Sports Night

You needn't be the least bit interested in sports to enjoy Sports Night, the best new ABC sitcom of the season. [22 Sept 1998, p.E01]

The pace is fast from start to finish, the situations believable, the actors are obviously enjoying their work, the production is excellent. If there's any justice in the TV business (talk about a reckless assumption), ABC, a network that desperately needs a new hit show, should have one in Sports Night. [22 Sept 1998, p.E-1]

Against all odds, Sports Night is a home run, a hole in one, a touchdown — at once the most consistently funny, intelligent, and emotional of any new-season series.

The most entertaining new comedy premiering in primetime this fall, precisely because it doesn't look or feel like anything else the networks are tossing against the wall. It cleverly defies all of the dreary fall sitcom trends: black people moving into white neighborhoods, single parents struggling to hold housefuls of screaming brats in line, gay men yearning to make sense of a straight world, and young adults basically acting like idiots. [21 Sept 1998, p.44]

At a time when every TV comedy seems content to look and sound like every other TV comedy, any show that tries to break the mold deserves to be applauded. And a show like Sports Night that's snappy, well written, thought-provoking, and sometimes funny and moving at the same time deserves no less than a standing ovation. [22 Sept 1998, p.59]

Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman, Robert Guillaume and a marvelous pack of supporting players lend a palpable pulse to the most stylishly produced workplace/relationship series to arrive in some time...Though packaged like a comedy, "Sports Night" isn't always funny. It's just seriously good TV. Sign up for season tickets. [22 Sept 1998, p.E1]

Smart writing, talented actors playing realistic characters and a pace and cinematography reminiscent of HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show" or "Arli$ $ " make Sports Night one of only a handful of new series that warrant viewer attention. There's just one problem: It's a half-hour series that bears more resemblance to a drama than a sitcom. [22 Sept 1998, p.G-7]

What makes Sports Night such a standout is Aaron Sorkin's crisp and clever script. It's crammed with characters who seem full-fleshed and real after just one encounter. And, trust me, you do NOT have to be sports fan to get it. [22 Sept 1998, p.1]

There isn't another half hour like it on network television right now. It's a 30-minute show, but it isn't a sitcom. As a matter of fact, it's at least as much a drama as it is a comedy. It's also one of the best new shows of the season. [22 Sept 1998, p.TV]

If Sports Night is by far the most interesting new series of the year, and among the most entertaining, it also has some problems. ... Still, Sports Night's freshness is inspiring, and its potential is great.

The series is acted with razorlike timing. [21 Sept 1998, p.E5]

It has personality to spare, so much that you forgive it for its romantic notion that a bunch of highly paid TV people constitutes a "family." [22 Sept 1998, p.F1]

For a new series, Sports Night already has a nicely developed sense of ensemble and texture. Charles and Krause show a natural chemistry as anchors and friends, and Robert Guillaume has strong presence as the imposing executive producer. The most appealing actor, though, is Huffman, who is dynamic as the committed producer who lives only for airtime. She's got caffeine running through her veins. [22 Sept 1998, p.C1]

We're betting that with experience, this inconsistent show can find a way to win.

Sorkin has created a funny, free-flowing comedy that more closely reflects the rhythms and look of a feature film. He may still have something to learn about the sitcom form, as witness the abrupt shift to sentimentality that ends the first two episodes. But when he's on his game, he provides moments of unexpected and acute insight that can almost leave you breathless. [22 Sept 1998, p.3D]

One of the better new series this fall despite a habit of turning mawkish in the last five minutes each week. It's helped immensely by its very endearing characters. [22 Sept 1998, p.41]

The problem is that it's difficult to get into this series' awkward rhythm as it bounces from comedy to drama. A weak, out-of-place laugh track doesn't help. [22 Sept 1998, p.E1]