Eclipse

I cannot stand Sports Night. I like to leave comedy central on in the background while I'm on the internet or doing whatever around the house. However, there are 2 shows that I cannot stand at all. One of them is Sports Night. I think it is a pathetic attempt at humor that falls flat.

Anyone else agree or disagree.


E

das Monkey

SportsNight is one of the finest 30 minute shows ever put on television. It's not a sh|t-com, but ABC insisted on a lame-ass laugh track. It's more of a drama with comedy bits mixed in, but yes, I find it funny. Mainly because the jokes are based on something more than the tired old sh|t-com formula. I think I have to go back to All in the Family to find another 30 minute show that was both funny and moving. SportsNight is one of those rare and special pieces of television that will forever be discussed as "that great show that no one ever watched."

das

JonTurner

As someone who generally enjoys the tv shows that most people around here (and the critics) like, I just cannot find humor in Sports Night... I've seen a few episodes (back when it was on ABC?) and now on Comedy Central, but I can hardly sit through them - I can never find anything funny about them... and if it's supposed to be a drama in some ways (which it seems to be), I don't find it very well done.

I know I'll be in the minority here since you always here people campaigning for it here, but I just don't like it. Sorry.

Eternia

I could not sit through it when they were on ABC. I don't even watch it on Comedy Central, since I didn't enjoy it from the start. See, I would consider this what das calls the other sitcoms out there

BigPete

It interferes with my SNL reruns and hence it is bad.

Kal-El

Love this show. What time is it on? I thought they stopped airing it even on Comedy Central. I'm with das on this. One of the best shows ever. Love the snappy-roundabout dialogue style that you hear on occassion at the West Wing.

Tesiae

as das stated, Sports Night is not really a sitcom. The laugh track was eventually removed. Frankly, the story arcs on both seasons were incredible. You really got a sense of how precarious the situation was for a fledgling third place cable channel. Great cast too. I always enjoyed how Dan Rydell always took pot shots at Football ( the real kind ), and even was livid when someone was considering Pele as the athlete of the century.

Great show, but I refuse to watch it again because I'll fall in love with the stories and the characters knowing full well that the show is over after only two seasons.

vasb

I wonder if like it option is even needed, it should be "love it" or hate it," not many people seem to be on the fence.

I think that it is a great show and wish it would come out on DVD. Most television comedies are situation comedies, in which the humor is derived from crazy or outlandish situations. Though this can be funny (Seinfeld), most of the shows currently on tv usually just recycle hackneyed ideas, usually resulting in less than amusing shows. Even some good shows such as Frasier often stoop to this level, as is evident from some of the recent seasons' constant Three's Company style miscommunications. I am sure I could list many other shows that fit in this category, but I do not watch much tv and cannot comment on the many shows I do not watch.

Now, moving onto Sports Night, a show in which the comedy is mainly derived from the characters and how the act in NORMAL situations. To me, this is much funnier than the typical sit com because it is closer to life. The more you watch these types of programs and the better you understand the characters in them, the funnier the show is in the long run. This style also allows for drama and poignancy as the characters are people, not just comedic pawns.

In conclusion, I can see why one may not find Sports Night to be hilarious or even funny after watching just a few minutes of it (gag a minute comedies program some to become bored quickly when the "only" thing on screen is good dialogue), but in my opinion the show is VERY funny and overall an extremely well made well written series.

mllefoo

I have tried to watch that show a number of times but I have yet to figure out why people think it is so good, or even why it's on Comedy Central since it isn't funny. But then, I'm the only person in the known universe who despised There's Something About Mary (worst movie ever...not funny at all). So what do I know?

I'll go back to watching Seinfeld till sunday night cartoons come on.

das Monkey

vasb, you said it.

I've seen most sh|t-coms 12 times already. The characters are unoriginal, the gags are uninspired, and the situations are almost always cut-n-pasted from another show I've already seen. Sure, I loved these gags when I first saw them, and when I saw them again, and the third time, and sometimes the fourth, but enough is enough. The television drama has evolved ... why can't the television comedy? Great shows come along that transcend the genre (All in the Family, Cheers, Seinfeld, SportsNight, Sex and the City), but these are quickly cloned by the mental midgets at NBC until there are 30 copies of the exact same show all over the place. For some reason, SportsNight never caught on like these other shows that elevated the genre. Perhaps it was because of its incredible dramatic content. The West Wing is essentially the same show as SportsNight with a slightly larger focus on drama, and it has taken the world by storm. Like most great shows, watching a single episode of SportsNight is a waste. It's way too deep for a single 22 minute episode. There's a reason the Viewers for Quality Television gave it their grand prize award. It's as good as television gets. Many people won't like it for whatever reason, but from where I'm sitting, shows like SportsNight represent the greatness that television could achieve, but that the general public refuses to reach for if it interupts another episode of their beloved Millionaire.

das

JNielsen

I agree, SportsNight is one of the better half hours on TV in a very long time. I never watched it when it was airing...thank God for Comedy Central and Tivo. Rydel's the man!!!

Fielding Mellish

Since "love it" isn't an option, i guess I'll have to settle with "like it."

Damn, I miss that show.

Geofferson

Sports Night was a great show. (Giving Comedy Central a big for re-airing it).

CaptainMarvel

I love it. I wish I could watch the whole series in order, instead of picking up bits and pieces when it comes on.

huzefa

Great show! Up there with the likes of Newsradio (also cancelled by stupid stupid NBC). Rydell was one of the funniest characters on TV.

Static Cling

Sports Night airs much less than it used to a few weeks ago... I think before "Beat The Geeks" started airing. And I think it is a great show... like someone said, one of the best shows no one watched. I've got a Season Pass for it on my TiVo, and I think I'm going to start archiving episodes... I'd really like to get all the episodes in order, because there are some great story arcs... heck, ALL the arcs are great, and I'm sure watching them in order would be the best way to do it.

I love the snappy dialogue, but after a while, you realize that a lot of it is the same thing over and over again.

Dan: "I'm ______."
Casey: "Come again?"
Dan: "I said, I'm ______."
Casey: "You're ______?"
Dan: "Yes, ______. You know, __(synonym 1)__, __(synonym 2)__... ______."
Casey: "So what you're saying is that you're ______?"
Dan: "Exactly."

It relies a lot on repetition, and a lot of talking without really saying anything substantial. But so help me, I still like it. And I'd LOVE to see it on DVD.

Frankie like Dana, Natalie, AND Rebecca... so hard to choose!

Eclipse

Thank goodness there's at least a few people here who
can't find humor in it either.

If a mod wants to change the poll to "love it" go right on ahead.


E

necromania

The reason it's probably not funny is from all that crack Aaron Sorkin smoked.

Spicollidriver1

I really like this show also, and wish it stuck around longer.

Kal-El

That was my favorite thing about it. There's this one sequence that started teh show about Casey's favorite J.Crew shirt missing that was sooooo good.

Eternia

I liked Newsradio better than Sportsnight... But I don't watch the reruns of it either.

And I thought Sports Night was on ABC not NBC.

huzefa

I was talking about NBC cancelling NewsRadio. I know Sports Night was on ABC.

mikehunt

great show
beter than most of the sit-coms the big 3 networks show, I won't even get into the sit-coms on the lesser networks

das Monkey

You don't like Sister, Sister? Or Reba? Or Homeboys in Outer Space?

Man, you have no class.

das

[/sarcasm]

Eternia

Oh dang I have watched one of those and currently watch one of them.