Customer Reviews

Sports Night - The Complete Series Boxed Set

5 star:		(254)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

[I rate it 4.5 stars.]

"Sports Night" is about an eponymous fictitious hour sports news show on the fictitious Continental Sports Channel. It's a sit-com targeted at an audience who knows what "eponymous" means without consulting a dictionary. But this comedy isn't really about sports at all. It's about intelligent, articulate people who use humor to relieve the pressures that their demanding jobs entail.

Aaron Sorkin is the creator of "Sports Night". He also created "The West Wing" a year later, and when he realized that it was a lot easier selling viewers a fictitious White House administration than a fictitious sports news crew, he dropped "Sports Night" like a hot potato. Most everyone knows that "The West Wing" isn't really about Washington politics; instead it's about intelligent, articulate people who use humor to relieve the pressures that their demanding jobs entail. But few people have even heard of "Sports Night". It's a shame, though, because "Sports Night" may be the funniest show you never watched.

There are plenty of valid criticisms of "Sports Night". For supposedly intelligent people the characters adopt a large number of unreasonable prejudices. These are all politically correct prejudices, of course. In the world of "Sports Night" when a homeless man flicks open a switchblade he's only cutting a sandwich to share. Aaron Sorkin certainly has trouble writing multiple character voices. Without seeing which characters recite which lines you'd be hard pressed to match characters with dialog from a script; the phrasing and delivery are largely interchangeable. And fully half of the humor of "Sports Night" comes from a predictable formula of repetition. Here's my pastiche of a "Sports Night" dialog:

A: "We need to talk."
B: "Is it about X? Because I'm tired of talking about X. We can talk about anything you want, as long as it's not about X."
A: "OK, then."

B: "It's not about X?"
A: "It's not about X."
B: "OK, then."
A: "It's about X."
B: "I've got to tell you, if I could make your head explode using only the power of my mind, they'd never get the stain out of the carpet."

"Sports Night" in its 2-year run won quite a lot of awards, but none of them were from the writing. It's good that there's still a lot of comic meat left after you strip away the repetition schtick, and much of that comes from the talented cast: Josh Charles (who got his start in John Waters's "Hairspray), Peter Krause (now in "Six Feet Under"), Felicity Huffman ("Out of Order"), Joshua Malina (who followed Sorkin to "The West Wing"), Sabrina Lloyd ("Sliders"), and Robert Guillaume ("Benson"). But the most significant people on "Sports Night" weren't the writers or actors, but rather the impressive crew behind the cameras. Here are just the award "Sports Night" won (skipping the 22 other nominations):

1999 DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series: Thomas Schlamme
1999 Emmy Award, Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series: Janet Ashikaga
1999 Emmy Award, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Thomas Schlamme
1999 Humanitas Prize, 30 Minute Category
1999 Television Critics Association Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
2000 DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series: Thomas Schlamme
2000 Emmy Award, Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series: Peter Smokler
2000 Genesis Award, Television - New Series
2000 PGA Golden Laurel Nova Award, Most Promising Producer in Television: Aaron Sorkin
2000 TV Guide Award, Best Show You're Not Watching

Do you remember the first episode of "ER"? This was ground-breaking television; it pulled you into the story by its technique of using moving cameras to record an action-packed scene in a single continuous piece rather than assemble lots of short cuts together. It's not surprising that Thomas Schlamme directed several episodes of "ER" before bringing this technique to "Sports Night". Continuous action is very expensive to shoot as it requires the sets to be contiguous, the lighting to be in place for all the places the camera will move to, and most importantly all the actors and camera and sound people have to avoid mistakes for the duration of the scene. But the payoff is a superior viewing experience. This show really delivered.

I could go on about the great recurring guest cast, with people like Teri Polo, Brenda Strong, William H. Macy, and Jayne Brook. Or the great music that ends most every episode. I could tell you that you'll be disappointed by the extras on the DVD collection (none at all). Or that Sorkin bowed to network pressure and added a laugh track for about half the first season before it became clear that the viewers were people who didn't need a laugh track to get the jokes. But the most important thing I can tell you is that you really should check out "Sports Night". Despite its several flaws it got many things right. "Sports Night" is good entertainment.

The proof of the pudding for the value of "Sports Night" is probably the fact that my wife, who usually refrains from attending sporting events with me and invariably walks out of the room if I turn on Sports Center, loved "Sports Night." This Aaron Sorkin creation aired for roughly two seasons worth of episodes between 1998-2000, and it provides the same sort of witty repartee and verbal sparring that we get on "The West Wing," albeit without the political overtones that make it a hit or miss with the ideological sensibilities of the viewer. On this show the outrage comes out of the casual dismissal of Babe Ruth as the athlete of the century, if you are really concerned about such things, but mostly this show is about the glories of frustration.

On one level the frustration comes from the wonderful and wacky world of being the 3rd rated 11 p.m.cable sports news show, where live prize fights do not go as long as planned and a newly signed baseball free agent disses the Big Apple in an interview. This is a world where how to stretch a story 15 seconds to the next commercial break raises the distinct possibility of destroying lives or at least careers, but not as much as the grim possibility that the network will be bought by somebody who will immediately kill off the show. Unlike "Murphy Brown," the most obvious fictional show to bring up for comparison, such crises might be a source of biting humor but they are not comic situations.

But more importantly there are the love lives of the main characters, which produce considerably more frustration on the part of the viewers. Casey McCall (Peter Krause), the anchor on the right is recently divorced and has strong feelings for producer Dana Whitaker (Felicity Huffman), who reciprocates them. However, these feelings do nothing to preclude the couple from putting every obstacle possible in their way. Dan Rydell (Josh Charles), the anchor on the left, falls for Rebecca Wells (Terri Polo), who he learns is not only married to a jerk, but interesting trying to work things out with him (the jerk, not Dan). Then there is Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd), the associate producer, who waits with pretty much no patience for Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina), the walking encyclopedia of sports and other trivial matters, to notice that he is smitten by her.

Overlooking both areas of frustration is Isaac Jaffe (Robert Guillaume), the font of all wisdom and chief buffer with the CSC network, even if he does not always understand what his young charges are complaining about at any given moment. But when Isaac says something, like when he tells Dan that he loves him, but that he is never going to be impressed by a young white man comparing himself to Jackie Robinson. "Sports Night" is one of those works were you need to remember that God is in the details. Example: When Isaac gives Dana tickets to see "The Lion King" on Broadway, she returns all excited and quotes the lines of the character who summons all the animals; Robert Guillaume did the voice of Rafiki in the 1994 movie. So be open to deep and hidden meanings when you work your way through these six DVDs.

If you actually have a true appreciation for sports and if breaking a world's record or remembering the career of a forgotten sports figure have deep personal meaning for you, then "Sports Night" is an even richer tapestry. But the chief charm here is the verbiage flying back and forth at high speed (it does for the half-hour sit-com what "Moonlighting" did for the hour long sit-com in that regard). I only caught a few of these episodes the first time around, when those who cared about the quality of network programming were screaming that a show worthy of praise was going down the tubes, and I knew it was good, but I did not know that it was this good. Oh, and if we are making suggestions for vastly under-appreciated and greatly lamented television shows that should be released in their entirety on DVD, I want to vote for Hugh Wilson's "Frank's Place." Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Writer/creator Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme went on to develop NBC's "The West Wing" during the second season of this wonderful series.

From the beginning, ABC had no clue of how to handle this show. First, they insisted that the producers ad a laugh track, because you don't know when to laugh. Then, they started to promote it like a soap opera, because it had serious issues to deal with at times.

Ultimately, the quality of the show came through. A fabulous cast provided excellent performances. Josh Charles ("A Few Good Men") and Sabrina Lloyd ("Sliders") are the MVPs here, consistently giving the show it's heart. Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under"), initially stiff in his "on air" role as Casey McCall, settled in well mid-first season.

The real gem here is Robert Guilamme ("Benson"), his Issac Jaffe is an excellent character brought to life with his gentle touch. Guilamme's real-life stroke was written into the series, and when he returned in the second season made for some wonderful moments and sly dialogue delivered by the veteran actor.

If you've not yet experienced this series, you may want to catch a rerun on late night Comedy Central. But, I whole-heartedly endorse adding this DVD set to your personal collection.

I of course cannot comment on the actual box set, since there is little information provided by Amazon on disc details at time of writing (early July 2008).

However, this was one of my favorite shows when it was on in the late 90's (I cannot believe it's been 10 years already!!!). And, it is still in my top 5 of all time to this day.

Why? Well, for one thing, just look what some of the key people involved have gone on to do after making Sports Night: The West Wing (Creator/Writer/Producer Aaron Sorkin, actor Josh Malina, plus guest spots by many SportsNight regulars), Six Feet Under (Peter Krause), Desperate Housewives (Felicity Huffman). For each of these pros, 'Sports Night' was a key launchpad for the rest of their careers.

(And, of course, the already well-respected Robert Guillaume was a key member of the cast. He suffered a debilitating stroke mid-production and still gave bravura perfomances on his return.)

This show is one of the rarest of TV gems: a comedy that does not pander, that challenges you to keep up. Anyone who regularly watched the first few seasons of 'The West Wing' will recognize one of Sorkin's favorite devices, the fast-talking, no-pauses, walking-down-the-hallway conversation. This device is not to everyone's taste, but it's a great one for the right actors and writers, and a certain species of TV viewer.

And yet, the show rewards even casual viewers with witty, incisive, insightful commentary and critique of just about everything. It's just plain funny most of the time.

The tagline was "It's about sports. The way Charlie's Angels was about law enforcement". And that about sums it up. Its focus is on human relationships in that most volatile environment, the workplace.

This workplace just happens to be an even more of a pressure-cooker than most: a TV studio producing live sports news shows. Think 'ESPN SportsCenter'. Yet, it's not supposed to actually be SportsCenter, since they wisely wink to reality and refer to "Bristol" (the actual city where ESPN is headquartered) as their competition. I always thought this was a clever device, since ESPN is a sister company to ABC, the network 'Sports Night' ran on. Eveyone else (Fox, CNN, et al) has tried to beat ESPN at its own game, and lost, and 'Sports Night' keeps that feeling of being a decided underdog.

Though the stakes aren't as high for the rest of the world, the pressure of the environment to the people in it (and therefore by extension to the viewer) is much like Sorkin's 'West Wing' -- not as many dramatic world crises, but still plenty of "must react NOW!!!" raw material that Sorkin and team mine for sublime comic effect.

Yes, it's funny, very funny in fact. But what appealed to me most is that quite often Sports Night could be poignant, even at times dramatic. Again, not the faux-gavitas that most sitcoms try to attain with that corny, "a very special episode of...", ripe-for-satire phoniness. When there is deep human emotion to be felt, the show portrays it in just the right quantities. Breakups, lost career opportunities, even some of the ficitious "real world" storylines have just that much more feeling of real human emotion than do just about any other TV comedy, or even many TV dramas. Most of that reality is due to the characters being portrayed as fleshed-out human beings, at least as much as can be done in a 30-minute TV format. They aren't exactly true to life, but they aren't just cardboard cut-outs either. An excellent example is how Robert Guillaume's real-life stroke, and subsequent return to the show, was handled onscreen: brilliantly, of course.

In the end, if you are like me, you will love Sports Night mainly for the charcaters themselves. I really came to like them, a lot. I wanted to know more about them. Even the guest spots were intriguing, like Felicity Huffman's real-life husband, William H. Macy, as a show "fixer". That's why the cancellation was so painful for so many. I had to wait another five years for another TV comedy that could rival it -- 'Arrested Development', another cult fav that was killed too early. I think if a show like 'Sports Night' was pitched today, it would probably find a comfy home on cable, and live for many seasons. However, it was at least five years ahead of its time for that. And network TV is notorious for handling quality shows badly.

If you watched it while it was on, this box set is a great chance to relive its greatness. If you never had the pleasure, please take the opportunity now to explore something very special.

I absolutely love love love this show. I followed it while it was on the air (even though I was in junior high school) and I purchased the original DVD release when it came out. I fell in love with it again and my wife lost her Sorkin virginity. When I heard that a new anniversary edition was coming out, and from Shout Factory, I got excited. Shout Factory did a great job with the Freaks and Geeks set, so I had high expectations. I sold my old set and pre-ordered this new one. When we went to watch it we discovered that unlike the previous bare-bones release, this one does not have subtitles. I have no idea why the definitive collection of a work would choose to omit this standard feature. I cannot recommend the series highly enough, but I am disappointed by the lack of subtitles.

Between '98 and '00 I somehow missed the two-season run of Sports Night. I'm an avid TV watcher, but it somehow slipped beneath my radar, such that I'd barely heard of the show until a couple of months ago. And this despite the fact that the show won three Emmys!

That's when I learned that one of my favorite TV writers (Aaron Sorkin, The West Wing) had also written this half-hour "dramedy." (I hate that word, but it's better than "sit-com," which doesn't do Sports Night justice.) I'm such a huge Sorkin fan than when I saw that the (unfortunately short) series run of Sports Night was available on DVD, I bought it without having ever seen a single episode.

And I wasn't disappointed. While it's clear that with The West Wing Sorkin has polished his dialogue style, it's still unmistakable here: sharp, smart, staccato exchanges between characters, so quick and lively that it makes the characters seem even more intelligent than they are. It's not exactly realistic, but it's what I WISH reality was.

Like The West Wing, there's a great ensemble cast, too many to list individually. Most have gone on to other projects. And like The West Wing, Sports Night has its heart in the right place, as characters struggle with love, friendship, and work.

A great show. Though the DVD set isn't heavy on special features, it does pack all 45 episodes into six discs and one three-box set. Well worth the money.

Sports Night is one of the best shows ever aired & a must-have for any fan of great television! I didn't watch it first time around because I'm not a sports fan. But once I did see it (and fall in love with it) I realized I'd been a victim of the poor marketing that resulted in its cancellation. This is a beautiful DVD set; the only shortcoming is a lack of extras (some commentary tracks would have been nice) & there's no scene access -- the only chapter stops are at the beginning of each episode so you have to fast foward to particular scenes. Aside from that it's perfect! Thank goodness the DVD industry has finally realized that people WANT to buy complete seasons or entire runs of their favorite series! They've been releasing them this way in England for years. Until recently all we were lucky to get here in the States were "best of" compilations while the bulk of a series' shows had to be caught in synidication (if it were still being aired at all). And, maybe it's just me, but I hate having to watch my favorite shows through the constant barrage of network logos & "watch this show next" banners plastered on the screen. And don't get me stated on how a show's tag scene usually gets bumped for an ad for some upcoming TV event I'm not even interested in! Or the networks that squeeze the picture so they can run a constant black bar of trivia & other nuisances along the bottom of the screen. DVD is now the ONLY way you can watch your favorite shows as they were intended in clear, uninterrupted & uncluttered pleasure.

Sports Night, as most other reviewers here have already said, is a great sitcom written by Aaron Sorkin, who also wrote the movies "The American President" and "A Few Good Men", as well as the current tv hit "The West Wing". This show is quite a bit more light-hearted than West Wing, and doesn't delve into deep political topics, but it does occasionally touch on a subject that will make you think, and quite possibly inspire you. It earned several Emmy nominations, and was declared by TV Guide as "Rookie of the Year" and "Best Show You're Not Watching".

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A SPORTS FAN TO LOVE THIS SHOW! I have friends who don't care for sports at all, but would absolutely never miss an episode (in fact, it was one of these friends who told me this DVD set was going to be released). Sorkin masterfully integrates sports as a background, and weaves it into an occasional amusing subplot; but this show is about the relationships and interactions among the characters, not about the sports they cover.

Sports Night is an intelligent comedy that rarely uses "slapstick" antics for a laugh, but relies instead on clever, witty, rapid-fire dialogue. It's 45 episodes of great television.

RATING/CONTENT: I don't know what the TV people gave the show for rating/content, but here's my assessment:
--Violence: none, except when you get laughing so hard your sides hurt. TV-G
--Language: I can't specifically remember any swearing; if there is, it's certainly mild compared to many tv shows. TV-PG
--Sex: referenced in dialogue only, no graphic scenes at all; this show is about relationships, not sex, though some sexual references are made. Probably TV-PG, at worst TV-14

I had bought the original box set several years ago. While the show is one of the best ever, and still holds up over time, the earlier DVD set was not worthy. There were no features, there were no commentaries. It was just the episodes, nothing extra. Admittedly, it was an improvement over the videos I'd recorded when the show was rebroadcast on Comedy Central in 2001, but....

Then I loaned the set to someone, and they never returned it (wise of them, foolish of me). This loss was a blessing in disguise, because it gave me an excuse to buy this anniversary edition. What am upgrade!

Seriously, this is one of my favorite possessions; I might need to buy a second set in case i wear this one out. get it, watch it, rewatch it a few times until you catch all the jokes and witty asides.

Like others who've written reviews of "Sports Night," I am not a sports fan, and that is why I never tuned in when the show originally aired on broadcast television. Fortunately, in one of my flipping-through-the-channels moments I caught the tail end of an episode on Comedy Central, and needless to say, I was hooked.

The show has next to nothing to do with sports; instead, it's about the all-too-human interaction going on behind the scenes of a low-rated, ESPN-like network, struggling to make its mark. It's funny, touching, quick-witted and extremely well written. This probably had the most to do with its demise in network prime time: Viewers looking for quality programming most likely weren't expecting to find it in a show with "Sports" in the title, and viewers who tuned in because they saw "Sports" in the title probably weren't interested in a show this sophisticated.

If you're a fan of fast-paced dialogue, snappy repartee, and storylines that will have you laughing wholeheartedly one moment and reaching for the Kleenex the next, you won't want to miss a single "Sports Night" episode.