The Fix Ends: In Need of One

Since I reviewed the first episode of The Fix back in March, I figured the least I could do is come back with a few words now that the series has ended, apparently for good.

And actually, that's a good play on words: The Fix has not only ended, as in not being renewed, it's a good thing that it ended.  And not because it told such a great story that it ended in just the right place.   No, The Fix told a story that what was at best ok, and often was a jumbled, cheap soap opera.

I suppose you could say that being an alternate history of the O.J. and Marcia Clark story - that is, a story in which an ADA who unsuccessfully prosecuted a famous guy accused of murdering his wife and someone else, gets a second chance when the murderer is accused of killing his new girlfriend - I suppose you could say that the narrative was bound to be cheap and lurid, since that typified so much of the O.J. trial.   But, I don't know, I'd say that would be too generous a framing for The Fix.

As it is, I thought the plot did have some good surprises and turns - that's what I meant when I said it was ok - and the acting, especially the guy from Lost (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) who played Sevvy the O.J.  character, was sometimes compelling and always adequate.   But there were also some downright clunkers in the story, including Sevvy's first wife (played by Robin Givens) and the cowboy that Maya (the Marcia Clark character, played by Robin Tunney) loves, who was boringly obvious.  Back on the bright side, it was good to see Alias's Merrin Dungey on the screen again, but I did guess the ending halfway or sooner through the finale.

All in all, I don't deeply regret watching the whole season of The Fix, but chances are I wouldn't of continued watching it had it been renewed.

See also The Fix 1.1: Alternate History O.J.

 

The Fix 1.1: Alternate History O. J.

The Fix debuted tonight.  It's an unusual show, the brainchild of Marcia Clark - the Marcia Clark, from the O. J. Simpson trial - and, as of the first episode, it's pretty creative.

At least, the set-up is.   The Fix takes place about eight years after the O. J. character - in this case, Sevvy Johnson (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje from Lost) - is acquitted, despite the best efforts of "Marcia" now Maya (played by Robin Tunney) and "Chris Darden" now Matthew (played by Tyrant's Adam Rayner) for the prosecution.  But eight years after the first murder, Sevvy is not sinking fast into a world of lowlife crime in Florida or wherever.  He's not as successful as he was in his prime, but he's doing fine.  And he's accused of murdering his new girlfriend.

You can see why the real Marcia Clark fantasized this, to the point of coming up with an entire series. The new murder gives Maya a chance to to put Sevvy where she believes he belongs - in jail for not one, but now two murders.  Matthew of course talks her back into the new case - she's retired on some ranch up north, with some "cowboy" that she loves - and Maya's soon calling most of the prosecution's shots.

Sevvy, for his part, has a lawyer reminiscent of Robert Shapiro, and a stepson reminiscent of Kayto.  So, all of the ingredients are in place for what could be a riveting O. J. alternate history, and at very least, so far, is diverting.  There could even be room for Sevvy to be innocent.  His lawyer has some big gambling debts, and it occurred to me that maybe he had something to do with the murder, as a way of tapping Sevvy for some huge legal fees.

We'll see.  I certainly will - I'll be watching this new series, that is - and I'll keep you posted.

 

The New Knife in the O.J. Simpson Case: Reality and Fiction

In the amazing amalgam of reality and docudrama which is one of the hallmarks of our time, we have the just-concluded news conference in Los Angeles in which a police captain announced the recovery of a knife which may or may not have been the weapon in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1994.

Among the questions which immediately come to mind is why was the knife turned over to the LA Police Department now, having been in the possession of a retired police officer for many years?  Is it a coincidence that a superb docudrama, The People vs. O. J. Simpson, has been airing every week on the FX Channel?  Probably not - if someone had any conceivably relevant evidence to the case, and had been watching that docudrama, with spot-on brilliant acting of all the many major players in that case, keeping that evidence to yourself would be very difficult.   So, if the knife turns out to be the murder weapon - a designation which will depend upon whatever DNA is recoverable from the weapon - we can score one for docudrama for helping the cause of justice.   It would mean that sensationalism is not incompatible with the discovery of truth, and can indeed aid in that pursuit.

Some of the most important people in the story - notably defense attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Robert Kardashian - are no longer with us. But Kardashian's role in the trial in effect launched the bigger careers of his daughters, and other original players continue in this surreal admixture of fiction and reality.  Gil Garcetti, Los Angeles DA at the time of the murder and the subsequent trial, is currently consulting producer on TNT's series, Major Crimes (having previously served the same role in the parent of that series, The Closer).  His son Eric made an appearance as a fictional mayor of Los Angeles on Major Crimes, and is currently actually the mayor of Los Angeles.

O.J. was acquitted in the criminal trial, which means he can't be put back up on trial for the crime again, even if the DNA on the knife points to him as the killer of Nicole Simpson and Ron Brown. But if a friend or family member hid the knife, which turns out to be the murder weapon, that person could be charged for obstruction of justice, etc.  Meanwhile, O.J.'s in prison now anyway, for an unrelated crime, in Nevada - which some allege O. J. was set up for.   He was also found liable in a civil trial related to the murders, in which Daniel Petrocelli represented the family of Ron Goldman.   And one of Petrocelli's current clients is ... Donald Trump, whom Petrocelli is defending in a lawsuit against Trump University in California.

The O. J. Simpson case heralded the dawn of a new age in television - an age of extensive, continuing coverage of news on cable television.   Some of that edge has been taken up by social media.  But when news of the knife broke a few hours ago, we not only were transported back to 1994 and 1995, but to the roiling age of cable television.   Good to be back? Well, I like our current mix of social media and cable a little better, but it's good to see that cable still has some kick, and I'll stay tuned for more from Los Angeles - from both the current police, as well as the docudrama on television.