"The Bronx is Burning" and So Are Somone's Ears

ESPN's miniseries documenting the Yankees' 1977 season, particularly the feud between manager Billy Martin and superstar outfielder Reggie Jackson, got underway this week. In the season opener we see that Martin (John Turturro) has more than his share of flaws, which Big Stein (caricatured here by Oliver Platt) is willing to overlook because Martin is a winner and that's what the Yanks need after not having won a pennant for more than a decade. Well, reconsiders Steinbrenner, they also need someone whose popularity can put the "meat in the seats". Enter Reggie Jackson, played with pitch-perfect charisma by Daniel Sunjata of FX's Rescue Me.

As you can expect, tension builds quickly among this triumvirate from the outset. Martin challenges Steinbrenner's decision-making on several occasions, The Boss reasserts his control in humiliating ways, and Jackson lets his stardom go to his head. With each man believing he is the savior of this once storied franchise the table is set for the historic, nationally televised dugout fight between Martin and Jackson in June of the '77 season.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - as I think the writers may have. There are some scenes where we witness the beginnings of David Berkowitz's killing spree which kept New York paralyzed in a state of anxiety that same summer. There are also passing references to the rough social and economic situation in the city in at the time. Since the series is based on a book detailing all these aspects of that drama-filled summer, it may be safe to assume such scenes will have more purpose over the remaining seven episodes (this was alluded to in the previews as well), but in the premiere these scenes are awkwardly placed and distracting.

Though not nearly as distracting as the prosthetic ears Turturro wears.

In the beginning I wondered if I wasn't watching a story about batboy. No, not the young kid that gets to pick up after the sloppy ball players, this batboy. After a while, I kept feeling as though Martin's nose was to going to be slightly longer each time he reappeared. The fact that I watched for an entire hour and couldn't get over how ridiculous he looked might say something about how engaging the series is otherwise, but wow, what were they thinking? I looked up some pics of the real Martin online, and while his ears may have been a little bigger than your average set, they were in no way as conspicuous as the mini-satellite dishes Turturro is sporting.

Distractions aside, the series has some worthy aspects. The lead performances are all relatively solid, and the casting of the supporting players is spot-on. Especially in regards to the actors playing Thurmon Monson and Lou Pinella, though we don't see too much of them in the premiere.

I'll stick around for at least another episode to see if this thing finds its groove. But if Turturro sprouts a tale and begins braying, I'm outta here.

The Bronx is Burning runs on ESPN Tuesday nights at 10pm, with several re-airings on ESPN and ESPN2.