Rating: 
Summary: I love this show more than I love some family members.
Review: ... When "Sports Night" first aired, I assumed it was a show about sports and didn't watch it.I knew of Josh Charles from "Threesome," which didn't endear me to him, and I'd not really heard of Peter Krause. I thought Felicity Huffman probably wasn't as talented as William H. Macy, her husband. And I thought that Robert Guillaume was a has-been, rather than a still-viable talent. I thought the repeat appearances by Ted McGinley meant the show was as low quality as his other projects. I thought that the show was an ESPN-fused "Murphy Brown" wannabe, and I didn't watch it. I was wrong. I was really, really wrong. I was so massively wrong about "Sports Night" that, should they invent and introduce a time machine, I would go back to Fall 1998, sit my then-self down in front of a TV and force me to indulge in this quick-paced, witty masterpiece of a show. It's got comedy, drama, well-developed characters capable of incredible depth and great, great acting. Some shows in the series were so good, so compelling that I wept openly. The friendships portrayed were realistic and touching. The relationships were both daffy and affecting. ...the quality of the writing and filmmaking in "Sports Night" are the highest I've ever seen in a situation comedy. I bought this set after hearing about it from friends and looking on IMDB.com at the available quotes that were posted. It was the quotes that made me invest in the set, and it's the writing that pleases me the most about this excellent, excellent show. Thank you, A converted fan.
Rating:
Summary: A great nominee for the best TV show you never saw
Review: 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 CNC 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great TV
Review: Sports Night is one of my top 5 favorite TV shows of all time. It is probably the second best-true 'dramedy' ever ("The Wonder Years" being the first in my opinion.) Three things make this show one of television's best ever. The first and foremost is the dialogue writing. Throughout the whole DVD boxed set, one can count the physical jokes on one hand. In this show, the humor is in the dialogue, and it is very fast paced and very witty. Because of this, the writers of "Sports Night" are not limited to typical sitcom rhythm. The second great thing about 'Sports Night' is that, for the most part, the plot is driven by the characters rather than by the situation. In the strictest sense of the word, I wouldn't call 'Sports Night' a sitcom. This is a show about people dealing with their problems such as intra-office romance, competition, loneliness, illness, uncertainties, and various other neuroses. Third, I was really impressed with the acting on the show especially that of Josh Charles (Dan) and Peter Krause (Casey). The series has many emotional scenes where I felt that a lesser actor would have not shown the restraint required for the show to remain believable. Another good thing about this boxed set is that they didn't include a title and theme song with each of the 40+ episodes in the set. The show wasn't meant to have a laugh track, and unfortunately some of the first season episodes have one included. Also I think the fans of the show would have enjoyed some bonus feature material, but unfortunately none were included. But if you're a fan of innovative television, don't let those minor flaws deter you from getting this boxed set. Just be glad that it was released.
Rating:
Summary: Great DVD
Review: I have loved sports night for years and now I love it even more I was upset for a while that it went off the air, because I was convinced it was one of the best sitcoms ever if it had been on Monday on CBS or Thursday night on NBC we would now be watching the 5th season. But I must say I am glad it is on DVD and if you have never seen this show BUY THIS it is awesome
Rating:
Summary: Still the best comedy on television
Review: I just received my copy of the 6 disc set, and coincidently had an evening to myself to enjoy just relaxing in front of the tube. After perusing the available shows and finding nothing that seemed satisfactory, I decided to start into Sports Night. I was immediatly thrown into the ebb and flow of the witty dialog and found myself laughing as hard as I have at any other sitcom in quite a while. What a wonderful show. I'm still in the first season, and can't wait to get to some of the later episodes that I remember (particularly looking forward to the arc with William H. Macy). Great show, great cast, great dialog, too bad it ended so soon. As a note, I have not had any of the problems with the discs that have been mentioned before, hopefully that trend continues.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have DVD Collection
Review: Words cannot describe how excited I was to learn that Sports Night was going to be released on DVD. The day I bought this collection I ended up watching the entire two seasons straight. Trust me when I say there is not a person reading this who would not enjoy this television show. Enough said.
Rating: 
Summary: Problems with disk
Review: I admit I'm not great at electronics, but when I play the disk, it keeps repeating the title track over and over. I got sick of listening to the title song. Finally I hit SOMETHING and the first episode started playing. I brought the disk to work to play on my computer, and the same thing happened. When I finally got the first episode to play, the disk stopped at the same place 3 times and froze out my computer. It's a shame, because I love the show.
Rating:
Summary: About the Laugh-track
Review: First, its a fantastic show, and I just ordered the DVD collection...and am hoping not to encounter the tracking problem some users mentioned. As for the laugh-track that others mentioned...that exists because the show was filmed in front of a studio audience during the first season, and was filmed in an empty studio in the second season. So, you notice, as the series went on, that there's no laugh track in the later episodes. But take that with a grain of salt, as I've not seen this package yet. So I can't say for certain that one wasn't added for the 2nd season episodes on the DVD. But I will know in about 3-4 days! ;) God...this was a great show. Shame on everyone that cancelled it.
Rating:
Summary: Right up there with the greatest TV comedies ever
Review: I cried, literally cried, when this show was cancelled. The people on the show were witty, intelligent, and serious all at the same time. You fell in love with the characters and could watch the same episode over and over and find something new to laugh at every time. How often does THAT happen?! I was so excited when I found out a cable station was going to show reruns and now that I know both seasons are on DVD, I'm picking it up ASAP. If you like smart comedy with great actors and better writing, this is the DVD for you.
Rating:
Summary: I Miss This Show!
Review: This was one of the greatest programs on TV, and it figures that TV execs and the public did not realize that fact. Fast, snappy dialogue and characters that you grew to know and love were what made this program so addictive and a joy to watch. I do love West Wing, also Alan Sorkin's work, but Sports Night was my all-time favorite. In view of the current (2002-3) obsession with "reality shows", it breaks my heart that a quality program like Sports Night was canceled, especially after such a short run. Thank goodness my brother and his wife bought me the complete boxed set--now I have something great to watch when all else on TV stinks...
| 
