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The Bronx is Burning


Great new mini series on ESPN about Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson and the 1977 New York Yankees. I remember that team well and as a nine year old I was captured by 'Captain' Thurman Munson, Reggie, Greg Nettles and, of course, Manager Billy Martin and coach Yogi Berra. I also remember NYC during that time and the general feeling of despair and decay. The series captures the mood well.

The Yankees website reports:
The mini-series is based on the acclaimed book "Ladies and Gentleman, the Bronx is Burning" by Jonathan Mahler, and it represents one of the most significant original programming efforts in ESPN's history. The story is set against the backdrop of a city that in 1977 was in financial turmoil and moral decay, where a bitter mayoral race was being waged, where Rupert Murdoch's brand-new influence on the Post tabloid was felt in a sensational way, where the Son of Sam case gripped a city in terror, where a heat wave and subsequent blackout led to widespread looting, where arson and racism and Studio 54 decadence all converged in a sordid, searing summer.

And right there in the middle of it all, surely in the starring role for this series, was the ceaseless battle featuring: a "superduperstar" known simply as "Reggie" (played by Daniel Sunjata); Martin (John Turturro), the firebrand manager who had won so often before as a Yankee infielder; and meddling club owner George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt), who bought the Bombers in 1973 and was determined to see them win a title they had not seen since 1962 ... whatever it took.

Comments

  1. ESPN made the mistake of premiering the series in NYC at 11 PM (after the 3-hr HR derby) -- so I and countless other NYers will have to catch it in reruns.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you can see the episode on the website..

    ReplyDelete

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