The Bronx Is Burning (2007– )

A look at the New York Yankees attempt to win the 1977 World Series. Based on Jonathan Mahler's book "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning."

Stars:

Oliver Platt, Kevin Conway, Daniel Sunjata

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Oliver Platt	...	George Steinbrenner (8 episodes, 2007)
Kevin Conway	...	Gabe Paul (8 episodes, 2007)
Daniel Sunjata	...	Reggie Jackson (8 episodes, 2007)
John Turturro	...	Billy Martin (8 episodes, 2007)
Erik Jensen	...	Thurman Munson (8 episodes, 2007)
Alex Cranmer	...	Graig Nettles (8 episodes, 2007)
Darby Brown	...	Cliff Johnson (8 episodes, 2007)
Joe Grifasi	...	Yogi Berra (8 episodes, 2007)
Aric LeClair	...	Sparky Lyle (8 episodes, 2007)
Louis Mustillo	...	Maury Allen (8 episodes, 2007)
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Tommy LaSorda (8 episodes, 2007)
Leonard Robinson	...	Mickey Rivers (8 episodes, 2007)
Alan Ruck	...	Reporter (8 episodes, 2007)
Bob Dunsworth	...	Radio Sports Reporter (7 episodes, 2007)
Hans Hartman	...	Reporter (7 episodes, 2007)
Evan Hart	...	Bucky Dent (6 episodes, 2007)
Joe Cappelletti	...	Sports Announcer (5 episodes, 2007)
Bill Forchion	...	Elston Howard (5 episodes, 2007)
Tim Keinath	...	Mike Torrez (5 episodes, 2007)
Rob Lavin	...	Kenny Holtzman (5 episodes, 2007)
Dock Pollard	...	Willie Randolph (5 episodes, 2007)
Lou Provenzano	...	Ron Guidry (5 episodes, 2007)
Max Casella	...	Dick Howser (4 episodes, 2007)
A.J. McClain	...	Jimmy Wynn (4 episodes, 2007)
Keith J. Stevens	...	Uniformed Police Officer (4 episodes, 2007)

Storyline

In the year 1977, Major league Baseball has officially inaugurated the free agent market. A baseball player named Reggie Jackson came to New York to sign a contract with the ball club called the "Yankees". But, what Jackson does not know that he will soon bring controversy to the club, by saying that he's the "Straw that stirs the drink", causing his fellow teammates especially, Thurman Munson to not like him. Plus, manager Billy Martin and owner George Steinbrenner also have their won private arguments about Jackson and the team. Meanwhile, other things are happening in New York as a killer using a .44 magnum and calling himself as "The Son Of Sam" is lurking around the city, and the infamous blackout.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | george steinbrenner | murder investigation | interview | john livingston seagull | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ESPN Original Entertainment, Tollin/Robbins Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In several episodes a picture of the old Yankee Stadium from before it was renovated in 1973 can be seen in Billy Martin's (John Turturro) office. This is what Yankee Stadium looked like from 1923-1973

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Goofs

Many people have commented (in critic reviews and IMDB comment postings) that Billy Martin, born in California and having lived most of his life in New York, never spoke with a Southern accent as seen on the show. According to Jonathan Mahler's book, upon which the series is based, while Billy was a manager for the Texas Rangers, he loved Texas and it's people so much that he adopted the accent and the habit of wearing cowboy boots and hats for the rest of his life.

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Quotes

Reggie Jackson: He is comparing Thurman to a cocktail, he took whatever I said out of context.

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Connections

Featured in 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008)

User Reviews

It's good

Tutorio as Billy Martin isn't miscast per se, from the side with the cap pulled down he really looks a lot like Martin, in fact, in the previews I remember thinking "who's that as Billy Martin, that's good." The more he talks, the less like Martin he is, and they should have straightened out his hair for the role, but overall this movie is well cast. Billy didn't have any Texas drawl like he does in this, I have no idea where that came from. I like that every player is played by someone, not just "Yankee #1" "Yankee #2" etc.. Platt is good as Steinbrenner. The guy playing Jackson looks nothing like him, but he's okay. The Thurman Munson guy is great.

This is a pretty good miniseries if you're a big baseball fan or from New York. I remember the 77 season well as a kid and that World Series very well.

The mini-series biggest flaw is its bad CGI. The green screen stuff looks like it was done by some high school kid. It's baffling that they've apparently spent money on everything in this series except quality special effects.

The other cool thing about the show is the "real story" clips as the credits are showing, with a real player talking about an incident that just occurred in the episode. I assume the DVD will have in-depth coverage with this stuff, so that will be a good rental. The theme song is a kind of cool, 1970s TV theme song and I like the real players and shots from the era interwoven with the series. Overall, it's good.