Episode Summary #1: Yankees Miniseries “The Bronx is Burning”
By Norm Schrager at July 11, 2007 | 7:11 am | Print
The Bronx Is Burning — Episode #1
Once I got past Daniel Sunjata’s lack of Reggie Jackson physique and John Turturro’s massive Billy Martin ears, this was really a lot of fun.
Sunjata has all the silly swagger to play Reggie — or at least the myth of Reggie. And Turturro is something else, playing Martin as a proud hayseed that took losing extremely hard.
SUMMARY
– George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) convinces Billy Martin to join the team by kissing his butt (with lines like “Billy, when I was younger, you were my favorite Yankee!”). Then he convinces Reggie to join the team by kissing his butt as well.
– On the first day of spring training, Thurman Munson (Erik Jensen, an uncanny Munson) urges Reggie to start the day running, just like everybody else. Jackson doesn’t comply, and the stage is set for a long season.
– A series of fairly tame “Son of Sam” scenes seem awfully disjointed, as if it were part of a different movie. Hopefully, the David Berkowitz context will be integrated more smoothly into future episodes of this eight-parter.
EXTRAS
The episode is followed by a DVD-style extra, featuring interviews with Reggie Jackson and Sport Magazine writer Robert Ward. Jackson claims Ward misrepresented him in a now-infamous article in which Ward quotes Jackson as saying “I’m the straw that stirs the drink.” The interview scene is recreated in the first episode — with Ward playing himself.
QUESTION: What did you think of the film’s first episode? TELL US
Mel Schrager, 3 years ago
It seemed as though the show was interrupting the commercials. Once you got through that, if you could, it was quite enjoyable. However, just the thought of fighting through the myriad of commercials for the next 7 segments turns me off. Thank you, but no thank you. I’ll wait for Netflix.
Norm S., 3 years ago
Hey, it’s my dad everybody!
– Mel, I mean, Dad –
I was a little ticked by the commercials too, and I’m sure ESPN sold them in blocks for the entire series. I’ll tune in, but I can understand people wanting to wait for DVD.
-Norm
Nathan, 3 years ago
Great point, I’m waiting for DVD also. This looks fun – does it have a soundtrack?
Norm S., 3 years ago
- Nathan –
Great question, because you’d think a 70s-era movie about NYC would be strewn with great period music. I’m not sure this is big-budget enough to cover the movie with cool songs.
There is a short “Son of Sam” scene in episode #1 where a couple listens to The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” on the car radio. I don’t really remember other songs. I’ll keep my ears open for the rest of the series though.