Summer of Rockets

TV-14

6 episodes1 season

US Release

Overview:

Samuel, a Russian-born Jewish inventor who specialises in the development of hearing aids, is tasked with a secret mission by MI5 to use his technological expertise to contribute to western Cold War efforts. Following the tensions of the space race and the first hydrogen bomb test, Samuel's efforts factor in to the emergence of the modern world.

Created by:

Status:

Ended

Language:

English

First air date:

5/22/2019

Last air date:

6/26/2019

Key words:

inventor
deaf-mute
deaf
cold war
russian immigrant
mi5
jewish family
debutante
missing son
english upper class
hearing aid

Seasons

Season 1

6 Episodes

Cast

Toby Stephens

~ as ~

Samuel Petrukhin

Keeley Hawes

~ as ~

Kathleen Shaw

Linus Roache

~ as ~

Richard Shaw

Mark Bonnar

~ as ~

Field

Lucy Cohu

~ as ~

Miriam Petrukhin

Claire Bloom

~ as ~

Aunt Mary

Lily Sacofsky

~ as ~

Hannah Petrukhin

Timothy Spall

~ as ~

Lord Arthur Wallington

Gary Beadle

~ as ~

Courtney Johnson

Toby Woolf

~ as ~

Sasha Petrukhin

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Peter McGinn
Written 5 year(s) ago
7
I enjoyed this series, mostly, especially the way it represented the 50s era, which to me sometimes feels more ignored than the decades of the 40s and 60s. I felt the acting was very good and the writing mostly good. Every major character is given a subplot, which I usually found realistic and entertaining.

One review I read pointed out that the movie suffered from being politically correct, and I always worry about that description. That reviewer was unhappy that white men made up all the bad guys. Perhaps the black man kissing a white woman struck him as unlikely in that era. I had no problem with the plot or the way the time period was depicted.

But I will say that the final half-hour or so got away with a plot development it hadn't earned. I won't give it away, but our inventor's interaction in the final scenes, where he is suddenly trusted, seemed abrupt. It would have been more realistic if they had built up to it better. On the other hand, I liked the last second plot twist involving the Timothy Spall character.

Ultimately I liked it despite a few flaws in the plot.