S01.E02: The Run Of His Life

[charmed1]

I too was in high school when the "slow speed chase" occurred. Shout out to fellow generation catalano members in here! I was 16 going on 17 to be exact and a huge basketball fan and all those memories of being pissed off that the game was being interrupted came rushing back while I watched this episode. Damn it OJ! I was too young to remember OJ as a football star. I knew him from the Naked Gun and Hertz commercials so it was really pissing me off that he was interrupting my teenage life at that moment. But I will always remember A.C.'s quote from that 911 call, "It's AC, you know who I am damn it!" Which was so funny to me, because no one knew who the hell he was. Kramer even used that line in Seinfeld's spoof of the chase.

I was curious to see how they portrayed Jason and Arnelle. I saw Arnelle in person a couple of years after the verdict and she is breathtaking. A really beautiful girl. But she looks exactly like OJ. It's uncanny.

[BeatrixK]

Ahh -- I remember the Bronco chase.  Ex-husband and I were at a local sports bar watching the NBA finals.  Then...the stupid bronco showed up...story got flushed out...and we headed off to the newsroom for what ended up being a verrryyyy long night.  (He was a newspaper editor.)  He did get very odd pre-emptive stories over the wire - one of which was an obit so it could go to press if necessary (being on the west coasts, Central and Eastern time papers were dangerously close to print time - and they would be cutting it close.)  But it was surreal seeing the copy editors mock up a page with the obit, and knowing the guy was, at that point, likely still alive.

 

Yeah -- that chase seemed to go on foooorrreeevveerrrr.   Really surprised they managed to encapsulate it well.

 

I'll say this much for Travolta - he may look a little odd...but he has Shapiro's arrogance down to a T. 

[punkypower]

I couldn't remember AC's call to 911. 

 

For those whose memories are also foggy:

 

[BoogieBurns]

So, looking at punkypower's freeze frame of the video, you can see why some people would have thought only one person was in the Bronco. 

[punkypower]

Yup, I've yet to find a photo and/or video that actually shows OJ at any time in the Bronco.

 

Of course, I'm sure one's out there and I just haven't fallen far enough down the rabbit hole.

[SFoster21]

Yup, I've yet to find a photo and/or video that actually shows OJ at any time in the Bronco.

Of course, I'm sure one's out there and I just haven't fallen far enough down the rabbit hole.

He was hunkered down in the back seat. The contents of the car included disguises and cash. There is some reason to suspect that they were hoping to cross into Mexico.

[Notwisconsin]

Are you freaking serious. No more of the K Kids. They had nothing to do with this shit, stop inserting them into this story

This is to some extent, the origin story of the Kardashians. Without the OJ tragedy, no one would have ever heard of them.

[Dejana]

This is to some extent, the origin story of the Kardashians. Without the OJ tragedy, no one would have ever heard of them.

 

I don't know about that. They had other connections to celebrity besides the OJ trial that had more to do with their eventual rise to fame, so I think it would have happened anyway.

 

Kris Jenner was on Entertainment Tonight this week. She says the whole scene with the kids watching the chase like that didn't happen (starts with a teaser for next week's episode, if you consider that a spoiler):

 

[Umbelina]

There is a thread for the Kardashian stuff now. 

The Kardashian Kvetching Korner

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/38619-the-kardashian-kvetching-korner/#entry1951850

[benteen]

Really good episode, especially as it went along.  Although I find parts of this show unintentionally hilarious.  Like AC Cowling in the car yelling on the phone.  I laughed at the “You know who this is” line.  It’s a line I’ve used jokingly for years but could never remember where it came from.  Now I do!

 

Very good acting by the cast.  Cuba is also unintentionally hilarious but did good work as the episode went on.  Also unintentionally hilarious is Bruce Greenwood.  Travolta is funny in a bizarre sort of way.

Edited February 15, 2016 by benteen

[ketose]

But no mention of David Hassalhoff!

I don't remember what that was about.

I think I was one of the few people in America who didnt see the Bronco chase. We had just gotten home from vacation and I was exhausted after a long car ride with a toddler. So I went to bed very early that night.

There were tens of millions who didn't. I was also one of them. My Dad and I were hanging out and didn't have a TV near by. By the time we got home, the chase was over.

 

Just for context, I didn't see anyone actually say that the David Hasselhoff thing was his big PPV concert in the US the night of the Bronco chase. 

Edited February 15, 2016 by ketose

[FuriousStyles]

Good of Kris to clear up that whole crap with the kids sitting infront of the tv chanting Kar-dash-i-on was bogus.  I actually asked earlier in this thread where the hell was she while the kids were camped out infront of the tv.  I still maintain there are so many better ways the tptb could have incorporated the Kardashion kids if they felt they just HAD to include them at all.

[nutella fitzgerald]

I was about 7 too and yes all this time I assumed OJ was by himself.

I was 8 and thought the same thing!

Is Cuba playing OJ with some sort of mental disability or something? When he kept saying sorry to the cops and then talking about how the people weren't being safe standing on the freeway he sounded like a 5 year old. Or at least the mental capacity of a 5 year old.

I might be looking at it with 2016 glasses, but I felt like there was hinting at CTE over both episodes.

[ketose]

I'd say OJ was under a lot of stress during that week because his world was crashing down. Once he realized he couldn't just fix the situation, my guess is he got a lot more rational and calculating, especially hiring the Dream Team.

[Gweilo]

I don't really know anything about the real life story except in broad brushstrokes, so I'm enjoying this in a trashy TV kind of way. 

 

But I do not like Cuba Gooding Junior's acting at all, I find it hammy and cartoonish.  I don't know if he is portraying OJs behaviour accurately or not.  But every time there's a scene when he has to shout and scream and go crazy, like in the back of the Bronco, it feels like I'm watching Tracey Jordan from 30 Rock having a tantrum.  And I DON'T think that's what the writers were going for!

[Chaos Theory]

My memory of this is Swiss cheese then again like I say a lot real life bores me so I probably didn't pay attention to this nearly as much as most did anyway. Sports were never my thing anyway. I do kinda remember him in the great Bronco Chase but didn't remember how it ended.

I am enjoying this more then I thought I would. The reaction shots are hilarious especial Marcia Clarks. I am loving Sarah Paulson in this.

I liked the scene where Sharpton was doing the "It's not my fault interview" and the scene switched over to Cochran and he told his people to never throw their cliants under the bus like that. It was a telling moment and if this wasn't a true life event I might have felt differently about the man or maybe that moment I think at least I understood him for a moment at least. Either way I liked it.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[vmcd88]

I was not going to watch this series because I figured I remember the chase/trial/verdict but here I am captivated all over again.   I dont get the Kardashian hate in this series.  Their dad was one of OJs best friends/Nicole and Kris were friends so it's not as if the series is making their close relationship up.  It happened get over it and watch the rest of the story.  I know I am cause damn it's still fascinating.

Edited February 16, 2016 by vmcd88

[mostlylurking]

I am really enjoying this "show" a lot more than I thought I would.  The acting is excellent.  I think all the actors are giving it 100%, especially CGJ who looks nothing like OJ, especially his stature, but this episode I think he was really embodying OJ and his personality.

 

I have to agree with some other posters, the most interesting aspect to me thus far has been Chris Darden.  I was in high school during the trial (economics class when the verdict was read) and I never really thought about the mixed feelings he must have been having.  Being black himself, knowing the LAPD had race problems, believing OJ was guilty, it's a lot to deal with and really interesting seeing it portrayed.  I am not familiar with the actor playing Darden but like the rest of the cast he's awesome.

[Chaos Theory]

Wait Is it OJ Simpsons fault we have the Kardashians? Screw the murders....this is what I will never forgive him for.

I honestly forgot who Chris Darden was and so far he is being played out as a sad casualty of this whole mess. Someone trying to do the right thing....i liked his scenes back at his home when his father warned him away from the case.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Special K]

Wait Is it OJ Simpsons fault we have the Kardashians? Screw the murders....this is what I will never forgive him for.

 

 

Yes, I believe this is one of the points being made.  Among many, of course.

[Lisin]

Wait Is it OJ Simpsons fault we have the Kardashians? Screw the murders....this is what I will never forgive him for.

 

Yup. I mean had Robert Kardashian not been semi-famous because of this trial I don't know that America would have cared about a no-name assistant to Paris Hilton having a sex tape leaked. Add to that the fact that Harvy Levin of TMZ was at this time a court tv type talking head reporter who maybe (I'm speculating, but I'm sure there are people who know more than me who can add to/correct my speculation) became friendly with Kris while the trial was going on and then she was able to parlay that friendship into a following of sorts for her daughter? The fact that any time any of them get into trouble they call up Rob Shapiro to fix it? None of that would have been true if it hadn't been for OJ. Or maybe it would, I don't know. I just know that when the sex tape thing happened I thought OH! The daughter of Robert Kardashian! OJ's friend/attorney/possible evidence destroyer! Wow. That's embarrassing for that family. Little did I know.  

[FuriousStyles]

I don't think Robert Kardashian's involvement with OJ's trial had much to do with the Klan's fame.  I suspect, like me a lot of people my age (under 30) had NO IDEA who Kim Kardashian's father was when the sex tape came out.  I'm trying to remember if I even knew who Kim Kardashian herself was.  I definitely knew Ray-J.  I'm also trying to remember how I found out about Robert Kardashian.  I believe when I used to watch KUWTK (don't judge) there was an episode commemorating his death or his birthday or something regarding him and they mentioned him being one of O.J.'s lawyers, and I remember being shocked by that.  At that point I thought RK was this big shot lawyer, possibly being second chair to Johnnie Cochran, when in reality he was little more than a go-between/advisor.

 

For people a little older, I thought Bruce Jenner, Olympic gold medalist and all that, was a much bigger deal?  No?  Regardless, I think Kris and Kim were hellbent on creating the empire they created and they were gonna accomplish it however they could.  

[susannot]

I was a practicing lawyer in 1994 and all the lawyers in my office had a morbid fascination with the Simpson case.  We discussed it obsessively every day.  There was no Facebook or internet so people watched it on Court TV.  We had one lawyer who actually took sick leave and time off to watch. On the day of the verdict, we had a potluck party in our conference room and watched on TV.  We went around the room and voted on the verdict.  I wimped out and predicted a hung jury.  The only person in the room who nailed it and predicted an acquittal was a former court bailiff who was our investigator.  Baillffs know what's going on in court.  When the verdict came in, I am sorry to say that I and the other white people in the room looked over at our (few) black colleagues to gauge their reactions.

Edited February 17, 2016 by susannot

[Special K]

I don't think Robert Kardashian's involvement with OJ's trial had much to do with the Klan's fame. 

 

Actually, I meant it in a less literal sense in that the trial became so much more than a legal event, but a kind of benchmark in the rise of lurid celebrity reality-television, fame-whoredom.  So maybe not directly, but the newly (seemingly) insatiable American appetite for celebrity and scandal, which was definitely fueled by the OJ trial, coupled with advent of the 24-hour news cycle -- yeah, I think all those things came together at the right time and contributed to what eventually would give us "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and other travesties of our time.  The fact that there is an actual, non-abstract connection with the Kardashian family makes it even more irresistible, ironic, and surreal.

 

I do think this is one of the underlying social statements Ryan Murphy is (or will be) making.

[Jel]

I don't think Robert Kardashian's involvement with OJ's trial had much to do with the Klan's fame.  I suspect, like me a lot of people my age (under 30) had NO IDEA who Kim Kardashian's father was when the sex tape came out.  I'm trying to remember if I even knew who Kim Kardashian herself was.  I definitely knew Ray-J.  I'm also trying to remember how I found out about Robert Kardashian.  I believe when I used to watch KUWTK (don't judge) there was an episode commemorating his death or his birthday or something regarding him and they mentioned him being one of O.J.'s lawyers, and I remember being shocked by that.  At that point I thought RK was this big shot lawyer, possibly being second chair to Johnnie Cochran, when in reality he was little more than a go-between/advisor.

 

For people a little older, I thought Bruce Jenner, Olympic gold medalist and all that, was a much bigger deal?  No?  Regardless, I think Kris and Kim were hellbent on creating the empire they created and they were gonna accomplish it however they could.  

Yes! Kim got famous because she made a sex tape with someone who had some measure of fame. Then she became Paris Hilton's assistant, (Paris was the KK of her time) and shenanigans ensued. Then Ryan Seacrest thought people would be interested in seeing the Kardashian family on tv. 

 

That's how I remember it.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Jel

[Avaleigh]

I'm really enjoying this series and it's bringing back so many memories. The more that I think about it 1994 was just really memorable for me. The Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal was a big deal because I was a competitive figure skater growing up and the rumors spread like wildfire basically minutes after the attack. 

 

I vividly recall being in my skating clothes and not changing because my mother and I were glued to the TV and my mom was already positive of OJ's guilt. I do remember the speculation that he might kill himself and how incredibly intense and surreal it seemed. I only remembered OJ from the Naked Gun movies and wasn't familiar with the football hero side. I think at the time I was reacting more to the spectacle in general (nobody was talking about anything else) than the idea of "The Juice" being on the loose. It's like the 405 FWY? Really? And all of the people just parked on the side of the road? Anybody who's spent any time in LA knows just how nuts that is and how it would never happen again today. No way. Save authorities having to clear the fwy for a bomb scare or something I can't see them clearing the fwy for a sports/acting celebrity because he's threatening suicide.  

 

The stuff with AC was interesting and I have to think that some part of him had to have wondered how he ended up being the driver of a man who is accused of double homicide. Like, you're a pro footballer for a decade, you've done reasonably well for yourself, and somehow in the misguided name of friendship you find yourself driving around your ex-teammate and friend because he involved himself in the worst possible sort of situation. 

 

I can't imagine making a sign and standing on the bridge waiting for OJ to go by. So crazy that these things actually happened. 

 

Cuba's performance is great I just wish he looked more like OJ physically.

 

I thought the scene where Jason ran out to the car was great. The danger felt amped up and even though I obviously knew that OJ wouldn't commit suicide, I thought the moment where he put the gun in his mouth and was screaming was incredibly effective.

 

I'm definitely into this season for the long haul.  

[Milburn Stone]

Yes! Kim got famous because she made a sex tape with someone who had some measure of fame.

 

I consider myself blessed that I avoided any knowledge of the Kardashian Family for as long as humanly possible. But now I'm curious--who was the sex tape with?

[Uncle Benzene]

I consider myself blessed that I avoided any knowledge of the Kardashian Family for as long as humanly possible. But now I'm curious--who was the sex tape with?

 

Carrot Top

[Jel]

I consider myself blessed that I avoided any knowledge of the Kardashian Family for as long as humanly possible. But now I'm curious--who was the sex tape with?

She made it with the singer Ray-J.

[Milburn Stone]

Thanks. (Not telling which of you I'm thanking.) :)

[DangerousMinds]

I had never hard of Ray J before the sex tape.

[starri]

Ray J was fame-adjacent because he's Brandi's brother and Snoop Dog's cousin.

[DangerousMinds]

He is Snoop Dogg's cousin? I never knew that. I had barely discovered Snoop at the time of the murders. Brandi was never on my radar.

[BW Manilowe]

Ray J's sister actually spells her name with a Y at the end, not an I.. Brandy, like the alcoholic beverage (full name: Brandy Norwood). She's a pop/R&B singer--she had a big hit called The Boy Is Mine with another singer named Monica. She's also an actress--she starred, for a number of years, in the TV show Moesha (reruns of which currently air on the UP! cable channel); she also played Cinderella in a TV movie version which was made with an all African-American cast, & in which Whitney Houston played Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. And, in another interesting note to sort of tie this together with some of those in the OJ case, towards the end of her life, Whitney Houston was apparently romantically involved with Ray J--the same Ray J in the Kim Kardashian sex tape. (Apologies for the OT here)

[Kromm]

Well another tie-in, if we're building links/similarities between things, is that like Caitlyn Jenner (a quiet background player in the OJ story since Caitlyn, then Bruce, was already married to Kris, even if we haven't been allowed to see that) in later days, Brandy was in a car accident where someone died. People might also remember her from being a 1 season duration judge on America's Got Talent (Season 1). She's also been arm candy for a whole bunch of basketball players over the years, so people might have seen her in paparazzi photos from that.

Anyway, the point is mostly that there are insidious fame-links back and forth through fame-whore history for all of these ridiculous people.

[candle96]

The goal was to keep OJ alive so he could be prosecuted.  DA's never want a suspect dead. They want the presumed bad guys brought to trial.  So, yes, the kid gloves treatment was a way to keep OJ alive. I don't think it mattered if he killed himself on live TV or in private, they just wanted him alive.

Yes, to this, but also to the extremely bad PR of OJ, still beloved by millions, being "killed" by the LAPD. Particularly in light of the riots, as noted at the beginning of this series.

I don't think people can underestimate how much the LAPD was perceived as racist and corrupt back then. The general feeling was that African Americans couldn't get a fair shake. The LAPD could not afford to have the blood of one of the most famous and loved African Americans on their hands, even if he was guilty.

[Umbelina]

It was that video of the police beating Rodney King, and then the court trial and the police who beat him being cleared of a crime we all watched on television.  It was shocking, and sickening.

 

Now of course, we see it all the time, only it's kids, or women, and they are dead, usually with no cop held accountable. 

 

I think it's one reason this show is still relevant, this is still happening, and we have become, in many ways, overwhelmed and numb by it.

 

Black lives matter!

responded to by:

Blue lives matter!

 

(well, duh.  One doesn't cancel the other out.)  We haven't come very far.

[Guest]

I'm finally getting around to watching this after it sitting on my DVR for almost two months.  I've watched the first two episodes and I'm surprised by how much of the case I had forgotten but also how much I remember.  I very clearly remember the Bronco chase (I was 14 at the time). 

 

So far it is well done, but I have trouble seeing CGJ as OJ, David Schwimmer as anyone but Ross, and I feel the Kardashian references are a bit too heavy-handed. Not that I expect them to ignore them completely, but some of the stuff like screaming their names at the tv is a bit much.  

 

I'm also surprised by how often they call him Juice. I assumed that was an on-field thing and his friends would be calling him OJ.

[Crs97]

The actor who plays Alan Dershowitz in the miniseries (Evan Handler) ironically was in a Navy SEALS pilot with OJ that didn't get picked up, but was where he supposedly learned how to slit someone's throat from behind. One of his comments was that OJ went by Juice all the time:

Were you a football fan, or a fan of his before you worked with him?

Not a fanatic like a lot of Americans, but I was aware of O.J. I knew who he was. We spent three weeks together. It probably took me 18 days to get comfortable calling him Juice. That's what everybody called him, but it always felt strange and silly to me.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Crs97

[Guest]

I'm a little disappointed in this series so far.   I think the ESPN "OJ: Made in America" show was much better.  This one has Ryan Murphy smut written all over it.  The hammy acting, the too-heavy Kardashian stuff, the lousy casting of CG, etc.  I'll stick it out but we're finding it dull and silly.   

[fishcakes]

On 2/7/2017 at 10:02 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'm a little disappointed in this series so far.   I think the ESPN "OJ: Made in America" show was much better.  This one has Ryan Murphy smut written all over it.  The hammy acting, the too-heavy Kardashian stuff, the lousy casting of CG, etc.  I'll stick it out but we're finding it dull and silly.

I watched it a few months after it first aired (and shortly after I watched the 30 for 30 series) so I had heard all the hype before seeing it, but I agree with your take on it. I thought it was incredibly campy and I told someone at the time it was like watching a high school drama club put on a play written by their inappropriate English teacher.  I will say that Sarah Paulson has a great episode about halfway through the series, although even at that, she was never convincing to me as Marcia Clark, nor did any of the other actors disappear into their roles for me either, but maybe this is because I remember the real events and people pretty vividly.

[Guest]

Maybe that's part of my problem with it-- I just saw the ESPN series a couple months ago and that was the actual people being interviewed and actual footage used.  It was a documentary, not a reenactment.  So this just feels so ridiculously campy in comparison.  The issues were very real-- the murders, the racial tensions, the ruining and making of careers...  This feels like it's mocking them.  

The funny thing was I had heard this one was terrific but had gone 'streaming only' a couple years ago so was just waiting for it to show up somewhere.  At one point I started watching American Crime then realized that wasn't it (and I also didn't like that).  Then I found the ESPN one and got about halfway through that before I realized that wasn't it.  Though that I at least got 90% through.  So I was actually considering buying this one on Amazon Prime when it showed up on Hulu.  I'm so glad I didn't buy it.  

[Inquisitionist]

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 0:02 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'm a little disappointed in this series so far.   I think the ESPN "OJ: Made in America" show was much better.  This one has Ryan Murphy smut written all over it.  The hammy acting, the too-heavy Kardashian stuff, the lousy casting of CG, etc.  I'll stick it out but we're finding it dull and silly.   

How many episodes have  you watched,  Winston?  I thought the first  few were sub-par, too, but around Ep. 5 (The Race Card), I thought it came together in a very powerful and affecting way.  Over the course of 10 episodes, however, I would not have named it the best mini-series or limited series of the year.  I thought S2 of Fargo was consistently excellent from start to finish.

[Inquisitionist]

10 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

It won a Golden Globe for best limited series?  

Emmy, too.

[Guest]

On 3/5/2017 at 5:58 PM, Inquisitionist said:

Emmy, too.

You're right, I watched another ep or two and it's already much better.  

And Fargo S2 is on Hulu now.  Woohoo!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It's kind of funny to think about the fact that millions of people sat in front of their televisions for HOURS and watched...a car driving slowly. I mean, it was on every station so it was inescapable, but still. I know that people were watching because they wanted to see what would happen but it's just funny to compare today's short attention span world where people will click away from a page if it takes more than five seconds to load to 20+ years ago when people were literally watching a car drive for hours.