ESPN is running a marathon of its miniseries about the 1977 New York Yankees. It is very watchable. John Turturro is fantastic, losing himself in the role of Billy Martin, the wily, self-destructive manager with a chip on his shoulder. Oliver Platt is less irritating than usual as owner George Steinbrenner, depressingly younger in 1977 than I am today.
But the action grinds to a halt whenever they cut to the “Son of Sam” case, which is a lot more often than you would think. What should be background flavor starts to dominate the show. The case was gripping the city! The Yankees and the case! How many movies have fallen back on this cheap device? It feels to me like there have been a couple.
Jack Silbert, curator