The People vs. O.J. Simpson

"Dammit Kato, stop making juice!!!!"     -- O.J. 

     Tonight is the first night of FX's American Crime Story series, based on the book: The Run of His Life: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson. A new anthology-based crime series, P vs. OJ follows the trial of the 20th century as it unfolds over nearly a year, from the discovery of Simpson's murdered ex-wife Nicole Simpson-Brown (and her friend Ron White) to the eventual (spoiler alert) acquittal of O.J. Given the first episode and evidence presented (a pair of gloves- one at Simpson's property and one at the murder scene, a cut on his left hand, his blood found near the crime scene and outside of his home, the erratic nature in which he drove home and nearly missed his flight....), I cannot believe he is serving jail time for an unrelated robbery and not for this murder.

     The first episode introduces Cuba Gooding's O.J., a well-liked, retired L.A.-area football player and his budding legal team, Robert Shapiro (John Travolta), Rob Kardashian Sr. (David Schwimmer), and eventually Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance). The episode follows initial investigation into the murder and a terribly conducted police interview with O.J., who ends up getting so freaked out (maybe because he was guilty?), that he tries to shoot himself before blowing off his surrender to police and driving off in a White Bronco (these two words come up over and over during the episode.) As D.A. Marcia Clark, Sarah Paulson begins building this case like its the fight of her life. While her personal life crumbles around her (a nasty divorce), her career is also rising to possibly crash if this case is not handled openly and fairly.  As the count of public opinion remains biased toward his innocence, friends of Nicole (Kris Kardashian, Faye Resnick) begin talking about the dangerous fights she had with O.J. when they were married and the beatings Nicole took.

     Somehow, it all comes back to the Kardashians..... which means the decline of the modern world started back in about 1993 when they were first on T.V. all the time. This was one of the first largely televised celebrity murder cases, and it might have necessitated the 24-hrs a day new networks. Was this all for the best? I tend to think the less we sensationalize the news, the better we'll be able to sleep at night. Stay tuned for more on O.J.