Channel Surfing: American Crime Story - "From the Ashes of Tragedy"

Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
Over the past few years, the interest in true crime stories has emerged once again with a certain fervor. Starting with The Jinx on HBO and later with Netflix's Making a Murderer, audiences love the formula behind how someone could get messed up in crimes, or just try to understand the sick psychology by which these people live everyday of their lives. True crime is scary and fascinating because it has happened within the confines of this planet, and not within the realm of fiction. To say the least, Ryan Murphy's entry may be a little unorthodox; filled with stunt casting and a strange balance of camp and drama; but it still  comes across as a ferocious commentary on something bigger.
To approach Murphy's work is to meet with strange expectations. One could turn to Glee or American Horror Story and see great ideas clashing with poor choices. In fact, it's practically become his mantra. So for him to launch his latest series, American Crime Story, with a miniseries focusing on the most buzzed about trial of the late 20th century  seems worthy of opportunity and a potential train wreck as well. After all, subtlety is not his strong suit and Cuba Gooding Jr. hasn't had a great film in, well... it will take too long to calculate. Throw in strange casting roles by equally questionable John Travolta and David Schwimmer, and you get whatever strange sensation he hopes to achieve here.
The thing is that to generations over 30, the name O.J. Simpson is one of conflicted interest, especially with a successful sports career (as "The Juice") and memorable acting roles in The Naked Gun franchise. The trial itself was one of the biggest media storms of the early 90's - a decade that was in love with serial killer imagery. To most that are younger, Simpson either doesn't register, or is the notorious "killer" who has been lampooned to death and whose nickname is just as violent in reference. So where does this miniseries choose to start? 
Thankfully Murphy has pitted the start of the show at the place of least bias: Simpson (Gooding Jr.) is heading out of town as a neighbor discovers his wife murdered. The curious event elevates from there, showing everyone's own skepticism and Simpson's close friends hoping that this was just some random mistake. Most of all, the show decides to make note of taking place after The Rodney King Riots - an even two years prior that itself was racially charged and, as the moniker would suggest, got pretty violent. In a way, the series attempts to avoid the problematic sequel to accusing a black man, especially one of power as much as Simpson.
The first episode has all of the elements for a perfect set-up. Gooding Jr. meets Murphy's level of campiness with a specific energy that elevates his performance. The peculiar nature of his actions also already feel suspect, especially during testimony hearings that work against him. It's a trial that's looking to be full of impressive pieces, including frequent Murphy collaborator Sarah Paulson - of whom gives another gripping performance. By the end, things are put into gear for the infamous freeway chase. What's more impressive is that even among all of this damning evidence, the show decides to not take sides, at least just yet.
Of course, Murphy wants to appeal to younger audiences - so there's a certain level of pandering scattered throughout the first episode. For instance, there's a pivotal scene in which Simpson panics in Robert Kardashian's daughter's (you know the one) room. While this isn't factually incorrect, it's small moments like this that help the first episode to feel a tad insecure with its subject matter. Everything is spelled out a little too heavily and the "future celebrities as children" gimmick feels more tacked on to give younger audiences a sense of time. If anything, it makes it more astounding how much of The People vs. O.J. Simpson is still in our culture. Even then, it's the only worrisome element in an otherwise solid first episode.
For what it's worth, Murphy's new series feels like it fits right into his wheelhouse and may actually produce work that is above the average work that he has become known for in the past few years. Gooding Jr. already looks to be giving a compelling  performance that may help us forget about Boat Trip. It also helps that the first episode ends with one of the more iconic events of the trial, leaving audiences hooked to at least make it to next week's episode. Even if this isn't the entirely serious, factually correct series that it could be, it already looks to be entertaining in ways that are reflective of how silly the media's consumption of it was and how bizarre the whole thing was. The only hope is that he sticks the landing and that whatever series is to come doesn't end up being a diminishing returns prospect.

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