Comments on: Take 5: SPORTS NIGHT Top 5 Episodes

By: TV Talk From Fellow TV Addicts » the TV addict

TV Talk From Fellow TV Addicts » the TV addict — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:09:51 +0000

[...] Remember the awesomeness of Sports Night? GMMR’s Take 5 looks back at the five best episodes of this fantastic show. (Give Me My Remote) [...]

By: Catching Up on TV Blog Banter | Give Me My Remote

Catching Up on TV Blog Banter | Give Me My Remote — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:43:07 +0000

[...] Remember the awesomeness of Sports Night? GMMR’s Take 5 looks back at the five best episodes of this fantastic show. (Give Me My Remote) [...]

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:21:23 +0000

Lisa: Thanks for the feedback. I have vivid memories of watching an episode from Season One with a college crush, keeping my fingers crossed that she would embrace the rapid fire dialogue and brisk pacing. Since I never shut up in real life, I found this experiment to be a reasonable test of our future together. After a half hour of silence on her behalf, I had to let her down gently. And by gently, I mean that she had to go see her actual boyfriend at Georgia Tech

Mikki: The closing seconds of the pilot were intoxicating, particularly since Casey’s audience was first and foremost his little boy. I meant to include a reference to that father/son dynamic, and how beautifully it was woven into later episodes. That could be said for a number of other relationships on the show, making it even more painful that we have to live with just 45 chapters of the story.

By: Ariana

Ariana — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:21:12 +0000

I’ve gotta say that The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee never ever fails to give me goosebumps. Play of the year, right there. Obviously Robert Guillaume is a brilliant actor. Eli’s Coming is another favorite. I still use that phrase as a warning of bad things to come. Thespis is really great too. Know it all Jeremy and the ridiculous things that go wrong.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:23:52 +0000

Isaac Jaffe: Let me start by saying that: Dana, what I say in my office stays in my office.
Dana Whitaker: Natalie’s my number 2, she’s the only one I told.
Natalie Hurley: Jeremy’s my boyfriend, and he’s the only one I told.
Jeremy Goodwin: I told many many people.

-from the episode “Smoky”

By: joe

joe — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:28:08 +0000

Long-time reader, never commented before though. Thanks for putting this up, more people need to see this show. I was a little young for it when it first aired but got into it once I discovered the West Wing in its middle years and became a devoted Sorkin/Schlamme fan. I agree with all the episodes mentioned so far, especially Eli’s Coming and Cliff Gardner.

Josh Charles as Dan Rydell very well may be my favorite television character of all time, and I watch a heck of a lot of TV.

Also, in my opinion, Clark Gregg’s work at the end of the series was wonderful.

Erik, you say you blame Gordon for the demise of the show? I was never a big fan of the character but do you have specific reasons for blaming him? Just wondering.

By: Give Me My Remote

Give Me My Remote — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:35:36 +0000

And don’t forget that Josh Charles will be seen in the upcoming ‘Brief Interviews with Hideous Men’ which premieres at Sundance (he he).

Great stuff, Erik. I’ve known for a long time that I need to watch ‘Sports Night’, but this post just proves that I need to watch it sooner rather than later.

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:28:34 +0000

If you loved Josh Charles on Sports Night (and if you did not, how dare you?), he had a nice story arc on the HBO series In Treatment last year.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:05:16 +0000

Erik – I am thrilled that you wrote this! I absolutely loved Sports Night and am still not completely over its demise. What was that – 8 years ago? I completely agree with your choice for #1 – my my my my my boogie shoes.

I also really enjoyed The Apology where Dan is asked to apologize on camera for his comment about marijuana in a magazine article. I thought the writing and Josh Charles’s acting were terrific. And I like the one where Casey has dilated pupils and Dan has writer’s block. I don’t know the name of the episode but it rocked. “Dan, my sense. They’ve come alive.”

In your pamphlet – could you also cover your spouse’s exes and their requests to you to be a facebook friend? I mean, really?

By: ColoradoKila

ColoradoKila — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:47:40 +0000

OMG – was just thinking about Josh Charles the other day, so glad to see this.

Though I cannot remember a specific episodes (besides what you mentioned here) I will never forget the production meetings in the big glass room, the amazing writing, the brilliant acting and casting to die for. To this day, the thought of Robert Guillaume’s stroke episode makes me teary.

It was so ahead of it’s time, and I miss television like this.

Thanks

By: Meg

Meg — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:37:31 +0000

The Six Southern Gentelman of Tennessee is an incredible episode. I also love the first season finale (What Kind of Day Has it Been?) with the return of Isaac, and the real life return of Robert Guillaume. Tear jerker.

Some trivia: In one episode, Dana goes to see The Lion King on Broadway. Robert Guillaume was the voice of Rafiki in the original Disney movie.

By: Philboy

Philboy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:23:24 +0000

I’m so glad you included “The Cut Man” and “Eli’s Coming”. Those are my two favorites of a series that I (disappointedly) didn’t get for Christmas, but will buy soon.

By: Mikki

Mikki — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:51:26 +0000

The Sports Night pilot was one of the best I’ve ever seen.

I still get goosebumps when I think about Casey’s broadcast at the end of the episode: “…and Ntozake Nelson’s got something to say about a world record!”

By: Lisa (aka lmr)

Lisa (aka lmr) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:22:45 +0000

Erik…am speechless, just amazing, thank you. My former BF adored Sports Night at the time – I too was a fan but not to the all-consuming extent that he was. Around that time West Wing debuted and it was love at first sight for me. I tried to get him to watch WW and he stubornly would not, he didn’t want another TV show to get hooked on. I would make plaintive requests that he just had to try it since he loved Sports Night so much. Eventually he did and he got hooked and owns every season of WW.

I miss Aaron Sorkin.

By: Avi the TV Geek

Avi the TV Geek — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:25:16 +0000

My favorite episode is “April is the Cruelest Month”. There’s something about watching executives fighting over budgets and our favorite sports duo coming back together again.