May
19
"Sports Night": It was single-cam before single-cam was cool
Can it really be 10 years since "Sports Night" debuted? Sheesh.
Shout Factory reminds us how quickly time passes with today's announcement of the "10th Anniversary Edition" DVD box set of all 45 segs of the ABC comedy. The half-hour from Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme may not be "the show that changed what television could be," as it's touted in the press release, but it was entertaining and a breath of fresh air for its time. It was single-camera before single-camera was cool for small screen laffers.
"Sports Night's" core cast members have certainly done well for themselves in the intervening years: Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman, Joshua Malina and Sabrina Lloyd. (Robert Guillaume was already doing well for himself by the time this show came along, and he was great in his role as the elder-statesman exec producer at Continental Sports Channel, the Gotham sports cabler where the show was set.) Set, due out Sept. 30, includes two discs of bonus features including deleted scenes, gag reels, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentaries, etc.
Cynthia Littleton is deputy editor, news development at Variety and a veteran television reporter. 
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Ah, 1998! It was such an excellent year for new shows on ABC. Not exactly a successful year, but three of the most memorable debuted. This one, "Sports Night," which was one of the first shows that helped me realize how annoying the laugh track really is (and also was my first peek into the sharp, witty dialogue that would soon be associated with Aaron Sorkin).
That same year Rob Thomas' "Cupid" debuted and was cancelled, but remains in my mind to be one of the greatest TV shows of the 90s. It's just about 10 years later and it may be resurrected (sadly with no Jeremy Piven or Paul Adelstein, and not set in Chicago which I think takes away from the charm). This time I'd love to see Cupid match his 100 couples to see if he really is meant for Mount Olympus or is just a delusional nut. I still don't understand why that show didn't click with viewers.
"Fantasy Island" was also remade this year with Malcolm Macdowell, and JJ Abrams' "Felicity" for WB. Yes, a good year for TV.
Posted by: Phil | May 22, 2008 at 05:23 AM
One of the best shows of it's time that nobody watch. It brought us a lot of laughs and a few tears along the way. Peter Krause went on to bigger and better things when moved to the undertaker on Six Feet Under. As control freak producer Felicity Huffman she ran a tight ship.Now she moved on to Desperate Housewives and she is best thing on the show.
Posted by: Joe | May 27, 2008 at 12:05 PM