O.J. Simpson Has Died

Orenthal James Simpson, better known as, "O.J." or even, "Juice," has died of cancer at age 76. Simpson was a famous athlete, amateur actor, and infamous for being accused of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was found, "Not Guilty," to the surprise of many in 1994 after a long trial that was quite the media spectacle (in 2016 a great show chronicled everything). The thing I always found most interesting (I don't want to say, "Impressive," per se) about O.J. was his audacity. You would think most people after a controversial murder trial would slink away out of the spotlight and try to live a quiet life. O.J. did not. He kept himself in the media via a variety of methods. Whether he was doing a controversial prank show, signing autographs at sporting events, or writing a book literally titled, 'If I Did It," where he did everything but admit he was guilty, O.J. craved attention, positive or negative. He did, in fact, go to prison for some time due to an altercation over sports memorabilia, but after serving nine years, he was granted parole in 2017.

O.J. Simpson was not a good person, but he was a famous one. O.J. wanted to be a celebrity, good or bad, and he got that wish. It is quite likely he did murder Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, but it seems he took any true confession to his grave. I only hope that the families of Nicole Brown, Ron Goldman, and Simpson's own family can get some kind of closure from his passing. The internet has been having a field day with jokes, but one actually stuck out to me. It basically was someone stating, "I just hope O.J. can rest easy knowing the killer has died." That sums everything up pretty well.

Television Tuesday: The Best Television Show This Year Was "American Crime Story" Beyond a Reasonable Doubt--2016 In Review

An Amazing Program

The first season of, "American Crime Story," has the full name, "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson." The show is as jam-packed with talent and amazing storytelling as that mouthful of a title, however. I didn't talk about this debut season of, "American Crime Story," when it was coming out earlier in the year because I was busy and didn't end-up watching it all the way through until I was able to engage in a few binge-sessions of 3 episodes here and 2 episodes there up until I reached the end.

Frankly, I don't know if this series could have picked a better case to start with. I mean, the whole thing is really so over-the-top that if it were a fictional movie people might decree it is, "Too silly/absurd, to be at all believable." The wild thing is that this all happened (with dramatic flourishes for the show here-and-there) and even if everyone watching knows how the story ends that doesn't make it any less gripping.

The best story in the world would suck if the story-teller is bad, but Ryan Murphy (of "Glee," and "American Horror Story" fame among other shows) manages to fight some of his worst impulses to be overly coy (occasional Kardashian-kids bits aside) in his direction and lets the amazing cast do a jaw-dropping job. Some of the actor-portrayals border on being a bit much (Travolta and Schwimmer), but I liked those roles plenty, even if Courtney B. Vance and Sarah Paulson mostly steal the show as Johnnie Cochran and Marcia Clark (and Cuba Gooding Jr. turns in a solid OJ Simpson as well).

To say, "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson," is the best television program this year is a statement many will agree with, but due to so much quality programming existing that I did not watch, I'm sure plenty more folk would strongly disagree and state, "But about '________' show?" To such a claim I would say, I'm sure that program was stellar, but the 10 episodes we got for this show were so good I feel little could match it. Now I just worry if season 2 and whatever subject matter it tackles relating to Hurricane Katrina will be able to measure-up to how incredible this season was.