"Sports Night" Season 1 Review

By Joshua Taj Bozeman
Written on: February 25, 2003 @ 12:32 A.M. CT.

I just finished disc 3 of the Sports Night box set...it was the end of season 1 with the long-awaited return of Issak. I just have to say, television is in a sorry state of affairs when a series of this caliber is cancelled after only two seasons. After winning 3 emmy awards and probably other awards along with them, the series just ended...I have yet to see any of season 2 (I will later tonight), but I'm sure it's just as genius as season 1. The duo of Dan and Casey is perfect. Peter Krouse who stars as Nathan on Six Feet Under (another genius show) and Josh Charles (I'm not sure what he's doing now) are the best match I can possibly imagine for these two main roles. You have Dana, Jeremy (the new guy), and Natalie...along with the gorgeous Kim (Kayla Blake) and Elliot (the funny guy with too few lines.) This show is genius. The writing is some of the best stuff in tv history, if you ask me. It's some of the smartest writing as well. I cannot say enough about the plotlines of this series...I have yet to see an episode that doesn't move me in some way. The series is nice like that- one second you're laughing at the antics between the two sports anchors, working perfectly off of each other, then the next second you're all smiling because of a beautiful moment between two people that seems so simple, yet at the same time so complex. I sit there, and I have to ask myself- how do people write this stuff? And, how do they write it week after week without any degradation in quality? It's amazing.

Not only do you get a great series in general...you get a nice look into the behind the scenes action of the production of a sports show. You get to see what these guys go thru during the day before they go on the air...you get to see the complicated relationships that form between everyone. It's like one big family, and it's really touching to watch them all grow together.

Sports Night is by far one of the best series that has ever graced the small screen...it's smart, it's witty, it's laugh-out-loud funny. It is quite simply some of the best television has ever had to offer, and it's a shame that too few people realized that.