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sports night (abc) tuesdays, 9:30/8:30c
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I think the greatest compliment
you can give a television series is to say it makes you excited about life.
When television has become synonymous with things like landfills, wastelands,
stupidity and just about every other derogatory term it's amazingly refreshing
to find a show that defies any negative stereotype you can have about television.
Simply put, "Sports Night" makes me excited about life.
But why does it? What makes it so special? Well, that's what this feature is here to talk about. The tag line "tv's most unique series" isn't one I threw up there because I want a pull quote in the next TV Guide ad, it's there because it simply is the most unique series on television. casey: (during a bomb scare) "Is there anyone who can say anything that will make us feel like the smart thing to do is stay in the building right now?"When "Sports Night" debuted in 1998, I was expecting a typical run of the mill sitcom about guys who work for a SportsCenter wannabe. I never expected to find myself touched by what I saw. You see, what ABC forgot to mention is that this wasn't a sitcom at all. In fact I hesitate to call it a drama or a dramedy or whatever term people out there could possibly apply to it. You see, "Sports Night" was about actual characters, their feelings and lives. These weren't stock characters. No wacky neighbor. No yelling lines over an intrusive laugh track (more on that one in a second). No monologues about "nothing." It was just as if somebody had placed a camera inside an office and watched the lives of those inside it unfold. And there's a drama and comedy to that I haven't seen in a long time. You know what, I don't think that description does the show justice. Let's try this one: Think about your life for a second. Think about the hard moments and the amazingly joyous ones. Think about how simple things drove you mad or made you fall inexplicably in love. Think about how those close to you can make you laugh like no one else. These are the types of things that are at "Sports Night"'s core. We saw a stroke recovering Isaac Jaffe walk into a frantic newsroom where everything had gone wrong. We saw Jeremy Goodwin and Natalie Hurley shyly kiss each other for the first time. We saw Dan Rydell fight his emotions on camera after a woman he cared deeply about left him. We saw Casey McCall hate himself for not being able to tell the woman he loves what was in his heart. We saw Dana Whitaker fight for her boss's honor during his leave of absence. These are moments in the lives of real characters. There were laughs, tears, heartache and bliss. So who are Dan, Casey, Jeremy, Natalie, Isaac and Dana? They are the people that let you into their lives for a half hour each week, 22 times a year. Dan and Casey are co-anchors of CSC's Sports Night and best friends. Isaac is the patriarch editor of the show with Dana and Natalie being its producers. Jeremy is a researcher. Doesn't sound as good as Dana is the woman who fought for her boss's honor when he left to recover from a stroke does it? :) That's exactly where the strength in "Sports Night" lies - the fact the actors and writers involved have made these people into three dimensional individuals. This isn't David Schwimmer doing his puppy-eyed shtick on "Friends." This is talented actors stepping up to tough scripts that ask them to fully become someone else. They don't spout sarcastic dialogue, they chat like bickering old friends. They don't fall victim to the opening and closing door shenanigans on "Frasier," they race down a maze of halls trying to do their job and deal with life. isaac: "Let me add, Dana, that things I say in my office stay in my office!"That's that rub isn't it. No cheap Mark McGuire cameos. No Roger Clemens throwing a sportswriter out a window. No Nike; no Reebok; no Puma. Oh, and no San Diego chicken. And it's still about sports you ask? Actually yes. It's about the human devotion one commits one self to by becoming an athlete. Episodes have talked about 40 year old distance runners, women swimming across Atlantic channels, the murder of an old Negro League player. You know, people who don't get recognition but still commit to pushing themselves beyond the limits God or whoever or whatever gave us. Who can honestly say that their heart didn't jump as Casey told his son about a 40 year old man who is going to break the world record for the marathon? With all that said, sports is the backdrop of "Sports Night," not the epicenter. At the center is a group of friends old and new and their lives. Their lives can be funny and laid back - Casey spends an episode convinced there's a fly in the studio and yet no one else can see it. Dan and Casey debate that the women in their lives are "smoky." Jeremy writes about the idiosyncrasies of the staff to his deaf sister. Their lives can be full or sorrow - Casey realizes he's been sleeping with the same woman Dana's fiancee has been cheating on her with. Jeremy fights back against a piece on hunting. Dan recounts his brother's death on camera. All in all, the highs and lows of people searching for the same things we are - love, hope and honor. dan: "Come with us."Now that I've lavishly talked about the highlights of this show, it's important to talk about the hard battle ahead for the show to survive. Just yesterday, ABC announced that it would pull to show for November sweeps. This isn't something new. In a ratings starved world, "Sports Night" is barely getting by. Despite increased numbers (it actually outranks all of ABC's comedies except for "Spin City," "Dharma & Greg," "The Drew Carey Show"; see sidebar), ABC seems convinced the show can't compete. Last season, ABC battled with Aaron Sorkin (the show's prolific creator) over the use of a laugh track even though the series is not shot in front of an audience. You see, ABC felt that the series needed an extra "umph" to make it funnier. Don't you love networks? This season though the laugh track seems to have disappeared but also along with it the previously outspoken critic support. Think about it folks, when's the last time you heard someone mention this show (besides me, that is)? And what about the Emmys? The show got writing, editing and directing nods and walked away with two of those awards. Where was the press about that? Nonexistent. It also received awards from TCA, the Image Awards, The Human Family Educational & Cultural Institute and the DGA not to mention Nick at Nite calling it a "classic of the future." All these moments were put upon deaf ears by ABC. I firmly believe that television can make you excited about life. It can make you laugh, cry and smile. I've spent the past four years covering television and once in a while you find something that make you realize why you love television. "Sports Night" is that reason. When the series returns in December tell your friends to watch, tell your family, tell anyone you can that this show will hook them like no other and who knows - maybe they'll be excited about life by it as well. jeremy: "I understand what makes a woman think that any man is better than nothing. I'll just never understand what makes a woman think she's got nothing." |
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