Believe the hype. The pilot for the new FX series The People vs. OJ Simpson was absolutely terrific, and if the quality level of the first installment is any indication as to where the entire show is headed, then it’s going to become essential TV viewing, because already, the hooks have been set firmly in place. I had a feeling that this was going to be a show of particular merit when I learned that Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander were going to be calling the shots as executive producers and writers, if not director(s) — the episode list at Wikipedia only has credits listed thru episode five. Their insanely awesome feature screenwriting credits include Ed Wood, Man on the Moon, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Big Eyes, to name just four, all fantastic projects in similar and different ways, with their past work promising smart writing, plotting, and character building for this new crime anthology series. Of course, it can only help to have material as juicy and as iconic as the OJ Simpson fiasco/murder trial as your playing field, and during the first hour, Karazeweski and Alexander, along with director and executive producer Ryan Murphy, establish an almost dizzying array of people, places, and events, all of it coherently streamlined and executed with a minimum of stylistic intrusion or unnecessary fuss. There’s an urgency to the storytelling, which nails all of the key moments during those feverish first 24 hours of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s murders, and the way that the media circus is portrayed hits all of the perfect satirical marks about how frenzied our celebrity obsessed culture can be, especially during times of crisis. An almost absurdly stacked cast is top lined by sweaty and nervous Cuba Gooding Jr. as The Juice, a brittle and hostile Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clarke, John Travolta doing a lovely lock-jaw impersonation of Robert Shapiro (“I’m on the list” – ugh!), Courtney B. Vance as hot-tempered Johnnie Cochran, Rescue Me’s Steven Pasquale as the racist detective Mark Furhman, with Connie Britton, Jordana Brewster and Selma Blair popping up for a quick scene (more with them to most certainly come…). And yet the entire piece is practically stolen by, of all people, David Schwimmer, playing OJ’s long time friend Robert Kardashian, all sad-sacked and droopy-eyed, trying to discredit all that he’s learning about the increasingly desperate situation, never wanting to believe or accept the fact that his buddy is actually a murderer. Honestly, this is one of the most impressive ensemble casts I’ve ever seen on a TV series, and it’s tremendously clear that every performer brought their A-game to this production. I was 14 years old when I saw that white Bronco charging down the California freeway from my living room in CT, and during those final moments of the pilot when you see Simpson being driven by Al Cowlings (Malcolm Jamal Warner!) in that infamous SUV, you get that creeped-out sensation all over again, with the show serving as a volatile time capsule as well as a riveting drama. I watched this first installment twice, and I am very anxious to see more.
Podcasting Them Softly 