Like most things Kardashian-flavored, the third episode of “The People
v. O.J. Simpson” has a touch of reality and a huge helping of complete
fiction.
Robert Kardashian (David Schwimmer) takes his children out to lunch and
tells them, "We are Kardashians, and in this family, being good and
loyal is more important than being famous." Either he never said that,
or Kim, Khloe , and Kourtney disagree. (No offense, Kim. After all, I've
known you since you were this big. And when I say this big, I'm talking
about your...oh forget it.)
Let's face it, no one knew or cared who the Kardashian kids were back
then, but I'm sure they'll be sprinkled throughout this series because
even FXNetworks wants to ride on their coattails.
These days Kim alone has over 40 million Twitter followers. (Hey, is there more room on that coattail? Wait, see paragraph 1.)
All that aside, this episode does a great job defining what the O.J.
Trial became: A trial based on emotion, not evidence. Enter the media,
stage right.
In an effort to stand out above the rest, Time Magazine, covering the
trial at that time made O.J.'s mug shot more…"dramatic" — and was
correctly slammed for using computer tricks to “photoshop” his face so
it was a darker tone of skin then he really had..
It was an editorial decision that made a major media outlet part of the already frenzied news cycle.
But at that point there was no doubt Simpson’s defense team was turning
the whole thing into a race issue, and Robert Shapiro used the media to
stoke the fire.
It's a symbiotic relationship that gave birth to phrases like, "The Trial of the Century."
It’s clear that the defense thought defending Simpsons was a no-win
case — until it realized the "black and white" in this case would NOT be
the overwhelming physical evidence. Instead those lawyers hedged that
the issue could be twisted into the "racist" LAPD vs. O.J. Simpson.
Shrewdly they figured out he media was going to help turn the tide and
they were right, especially given the testimony and later comments of
detective Mark Furhman.
Personally, I thought the dream team only earned the title after Alan
Dershowitz and Barry Scheck came on board. Actor Rob Morrow is a dead
ringer for Scheck.
As for details — lot of people have asked if I actually said the ridiculous line: "Juice, you need juice?" (From episode 1)
The truth? Absolutely not. It's a catchy phrase, albeit corny, but the
writers are so proud of it, they use it again in episode 3. This time,
private investigator Pat McKenna attributes it to the LAPD in trying to
paint them as obsequious. Come on guys, if you're going to make
something up, you have to remember who you gave the line to.
And on an even lighter note: The shirtless Kato jogging scene never
happened, but it's true that the attention I received during that time
ranged from adoration to condemnation.
I've always said of myself, never has a man done so little to be recognized by so many.
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