Celluloid Heroes?: Review of Episode 1 of "Being: Liverpool"

I'm just going to go ahead and guess that there is plenty of disk space being taken up by footage shot at the end of last season that simply had to be cut because of Liverpool's managerial change. Just a hunch.

That's the feeling I got watching the first installment of "Being: Liverpool". It felt like originally that the producers wanted to take last season, especially the FA Cup Final, and see how that would translate to business over the summer as the club transitioned to the new season under FSG and Kenny Dalglish. From their first full-season in charge to their second. But all that got scrapped when they fired Kenny and this became a show about Brendan Rodgers taking over.

Because they go through the end of last season and hiring of Rodgers and the firing of KENNY FUCKING DALGLISH so quickly, you can't help but feel it was a rush job. But that's ok. Projects like this can change at a moment's notice and everything you planned is suddenly irrelevant. Isn't that right, Joe Ponsanski? But because of that, the first half of last night's episode felt a bit crushed.

Other thoughts:

-It's obvious why FSG would agree to this. They certainly have eyes on growing LFC's brand in the States, and the success of shows like Hard Knocks and 24/7 is plain for all to see. That's what this is. So it's disappointing that Werner and Henry want to feed us a line of bullshit within the first 10 minutes. When they're sitting on the couch, telling us that Kenny had always agreed to step aside when a prime, young managerial candidate was available, it's almost laughable. How was Brendan Rodgers that man when we know that Villas-Boas and Roberto Martinez were approached at the same time if not before? I get the idea of trying to present Rodgers as the savior and the great hope, but there's nothing wrong with saying that Kenny was sacked because the team was moving backwards. Which it was.

-That doesn't mean there wasn't some stuff I liked. There was. Seeing Rodgers pace around Anfield by himself was oddly gripping. Watching him greet everyone at Melwood also made for good TV, even if it was a bit staged. Seeing Lucas being greeted by teammates was also pretty awesome.

-If Steven Gerrard's daughters were any cuter, they might actually be live unicorns.

-I wish there was a bit more football in it. Watching Rodgers talk to John Flanagan about how he needs to play was probably the most interesting part of the episode. I know this is the first one and it's mostly expository, and I hope future episodes get into the nuts and bolts of what Rodgers is trying to install and how he goes about it. What does he have them do in training to up their passing and touch and feel for where the ball is supposed to go and where they're supposed to go?

-Bobby Valentine is such a tool. I can't wait until he gets fired the hour after the Red Sox season ends. I hope they fire him twice, and I'm not even a Red Sox fan.

-No mention of Aquilani or Maxi leaving? We see them in training. Maybe the next episode.

-Watching Borini arrive at the club gives you a sense of how dizzying it must be for a player to switch clubs, and maybe sometimes we lose sight of that. Oh, and out of uniform he looks like he weighs 90 pounds.

-Just hearing Clive Owen's voice reminds me that he's one of the few men on Earth that I would describe as beautiful and awesome. I've never met a girl who would disagree, especially my girlfriend.

Overall, I enjoyed getting to see behind the curtain at my favorite club. But I always would. I don't know how it would go over to a non-Liverpool supporter. Or even just a general sports fan. But we'll see where future episodes take us.