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* AlasPoorVillain: While anyone who felt before watching the series that O.J Simpson was responsible for the murders probably won't have their feelings changed by the end of the series it's often hard at first not to pity him while his life falls apart around him especially when he is almost DrivenToSuicide. In the finale, he also expects to throw a massive party to celebrate his acquittal but ends up alone after his old friends and neighbors reject him. [[SubvertedTrope Of course, if one does believe he's guilty,]] [[QuitYourWhining then it's at least a form of karmic justice.]]
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Is Marcia Clark the OnlySaneWoman outmaneuvered by the dirty fight of an amoral defense team and the world's obsession with celebrity, or a person way over her head who compromises the prosecution's case because of her ego and poor decisions?
** Is Robert Shapiro an two-faced AttentionWhore who tries to play all angles in order to keep up appearances and lashes out at his team because he's frustrated at the spotlight being taken off of him, or is he the OnlySaneMan who recognizes the damage they are doing to racial relations and tries to reign in his more amoral colleagues?
** Is Cochran an idealist convinced of O.J.'s innocence and trying to challenge the LAPD's racism and corruption, or is he a KnightTemplar who stretches the truth and manipulates his associates as much as possible to make people think that EverythingIsRacist, while being just as cynical as everyone else involved?
** Is Christopher Darden a good lawyer who was simply overwhelmed by the machinations of the Dream Team, or was he a [[TheResenter resentful]] member of the DA's office who figured he was the token black guy in their minds and made it his goal to prove he was someone individually worthwhile...[[WrongGenreSavvy whose wounded pride ended up sinking the case?]]
* AwardSnub: Creator/CourtneyBVance, considered by many an absolute lock for his role as Cochran, lost the Golden Globe to Tom Hiddleston in ''Series/TheNightManager''. Though the series itself did win for Best Miniseries.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Kardashian kids. Are they necessary? Is their mere presence a form of pandering to their adult selves, even if they aren't portrayed in a flattering light?
* TheCSIEffect: Notably subverted as a key scene has criminalist Daniel Fung detail how Simpson's DNA was on the scene and thus, the odds of him not the killer are about 15 million to one. However, as this was 1995 and forensic work wasn't as well known or trusted then, the jury ignores what should be damning evidence to discuss the glove not fitting.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Even people who don't like the show will praise Courtney B. Vance's performance as Johnnie Cochran.
** Doubles as an In-Universe example, as Cochran rapidly seizes everyone's attention among the members of O.J.'s defense team.
* JerkassWoobie: Despite how utterly ruthless Cochran can be as an attorney and a ManipulativeBastard, Courtney Vance refuses to turn his character into a caricature and gives such an excellent performance, you can't help but sympathize with him at times such as when he's pulled over just for being black. He becomes so impassioned about the Fuhrman tapes laying bare the institutional racism of the LAPD that was officially denied for years (and continues to be), some viewers could ''almost'' root for him.
* MagnificentBastard: The Dream Team, particularly Cochran and Bailey, collectively qualifies as this.
* {{Narm}}:
** The attempted suicide scene in the pilot is pretty well acted. Kardashian repeatedly calling O.J. by his nickname Juice can ruin it for some though.
** This show ''really'' shoves the YoungFutureFamousPeople trope in your face. In the second episode, Robert Kardashian is called to read O.J.'s note in front of a crowd of reporters and journalists. None of them know who he is and one of them mishears his name. Meanwhile, at home, it cuts to his four kids, one of whom spells out their name. Then, all four kids start ''chanting'' their last name, as if you didn't already understand the irony. Becomes a TakeThat in episode 3, where Robert lectures his kids on how fame is hollow if you're not a good person.
** Marcia Clark pre- and post-perm looks so similar that everyone's reactions to it seem ludicrously over the top. Of course, this just highlights even more the sexist nature of the media's focus on it. She ''does'' get a markedly different hairstyle in the last few episodes, though.
* OlderThanTheyThink: The Goldmans' car is seen to have remote locking/unlocking, in 1995. Yes, that existed then.
* OneSceneWonder:
** Evan Handler as a young Alan Dershowitz in the third episode shows up for one scene as a legal consultant, and absolutely blows it out of the water as the snappy, Harvard-educated wiz kid. He pulls off another one in "Conspiracy Theories" when he gleefully pulls an alternate theory for the murders out of his ass, managing to upend the courtroom.
** In "A Jury in Jail", Susan Beaubian manages to present jury foreman Armanda Cooley as someone who could be your best friend or your worst enemy.
** Los Angeles Sentinel writer Dennis Schatzman only has two scenes, but nevertheless makes quite the impression.
* WTHCastingAgency:
** Whilst everyone is, for the most part, well-cast, some actors were noted for decidedly looking, acting, or sounding nothing like the real-life people. The differences are more clear in the end of the series with a "where are they now" showing the actors against the people they're playing.
*** John Travolta's performance as Robert Shapiro has gotten a lot of flak from the critics.
*** The real Marcia Clark has praised Sarah Paulson's performance highly, but does laugh that "I wish I had ever looked that good." [[http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2016/01/22/american-crime-oj/22-marcia-clark.w529.h352.jpg The jury is out on that one]]
*** Numerous people have complained about Cuba Gooding Jr. not looking much like the real OJ, or being believable as a former football player (some wished Wrestling/DwayneJohnson was cast instead). Though his performance has been well-received, possibly making this a case of AbilityOverAppearance.
*** Dale Godboldo didn't look, act, or sound anything like the real Carl Douglas, who was one of the four main lawyers for OJ during the trial.
* WhatAnIdiot: In the series, Robert Shapiro tries to convince F. Lee Bailey work for free (pro-bono) on the O.J case ''for no discernible reason''. O.J had near-infinite money to spend on his defense at the time. Thanks to this, F. Lee convinces Cochran to make moves to become Lead Attorney on the case over Robert. It's successful, and Robert is DemotedToExtra (outside of a few instances) on a historic case where he was O.J's first call.
* WinBackTheCrowd: By far the most critically acclaimed thing Ryan Murphy's been involved with since ''Film/TheNormalHeart'' and ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum''. This was even reflected in the title of ''The AV Club's'' review of Season 1, [[http://www.avclub.com/review/fxs-people-vs-oj-simpson-successfully-acquits-ryan-231410 "'The People Vs. O.J. Simpson' successfully acquits Ryan Murphy"]].
* TheWoobie:
** It's hard not to want to give Marcia a hug as she has to contend with the sheer emotional and mental ordeal of a trial that has gone completely off the rails.
** It's just as hard not to empathize with Chris the more frustrated he becomes with the accusations of being an [[CategoryTraitor "Uncle Tom"]] for prosecuting a black man while firmly believing O.J. to be guilty, being publicly humiliated by his former mentor Cochran, feeling [[ShipTease obvious sexual and possibly romantic attraction to Marcia that goes nowhere]], and especially when Marcia won't listen to his advice and he begins suspecting he wasn't brought onto the prosecution for his abilities but as a TokenMinority so the prosecution won't appear racist.
---> '''Chris Darden:''' You know, you put me on this trial because you wanted a black face, but the truth is, you never wanted a black voice.
** Fred and Kim Goldman, the father and sister of one of the murder victims Ron Goldman, are also this as they have to watch the media circus surrounding the case act dismissively or insultingly towards Ron, and worst of all is that they never got the closure they felt a conviction of O.J Simpson would have provided.
** Robert Kardashian. A genuine friend of O.J. to the point his kids [[HonoraryUncle considered the other man an uncle]]. He truly wants to believe his friend is innocent, but as the case keeps going, he starts to realize O.J. might really have done it, and becomes increasingly distraught over the future of his career and his friendship having been wrested out of his control thanks to the trial. He also ends unintentionally turning his kids into quite possibly the most famous [[AttentionWhore attention whores]] in the modern era.

to:

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* AlasPoorVillain: While anyone who felt before watching the series that O.J Simpson was responsible for the murders probably won't have their feelings changed by the end of the series it's often hard at first not to pity him while his life falls apart around him especially when he is almost DrivenToSuicide. In the finale, he also expects to throw a massive party to celebrate his acquittal but ends up alone after his old friends and neighbors reject him. [[SubvertedTrope Of course, if one does believe he's guilty,]] [[QuitYourWhining then it's at least a form of karmic justice.]]
''YMMV/ThePeopleVOJSimpson''
%%* ''YMMV/TheAssassinationOfGianniVersace''
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* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Is Marcia Clark the OnlySaneWoman outmaneuvered by the dirty fight of an amoral defense team and the world's obsession with celebrity, or a person way over her head who compromises the prosecution's case because of her ego and poor decisions?
** Is Robert Shapiro an two-faced AttentionWhore who tries to play all angles in order to keep up appearances and lashes out at his team because he's frustrated at the spotlight being taken off of him, or is he the OnlySaneMan who recognizes the damage they are doing to racial relations and tries to reign in his more amoral colleagues?
** Is Cochran an idealist convinced of O.J.'s innocence and trying to challenge the LAPD's racism and corruption, or is he a KnightTemplar who stretches the truth and manipulates his associates as much as possible to make people think that EverythingIsRacist, while being just as cynical as everyone else involved?
** Is Christopher Darden a good lawyer who was simply overwhelmed by the machinations of the Dream Team, or was he a [[TheResenter resentful]] member of the DA's office who figured he was the token black guy in their minds and made it his goal to prove he was someone individually worthwhile...[[WrongGenreSavvy whose wounded pride ended up sinking the case?]]
* AwardSnub: Creator/CourtneyBVance, considered by many an absolute lock for his role as Cochran, lost the Golden Globe to Tom Hiddleston in ''Series/TheNightManager''. Though the series itself did win for Best Miniseries.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Kardashian kids. Are they necessary? Is their mere presence a form of pandering to their adult selves, even if they aren't portrayed in a flattering light?
* TheCSIEffect: Notably subverted as a key scene has criminalist Daniel Fung detail how Simpson's DNA was on the scene and thus, the odds of him not the killer are about 15 million to one. However, as this was 1995 and forensic work wasn't as well known or trusted then, the jury ignores what should be damning evidence to discuss the glove not fitting.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Even people who don't like the show will praise Courtney B. Vance's performance as Johnnie Cochran.
** Doubles as an In-Universe example, as Cochran rapidly seizes everyone's attention among the members of O.J.'s defense team.
* JerkassWoobie: Despite how utterly ruthless Cochran can be as an attorney and a ManipulativeBastard, Courtney Vance refuses to turn his character into a caricature and gives such an excellent performance, you can't help but sympathize with him at times such as when he's pulled over just for being black. He becomes so impassioned about the Fuhrman tapes laying bare the institutional racism of the LAPD that was officially denied for years (and continues to be), some viewers could ''almost'' root for him.
* MagnificentBastard: The Dream Team, particularly Cochran and Bailey, collectively qualifies as this.
* {{Narm}}:
** The attempted suicide scene in the pilot is pretty well acted. Kardashian repeatedly calling O.J. by his nickname Juice can ruin it for some though.
** This show ''really'' shoves the YoungFutureFamousPeople trope in your face. In the second episode, Robert Kardashian is called to read O.J.'s note in front of a crowd of reporters and journalists. None of them know who he is and one of them mishears his name. Meanwhile, at home, it cuts to his four kids, one of whom spells out their name. Then, all four kids start ''chanting'' their last name, as if you didn't already understand the irony. Becomes a TakeThat in episode 3, where Robert lectures his kids on how fame is hollow if you're not a good person.
** Marcia Clark pre- and post-perm looks so similar that everyone's reactions to it seem ludicrously over the top. Of course, this just highlights even more the sexist nature of the media's focus on it. She ''does'' get a markedly different hairstyle in the last few episodes, though.
* OlderThanTheyThink: The Goldmans' car is seen to have remote locking/unlocking, in 1995. Yes, that existed then.
* OneSceneWonder:
** Evan Handler as a young Alan Dershowitz in the third episode shows up for one scene as a legal consultant, and absolutely blows it out of the water as the snappy, Harvard-educated wiz kid. He pulls off another one in "Conspiracy Theories" when he gleefully pulls an alternate theory for the murders out of his ass, managing to upend the courtroom.
** In "A Jury in Jail", Susan Beaubian manages to present jury foreman Armanda Cooley as someone who could be your best friend or your worst enemy.
** Los Angeles Sentinel writer Dennis Schatzman only has two scenes, but nevertheless makes quite the impression.
* WTHCastingAgency:
** Whilst everyone is, for
WinBackTheCrowd: By far the most part, well-cast, some actors were noted for decidedly looking, acting, or sounding nothing like critically acclaimed thing Ryan Murphy's been involved with since ''Film/TheNormalHeart'' and the real-life people. The differences are more clear ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum Asylum]]'' season of ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory''. This was even reflected in the end title of the series with a "where are they now" showing the actors against the people they're playing.
*** John Travolta's performance as Robert Shapiro has gotten a lot
''The AV Club's'' review of flak from the critics.
*** The real Marcia Clark has praised Sarah Paulson's performance highly, but does laugh that "I wish I had ever looked that good." [[http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2016/01/22/american-crime-oj/22-marcia-clark.w529.h352.jpg The jury is out on that one]]
*** Numerous people have complained about Cuba Gooding Jr. not looking much like the real OJ, or being believable as a former football player (some wished Wrestling/DwayneJohnson was cast instead). Though his performance has been well-received, possibly making this a case of AbilityOverAppearance.
*** Dale Godboldo didn't look, act, or sound anything like the real Carl Douglas, who was one of the four main lawyers for OJ during the trial.
* WhatAnIdiot: In the series, Robert Shapiro tries to convince F. Lee Bailey work for free (pro-bono) on the O.J case ''for no discernible reason''.
''The People v. O.J had near-infinite money to spend on his defense at the time. Thanks to this, F. Lee convinces Cochran to make moves to become Lead Attorney on the case over Robert. It's successful, and Robert is DemotedToExtra (outside of a few instances) on a historic case where he was O.J's first call.
* WinBackTheCrowd: By far the most critically acclaimed thing Ryan Murphy's been involved with since ''Film/TheNormalHeart'' and ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum''. This was even reflected in the title of ''The AV Club's'' review of Season 1,
J. Simpson'', [[http://www.avclub.com/review/fxs-people-vs-oj-simpson-successfully-acquits-ryan-231410 "'The People Vs. O.J. Simpson' successfully acquits Ryan Murphy"]].
* TheWoobie:
** It's hard not to want to give Marcia a hug as she has to contend with the sheer emotional and mental ordeal of a trial that has gone completely off the rails.
** It's just as hard not to empathize with Chris the more frustrated he becomes with the accusations of being an [[CategoryTraitor "Uncle Tom"]] for prosecuting a black man while firmly believing O.J. to be guilty, being publicly humiliated by his former mentor Cochran, feeling [[ShipTease obvious sexual and possibly romantic attraction to Marcia that goes nowhere]], and especially when Marcia won't listen to his advice and he begins suspecting he wasn't brought onto the prosecution for his abilities but as a TokenMinority so the prosecution won't appear racist.
---> '''Chris Darden:''' You know, you put me on this trial because you wanted a black face, but the truth is, you never wanted a black voice.
** Fred and Kim Goldman, the father and sister of one of the murder victims Ron Goldman, are also this as they have to watch the media circus surrounding the case act dismissively or insultingly towards Ron, and worst of all is that they never got the closure they felt a conviction of O.J Simpson would have provided.
** Robert Kardashian. A genuine friend of O.J. to the point his kids [[HonoraryUncle considered the other man an uncle]]. He truly wants to believe his friend is innocent, but as the case keeps going, he starts to realize O.J. might really have done it, and becomes increasingly distraught over the future of his career and his friendship having been wrested out of his control thanks to the trial. He also ends unintentionally turning his kids into quite possibly the most famous [[AttentionWhore attention whores]] in the modern era.
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