Sports Night

I never caught this on TV, but I bought the DVDs, and am very happy I did! What a great show. In turns funny, touching, intelligent, entertaining... this show covered all the bases.

The chemistry between the characters is just phenomenal, one or two episodes in, things really start warming up and you find yourself completely hooked.

Great writing on TV doesn't come along that often, but Sports Night (except for the occasional smart-ass moment) proves to be as well-written as anything I've ever seen... it's amazing what they managed to squeeze in in these 20 minute episodes.

And don't worry if you're not a sports fan - you don't have to be to enjoy this show.

The DVD box set is unbelievably plain - 42 episodes and that's it - no booklet, no supplements, no commentary. But fortunately, the material itself is so good, I can forgive Buena Vista for this. Also, the laugh track is a little infuriating to begin with, but it gets toned down in later Season 1 episodes, and removed altogether later in Season 2.

I never missed an episode of this show during it's original run and even recorded all but a few. I was thrilled to see this was released on DVD. I've turned a few people on to this show via my video tapes and we all love it. The reason to watch this show isn't the guffaws. You smile and snicker more then laugh out loud. But for shear entertainment you just can't beat it. The characters are real and you can relate to all of them and more importantly you care for all of them. The real genius of this show is not just the story and characters, but the dialogue. The way the actors deliver the lines, and the lines themselves are a joy to listen to and what makes this show watchable again and again. You will never get tired of listening to the verbal volleys between the actors. I can't say enough about the writing and acting of this show. Borrow it, rent it, buy it, whatever you have to to see it. Give it just a few episodes (ignore the lame laugh track on the first episode or 2) and I guarantee you'll be happily addicted to possibly the most well written (and acted) television show ever.

Too bad we can't rate TV shows on IMDB, eh? I wonder what this one would get; I'm sure it would be very high.

Like practically everyone else, it seems, I ran across SN after it had been canceled and was in reruns on cable. It took about 15 seconds to fascinate me, because it was obviously a show about a sports show that somehow wasn't about sports (which naturally made me wonder what it _was_ about), and because the writing was so excellent. Oh, and the acting was good too ;-).

Given all the comments already posted, there seems to be nothing left to say about this program so I'll close by ranking it alongside Babylon 5 and Northern Exposure as one of my all-time favorite shows ever aired on television (the similarities to NE are possibly worth exploring). Really enjoyable stuff; terrible that it only lasted such a short time.

If you love the snappy fast paced dialogue of The West Wing then understand Sorkin got his feet wet with this light hearted comedy about an all sports station competing with ESPN and FOX Sports.

I for one found this show in mid flight when ABC had it and was sorry to see it canceled. I was also gratified many tv critics complained that intelligent and fast paced humor could not survive the rating wars. It was just recently on Comedy Central and I would set my VCR to record it at 3:30 am each night (morning). I looked forward to the twenty plus minutes a day to watch it (I skipped commercials!). I found the show went by far quicker than the regular sit-coms on tv now and that told me one thing...this was a well done show with good performances from some really excellent actors. For those that did not like the show...have you really taken stock of the pool of talent this show had?

Peter Krause is now a bedrock performer on HBO's Six Feet Under. Robert Guillaume, whom we all got to love as Benson from the original "take it to edge" comedy SOAP and then the Benson spin off is terrific. Integrating his real life stroke into the fabric of a show's Managing Director's stroke was brilliant. Josh Charles did a good job, Sabrina Lloyd will be heard from, and we discovered a fine young actor in Joshua Molina who has gone on to play good roles in The American President and has now emerged as a character that will endure in The West Wing. Felicity Huffman also does an outstanding job as Dana, the show's producer.

For you naysayers take a look at the guests on this show. Can one quibble with William H. Macy, Ted McGinley, Terri Polo, and Lisa Edelstein? This show had sass, verve, energy, and dealt with some very real subjects such as the one where Natalie (Lloyd) is accosted in the locker room of a pro football team by one of it's star players. Does the name Lisa Olson ring a bell? Or how about the one where the star running back (African-American) at a Tenn. college refuses to play so long as the school flies the Confederate flag. Was this not a current and highly charged issue?

I cannot tell people that were not fans of the show what to like. What I can say is if you like very fast wit, quick "you gotta be on your toes or you might miss the next sarcastic or sardonic line" dialogue, or if you just want to see 1/2 hour go by in a flash then see this show when (if) it comes back on. My advice is tape it if it shows again at the 3ish in the morning time slot OR it is now on DVD (the entire two seasons.

I have seen a lot of sitcoms, and this is one of the best.

Offering a level of realism and intelligence rarely seen in a sitcom, Sports Night should have been destined for greatness. Alas, it wasn't. ABC pulled the plug on this amazing piece of work much to early. (ABC, by the way, should be flushed down a toilet after THAT blunder.) Rarely does any show on television, dramas included, engage the viewer in such a way as this one did.

The show is filled with great characters, dialogue, and plots. Further more, much like the Simpsons and Seinfeld, you really get to know and like just about every character on the show, rather than merely the main characters. The people whose names you may be hard pressed to remember offer up as many enjoyable moments as the 'stars' of the show.

I would wish that this show would be picked up again by some other network looking to continue this amazing show, but that is something out of fantasy. In the real world, it just can't happen like that. Which is a real shame.

For all of you who missed it's original airing on ABC (who could've done a MUCH better job promoting this show), I advise you to catch it in reruns on Comedy Central. You'll be glad you did.