It's another day of me writing stuff I should be writing instead of blogging. While I'm taking a break from doing that…
I'm still watching The People Vs. O.J. Simpson and still wondering if I'll bail when they get to the parts that will be uncomfortable to watch. I don't mean the photos of the two brutally-murdered bodies. I mean the parts where sly lawyering slanders good cops and sells the "he was framed" theory to a jury that was in way over their I.Q.s.
The evidence against Simpson was strong but the kind of men who give the legal profession its bad name managed to muddy the narrative to the point of Reasonable Doubt. There still is no credible or even semi-credible alternate theory of who the Real Killer was if it wasn't Simpson. Darn near everyone who came near the case wrote a book about it but nobody wrote that one.
The dramatization in Part Two seemed over-the-top with O.J. re-enacting the gun-to-the-head scene from Blazing Saddles, and with a silly moment concocted to play up the Kardashian Kids now that they're so famous. But a lot of it is really good and generally accurate…and I still haven't decided if John Travolta's unearthly portrayal of Robert Shapiro was terrible casting or brilliant. I'll probably watch at least until I make that decision.
I'm still enjoying the Johnny Carson reruns on Antenna TV. Tomorrow night, they're airing a 1985 show with Jackie Gleason that I believe represents his only appearance with Johnny. Saturday night, it's a show with Mel Brooks from February 1975, not long after the release of Young Frankenstein. Sunday night is Charlton Heston and then on Monday, there's one with the unforgettable team of Bette Davis and Richard Pryor. In a week or two, they have one with Tom Hanks from 1982, about the time his sitcom Bosom Buddies was canceled.
And before I get back to work: A lot of folks have written to tell me how much they're enjoying the Triumph Election Special that I recommended here. One of the things I find amusing about it is to note the difference when the puppet is talking to people who are used to being on camera (politicians, TV personalities) and folks who aren't often on TV. There are exceptions to this but most of the "real people" are talking to Robert Smigel but most of the media-savvy folks are talking to Triumph. Like he's the one asking the questions.