What a shock when I saw how few reviews this got. My god, I wasn't even planning on doing any effort in writing one, but this drew me over the line.
I'm not a citizen of the USA, but as a European born in the '90's it's hard to not have heard about O.J. Simpson. But that does not mean I knew the full story. Occasionally I read something about it, but I never got the whole history. This show gave me that opportunity. And boy, what a ride it was.
There are few shows where the creators do so many things right. But there are two things in particular that stood out from all those other shows. The first one is the acting. John Travolta, when he comes in, he draws you right in to the show. This is easily his best acting role in his recent career. The narcissism, arrogance,... Just for his acting performance it's worth to watch this show. But also the other lead characters are amazing. I'm just not sure if I found Cuba Gooding Jr. the right O.J. Simpson. Perhaps not completely. Some things just didn't feel quite right with his performance. In the beginning I found his acting quite spot on. But during the trial that changed in my opinion. I cannot quite finger point exactly what it was. Just an offish feeling I guess.
The second thing that is done brilliant is the pacing. You never feel bored. Every episode has his little what-the-f**k moment. The way they mixed original footage with the footage of the show. It's done so well, as if you are back in 1995.
Why not a 10? I just completely missed the story of the family of the victims. I get it though... If you make this kind of show, you want to make a point. And you can't focus on everything. The story writers chose to concentrate on the influence of the media combined with the frustration of the Afro-American community. Which lead to a completely irrational outcome in this case, lead by emotions of a hurt community. Sad.
