(S01E07) This episode introduces a tactic that Aaron Sorkin also used on The West Wing, an episode that's framed around having a character write a letter to a family member, explaining what they do and what's going on that week at their job and in their personal life. On The West Wing, the episode had many characters (C.J., Josh, Sam) writing e-mails to family members. In this episode of Sports Night, Jeremy writes an e-mail to his deaf sister Louise, catching her (and viewers) up on what's going on at CSC.And there's a lot to talk about too, as we have...
- Dan with writer's block
- Isaac's daughter dating a Republican
- Casey having problems with Dana's boyfriend Gordon
- Jeremy falling in love with Natalie
- the breaking story of an 80 year old Negro league ballplayer (and friend of Isaac) who is beaten in a carjacking
Some might see the idea of using a letter to frame an episode as a "gimmick" or "an easy way out." I don't see it that way at all. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for first person narration and letter writing, but I find it to be both a very strong narrative choice and a nice break from the usual sitcom set up. And in this episode it manages to neatly summarize what's going on for new viewers, while at the same time keeping hardcore fans entertained. There's also a lot of background info revealed that even fans of the show arent aware of.
Quotes:
Dan: Come with us.
Casey: Where?
Dan: El Perro Fumado
Casey: The Smoking Dog?
Dan: Yes
Casey: Why?
Dan: If you wear something blue, you get $2 off a giant blue margarita
Casey: You know, I make a pretty good living. I can actually afford to wear what I want and pay full price.
Dan: I'm not promoting the economic upside as much as I am the opportunity to drink something giant and blue.
Giveaways reminder: Office, Eli Stone, Supernatural, South Park
Giveaway Thursday: Tickets to the New York Television Festival ... all of it!
I miss the media-friendly John McCain - VIDEOS
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-13-2006 @ 10:09PM
dirtgirl said...
damn, these quotes are killing me. I'm going to have to get this into my netflix queue to watch them all again. I love this show. And I dearly pray that Studio 60 has the same Sorkin magic.
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7-14-2006 @ 1:24AM
creanium said...
One of my favorite episodes. Not to nitpick, but I remember Jeremy was writing a letter to Louise that he was actually going to send to her. The team was giving him a hard time about the fact that he was actually going to mail it to her, basically asking, "who does that anymore?" And there was a little banter between Jeremy and Natalie about stamps.
At least that's what I remember, I could be wrong.
Oh and I've always had a little crush on Sabrina Lloyd (Natalie), I wasn't pleased when she left Numb3rs.
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7-14-2006 @ 12:43PM
Jason said...
Is it me or are these episode reviews for Sports Night getting shorter. I like these reviews. I watched season 1 and 2 back to back less then 6 months ago so these reviews are a little bit of reliving the magic for me. I want longer reviews with more plot detail! I want more quotes! I want more more more Sports Night coverage! But perhaps I'm just a bit demanding ;-).
Once the Sports Night episode reviews are done might I recommend a West Wing episode review starting from the beginning? Ohhh, I would be so glued to TVSquad, even more then I am now, if that's even possible, if that happened.
Thanks for the Sports Night coverage so far.
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7-14-2006 @ 12:48PM
RAB said...
The idea of a character narrating an episode in the form of a letter to home seems like it may be a tribute by Sorkin to MASH, which also used that device a lot. In this interview...
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117872196?categoryid=1303&cs=1
...Sorkin cites MASH as a big influence, so it isn't hard to imagine the similarity is deliberate.
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