A Trial

The People v. O.J. Simpson debuts on FX today.  It stars John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, Courtney B. Vance, Selma Blair, Connie Britton, Bruce Greenwood and Nathan Lane.  It's a huge production and, as far as I can tell, no show has gotten more publicity this season.

I don't plan to watch it.

Like hundreds of millions, I lived through it.  I remember the whole thing vividly, and I don't really need to see it all over again.  Once was enough.

In any case, no re-creation, no matter how well done, can compare to experiencing it in real time, when you didn't know what would happen next--the murders, the chase, the gloves, the verdict, etc.

In addition, I doubt, no matter what the talents or intentions of the producers, that they'll portray what happened honestly.  The promotion I've seen so far suggests to me they'll concentrate on things that will make the drama work, which will take away from the truth of the piece. There's also a decent chance they'll make political compromises.  These are the give-and-take sort of things producers have to deal with when they do stories based on real-life, but it doesn't mean I have to put up with it.

Besides, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt already had its way with the trial, with Tina Fey playing a Marcia Clark type and Jerry Minor as Christopher Darden.  No one is going to top that.