Not having seen a full game of American Football in my life, I'm not going to comment on how accurate or authentic this TV-movie is. Instead, I am going to comment on how engrossing or entertaining it is. Or rather, it isn't. One of the fundamental problems with this production is how little it has to distinguish itself. The video cover and the title go a long way to imply that it is a warts and all look at one of professional sports' most innovative eras.The problem is that it is anything but. If it had been expanded just a little and instead focused on Cosell, maybe it would have worked. Unfortunately, anyone who has anything to do with Monday Night Football gets their five-minute snippets. And it comes at the expense of any depth or meaning.Before the show begins, all I knew about Cosell was that he was some jerk who at least partly deserved all the hate mail and death threats he got. After the credits rolled, I didn't feel any different. Those who took up the commentary box with him come off much, much worse. The only things I knew about Frank Gifford before this show was that he was married to some talentless diva called Kathy-Lee. That's all I really knew about him after the credits rolled. The man they hired to play O.J. Simpson didn't even look anything like him. The Spinal-Tap-style captions to let the viewer know who is who don't come frequently enough to make a difference, either.John Turturro's performance as Cosell brings raging questions to mind. If the performance is accurate, then I have to commend Turturro for having the nerve to portray such an unlikeable character. If it isn't, then one has to wonder where the idea to play the man like this came from. That nasal voice, that shark-like sneer, it all makes for a very shaky sympathetic focus.The real problem, however, is that all the backstage antics one expects from a story about a live show that began in the 1960s are nowhere to be seen. The attempt to appeal to a general television audience, and all that entails, keeps this show from getting interesting. If it wasn't for the curiosity factor, I'd be giving Monday Night Mayhem a one out of ten. As it is, a two should really indicate how little of its potential this collection of "I'm here, where's my paycheck?" performances realises.

I must admit that The start of ABC'S Monday Night Football was before my time, But personally, I thought this was an excellent telling of the events leading from it's creation to the resignation of Howard Cosell. John Heard portrays Roone Arledge, the man behind the creation of ABC's Monday Night Football. He enlists play by play announcers Howard Cosell (John Turturro), "Dandy" Don Meredith (Brad Beyer), Keith Jackson (Shuler Hensley), and later, Frank Gifford (Kevin Anderson). The movie centers mainly on the action happening inside the booth, And on its rise to popularity. Memorable scenes include a drunken Cosell doing play by play during an Eagles game, Meredith at the Mile High Stadium literally "Mile High", and a scene where Cosell drops a lit cigarette butt(accidently) into Keith Jackson's trouser cuff during play-by-play, while Jackson, noticing his pants are on fire, nonchalantly pours his coffee onto the flame without missing a beat. But the main events center around Howard Cosell, who eventually became to stuck on himself and resulted in him resigning and never returning to the broadcast booth.As to the acting, John Turturro lives up to being in the starring role and is excellent as Cosell. Heard gives another great performance as Arledge, Beyer and Anderson, whom I've never seen before are great as Meredith and Gifford, John's bother, Nicholas Turturro, puts in a strong performance as the director of the show, and Eli Wallach is great as always with the screen time that he is given.all in all a very entertaining look into Monday Night Football. TNT does it again10 out of 10

I'm 35 years old and the Cosell years on Monday Night Football bring me back to an age when football was the most exciting thing in my life. Although John T. overplayed Cosell's character, this movie kept my interest throughout the length of the film. Maybe it's my age, but this movie brought back memories of the famous 'monkey incident', the O.J. years as well as many other exciting events of the Cosell Monday Night Football years. I would highly recommend this movie for anyone looking for a very interesting and well documented account of Monday Night Football and the infamous Cosell.

A candid behind-the-scenes look at Monday Night Football from its infancy, "Mayhem" exploits the trials and tribulations of what has become an institution for NFL fans the world over. Being a football fan, if you take this movie at face value like I did, you can appreciate what the viewer doesn't see. This movie delves into the conflicts between on-air and off-air personalities well beyond what you may have read in the newspapers. However, as a movie fan, I was disappointed at the overall acting. Although a finely written script, I had to do my best to drown out John Turturro's poor imitation of Howard Cosell, to appreciate the unparalleled verbiage that only Cosell could provide. Same is true for those imitating Frank Gifford, Keith Jackson and "Dandy" Don Meredith. All in all, I gave this movie 7 stars.