THE MAGIC CITY

PASSION PLAY was so bad I had to take at look at Mitch Glazer’s THE MAGIC CITY to see if it was equally as terrible.

And what a pleasant surprise.  The teleplay is great. 

IKE EVANS is the proud owner of the Miramar Hotel located smack-dab on Miami Beach in the 1960’s.  It’s New Year’s Eve with the hotel being big enough to book Frank Sinatra for its big New Year’s Party.

But all is not well with Ike and the Miramar.  We have striking hotel workers, a sadistic mob-boss that wants the hotel for himself and Ike’s two sons fooling around with the wrong women.

The pilot is strong.  Well-defined characters that are instantly likeable and a well-conceived plot that turns up the tension and conflict with each passing scene.

Hard to believe this is from the same guy that made PASSION PLAY.  Just goes to show, you have to look at each property separately without any preconceived opinions.