Being Liverpool, Ep. 1: Bobby Valentine is Boston's Roy Hodgson

Most folks had probably seen Being Liverpool prior to tonight, given that it leaked on Friday and was re-run during the day today on FOX prior to its scheduled premiere tonight. Those expecting something revelatory will have come away disappointed, and in terms of action there was very little to speak of. But there were some interesting segments, and since it's Liverpool we're obligated to talk about it. Some random thoughts after the jump.

• The guy's voice cracking while cursing once they panned outside the pub was the highlight of the first five minutes--they handled the dismissal of Kenny Dalglish and the hiring of Brendan Rodgers at warp speed, with only Tom Werner and John Henry discussing the process of Dalglish's exit. It makes sense, and it was the safest possible approach to what was a very tumultuous time for the club. But we're talking about a month that was more or less erased, and I'd guess there was plenty of content to include that eventually got nixed. Either way, we're essentially starting late June, early July.
• Setting Steven Gerrard up as the everyman doesn't really seem to fit, but it's nice to see him in a different light after the way the season's gone for him to this point. I've felt bad about the amount of shit we've given him (albeit very deserved) for the way he's played, so watching him interact with his children created a different type of sentiment. He presents as a very caring father, and I suppose those portions are as important as any for a behind-the-scenes project.
• The Lucas narrative is going to kill me when we get the inevitable fade to black with white lettering that reads, "Lucas Leiva suffered another injury in the draw with Manchester City, ruling him out a further three months." He's too nice, too committed, too wonderful, and if we find out he's complaining about any other sorts of aches or pains and told to push through it I'll lose my mind. His arch is the returning hero that's fought through fan discontent and a career-threatening injury to come back, and now he's hurt again and tweeting things like this:

It is been a difficult period of my career that's why I haven't tweet much.

— Lucas Leiva (@LucasLeiva87) September 14, 2012

• I could listen to Brendan Rodgers talk about football all day and night. Hopefully this coaching thing goes somewhere and stuff, but if not, there's undoubtedly a place for him as a pundit. There's also apparently a place for his home during the filming of The Dark Knight Rises, since his pool room with the huge staircase is essentially the place that Wayne Enterprises was storing the mega-hydration magnet laser death ray that Bane flooded.
• It doesn't have much to do with the show, but since Stephen Sama was in a few scenes as the Rest of the World won the World Cup at Harvard it bears repeating--he's a monster, we'll see him do very well on the show during the preseason tour, and he was fantastic against the Chelsea U21s on Friday. Andre Wisdom had been the talk of the youth setup in defense, but Sama's surpassed him at a trot. Also, Martin Skrtel has probably hung Ryan McLaughlin from the crossbar three or four times this season.
• The trip to Fenway didn't seem as awkward as everyone made it out to be; the Cody Ross-Charlie Adam interaction was a little uncomfortable, although that's essentially how most interactions go with people you're supposed to have something in common with but actually don't and someone's filming so ask a generic question about their culture quick! Bobby Valentine was the worst by far--he came across as unlikable and arrogant, and while I haven't followed him or the Red Sox very closely this year, based on this evidence it's no wonder there aren't many who are pleased with him.
• More than anything I'm curious to see what they highlight as the series progresses, as there's not a ton of airtime left and today provided an introduction for just a few of the principals. If this is what we continue to get--some white-bread stuff that gives a benign portrait of what things are like at Liverpool--I suppose that's decent enough. Given the way the summer went, I think we'd love a true behind-the-scenes look, but if this is the way the rest of the episodes go, that's okay too.