ESPN Scores with The Bronx Is Burning
It's midsummer, and for many of us that means it's all about baseball (especially with next week's
All-Star Game). But what makes ESPN's docudrama miniseries
The Bronx Is Burning (premieres Monday, July 9, at 10 pm/ET) so impressive is that it's the rare sports movie that acknowledges there's life going on outside the stadium.
Airing in eight hourlong chapters (after this week, each airs Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET), this gritty and gripping adaptation of Jonathan Mahler's book recounts the tumultuous events of 1977 in New York City. It's a tabloid trifecta: There's the feared Son of Sam serial killer on the loose, a boisterous mayoral campaign under way, and, racing to the World Series, a Yankee team dominated by the outsized personalities of owner George Steinbrenner, manager Billy Martin and star Reggie Jackson. A blackout during a heat wave, the perfect metaphor for this cash-strapped and crime-ridden metropolis, occurs after the first three hours that ESPN made available for review. Can't wait.
In its casting, Bronx hits a home run. Oliver Platt is a belligerent hoot as Steinbrenner, clashing constantly with the intense John Turturro as the rebellious, hard-drinking Martin, for whom the team is a religion. Add to the mix Rescue Me's charismatic Daniel Sunjata as Jackson, whose bravado is seen as arrogant by resentful teammates but which masks deep-rooted insecurities.
Their explosive clashes of ego and pride make for entertaining dramatic fireworks. The unsettling juxtaposition of Yankees fever with Son of Sam's reign of terror is intriguing, but could have used a stronger authorial voice to tie it together. (More of Michael Rispoli's Jimmy Breslin would have been nice.)
Still, even non-Yankees fans should enjoy this one.
Movie Magician
It's no surprise that someone with Steven Spielberg's gift for narrative should be so adept at telling his own story. In an engaging, wide-ranging interview, Spielberg on Spielberg (Monday, July 9, 8 pm/ET, TCM) revisits familiar tales and adds provocative reflections. How would he change the ending of Close Encounters of the Third Kind if he made it today? I'm not telling.
Weirdsville
There's no place like Eureka (Tuesdays, 9 pm/ET, Sci Fi Channel), a town of geniuses who wreak havoc with their science projects. In its second season, Eureka is a deft blend of humor and intrigue. Investigating the town's many strange phenomena, sheriff Jack Carter (goofily likable Colin Ferguson) is in the great tradition of reluctant TV heroes. Check him out.
