"The Bronx Is Burning" Generates Sufficient Heat

I don't watch much TV, but once in a while the folks that produce that normally inferior product will tackle a subject of true importance, like the life of Alexander Hamilton or the 1977 Yankees. The latter subject is the focus of a series by ESPN Entertainment called "The Bronx Is Burning" which I can only assume is based on the Jonathan Mahler book of the same name. Frankly, I am partial to the 1978 season, with several of my heroes slaying the hated dragons of the day (Bucky Dent's legendary shot, Nettles's "hot corner" performace against the Dodgers and Thurmon Munson's tagging of the Royals in game 3 of the ALCS - hard to believe that I grew up hating and fearing the Kansas City Royals!), but '77 was thrilling to this young whipper-snapper all the same. Frankly I was young enough where this was essentially my first baseball memory. I vaguely remember the '76 season, but not really. I'd collected baseball cards for a few years but '77 was the first year I remember events unfolding. It was like baseball had just been created, and who was baseball's Adam - why who else, but Reggie Jackson. No kid my age read the papers or followed the clubhouse soap opera, we just watched the games, and Reggie was the king. I ate more goddam 'Reggie Bars' even though it was positively the worst candy bar going. Thus I was deeply engrossed in ESPN's new series for the memories it brought back and a chance to relive that crazy year and see it within the context of the social upheaval of NYC at the time. It is not the best television ever but Turturro is a surprisingly charismatic Billy Martin and Oliver Platt manages to showcase the rare nuggets of business genius against a backdrop of an otherwise annoying Steinbrenner that defines the love-hate relationship that Yanks fans have with the Boss.

No doubt the Yanks of modern times ('96, '98-'00) were a better ball club but I guarantee there won't be a made for TV series made 20 years hence about that team that will be worth watching, like "The Bronx Is Burning" is.