The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story: The Race Card

March 1, 2016 8:17 PM - Season 1, Episode 5

The trial begins.
posted by kittens for breakfast (6 comments total)

I'm kind of annoyed that they portrayed Hodgman's reported anxiety attack in a strategy session as a heart attack during opening remarks. The dramatic license added nothing and took away from the series's straight hewing to the facts of the case.

I'm also surprised that I forgot about the allegations (they were only allegations, as opposed to what was dramatized) that Mark Fuhrman collected Nazi memorabilia. Vanity Fair:

This complicated portrait of a man is one American Crime Story tries to paint all sides of. Despite the fact that the show presents the Nazi medal as truth rather than allegation, it also doesn’t imply that Fuhrman planted that bloody glove. According to the FX series, Fuhrman both owned a Nazi medal and came by the glove honestly which is just part and parcel of the morally knotty drama American Crime Story seems interested in telling.

Finally, Courtney B. Vance ate so much scenery (figuratively and almost literally) I totally didn't notice that Travola's Shapiro was basically absent until about halfway through the episode.
posted by General Malaise at 7:44 PM on March 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Agreed Vance is so so good in this. I didn't know who he was so I looked him up - he was in a memorable performance in "The Hunt For Red October" (FanFare)! He has a small but important role in it (dialog from the film here) and I recall thinking, 'Who is this guy? He is *really* good, I'd like to see more of him...' but he never cropped up again on my radar, although I see he's been in some mainstream shows like ER.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:23 PM on March 2, 2016 [4 favorites]

LA Times: Knife found on O.J. Simpson property being tested by LAPD

TMZ broke the story: Knife Unearthed at O.J. Simpson’s Estate, LAPD Launches ‘Top Secret’ Investigation

(I'm assuming the LAT did basic vetting of the story?)
posted by Room 641-A at 8:47 AM on March 4, 2016

Oh, LAPD press conference in a few minutes. Could things get any weirder?
posted by Room 641-A at 8:48 AM on March 4, 2016

The cold open. Cochran and Darden. Darden and every scene with Marcia Clark. It's crazy how good this show is. And really: How great is John Singleton? The intensity of his direction, oh my God. Much less has been said about directors than writers moving to TV in the last decade, but some fine ones have done just that -- John Dahl, Ernest Dickerson, Jennifer Lynch -- and if Singleton is interested, I hope producers notice. A third season of True Detective could use a strong directorial voice, for instance.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:10 AM on March 5, 2016 [3 favorites]

More perfect casting: Robert Morse as Dominick Dunne.

The VF fact check for this episode.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:17 AM on March 6, 2016 [3 favorites]