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Original poster

The People v OJ Simpson

289 replies

EnthusiasmDisturbed · 15/02/2016 21:19

Anyone else watching ?

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Lilaclily · 01/03/2016 19:30

was it? I was sure it was later in the week

thank you!

Lilaclily · 01/03/2016 19:32

found the book

The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

Destinysdaughter · 01/03/2016 19:53

It's repeated tho not sure when. Thurs?

NickiFury · 01/03/2016 21:36

I was living in Germany when all this happened as a teenager and it pretty much passed me by. I didn't realise everyone was agog back in the UK. I can't help but love JT though, to me he is always......

The People v OJ Simpson
BitOutOfPractice · 02/03/2016 07:37

I've really started to lose interest in this now. It seems very slow. And JT's realisation that racism should be part of his defence was so clunky.

How many episodes are there??

LovelyFriend · 02/03/2016 09:37

It really struck me in this last episode how beautifully and stylishly they have filmed LA and captured the era.

APlaceOnTheCouch · 02/03/2016 10:23

I'm not sure how many episodes there are. It's going to feel uneven because unless it runs for months, spending 3 episodes on what has happened so far is going to feel like too much time compared to the trial.

I'm enjoying the glimpses into the different lifestyles, from the Kardashians and the other OJ lawyers' palatial homes to Marcia's home and Christopher Darden's parents' home. There's a real sense that this is about money as much as it's about race. It should have been about DV but it wasn't.

Interesting too, to see the little asides and comments about OJ not giving back to local neighbourhoods and not wanting to use race because he didn't identify with that narrative. 'I'm not black. I'm OJ!'

MissGintyMarlow · 02/03/2016 10:41

there are 11 episodes

BitOutOfPractice · 02/03/2016 10:49

11?! Bloody hell that's far too much for me.

iwantanewcar · 02/03/2016 16:12

I am now really enjoying it. It is produced beautifully, the acting is great and as a pp mentioned some of the asides are what we all wondered at the time but were not privy to. Although the Kardashian lecture about values to his kids in the restaurant was very cheesy. I wondered if that was meant to be irony.

LoisWilkersonsLastNerve · 02/03/2016 16:16

I'm not really liking it, don't think I will watch the rest. I must say though, that 911 call was shocking. How can his defence team sleep at night? They helped a murderer get off and they knew it.

Terribleknitter · 02/03/2016 17:20

I'm liking this so far, getting quite sick of the Kardashian kids though - aside from the obvious upset that the case caused between their parents how relevant are they to the plot?
John Travolta really is excellent as Shapiro, his acting is now distracting me from his face which really put me off in the first episode!

Original poster
EnthusiasmDisturbed · 02/03/2016 17:49

I think it is really good and have now got used to Cuba Gooding Jr not being at all like OJ Simpson he is a great actor

It's awful that the defence don't even bother with the guilt question it's just about finding holes to pick in the prosecution and how it's decided that issue is about race it's fascinating

It does show how lovely some parts of LA are

I think the Kadashian kids will make an appearance in every episode Hmm

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Cel982 · 02/03/2016 17:56

Do people honestly think it's well-acted? I think it's incredibly hammy in places, and the writing is clunky as anything. I'm still really enjoying it, and the production values are great, but between David Schwimmer's perpetual 'Ross is worried' face and Travolta's Eyebrows of Doom, there are a lot of unintended laughs.

APlaceOnTheCouch · 02/03/2016 18:15

I've been sucked in. I'm not seeing Schwimmer as Ross any more and Travolta's odd face is only striking a few times an episode rather than constantly iyswim I think Marcia is fab (both the actress and the original!) Grin

Another point I thought was interesting was when they said they couldn't dispute the DNA evidence so all they could do was try to discredit how it had been collected and the chain of evidence. It seems that's still the tactic used today in high profile cases with 'pesky' DNA evidence.

Original poster
EnthusiasmDisturbed · 02/03/2016 18:20

The court case was hammy though the trying on of the gloves if there had been a drum roll it wouldn't have surprised me

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APlaceOnTheCouch · 02/03/2016 18:44

The RL court case? The glove moment should never have happened. It was a disaster.

I was reading an article about the trial today and it was saying Chris Darden's career was almost defined by the glove moment. And, also, that he completely misunderstood the way the black community would react. He was sure once the evidence was presented that they would think OJ was guilty. He was devastated that didn't happen.

The actor who played Chris said he remembered being pleased that OJ was acquitted not because he felt strongly about the verdict but because he felt it showed that black people could use the system the same way that white people could . . . but he feels differently about it now he has played Chris.

WanderingTrolley1 · 02/03/2016 18:57

Apart from Schwimmer (and his family), I think the casting is brilliant - particularly Shapiro and Cochran.

Destinysdaughter · 02/03/2016 19:01

Interesting points. Ironically, it should have been about DV but ( apart from the female prosecution lawyer), it's hardly raised a mention.

Also, I used to work in criminal law and since the Defence's job is just to raise doubt on the Prosecution's case, their strategy doesnt surprise me at all. Challenging how the evidence was collected was often a tactic used by the defence. And they didn't care whether their client was innocent or guilty, it was all about ' the evidence'. ( and winning!) I was amazed how many pp, who were most likely guilty, got off!

Destinysdaughter · 02/03/2016 19:05

Also, loved that speech by Robert Kardashian to his kids, about the fleeting nature of fame and what you really needed was a good heart. Such a piss take, considering how the kids have based their career on being famous....!!!

Maybe... They got their taste for fame by what happened here, seeing how they were treated in that restaurant...! ( I know it's made up obvs, but still...) Smile

Terribleknitter · 02/03/2016 19:16

David Schwimmer is disappointing - DH went online to try and find out if Robert Kardashian was really that wet! The other actors are really settling in to their roles though.
Grin at eyebrows of doom!

APlaceOnTheCouch · 02/03/2016 20:53

Destiny yy I cackled at that speech about fame Grin

APlaceOnTheCouch · 08/03/2016 19:57

Did anyone watch last night? The actor playing Johnnie Cochrane is excellent. I don't know much about the US legal system. I didn't know they did the equivalent of focus groups to see how the lawyers came across, etc.

Can't believe all this recent nonsense about finding a knife on OJ's property and it only now being turned in.

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EnthusiasmDisturbed · 08/03/2016 21:18

Yes it was really good he is brilliant

its really sad that Ronald Goldman so often gets forgotten

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iwantanewcar · 08/03/2016 21:38

It is a very good series. Something shocked me yesterday and I thought I knew everything. I didn't know that Ito's wife was a policewoman and they stopped the camera when she saw mark Ferhmans name. So perhaps more to come on that. The lawyer panel stuff was interesting as was the Johnnie Cochran takeover!!

But totally agree about the victims being forgotten and particularly Ronald Goldman. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time doing a good deed.

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