The first episode of the eight-part “The Bronx is Burning” (2007, ESPN) opens with a dugout clash between Yankees manager Billy Martin (John Turturro) and superstar Reggie Jackson (Daniel Sunjata) and closes with a locker-room shouting match between Martin and owner George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt).
But as we learn over the course of this deep dive into the 1977 Yankees, what played out as a ridiculous circus to casual observers was really the clash of three strong-willed men in pursuit of the common goal of a world championship.
Nostalgia for a bad time and place
Director Jeremiah S. Chechik’s series, based on the book by Jonathan Mahler, has a warm glow of nostalgia despite portraying the many horrors of 1977 in the Big Apple, including the Son of Sam serial murders, the garbage strike, the heat wave, and the power outage and its attendant looting.
“The Bronx is Burning” (2007)
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Lead writer: Gordon Greisman
Stars: Oliver Platt, Kevin Conway, Daniel Sunjata
The title could refer to NYC as a metaphorical tinderbox, or the literal building fires while the World Series was happening, or it could refer to the trio’s fiery personalities. But the writing team doesn’t try to draw connections between the Yankees and the news events other than to show that they were happening at the same time.
Indeed, Steinbrenner is so focused on winning his first title, Martin is so miserable after losses, and Jackson is so worried about how he’s perceived that it seems none of them know what’s going on in the city at large.
I don’t blame the writers for not forcing an artificial connection. The wealth of time-capsule elements is worthwhile in and of itself; most sports historical dramas and documentaries don’t do this, and it helps “The Bronx is Burning” spark.
Another blend Chechik (“Christmas Vacation”) has to balance is actual footage versus fictional footage. It’s always obvious when it cuts from one to the other – these are 2007 special effects on a budget — but to me it isn’t jarring. While it might be fun to just flat-out watch the 1977 World Series, we get more immediacy by cutting to Martin in the dugout, Jackson in the on-deck circle and Steinbrenner in the owner’s box.
Actors over likenesses
The series’ smartest move is casting great actors rather than worrying overly much about likenesses. It’s jarring only when you first see the characters, but then you get used to it. All of them nicely pepper in mannerisms, such as Platt’s Steinbrenner smoothing his hair and Turturro’s Martin walking stiffly through the tunnel. Sunjata comes close to looking like Jackson when his mustache is applied, and he effectively mimics the trademark corkscrew swing.
Particularly good likeness casting includes Erik Jensen as team captain Thurman Munson (who is the fourth lead of the piece, sometimes entering the grand squabble himself) and Mather Zickel as square-jawed Lou Piniella. Joe Grifasi is in the ballpark of looking like bench coach Yogi Berra, but I was kind of disappointed that we don’t get any Yogi-isms from him.
I feel “The Bronx is Burning” gives warm yet honest portrayals of all three of its leads, and part of why I’m so forgiving is that they are open with reporters in a way we don’t see anymore. All three speak their minds to Yankee beat reporters and national magazines.
The reaction to their comments from the other two, other Yankees, and the public at large always causes more problems, but they never learn to zip their lips. Maybe they are naïve, but they are straight shooters, and that’s admirable.
Tabloid times
And perhaps it wasn’t a bad policy. The nature of print journalism at the time was that you’d be known for the most recent thing you said. In the internet age, older quotes don’t always die, and they can be resurrected as if they are new, as Hollywood director James Gunn found out a couple years ago.
And when you did give boring answers – as pre-Steroid Era home run king Roger Maris found out in 1961 – you could still end up in hot water with the New York media, which needed to sell papers.
Another eye-opener of “The Bronx is Burning” is how free agency is a relatively new concept – it was less than 10 years old at the time. Today, we all accept that the Yankees (and other teams) try to “buy” championships. Looking at 1977, it’s now quaint that the Yankees aimed to “buy” a championship by signing one new guy: Jackson. The miniseries shows us there’s still a lot of drama in pursuing a title with a compiled roster rather than a grown roster.
This is because it focuses entirely on the Yankees – whose most recent title was in 1964, a long drought for the proud franchise — trying to win despite themselves. It’s certainly fun to see footage (interspersed with new close-ups) of the ALCS against the Royals and the World Series against the Dodgers.
But those on-field opponents are beside the point, which is mostly made early in the series, before we get the glut of delicious ABC Sports footage. When we watch the traditional champagne-popping celebrating and bask in the nostalgia, “The Bronx is Burning” asks us to mull that primary point one more time: Just how powerful of a curative is winning?