Sports Night on Netflix

Meanwhile Netflix has brought "Sports Night" the TV show to direct feed. I have gotten to about show 15. Eventually I will finish the series.

Sports Night was produced for 1998-2000. So it lasted two seasons, 45 (?) episodes. This was done by Aaron Sorkin.

I remember vaguely watching a few shows when it first came on. Rewatching now, I am reminded so much of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip".

I had to look it up to realize Studio 60 was also produced by Aaron Sorkin. The similarities are so obvious. Even the theme music is pretty much the same. Same two men bonding. Same women stuff, even the tall imposing woman as a guest star.

Now I see why Felicity Huffman got such glowing lines when she was used as a celebrity host on Studio 60. I never noticed her in Sports Night. She had not yet gone on to stardom in Desperate Housewives. The guys get most of the camera time.

The differences are stark too. SN is a 30 minute comedy with a minimal laugh track. S60 is an hour long drama.

But both shows, despite using lots of technical jargon about showbiz, are not much about the actual show product. They are about soap opera like relationships between the people producing the show.

Even the dialogue is similar.

I still do not like the characters as much on Sports Night as I do on Studio 60. The two main male characters on Sports Night are unlikable smarmy guys. And they look too much alike. The guys on Studio 60 are much more likable. They use much the same lines, its the delivery I guess.

The women on SN are not as much fun either. Felicity Huffman, despite "obvious talent", is not particularly likable either. Robert Guillaume is probably the most fun character on Sports Night.