![]() That’s always been true of the “Hard Knocks” franchise, the HBO Max series that goes behind the scenes of a different NFL team each season during training camp. If viewers don’t have someone to care about, the show is sunk. It doesn’t matter if it’s a prestige drama like “ Succession” or one of the ever-growing number of “Real Housewives” reality shows. Just wait, though.Good TV is dependent upon good characters. There were no Jessica Simpson sightings in Episode One. And of course there's no shortage of colorful Cowboy personalities to add extra flavor to the proceedings. The camerawork, by NFL Films, has long set the standard on various fields of play. Narrator Schreiber is rock-solid and authoritative, never resorting to the caffeinated overkill of many in this line of work. Hard Knocks consistently succeeds by dramatizing without over-selling it. Drew Atchison, a pale white tight end, won everyone over by singing The Temptations' "I've Got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day." Not that he'll make the team. Off the field, rookies were required to hold cock-and-balls mikes (a banana and two plums) while performing for the veterans. Wide receiver Patrick Crayton strove to match Adam (no longer Pacman) Jones' feat of catching one punt after another until he had six in his arms at once. "Few running backs can bust a blitzer better than (Marion) Barber," Schreiber said lyrically before he crunched a nameless No. The sights and sounds of camp likewise were vividly captured. "Yeah, you know you was wrong." Beautiful. Then the cameras shifted to rookie receiver Martellus Bennett cleaning up his puppy's in-house deposit. Before heading for Oxnard, star tight end Jason Witten could be seen changing his son's diaper before wife Michelle praised him as a "great dad." Hard Knocks also knows how to compare and contrast. There's got to be a promotion there somewhere. Left out of HBO's pictures were rival D-FW sports biggies Dale Hansen (WFAA8), Newy Scruggs (NBC5) and Babe Laufenberg (CBS11). The opening episode also featured Doocy doing a pair of standups after tremors from a Southern California earthquake were felt in training camp. Last month "The Dooc" had been seen on two D-FW sportscasts other than his own during first-day coverage of training camp.įor his Hard Knocks debut, he was shown asking Romo, "How about this welcome, Tony?" ![]() On the first episode, his strategic placement next to QB Tony Romo again paid off as the team touched down on an Oxnard air strip. Fox4 sports anchor Mike Doocy no doubt will relish the face time, too. 'Cause I don't know about you, but I like playing on Broadway. "The Cowboys are a big deal," he told his employees. And in training camp's first team meeting, the owner lapped it up as HBO's cameras rolled where no others were allowed. Now Jones and his team are willing participants once more. But his replacement, sourball Bill Parcells, wouldn't allow such nonsense, in his view at least. Hard Knocks had the Cowboys in its sights during the 2002 pre-season before the team came up big losers under head coach Dave Campo. It symbolizes the most glamorous team in professional sport." "This is no ordinary helmet," narrator Liev Schreiber intoned as blue star decals were affixed to a row of the team's silver headgear. 3rd finale.īook-ended with shots of a ripped Terrell Owens running shirtless on an otherwise empty beach, Hard Knocks is the NFL the way Cecil B. Love or hate the Cowboys, you've got to marvel at the artistry at work while wishing it was your team on display for five episodes stretching to a Sept. The evocative, filmic, never less than first-rate HBO series returned Wednesday night with an hour of superbly crafted drama from the team's training camp in Oxnard, CA. If so, they're the next Super Bowl champs. ![]() Can the Dallas Cowboys be as good as Hard Knocks? ![]()
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