Sports Night - The Complete Series Boxed Set

Rating:
Summary: Can't believe it was cancelled
Review: I just finished watching the entire run of Sports Night and was devestated when it ended. The same feeling one gets after reading a great book and realizing the journey is over.

I could go on and on about the average viewers intelligence (I am also a huge Arrested Development fan) but I think that is an easy route to take because the writing was so crisp, the swing from tears to laughter so quick that it is inevitable that some people who just want to be entertained would be quick to dismiss it. Plus it just makes me sound superior to offer that as an excuse which is not the case.

I don't think it is just a coincidence that Sports Night and Arrested Development are produced by the same people. Both don't have a laugh track (although Sports Night started with one and talk about out of place). Sports Night was simply brilliant and probably does not adhere to a comedy or a drama. It would've developed it own niche. If I had to compare it to show I believe it would be along the lines of MASH.

I have to lay the blame soley on ABC. They botched it by not advertising what it really was. I believe women in particular would've been turned off by the title. Moving it from night to night and missing weeks at a time did not help.

I know I am venting, but how does a show like According to Jim make it and Sports Night does not.

Obviously, I highly recommend the DVD. You will only be upset when it ends.

Rating:
Summary: Imagine what could have been!
Review: I had seen random episodes of this show when it was on TV, and absolutely loved it. My favorite episode is probably "Thespis". The reason this show only lasted two seasons is beyond me. If I had to guess, it is probably because the intelligent humor and witty dialogue was probably lost on the majority of the American population, most of whom probably prefer flatulence-related humor to the more subtle humor provided in Sports Night. Peter Krause has always been one of my favorite television actors, being that he is a very versatile actor, being able to fit in with this show's humorous atmosphere, but also excelling in the more thought-provoking yet morose undertones in Six Feet Under. Imagine where this show could have gone. Would Dan get back with Rebecca? Would Dana and Casey ever get together? How would Sports Night be under new ownership? The possibilities would have been endless had this show made it to its third season. But thanks to the fact that most of America prefers shows in the vein of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Joey", Sports Night never got a chance to truly grow into the show it deserved to be!

Rating:
Summary: Smart & Funny Series Killed To Early
Review: The show only lasted for 2 seasons and revolved around a evening sports news show. The writing and cast was excellent with Sorkin going on to create West Wing after the show was cancelled.

Next to the Phil Hartman Years of News Radio I would rate this one of the top comedies ever. However you probably have to be a serious sports fan to truly appreciate the show.




Rating:
Summary: Not West Wing
Review: I'm not a sports fan. The only time I have ever watched a sports news show was when my cable went out for several days, yet I adore Aaron Sorkin's show about a show. Unlike West Wing, Sports Night does not often delve into political issues. It is a comedy about people and the situations they get into. If you are turned off by West Wing, don't automatically dismiss this show: I don't like West Wing but love Sports Night.

A thinking person's TV comedy is a rarity to find. Most comedies dumb down to the audience. Sports Night does not yet is able to make me laugh at every turn. Think the mental level of Wilson Wilson (Home Improvement) under a deadline, and you have an episode of a show known as Sports Night.

The cast of fresh faces have since shown that they had what it took to make a good show. The constantly stressed out Dana was played by Desperate Housewives Felicity Huffman. Peter Krause's Casey McCall has gone on to win a SAG for his work in Six Feet Under. Joshua Malina of West Wing also stars.

From excellent pacing to a wonderful cast this is one series I watched on first run, rerun and now DVD. The cast was tight, and well developed. You feel like you know them as they slowly show the people behind the personalities without having to take the viewer to 'serious dramatic scenes in a restaurant/bar'. When they needed to spice up the show and William Macy joined the cast, the producers managed to avoid jumping the shark and instead used the opportunity to enrich the show. Sorkin was also able to incorporate Robert Guillaume's stroke without turning the show into a pity party.

I like this show so much that when I saw it on sale at the local store, I bought it before I even checked the price.(On a student budget I don't make a habit of doing this). Looking at other DVD boxed sets, how many can you buy for under 50 dollars and get over 2 seasons worth of episodes?

Unlike many boxed sets, with Sports Night you won't burn out watching the same episodes over and over simply because you get so many for your price (45). For this reason alone I would recommend it. The fact this is an excellent show only strengthens this review of the DVD set.



Rating:
Summary: The best 30 minute tv show ever
Review: Even if you're not a big sports fan, this sitcom/dram will win you over with its slick, witty, fun, and charismatic characters and dialogue. Never, ever boring, each 30 minute show is fast-paced, sophisticated and clever. I have a hard time watching just one episode at a time. After the first few episodes where you are getting to know the characters, then things really start to get fun. The characters are endearing and even when you hit a more dramatic episode, the quick-witted humor and snappy dialogue keeps it rolling and leaves you wanting more. I can't believe such a great program did not draw an audience big enough to keep it on the air! I still miss it and always wish there was more when I finish the last episode. My husband didn't catch the tv series when it was on the air, but watched the dvds with me and he is as big a fan as I am now. We both agree that this is one of the best tv shows ever. This is definitely one of the best dvd purchases I've ever made (after impatiently counting the days until its release), and I know that with how jam-packed each episode is, I will enjoy watching this set over and over for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: WOW is all I can say
Review: My husband had been trying to get me to watch this set of DVD's for as long as I can remember. We rented them through Netflix, and I have to say I am a little depressed that such a great show was cancelled after only two seasons. We've been hanging on to the last DVD because we just don't want to admit that it's over. I am going to surprise my husband by buying the boxed set for him for Christmas. However, I know that I will enjoy them as well. I would recommend this show for ANYONE -- not just sports fans or West Wing fans, etc......ANYONE!

Rating:
Summary: Rent before you buy - for West Wing fans only
Review: I tuned into this show by accident one time when it was on the air, and what caught my attention was Sabrina Lloyd ("Hey! That's the chick from Sliders!") I couldn't remember the time or channel it was on, so I never caught the show again.

Later the DVD set came out, and as you can see Amazon's site has been flooded with countless rave reviews with scores of 5/5. This rekindled my interest, but since I wasn't willing to buy a box set based on user reviews alone, I hoped to be able to rent it. Unfortunately, no local Blockbuster rented out this relatively-unknown series, and none of my friends had even heard of it. Recently, I joined Zip.ca (similar to Netflix in the U.S.) and I was finally able to rent out the first disc in the series.

I must say that this series is psycho-crazy & busy! I've never seen a TV show that tried to cram in so many sub-plots into a 22 minute-per-episode series. The worst of it is in the first 3 episodes, which quite literally gave me a headache to watch. It was incredibly difficult to follow what was going on, as the pace was incredibly fast - too fast for my poor brain to process. The craziness reminded me of when I tried to watch the very first episode of The West Wing, which after 20 minutes I changed the channel and have never watched the show again.

Anyway, the second episode of Sports Night is the most difficult to follow... Dan is accused of taking a pro-drug view (I think?), but the origins of this view are cloudy. Did he say it in the magazine? Did he say it while on the air the day before? They practically skipped over this entire prologue and went straight to talk about the consequences. Then there's Sabrina Lloyd's character (Natalie) who starts whoozing over another character named "Jeremy" (I hadn't realized that she was talking about the nerdy guy at that point - was I supposed to have memorized his name after the first episode?) This craziness in the first few episodes is not the right thing to do so early in the series as it doesn't help in grabbing new viewers.

Fortunately, things start to settle down by the middle of the 3rd episode and begin to form a much more cohesive storyline from the 4th episode and onward. The episodes start to stitch together beginning with Natalie's brush with sexual harrasment from a football "star" (was he real or fiction? I don't watch sports so I have no idea...)

Despite the fact that the episodes were getting better (and I'm sure discs 2-6 also reflect this improvement), I can understand why the show was cancelled. You can't name a show "Sports Night" and expect to have many different demographics tuning in. As I mentioned, the only reason the show caught my attention was because Sabrina Lloyd was on the screen at the same time I flipped to the channel. However, my infatuation with her has worn off considerably since Sliders first aired almost 10 years ago (where is she now?)

I suppose if you love the West Wing, you'll love this show as it has that same crazy/busy style. If you can't stand the West Wing, avoid this DVD set (which is getting to be hard to find anyway as it's not exactly a best seller). I'm sure I'll get flamed for "tainting" this review list filled with 5/5 ratings, but hey I gave it a fair 3/5 as the series was starting to show potential in the middle of the first disc. I may even rent the rest of the discs sooner or later, but it will most likely be later as I've got many other TV series to check out from Zip.ca.

Rating:
Summary: Pure televised bliss
Review: I suppose I could be sad that this show lasted for only 45 episodes -- but those 45 were so consistently good that it's hard to complain. As a bonus, it even received its cancellation notice early enough for Sorkin and company to wrap it up with a nice bow. (If you're still left wanting, the show attracted enough talented fans that not one but two well-written and funny series of followup "episodes" can be found online.)

Take one genuinely gifted writer and show-runner, six terrific actors, and a joyously flagrant disregard for the traditional boundaries between comedy and drama, and you end up with "Sports Night." Not since "Moonlighting" has a series been aired on network television in which everyone just plain seemed to be having this much fun. You will too.

Rating:
Summary: TV Nirvana
Review: Buy this set. Now. It's a brilliant, engaging show, and it will be the gem of your DVD collection.

And don't go marking this review "useless"; if you want greater density of praise, read any of the other 200-ish reviews here. I'm just making it simple: buy it. Now.