Miniseries, Mini Review: The Bronx Is Burning
I don't know if people who live outside New York City can understand the phenomenon of nostalgia for the city's sleazy days of the 1970s. Maybe it's a combination of high real-estate prices in the newly-cleaned up "America's safest large city," hipster irony and old-fashioned NYC contrariness, but it's not uncommon to find people occasionally longing for the days when The Ramones played CBGB, Times Square was dirty and Central Park was a war zone. (This kind of nostalgia is even--or especially--common among people who didn't actually live in the city at the time.)
For these people, plus baseball fans, ESPN offers up the eight-part miniseries The Bronx Is Burning, starting tonight at 10 p.m. E.T. Based on a nonfiction book by Jonathan Mahler, the show captures the era when NYC was at its nadir (the budget crisis, the '77 blackout and riots and the Son of Sam killings) and the Yankees were at their apex. Since the story was adapted for a sports network, the miniseries focuses far less on the wider social picture than did the book (or for that matter, its forerunner, the Spike Lee movie Summer of Sam), and far more on baseball. (The episodes cut away rather jarringly to scenes of lovers being shot in parked cars and to the Son of Sam storyline involving legendary NYC newshound Jimmy Breslin.)
But as far as it goes, the early episodes sent by ESPN are an involving story about the incendiary relationship among manager Billy Martin (John Turturro), George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) and Reggie Jackson (Daniel Sunjata). Turturro fans will probably not be surprised at how well he loses himself in Martin's volatile personality, while those who know Sunjata may well be surprised at how thoroughly he disappears into the cocky Jackson--there's hardly a trace of Franco in him once he dons the pinstripes. As for Platt--his blustery style can grate on me sometimes, but it's hard to argue that he's perfectly cast here; it is probably impossible to overact the role of Steinbrenner, and its a delight to watch him and Turturro take turns throwing gasoline on the fire of their clubhouse showdowns.
In any case, the timing of the debut couldn't be better. It's going to hit 97 degrees in New York today and, for that matter, it's pretty sultry coast to coast. Not a bad night for anyone nostalgic for Blackout Summer to turn off the A/C, turn on the TV and relive a time when the mustaches were big, the mean streets were hot, and so were the tempers.
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James - Ono! Where's the FotC/Entourage Watch? I will throw a sandwich at you if you don't discuss Murray's tour of bandshells and ampitheaters, Bret's tendency towards loquaciousness in love songs and good-bye notes, Jermaine's passive agressiveness (Ono! Ono!), and, of course, the continued brilliance that is Mel (Is she stupid? Does she look like me? Does she have my eyes?)
God, we love you Mel....
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I may get around to one. Been catching up on pilots lately. My favorite tossed-off sight gag had to be Jemaine's hand-drawn "poster" of the band.
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What, Murray slipping the topless photo of himself into the stack of band pictures he handed to Mel didn't meet your criteria for "favorite tossed-off sight gag"?
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I think they did a bad job casting Reggie. Reggie was a big guy if memory serves me. In the old footage you can see the major difference. Sunjata needed to bulk up for the part I don't know why he didn't do his job. He plays Reggie like a whiny baby, not an egomaniac pro baseball star.
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Tru facts about the Daniel Sunjata we don't know. He did this to my beautiful sister and I'm telling to share to the fans who the real Sunjata is. A not nice man, a liar, cheater. The rest is a fake public image.Repeat: NO RUMOR BOUT DANIEL
To all the innocent girls who come on these sites lookingfor the truth when they got hurt or used or stolen from because theygot themselves involved with Daniel Sunjata. Thisis for you. He did this to me and my family and this is this is what's up.
- Everyone of a certain age in Evanston, IL knows Danny Condonas the man who abandoned his two daughters. Who are only 6 monthsapart by two different women. He had to be sued many times to pay hischild support. They live on welfare.
-Daniel Sunjata has a cocaine habit and that is what makes him broke.He spends his money on drugs.
- Daniel Sunjata tells the women and men he picks up that he is a nice,political, religious man. It is also part of a fake public image. Woulda honest good man lie or cheat on his girlfriend or to hundreds of women?Would they abandon their own kids? Or not see their grankid because of a wanting to be a sexy lead man. Answer f*cking Hellll No.
-Daniel the worst kind of dog and player and is goes around sleeping with men onthe DL and many women. He seduces women by letting themthink he's dating them and tells them he loves them until gets what hewants - sex.- He has a girlfriend for five years named Rosalba Sierra whose an old lady emigrantfrom Venezuela. Shes Daniel's doormat , the only one he takesto events. He tells the other women he dates behind their back to his friends their his "h**s". He don't love Ro. She don't got class to be a wife. Dan cheats on her constantly and dates other women. She is the dumbest woman alive and when the girls come and tell Rosalba that Dan has been their boyfriend Dan tells them they are fake people. Right. This is not nice or good or decentHe has one apartment with her in Harlem, but he has another house wherehe takes the girls and boys he is dating so he thinks hes single.- Don't ever leave anything at Daniel's house when he invited you therto f**ck him. He will steal it. Many women come to his fan site lookingfor him, if you want to meet the others or hear their stories just ask on his fan site and get the truth. They come To get their things back because once he gets the sex he never speaks to them again.He changes his numbers and he peaces out so no one can tell him they art hurt or he stole from them.He go on all the fan sites posting as fans saying he is hot sexy and the most talented. go ask moderators his IP is on aall the sites69.147.64.105Check yourself he is a psycho you will see -
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Daniel Sunjata is a liar. I was in the same boat. Ladies please be careful out there and if this happens to you I'm sorry but share what happened so the other girls won't get caugth up
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If this is true I can't imagine it is all true. But if he is stupid enough to behave like this he deserves to get caught.
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He is a disgusting excuse for a human being . He hurt a friend of mine; he is dishonest, cares about noone, and tries to act as if he a moral guy. In fact, he is a sexual predator.
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Interesting. I keep reading derogatory posts like the ones above all over the internet but even though they all are posted under different names, they are also all posted by someone with the same IP address. hmmmm.....seems like Sunjata must be truly famous now; he has entered Stalker-ville. LOL. Personally, I think its all lies.
- poniewozik Loved the season. Mrs Tuned In wd have put u on the main list RT @boredtodeath Thank u for incl us in Time's Top 10. We'll take hon mention. - 2 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Virgin is the best, LAX-JFK - 3 hours ago
- poniewozik Did NPR interview abt multiscreen multitasking. After, automatically reached for iPhone in pocket. Like don draper wd have for cigarettes. - 4 hours ago
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