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| Synopsis:- |
| A look behind the scenes of a nightly sports show focusing on the ups and downs in the personal lives of the production team as they battle to get the show out on time and running smoothly. |
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| My review:- |
| Sports Night puts me in mind of another show - M*A*S*H. It's juxtaposition of drama and comedy, and the way in which the show rapidly flits from one to the other are reminiscent of that classic show. The resemblance is further enhanced by the lack (for the most part) of a laughter track. |
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| It took a few episodes for me to get into the series. It is played at a frenetic pace at times and it takes a little while to get to know the characters. Also, as a non-American, much of the sports talk goes over my head. Fortunately, sports isn't really what the show is about, it's about the people, and once I was familiar with the characters I found I enjoyed the show immensly. |
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| The writing is extremely intelligent. I particularly like the way that the humour is not telegraphed in the way it is in most conventional comedy shows. In Sports Night the jokes come out of the blue, sometimes following a tense dramatic scene. The whole thing has a very natural feel to it and both the humour and the drama should strike a chord with anyone who has worked in a busy or high pressure environment. |
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| Very good performances from the whole cast. Apart from Sabrina the only cast member that I was familiar with was Robert Guillaume and he is the master of the put-down as Isaac. Felicity Huffman is well cast as the cool, professional Dana and Josh Charles and Peter Krause have a good chemistry as the resident "double act". Joshua Malina is the lucky man who gets to play Natalie's boyfriend (until the jerk lets her go) and he has captured the slight nerdiness of his character well. |
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| Sabrina has, of course, done it again. I absolutely adore Natalie. Natalie is less street-wise than Wade and in the first episode I worried that the character was going to be too "dizzy" and naive. Fortunately this element was quickly toned down and she now retains just enough naivety to be cute - effortlessly balancing the different aspects of the character, perky yet, strong and confident. Sabrina's performance is once again excellent and she steals every scene, comedy or drama, that she is in. Because Sports Night has a large cast we get less Sabrina per minute than in Sliders but her character got stronger and more central to the series with each passing episode. Like Sliders before it, Sports Night wouldn't be half the show it is without her. |
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| Sadly, despite huge critical acclaim, Sports Night failed to attract the mass audience ABC were seeking. The cynical might say it was too smart for the average couch potato. Whatever, the show was cancelled after two seasons and initially promising talks with other channels stalled and the show ended for good. |
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| NB: "Sports Night" is currently available on a 6 DVD box set comprising both seasons. |
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