The Bronx is Burning

The first episode was not very good, but I wasn't expecting much. The love for Oliver Platt notwithstanding, he was pretty brutal as Steinbrenner. He didn't channel the boss at all, and the delivery of some of his lines was pretty stilted, as if he was reading from cue cards. They might as well have slapped a bad wig on Larry David and let him do it. Turturro actually did an excellent job of capturing Billy Martin, but it's hard to get too excited about it because he is working with a really bad adaptation and script. He seems twice as good as he really is, too, because most of the actors are weak caricatures of the players they are supposed to be playing. I laughed out loud--in a bad way--at the yokels playing Mickey Rivers and Thurman Munson, and couldn't they have found someone a bit more dynamic to play Reggie Jackson?

The book by Jonathan Mahler was excellent, but it wasn't just about the Yankees. It captured a time and place in its totality. So far this miniseries is shaping up to be a trite rehashing of a story that was fairly well-known to begin with--but maybe it is not aimed at me.

 

I have the book and am going to read it next - so I'm holding off on watching this. From Ragu's post, it sounds as if I have made a sound decision for once.

 

Well, it's about damn time!

 

I wouldn't worry if you do happen to see some. It won't ruin the book. From what I saw in episode one, the book and the miniseries have as much in common as the NRA and PETA.