'The People v. O.J. Simpson' Premiere Review: A Juicy True Crime Drama

FX debuted its latest anthology drama American Crime Story on Tuesday with The People v. O.J. Simpson. Executive produced by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story), the series will focus on a different historical event each season, with this first season delving into the O.J. Simpson trial, based on Jeffrey Toobin's book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson.

As someone who was only a year old during the trial, O.J. Simpson has only ever been a pop culture reference or a punchline on Family Guy to me. For many viewers, though, the series likely brings back memories of the highly covered trial. There are a variety of opinions about this case and how it proceeded, but I don't have enough information to pass judgment on the events that occurred. Therefore I can only take this show as a piece of drama, and as such the premiere was highly effective. Although we all know how this story ends, the premiere does a good job of providing enough suspense and drama to keep the viewer engaged thanks to some excellent performances.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. stars as Simpson, and given that I don't really have a reference point, I thought he did a fine job. His body language and expressions suggested there is a lot going on inside his mind that we are not privy to. John Travolta stole every scene he was in as Robert Shapiro, imbuing him with a confidence that seemed to fill the room. Sarah Paulson and David Schwimmer also stepped into their roles with ease, delivering strong performances as Marcia Clark and Robert Kardashian. The scene where Simpson threatens suicide and Kardashian must talk him down is a stand out, effectively depicting the emotional toll that the events had on everyone involved.

As far as pilots go, this was one of the more effective ones this season. Some parts of the episode were somewhat slow, particularly those involving the police investigation when the bigger personalities were not on screen, but those were few and far between. For the most part the episode held my attention, drawing me in from the beginning and ending with a "cliffhanger" (or as much of a cliffhanger as there can be in a well-known story) that left me wanting to watch the next episode. Many shows take a couple of episodes to find their footing and completely pull me in, but this one already has me hooked and anticipating the next nine episodes.

One final thing I found interesting was how the theme of race pervades this story. Given recent events, this show could not be more relevant. The episode begins with archive footage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and questions of race and how the police are treating Simpson are brought up throughout the episode. Meanwhile, the show highlights how lax the police were in their questioning of Simpson and the favors they granted him given his celebrity status. Based on the scenes for next week's episode, it seems the show will be tackling the subject of race head on, so as sad as it is that we are still dealing with these issues twenty years later, it will be interesting to see what the show has to say about the state of things then and how they relate to now.

As always, feel free to leave your thoughts on the episode below.

'The Bridge' Pilot Review: Culture Clash

On Wednesday FX aired the pilot of its newest drama, The Bridge. The show begins with a mysterious figure strategically placing a body on the border between El Paso, TX, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This forces two detectives, Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) from El Paso and Marco Ruiz (Demián Bichir) from Juarez, to work together on the case, which seems to be the work of a serial killer.

The most interesting thing about The Bridge is its depiction of the culture clash between the U.S. and Mexico. Immigration is a hot topic today, so it's about time a TV show takes a look at the differences between Mexican and American cultures. The Bridge handles this well by not focusing on either culture but rather providing a balanced and (so far) unbiased look at both. It is very interesting to see how police work is conducted on either side of the border. Sonya does everything by-the-book and puts a lot of effort into her work, while Ruiz is more laid back because in Juarez, the police are often bribed by drug cartels, so many cases are not looked into thoroughly.

The differences between the two detectives are also seen in their personalities, which are portrayed well by the two leads. I quickly grew fond of Ruiz thanks to Bichir's acting. Bichir seems to lose himself in the role, making Ruiz a very real and likable character. He is a family man and seems to be one of the few uncorrupted cops in the Juarez police force. I couldn't help but smile during many of his interactions with Sonya, who is almost completely opposite Ruiz.

Kruger, however, did not grab my attention as much as Bichir. At first her acting seemed rather stiff, but then I realized that it was the character who is stiff. Sonya is a professional, but she lacks personality, which seems to be the point of her character. Whether it is because of a mental illness or something from her past is unclear, but Sonya buries herself in her work and lacks empathy, as seen (and directly stated) when she must tell the victim's husband the bad news. Kruger portrays this lack of emotion well, but it is kind of a turn-off. Hopefully her character will be developed and provide Kruger with some more room to act.

The episode was rather slow-paced, but for some reason I didn't mind that.  Pilot episodes are usually fast-paced to draw in viewers, but this one was slower yet still managed to keep my attention. The pacing allowed me to get to know the characters, but not through heavy exposition. It was their interactions with each other that showed me who they are.

There are many lingering questions other than the main case that make this show very intriguing and will keep me watching. The biggest question is how the two subplots connect to the main case. In one, a woman named Charlotte (Annabeth Gish) has just been widowed and discovers a second phone among her late husband's pocket, leading her to snoop around their property. In the other, a shady American kidnaps a young Mexican woman. Whether he is the killer remains to be seen, but he is certainly suspicious.

The Bridge definitely seems to be a show to stick with. The two main characters are interesting, and I am excited to learn more about their pasts. The acting overall is very good. Two other great performances to point out are Ted Levine as Sonya's boss and Matthew Lillard as a jerk journalist. Finally, the writers did an excellent job with raising both questions about the plot and about culture and morality. Not only does this show make you wonder what will happen next, but it also makes you think about the differences between the U.S. and Mexico.

If you didn't watch The Bridge, I highly recommend it. If you did, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.