(1998-2000)

Before the political drama of The West Wing, Mr. Sorkin spent his time with Sports Night, a 1/2-hour comedy/drama about a close-knit group of people working in a crazy high-stress environment that happened to be a sports show similar to ESPN SportsCenter. Every day on SN, people struggled with work, fought for love and tried to get by without going crazy. SN was well written, had an ensemble of great personalities, and managed to be funny, fast, and smart in every episode. Think M*A*S*H or Taxi -- the dialogue weaved great laughs in with some very touching moments. I laughed, I cried, it was fun .... (thanks to Locality: Sports Night for the blurb)

Cast of characters:

Dan Rydell -- co-anchor and writer, best friends with Casey.

Casey McCall -- co-anchor and writer, best friends with Dan.

Dana Whitaker -- producer, old friend of both Casey and Dan.

Jeremy Goodwin -- associate producer, Natalie's on-and-off boyfriend

Natalie Hurley -- senior associate producer, keeper of everyone's personal lives.

Isaac Jaffe -- managing editor and executive producer, general father-figure and herd rider.

Rebecca Wells -- Dan's ex-girlfriend, who left him to re-unite with ex-husband, divorced the ex completely, then returned to get back with Dan in last episode of series.

Necessary Spoilers:

Quo Vadimus (the series's final episode) -- Sports Night's network, CSC, went up on the auction block, and serious possibilities that the show will be cancelled threaten to separate the team -- Dan and Dana to California, Casey still in New York, Natalie and Jeremy to unknown locations. Rebecca enters into the middle of all this and gives Dan her number, but when he hears the show has been sold he tears it up. Though the company that bought the network ends up deciding to keep the show and all is well, they never say what happens with Rebecca.

Links:

Sports Night on Comedy Central: The show's new home. Good sense of humor and great video clips.

Locality: Sports Night: Reliable, comprehensive info about the show, including a few transcripts and character bios complete with minor factiods.

Sports Night on TKTV: One of the best updated sites still out there, with a huge link list. News page by far the most interesting place to visit.

Television Without Pity: Sports Night: Offers full recaps of each and every episode. I'd say that it's almost like being there, but the dialogue and staring at Dan and Casey has always been a big part of the fun.