Sports Night

You were wrong. It's 20 years later. And it's still wrong.

Please quit the TV business, because you're awful at it.

Dickhead...

If you can only spend a half hour a week in front of the tube, spend 9:30 - 10:00 (eastern, 8:30 central) watching "Sports Night", the best written show on television. If you have unlimited time to watch any and every show on, start here and begin weeding out the rest.

Aaron Sorkin is the David Mammet, Billy Wilder or Cameron Crowe of the small screen. (And let's not forget his big screen credits, including the screenplays for "The American President" and "A Few Good Men".) His scripts are crisp, clever and funny as can be.

Add the fantastic pacing of a group of talented directors, and you have the one show on TV that compels you to tune everything else out so that you can savor every second of wondrous activity.

To that we can add a great cast. Josh Charles becomes your best friend. Peter Krause and Felicity Huffman create the greatest romantic tension you will find. Joshua Molina is brilliant. Sabrina Lloyd chews scenery with pure joy and a wink. And Robert Guillaume gives consistently spectacular performances, both before and since his stroke.

Don't miss this show! If you do, you'll never get your wasted 30 minutes back.

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.

The short-lived (45 episodes) "Sports Night" is available in a six-disc DVD box set. If you're a fan of the show, you know what you're getting. Otherwise, read on...

The two biggest questions about "Sports Night" have always been "Will non-sports fans like it?" and "Will sports fans like it?" The answer to both questions is a qualified "Yes."

To answer the first query, the comparison I like to make is to "ER". "Sports Night" is about sports (and television) like "ER" is about emergency rooms. You probably liked ER if you appreciated good television drama with interesting characters, whether or not you cared for medical shows at all. Similarly, if you appreciate brilliant television writing and human drama mixed in with witty dialogue, you will enjoy "Sports Night". At least a casual knowledge of sports and/or television will aid the viewing process, but neither is necessary.

As for the latter question, the target audience for "Sports Night" is not congruent to the viewers of, say, ESPN's "Sportscenter". If you watch "Sports Night" for the sports element, you will likely be disappointed. Most of the athletes referenced are fictitious, and celebrity cameos are non-existent. The sports banter is enjoyable for a big sports nut like me, but the average sports fan probably won't care for this show, much like the average doctor or nurse I know doesn't care for "ER".

So why is this show both unique and of high quality? Let me count the ways...

The writing is the core reason for the quality of "Sports Night". Sharp and snappy dialogue largely defines the show, but the fast pace would be worthless without the intelligence of the words. The Aaron Sorkin-led writing team has created a sextet of lead characters, two anchors and four producers of varying responsibility, who are all well-educated and quick-thinking. Their mouths keep pace with their minds, as the dialogue is as fast or faster than real life, and much more intelligent. There are few pregnant pauses for laughter, as a laugh track was used early on but later wisely discarded. The words form a smart, sexy, and funny world, a world that makes one actually long for such a place. Sorkin later gained prominence with "The West Wing", which employed the same verbal style that Sorkin perfected during his time on "Sports Night." If you liked "West Wing" for its writing, you'll eat up this show as well.

Similar to their characters on the show, the actors (at least at the time) were largely unknown by the general public. This enhanced the team atmosphere of both the show itself and the show within the show. Everyone seemed to rely on everyone else in both worlds, and as with many ensemble casts, the anonymity also let the actors become their characters to viewers. Another reason the characters are appealing is that they each have evident flaws and idiosyncrasies. Many of these imperfections are understandable, recognizable, or easy to relate with, further endearing the characters to viewers.

Rarely is the editing of a television show noteworthy, but keeping up with the back-and-forth dialogue of "Sports Night" is quite a chore. The quick cutting meshes well with the writing. Additionally, the reverse camera angles are a breath of fresh air in a world flooded with three-camera sitcoms. Of course, the question arises as to whether this is a sitcom or a drama or a dramedy. But that's for another place and another time.

Unfortunately, outside of the 45 episodes, there is no bonus material on this 6-disc set. The only pleasant touch is the "Play All Episodes" option, which allows you to just that with each disc's shows. Since each program is only 22 minutes, you can enjoy a handful at a time without getting off the couch. This is also a dangerous feature, as the addictive nature of the show combined with the absence of commercials entices you to watch hours at a time.

It is strange watching a television show without commercials, but this program fades in and out of black where each break would be. That gives enough of a pause in the show for the feel of a commercial, and after the first break or two, not having to watch ads is a blessing.

The reason I so highly recommend that you buy the DVD set is that "Sports Night" is not broadcast regularly in syndication. You can find it sporadically on Comedy Central, but not at any sane hour. So get the box set because of the show's rewatchability. It doesn't quite contain the memorability (I'm inventing words everywhere) or pop culture labels of "Seinfeld", but it does have a similar ability to entertain time and time again.

Bottom Line: If you appreciate a truly well-done TV show, particularly in the writing department, get and watch the box set. You won't regret it.

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.