, we have scientists, yet they regard that difference as trivial. They believe you should, too. And like the gods of ancient Rome or Greece, they possess all of the flaws and weaknesses of the mortals they dominate, only more so. They brood, bully, punish, and suffer, far beyond the limits of human measure.
And they blackmail. Mustn't forget the blackmail.
While each of the group members are joined together by a series of oaths, whether to God (as in marriage) or the government (for security purposes), few of the characters consider these as having any real authority over them. Solemn pledges or promises are simply tools to obtain what they desire, or, more often, obstacles to be overcome. Time and time again it is demonstrated to us how wise and wonderful these beings are, how foolish to ever think their genius should be constrained by something as foolish as security, procedure, marriage, loyalty, or any of the concerns of lesser creatures. It makes me wish I had a TV script writer doing my biography. Then, all of the people who ever got in my way or tried to slow me down long enough to actually think about a situation would realize just how small they were being. Anyway...
To this end, even personnel enemies among the scientists will join together to thwart the common enemies: The government and the military. While they may thoroughly dislike or even hate each other, the idea of others imposing consequences on their number is too repugnant to bear. They band together in such instances, grudgingly, to ensure members of their enclave are protected from the wrath of mortals. Or rather, mortals are prevented from acting against the scientists for mortal concerns.
They will seldom hesitate to use government security or the military against each other to achieve their own ends, and it is in this regard that the modern-liberal viewpoint of the show becomes clear. While the principals are contemptuous of the idea of central authority, they have no qualms about using it against those who challenge or disagree. At the same time, they consider themselves to be the highest moral authority, subject to no will or law above their own conscience or judgment. People being people, I'm sure that there probably was a fair amount of that sentiment, even in 1943. However, I also tend to think that there was a good deal more patriotism, more unity, more willingness to sacrifice the desires of self for the good of the nation and the world. Had that same war been waged against an America holding the majority views of today, I doubt that I would be free to write any commentary about the pursuit of an American atomic bomb, and what I did write would probably be in German.
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