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List Price: $59.99 | | Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 30238
Released: November 5, 2002 |
| Our Price: $149.99 |
| Used Price: $39.35 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Taut, exciting, realistic dramedy about the lives of sports journalists. It's a show about a show about sports, that isn't about sports at all.
Description of Sports Night - The Complete Series Boxed Set:
Before there was Aaron Sorkin's West Wing, there was Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night, which followed the trials and tribulations of a smart, energetic television staff as they scrambled to put on a nightly cable sports show, not unlike ESPN's SportsCenter. Sports Night was every bit as good as its political successor--and in some ways, even better--even though it didn't have the gravitas of, say, running the country on a daily basis. You don't need to know anything about sports to appreciate the dynamics of the Sports Night news room (which bears more than a passing similarity to His Girl Friday), and the issues the cast grappled with every week ran from the serious to the frothy, always peppered with snappy Sorkin dialogue. And sadly, as befalls most quality television (TV Guide dubbed it "The Best Show You're Not Watching"), Sports Night was canceled after two seasons. But the trajectory of 45 episodes on this DVD set allows you to watch one of the best and most groundbreaking half-hour shows ever put on television.
Those familiar with Sorkin's writing style will revel in the unabashed comedy and interoffice romance on display here, and the way it's set in motion by a powerhouse cast, including Felicity Huffman's Dana (sexy, neurotic show producer), Peter Krause's Casey (goofball anchor guy), Joshua Malina's know-it-all Jeremy (staff nerd and information repository), Sabrina Lloyd's efficient Natalie (Dana's mostly unflappable assistant), and the show's two secret weapons: Robert Guillaume as executive producer Isaac, who was to Sports Night what Martin Sheen was to The West Wing, and the superb Josh Charles, who as co-anchor Dan, a man as complex as he was funny and heartbreaking, was the heart and soul of Sports Night. Damn, they just don't make TV this good anymore! --Mark Englehart
Sports Night - The Complete Series Boxed Set Reviews:
One of the best shows on television 
2009-06-29 - I don't want to give anything away, but Sports Night chronicles the jobs and lives of a live sports show production staff. They are original and funny! This show is fantastic! Comedy at its best! It ended far too soon!
If you like Sorkin, you will love this!
2008-11-28 - I almost never give a season a 5 star rating when it doesn't last 4 or 5 seasons, but these are two of the best seasons you will have ever seen! Especially given that this is a relatively old show, the witty humor was incredible, and the characters were great. I think this show could come back on the air today, and it would instantly be a hit. It is fun to see the occasional appearance from an actor that shows up later in the West Wing, or Sunset 60.
Bottom Line: If you like Sorkin, this needs to be in your collection!
I had forgotten....
2008-03-26 - ...how absolutely AMAZING this series was. Why do all the good, smart shows like this go off the air? Are they TOO smart for the masses? Yet all of these stupid reality shows go on, year after year.
"Sports Night" is so well-written with such an incredible ensemble cast....TV cannot get much better than this. It is polished, intelligent comedy of which there is much too little in today's lineups. Too bad.
Better than I ever expected
2008-02-15 - I caught a couple of the first season episodes and was surprised each time at just how strong the show felt. Sure I laughed, but there was more to it than that. Individually, these people weren't exceptionally appealing and I had no interest in going "behind the scenes" of a sports show. Yet, almost every episode I watched felt like it was somehow special.
I started making an effort to catch the show every week and really began to care about the characters. Sure they were flawed, but not in some ridiculous stereotypical sitcom character way. I felt like I knew some of these people, and some of the others, I wish I knew.
This was the first TV series I bought on DVD and it is still one of the few shows I can regularly laugh out loud at, and then have to wipe a tear just a few moments later. "I didn't know we could do that"
Witty, fast-paced comedy
2007-12-31 - Possibly the best half-hour sitcom produced. Sorkin's first foray into creating a TV Show, and has all his hallmarks while being a little less serious than any of his later work (The West Wing, Studio 60). Fast dialogue, interesting characters, those walking-the-halls conversations that cover a dozen topics, a half-dozen characters and only one camera. Three seasons that touch on sports as serious business and social commentary.
