(S01E08) While Dana thaws a turkey above the studio as a dry run to making Thanksgiving dinner for her family for the first time, Isaac deals with his daughter, who is having trouble with her pregnancy (Isaac feels guilty because they had an argument earlier). Dan is angry with Casey because Casey doesn't remember that it's the anniversary of their first show on Long Star Sports (Dan thinks Casey was offered Conan O'Brien's job on Late Night and took Lone Star as a "consolation prize." Add to all this various tech glitches and you have a very hectic night at CSC.
All of this seems to be the work of the ghost of Thespis, the first actor, who started acting on this very date, November 23. Is he haunting the studio and causing chaos?
(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.
(S01E06) This episode is a continuation of last week's episode, where Natalie decided to tell the police what the football player did to her in the locker room. Meanwhile, Casey is all over a football coach's bad decision during a game, and Jeremy is obsessing over where to take Natalie on a date.
(S01E05)
(S01E04) Did you know that "Happy Birthday" is a copyright-protected song? Sing it on TV or the radio and you'll get a bill from the family of the two women who wrote it. Dan learns that lesson when he sings it on the air and a CSC business affairs woman informs him of how much money it's going to cost. Oh, and the business affairs woman is played by Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson!
(S01E03) There's a great balance and symmetry to Aaron Sorkin's writing (and the writing of others who work on his shows). There's always a theme running through his shows, and callbacks to lines and jokes and incidents from earlier in the episode. Not just in his straight dramas but in his comedies as well. Sports Night is a mix of comedy and drama, of course, and this particular episode has a lot of what I just described above, and it's very well done.
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorites shows, in order, every week.
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.
The big finales are finally over. Though we have a few cool premieres starting in the coming weeks, from Rescue Me (5/30) to Deadwood (6/11), let's face it -- TV isn't the same after May sweeps. The question that's floated around the TV Squad headquarters in the past couple of months has been, "what else can we review for the readers?" Enter "Retro Squad."
