The Bronx Is Burning

I haven't been a fan of baseball since the last strike whenever that was. The fact that a decent player(A Rod) signed a contract for 300 million over 10 years disgusts me. The best thing about this series is it reminds you of the way baseball used to be. It is excellently acted although a little slow getting going and probably could have been at least one episode shorter than it was. It is a fascinating look at the relationships between all the players, coaches, and owner on the Yankees to see what they had to go through to win. For someone who could care less about baseball anymore it is a great trip down memory lane to the good ol' days of baseball *cough* before steroids, BALCO, & all the illegitimate "Great" players that are around these days. Watch this especially if you want to see a good story and the better days of when baseball actually was America's sport. It's now Football just in case you wondered. If you don't have a chance to see the whole series watch the last few episodes instead of the first.

It's nice to have something to watch after "The Soprano"s". That was the only show that I made a point to watch, and now it's "The Bronx is Burning". Remembering the Yankee's back then is very nostalgic, even though I was a big Dodger fan. I think John Turturro is Emmy worthy, his portrayal of Billy Martin is unbelievable. Pretty much everyone in the cast us right on. I had forgotten about all the drama that occurred back then with that team, but there's certainly plenty to reminisce about. I was wondering about the reaction that retired Yankee' have about this series? Even though though after the show there are interviews with them, what has been the buzz, overall?

It's an incredible story. Each one of the three main characters could star in their own movie, but put them together on one stage, and it's "Clash of the Titans". "The Bronx Is Burning" is a study in how talent can overcome massive ego, meddling, childishness and pettiness played out on the biggest stage in the world. Of the three, Martin comes out looking the best. How he was able to keep his hair and his sanity, much less win, when caught between the unstoppable force called Reggie Jackson and the immovable object called George Steinbrenner is a wonder. Jackson comes off as a prima donna's prima donna. Tyrell Owens standing on Dennis Rodman's shoulders wouldn't reach to Jackson's chin. Steinbrenner was simply a bull in a china shop. He cared about the team, but his attempts to bring the boardroom to the baseball diamond almost wrecked it. This movie is King Kong versus Godzilla versus Rodan. I wouldn't have wanted to be in the same room with any two of the real guys, but you won't be able to take your eyes off of Turturro, Platt and Daniel Sunjata.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 1) *** 1/2 (out of 4) The first part in this eight part mini-series gets off to a good start as we see George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) hiring Billy Martin (John Turturro) only to see the two start fighting over Reggie Jackson being brought in. Also brought up in this episode is the Son of Sam killings starting. I'll hold most of my comments until the mini-series is over but Turturro seems to be excellent as Martin but Platt isn't impressing me too much as the big guy. The supporting players seem to be fitting their roles just fine so we shall see how the series moves along.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 2) *** 1/2 (out of 4) George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) and Billy Martin (John Turturro) come to an understanding days after Martin is fired but this doesn't stop Martin's hatred for Reggie Jackson. Also, the Son of Sam killer is now taunting the police with notes saying he's going to kill more. This second part (of eight) really picks up steam with Turturro becoming terrific as the legendary Martin. I've noticed that Platt plays the part a lot better during the quiet scenes but whenever he tries to be the "Big Boss" he gets a bit campy. The stuff in the locker room between Jackson and his teammates is also very well done. Again, I'll post more when the mini-series is over.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 3) **** (out of 4) Things heat up when Billy Martin (John Turturro) pulls Reggie Jackson out of a game in Boston on live television. This leads to Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) traveling to Detroit to fire Martin. Back in NYC, Son of Sam kills two more people. This part is certainly the best so far with a lot of drama and the notorious event of Martin pulling Jackson makes for some great entertainment. There's also one nicely suspenseful scene dealing with Son of Sam. What's really standing out about this mini-series is the performance of Turturro who is turning in the best work of his career as the troubled Martin. His breakdown towards the end of this episode was really, really heartbreaking.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 4) *** (out of 4) Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) promises Billy Martin (John Turturro) he won't fire him, the first anniversary of the Son of Sam killing approaches and NYC is hit with a blackout in this fourth part of the mini-series. This was the weakest of the four parts so far but the acting is still top-notch but none of the three main parts are really hammered home like in the previous parts.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 5) *** 1/2 (out of 4) A terrorist plot hits NYC as record high temperatures do as well. The Son of Sam killer is finally caught as the Yankees take over first place after Martin bats Jackson clean-up. After the good but weakest segment last week, this weeks episode picks back up with a great reenactment of the capture of Sam and the Miller beer commercial with Steinbrenner and Martin is still funny.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 6) *** (out of 4) The Son of Sam killer is trying to make money off his killings while the Yankees finally beat out Boston for the Eastern Division but things start to unravel against Kansas City. This is yet another good episode but I was expecting so much more since we've been building up to the playoffs. There's really nothing too overly important that stands out here except for a great scene where Steinbrenner watches one of the playoff games with a group of college kids in their dorm. This scene is also the best Oliver Platt has been as The Boss.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 7) *** 1/2 (out of 4) The next to last episode has the Yankees in the World series against the Dodgers but Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin must come to some sort of understanding while Steinbrenner wants to offer Martin an extension. This episode picks up a lot more of the baseball action and I'm glad to see that this episode goes into more details about what was going on in the dugout. Each game is given plenty of time for us to see all the action and see how the characters were going through it.

Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 8) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Final episode has the Yankees entering Game 6 and trying to clinch it while a report in Time magazine has Jackson saying he won't return to the team if Martin is still coaching. Before the game Steinbrenner gives Martin a two year contract while Jackson goes out and hits three home runs. This final episode picks up a lot more steam and caps off the series very nicely, although I wish they would have used more new footage instead of all the real life clips. It would have been nice to see more of the reactions after the game but the episode is still quite strong.

I think this series is the best thing to hit commercial TV in the last 2 years. The casting is perfect, the acting superb, the script par excellence. I think including the Son of Sam storyline adds to the overall feeling of sweat, fear, frustration and anger in New York that the summer of 1977 seemed to engender. If John Turturro and Oliver Platt don't both get Emmys for their performances, there just ain't no justice! I remember that year, I remember being blow away by Reggie Jackson's ability, and Billy Martin's short temper, but of course knew nothing of what went on in the back office. Interestingly, my first glimpse of Steinbrenner as something other than a name came from the old Seinfelds, and Platt has borough him to life as no one else could. What a marvelous series.