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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. |
