ESPN's The Bronx Is Burning

As this ESPN miniseries spotlighting the 1977 New York Yankees and that tumultuous summer in the Big Apple concludes this week, we may ask, is this brilliant TV?

And we may answer, "No." In fact, I'll do that right now.

"TBIB" is not exactly good TV, but it's entertaining. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as good as Jonathan Mahler's book on which it is based (and I'll talk about that soon). Mahler was able to synthesize Son of Sam, the Yankees, the blackout, and the NYC mayoral campaign and tie it all in. The TV miniseries can't quite handle that ambitious task.

It's a commendable effort, but throughout TBIB, the main baseball storyline is constantly interrupted by weak Son of Sam scenes that add little to the overall picture. Similarly, the political scenes come off as stock footage Filler Theater. While all this was blended so well on the printed page, on ESPN, we just want to get back to the baseball.

Even in the sports realm, the series often suffers, though, as TBIB is a classic example of that trademark ESPN Original Entertainment cheapo production. The attempts at recreating game action are laughable, and the integration of REAL footage only emphasizes how silly the fake stuff looks.

Furthermore, this miniseries should really be called "My Ears Are Burning," not just because the Yankees spend so much time worrying about what they're saying about each other, but because of the star of the show: Billy Martin's ears. John Turturro is saddled with a Dumbo-sized pair of prosthetic ears that dominate all their scenes.

Actually, "prosthetic" is an inadequate word here. How about "prosthemongous" ears or "prosthetacular" ears? While I was watching an early episode, my wife entered the room, and within 10 seconds, she was asking, "What's the deal with those ears?"

SO, yes, TBIB is cheesy. But it is entertaining in its own way. The 1977 Yankees had a lot of interesting stories, and while this version doesn't mesh their stories with those of the city so well, they're still here. The old game footage is great, and so is the news footage, for that matter.

Turturro almost overcomes those gigantic flaps by turning in an intriguing version. Oliver Platt as George Steinbrenner is about 75% as hilarious as you would hope it to be. Franco from Rescue Me is fun as Reggie Jackson.

Those are enough reasons to watch The Bronx is Burning if you're a baseball fan, but there are enough negative aspects to make you doubt that ESPN will ever get it together to make that great sports movie or TV show you wish they could (or maybe not, if you're tired of seeing scripted programming on the network). After all, the next one likely won't have a subject as interesting as the 1977 Yankees.