In the 1990s, the lives of Albert Einstein, or Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, might have merited TV movies. Today, in an age of media abundance, both have been turned into 10-part series, with each demonstrating that not every subject is brilliant enough — even Einstein’s — to merit such expansive treatment.
“Genius” — a plodding National Geographic Channel series devoted to Einstein — makes producing compelling drama around him look like rocket science. Boasting a creative pedigree that includes “A Beautiful Mind” director Ron Howard, the best one can say about this earnest, formulaic exercise is that in the world of historical TV, everything’s relative.
Representing the channel’s first scripted series, “Genius” follows Amazon’s half-hour drama “Z: The Beginning of Everything,” devoted to the Fitzgeralds, who at least had wanton drinking and debauchery in their quiver.
In each case, the material isn’t well served by teasing it out. Indeed, if there’s a quibble with “The Crown,” Netflix’s handsome drama about Queen Elizabeth II, it was that the episodes occasionally felt a little stretched over the course of a 10-hour first season.
In “Genius,” Geoffrey Rush plays the older Einstein, who is literally introduced with his pants down, perhaps in an attempt to humanize the man. He’s living in Germany with his wife Elsa (Emily Watson), but increasingly alarmed by rising fascism, which results in the brutal murder of his friend.
The series rather quickly flashes back to Einstein’s youth in Munich, in which he’s played by Johnny Flynn. His intellect makes him a rebellious student, bored in school. The intercutting between those periods in two previewed episodes, however, proves relatively flat, portraying Einstein as a guy who likes women but can be something of a self-absorbed jerk.
Because most of these programs reach relatively small audiences, they can indulge in a more immersive dive for those who are drawn to them. If it’s worth two hours, hey, why not do 10?
The problem with that, ultimately, is that it spares writers and directors from some of the tough choices they once faced in crafting a screen biography. As opposed to singling out fundamental events, they have the leisure to meander or drag out scenes that would have wound up on the cutting-room floor.
To be fair, “Genius” will presumably become more intriguing as the narrative advances into further into the war years, when Einstein has come to America and characters like the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover (T.R. Knight) become more prominent.
Still, based on a sampling of “Genius” it’s difficult to recommend sticking around to the end for an idea that, alas, probably looked better scribbled on a chalkboard.
“Genius” premieres April 25 at 9 p.m. on National Geographic Channel.
