The People vs. O.J. Simpson

Friends of my family came and visited us when I was about eleven years old.  They wanted to go on a drive through Brentwood and see the spots associated with the O.J. Simpson trial. I didn't know what they were talking about really, but I had remembered the announcing of the verdict being a big deal at school. Kids were talking about it the day it happened, but of course they didn't really know anything they were saying in fourth grade.  I remember being scared passing Nicole Simpson's condo on South Bundy Drive. All I knew was that two people had been murdered there, and we were driving at night. That in itself seemed scary to me.

I would later pick up information on the O.J. trial as I got older from various places, mostly online and from people a little older than myself who had watched it all play out on television. The racial divide coming off of the L.A. riots had been strong in Los Angeles, and a black celebrity on trial for murder seemed ripe for the tragedy of the case to be downplayed, making room for race and politics to be at the forefront of the trial.

"The People vs. O.J. Simpson" manages to be respectful to the victims, but also exhibits the power of wealth and celebrity, showing how those factors can lead to a conclusion that may not be the one that makes the most sense. Expertly shot and written, the show manages to ratchet up the tension when the viewer already knows what is going to happen. Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance and Sterling K. Brown are spectacular in their roles of Marcia Clark, Johnnie Cohran, and Christopher Darden, respectively. They take the viewer on an emotional ride, one that must have agonizing to live through in reality. The "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" episode shows the media microscope at its most terrifying, one ready to tear apart anyone to sell tabloids. Paulson's every glance is powerful, growing with intensity as the trial continues to the infamous trying on the glove and Mark Fuhrman taking the stand. The viewer almost wants to look away for Clark's sake, knowing the next car crash is just around the corner for the prosecution. Cochran meanwhile seems to tell the right story to just the right jury. Two people were killed, justice was not served, and in the end, the lives of everyone involved in the trial would be forever changed (most for the worse).

"The People vs. O.J. Simpson" is composed of one gripping episode after the next. I walked away incredible impressed with the production, yet frustrated at that inevitable outcome. It is also one of the best television series of the past year.

CNN's The Eighties Episode 1 - Raised on Television

Nowadays, The 1980's have predominantly become a party theme for people my age. Big hair and loud colors. We almost forget we were born in the decade, a little too young to remember a lot of it. We were no doubt majorly influenced by it, however. The rise of MTV, the creation of the 24-hour news cycle, television taking off and becoming something that could be entertaining, but also a reflection of the world. It became okay to love television in the 80's.

I remember my parents talking about "L.A. Law" and "thirtysomething". I remember my Dad singing the theme song to the groundbreaking "It's Gary Shandling's Show". The music immediately popped into my head upon hearing of Shandling's recent passing.

Shows that had long runs that extended into the 90's I obviously have a greater recollection of, even if I wasn't sitting down and watching them every week. "Roseanne", "Cheers", "The Golden Girls" and "The Wonder Years" fit into that category.  Many of these shows I would become more aware of in syndication. I remember my Dad telling me to watch "Roseanne" later on in its run when the actress playing Becky was re-cast, and therefore morphed into a different person during the opening credit sequence.

It's interesting to think that as Walter Cronkite signs off the air in the early 1980's, he is considered at that point "the most trusted man in America". He would make way for Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, the anchors I remember well from childhood. CNN, ESPN, and MTV bring cable into the mainstream. The nighttime soap opera takes off and shows like "Dynasty" and "Dallas" become iconic. It's hard to think of there being a show like "Empire" today without them.  The first part of CNN's continuing series was fascinating to someone like me, born midway through the decade. I knew all the references, but didn't necessarily know the impact that the media world of more than thirty years ago had on today's news and entertainment.

CNN's "The Eighties" series continues on Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT.