Words: Konrad Obiora
Picture: © ABC. Inc.
Before Aaron Sorkin introduced television audiences to the political machinations of The West Wing and the behind-the-scenes drama of his new series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Sorkin had already developed his style of character-driven comedy drama and fast-paced dialogue in the Emmy Award winning show Sports Night, which first aired on American television in 1998 and ran for two series ending in 2000.
Set in and around the New York studio of Continental Sports Channel's (CSC) nightly cable show also called Sports Night, the series followed the trials and tribulations of its two anchormen Casey McCall (Peter Krause) and Dan Rydell (Josh Charles); the show's tenacious producer Dana Whittaker (Felicity Huffman); her feisty assistant producer Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd) and Natalie's boyfriend and colleague Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina).
Amongst the whirl of emotional and professional strife that was packed into each of the 45 episodes stood the calm and reassuring figure of Sport Night's chief executive, Isaac Jaffe, a veteran sports journalist played by Robert Guillaume who will be familiar to comedy fans for his role in the 1980's US sitcom Benson.
Although some of the fictitious sporting events in the show provided the subtext to many of the stories in the show, Sports Night was about the relationships between the characters and the Sports Night team's ongoing battles with CSC's meddling network executives, in particular J.J. (Robert Mailhouse), who was intent on imposing the corporation's views as to how the show should be presented in order to boast ratings.
Sports Night was the antithesis of Seinfeld and The Larry Saunders Show, two shows that were steeped in cynicism and were definitely not about learning. In contrast, every 30-minute episode of Sports Night was one of life-affirming television where the characters learnt something profound about themselves or the importance of their relationships with colleagues and loved ones.
Many commentators and reviewers wondered whether Sports Night was a sitcom or a drama. Certainly the impression in the first few episodes seemed to be that it was a sitcom because it was recorded in front of a live studio audience but the laughter from the audience seemed out of place particularly as the show dealt with heavy issues such as sexual assault and drug abuse.
The main relationship in the show was between Casey and Dana. Long time colleagues and college friends, their relationship was one of unrequited love.
But all the characters in show carried some form of emotional baggage; Dan's guilt about the early death of his older brother and his relationship with his father or Jeremy's discovery that his father had been involved in an affair throughout Jeremy's childhood (a story that was recycled in The West Wing in an episode called 'Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail') for example.
One of the great aspects of the series was the development of the characters from the pilot episode right through to the nail-biting finale. Sorkin together with his team of writers ensured that the characters' arcs never remained the same, keeping the tension, humour and pathos moving throughout.
The dizzying behind-the-scenes activity and fast talking and walking that was such a characteristic feature of The West Wing was also prevalent in Sports Night, which added to exhilaration of the characters' life working on a late night cable television show - C.J. Gregg's quick wit and fast talking is nothing compared to Dana's or Natalie's hyper-charged commitment to Sports Night when they were working at the control desk.
An interesting aspect about the show is that it featured relative unknowns who went on to have commercial success in film and television - Peter Krause subsequently appeared in HBO's Six Feet Under while Felicity Huffman went on to make a few appearances in The West Wing before making her name in Desperate Housewives.
Sabrina Lloyd had appeared in the US sci-fi series Sliders, which was shown in the UK on Sky while Josh Charles had already appeared in several films such as Things to do in Denver When Your Dead.
The series also boasted a notable cameo appearances by William H. Macy who played the maverick ratings guru Sam Donovan and Janel Moloney who later appeared as Donna Moss in The West Wing. The supporting cast were equally good and some would later appear as reporters in the White House briefing room in The West Wing.
In fact the close association between Sports Night and The West Wing is striking, from the similar style that both shows were scripted and filmed to the use of composer W. G. Snuffy Walden to write the scores for the shows.
Sports Night was a charming comedy drama, with strong writing and interesting and amusing characters. Although the characters occasionally came across as obnoxious and at times self-righteous, there was always humility, honesty and camaraderie; they may have been working on a third placed cable sports show but they were proud of it.
Sports Night is available on Region 1 DVD from Amazon.
Picture: © ABC. Inc.
Before Aaron Sorkin introduced television audiences to the political machinations of The West Wing and the behind-the-scenes drama of his new series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Sorkin had already developed his style of character-driven comedy drama and fast-paced dialogue in the Emmy Award winning show Sports Night, which first aired on American television in 1998 and ran for two series ending in 2000.
Set in and around the New York studio of Continental Sports Channel's (CSC) nightly cable show also called Sports Night, the series followed the trials and tribulations of its two anchormen Casey McCall (Peter Krause) and Dan Rydell (Josh Charles); the show's tenacious producer Dana Whittaker (Felicity Huffman); her feisty assistant producer Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd) and Natalie's boyfriend and colleague Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina).
Amongst the whirl of emotional and professional strife that was packed into each of the 45 episodes stood the calm and reassuring figure of Sport Night's chief executive, Isaac Jaffe, a veteran sports journalist played by Robert Guillaume who will be familiar to comedy fans for his role in the 1980's US sitcom Benson.
Although some of the fictitious sporting events in the show provided the subtext to many of the stories in the show, Sports Night was about the relationships between the characters and the Sports Night team's ongoing battles with CSC's meddling network executives, in particular J.J. (Robert Mailhouse), who was intent on imposing the corporation's views as to how the show should be presented in order to boast ratings.
Sports Night was the antithesis of Seinfeld and The Larry Saunders Show, two shows that were steeped in cynicism and were definitely not about learning. In contrast, every 30-minute episode of Sports Night was one of life-affirming television where the characters learnt something profound about themselves or the importance of their relationships with colleagues and loved ones.
Many commentators and reviewers wondered whether Sports Night was a sitcom or a drama. Certainly the impression in the first few episodes seemed to be that it was a sitcom because it was recorded in front of a live studio audience but the laughter from the audience seemed out of place particularly as the show dealt with heavy issues such as sexual assault and drug abuse.
The main relationship in the show was between Casey and Dana. Long time colleagues and college friends, their relationship was one of unrequited love.
But all the characters in show carried some form of emotional baggage; Dan's guilt about the early death of his older brother and his relationship with his father or Jeremy's discovery that his father had been involved in an affair throughout Jeremy's childhood (a story that was recycled in The West Wing in an episode called 'Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail') for example.
One of the great aspects of the series was the development of the characters from the pilot episode right through to the nail-biting finale. Sorkin together with his team of writers ensured that the characters' arcs never remained the same, keeping the tension, humour and pathos moving throughout.
The dizzying behind-the-scenes activity and fast talking and walking that was such a characteristic feature of The West Wing was also prevalent in Sports Night, which added to exhilaration of the characters' life working on a late night cable television show - C.J. Gregg's quick wit and fast talking is nothing compared to Dana's or Natalie's hyper-charged commitment to Sports Night when they were working at the control desk.
An interesting aspect about the show is that it featured relative unknowns who went on to have commercial success in film and television - Peter Krause subsequently appeared in HBO's Six Feet Under while Felicity Huffman went on to make a few appearances in The West Wing before making her name in Desperate Housewives.
Sabrina Lloyd had appeared in the US sci-fi series Sliders, which was shown in the UK on Sky while Josh Charles had already appeared in several films such as Things to do in Denver When Your Dead.
The series also boasted a notable cameo appearances by William H. Macy who played the maverick ratings guru Sam Donovan and Janel Moloney who later appeared as Donna Moss in The West Wing. The supporting cast were equally good and some would later appear as reporters in the White House briefing room in The West Wing.
In fact the close association between Sports Night and The West Wing is striking, from the similar style that both shows were scripted and filmed to the use of composer W. G. Snuffy Walden to write the scores for the shows.
Sports Night was a charming comedy drama, with strong writing and interesting and amusing characters. Although the characters occasionally came across as obnoxious and at times self-righteous, there was always humility, honesty and camaraderie; they may have been working on a third placed cable sports show but they were proud of it.
Sports Night is available on Region 1 DVD from Amazon.
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