Remembering a fiery year in the Bronx

What a mess New York was in 1977. Filthy, crime-infested and nearly bankrupt, the Big Apple teetered on the brink of collapse.

But what theater it made for. Across the scorching summer of that year you had, among other things: a contentious mayoral race; a catastrophic blackout; the notorious Son of Sam serial-killer case, which fueled a tabloid war between the Daily News and Rupert Murdoch's recently acquired Post; and the saga of the New York Yankees, who battled opponents and each other on the way to their first World Series title in 15 years.

Jonathan Mahler recaptured it all in vivid detail in his 2005 book, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning. The title comes from a typically melodramatic utterance by Howard Cosell during the World Series, when an aerial view of Yankee Stadium included the sight of a building ablaze just blocks away.

Now ESPN has shortened Mahler's title and turned his chronicle into an eight-part mini-series beginning at 10 p.m. Monday (after which it will move to Tuesdays). As with most screen adaptations, it's not as good as the book. But because the focus is on things TV can do well - i.e., soap opera (the Yanks) and police work (Son of Sam) - it makes for some diverting summer viewing.

Although the Yankees went on to win the World Series, a screening of the first three episodes indicates that the filmmakers, to their credit, don't try to turn the story into your typical sugar-coated sports inspirational. (That would be tough to do and still bear any semblance to reality - this was, after all, the Yankee team dubbed "the Bronx Zoo.")

The action revolves around the tumultuous relationship among three flawed, larger-than-life figures lashed together by mutual need: owner George Steinbrenner, manager Billy Martin, and slugging superstar Reggie Jackson.

John Turturro is spectacular as Martin. With his gaunt visage and big prosthetic ears, the actor bears a strong resemblance to the Yankee skipper. More important, he makes this driven yet self-destructive character frighteningly real.

Oliver Platt and Daniel Sunjata are not quite in the same league. Platt nails Steinbrenner's mannerisms without descending into Seinfeldian caricature. For all the bluster, however, he doesn't quite capture the true imperiousness of the Boss.

Sunjata reveals some of the fragility behind Jackson's strut. The newly acquired Yankee likes to talk about his intellect and sensitivity, yet he angers his teammates with egotistic comments in a magazine article. He's maddening, to be sure, but Reggie could also be a charming and magnetic personality, and you see little of that in Sunjata's reading.

The filmmakers use a lot of archival footage, including game action. That's a smart move. Nothing can ruin the authenticity of a sports movie like actors trying to replicate the heroics of real-life stars. That, and inaccuracies in period details involving uniforms, stadiums and the like. The Bronx Is Burning gets most of that stuff right. But, geez, couldn't they have come up with a more real-looking afro for Sunjata?