Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson
From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.
Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson was the most popular mini-series of the 1990's. The show literally saved the then-struggling cable television network Court TV. Portions of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson were also shown on CNN, MSNBC and ESPN under the title The OJ Trial. For a brief period of time, The OJ Trial even replaced the usual line-up of soap operas seen during the daytime on ABC, NBC and CBS. In addition to increasing ratings, Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson also is credited with reviving the "police procedural" genre.
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Background
On June 12th, 1994, the ex-wife of former Monday Night Football announcer O.J. Simpson was brutally murdered in Los Angeles, California, along with some other guy who also got killed. To this day, the murderer has yet to be found, despite exhaustive research from the LAPD's Cold Case Division. The meager evidence in the case (consisting of only a blood-soaked glove, various DNA fragments, and some strands of hair and carpet) makes it unlikely that a suspect will ever be found.
Development of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson
Court TV hires O.J. Simpson
Devastated by the death of his ex-wife, Simpson withdrew into a shell. For several days he refused to eat, drink or do much of anything. Despite the efforts of Simpson's young daughters Jessica and Ashlee to cheer him up, Simpson seemed on the verge of suicide.
On June 17, 1994, Simpson drove his Ford Bronco to a cemetery, intending to do himself in. As he prepared to pull the trigger on his sawed-off shotgun, Simpson received a call from producers at the fledgling Court TV network. Knowing that Simpson was an accomplished actor, the producers offered him the lead role in their proposed story about the killings. Needing the money for his daughters' college funds, Simpson quickly accepted. As the Breaking News about the project spread, people began to gather along the freeways between the cemetery and Simpson's modest home. By the time his Bronco pulled up in his driveway, Simpson had become a national hero (partially for accepting the role, and partially for interrupting yet another Michael Jordan dominated NBA Finals).
Setting Up The Mini-Series
With a deadline date of January 1995 set for the start of the then-unnamed miniseries, Court TV went into overdrive to fill in the show's details. Noted science fiction author Harlan Ellison was hired to develop the series plot. After some failed attempts, one of which was eventually sold to the NBC series Friends, Ellison eventually came up with a controversial yet brilliant idea: In the show, O.J. Simpson himself would be accused of the killings, leading to a massive trial. Ellison's brainstorm gave the series a structure upon which the many twists and turns of the trial would be hung. Using a team of television writers to fill in the gruesome details, Ellison began work on the script.
Meanwhile, Court TV producers began hiring actors for the roles. Their first hire was the Dream Team, a group of basketball players (including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley) who played the roles of Simpson's defense attorneys. Former cast members of L.A. Law were used to fill in the roles of the state's attorneys. Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show, lent a bunch of interns to Court TV to play the role of the judges in the trial. Former LAPD detective Joe Friday was intentionally infected with the "Larry the Cable Guy" virus and hired to play the role of lead detective on the case. With the cast of characters mostly set, Court TV began broadcasting Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson on January 24, 1995.
Show Details
Warning: This section contains spoilers about the plot of "Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson".
Early Success
Knowing that the Court TV facilities couldn't handle all the details of filming Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson, producers made a deal with CNN. In exchange for the use of their facilities, CNN would get the right to show highlights of the show nightly, under the title of The OJ Trial. This worked out well, as millions of viewers too cheap to pay for a high-tier network such as Court TV were still able to see the best parts of the show. With the popularity of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson increasing, Court TV rented out their feed to more and more television networks. At one point, commentators from over 30 different networks were discussing arcane details of the show such as DNA evidence, 9-1-1 calls and shoe print patterns.
While the success of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson was encouraging, the show's producers were worried. The behavior of lead writer Harlan Ellison was becoming erratic. Scripts began getting turned in late, and Ellison seemed to be spending a lot of time with the show's line producer. Worse, the plot of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson began to wander, with no clear direction and no ending in sight. Executive producer Ted Turner was called in to sort out the mess.
Departure of Harlan Ellison
On June 13th, 1995, Turner confronted Ellison about the future of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson. At the meeting, Ellison reportedly demanded full creative control of the project and a "Sandwich Department" at least equal to that at Fox. Turner, irate after watching WCW, body-slammed fired Ellison and replaced him with the eccentric but more stable David E. Kelley. Kelley immediately changed the direction of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson to a more comedic tone, with badly fitting gloves and the comedy stylings of "Kato Kaelin" (played by Pauly Shore) taking center stage.
Conclusion
With ratings starting to decline and the American public turning away from protracted trials and toward boy bands, Court TV executives decided to begin wrapping up the loose ends of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson in September 1995. Using a telephone voting system (a technique later perfected by shows such as American Idol), producers asked viewers to call in and decide for themselves whether the show would end in a "guilty" or a "not guilty" verdict. The results were revealed during the finale of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson, which aired on October 3, 1995.
By a 62% to 38% margin, television viewers decided that the show should end in a "not guilty" verdict. The ending was controversial, with accusations of multiple voting and problems with the phone lines being made. To this day, many viewers think that Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson should have ended in a "guilty" verdict.
Impact of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson
Needless to say, without Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson shows such as CSI, Law & Order and The Shawshank Redemption would never have been developed, much less aired. In addition, the number of groupies hanging around police stations waiting for detectives to show up increased enormously.
The main impact of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson, though, is twofold: the increased awareness about crimes against moderately attractive women (as seen on such shows as Nancy Grace), and the decrease in racial tensions throughout America following the show.
Trivia
- At one point, Richard Moll was being considered for the role eventually played by O.J. Simpson.
- In early episodes of Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson, Shannen Doherty appeared in the role of the trial judge. Doherty left the show due to her commitment to yet another Aaron Spelling project.
- Until the rise of the Harry Potter meme, Run, O.J., Run!: The Trial of O.J. Simpson inspired more slash fiction than anything else in the history of the Internet.
