One Dull, One Terrifying, The X-Files Balances Out With "Conduit" And "Ice"

The Good: Character development, Tension in "Ice," Generally the acting
The Bad: "Conduit" is largely boring and predictable, "Ice" neglects character development in favor of mood.
The Basics: "Ice" is terrifying and tight, while "Conduit" is pretty much for science fiction lovers only, making for an erratic video.


Once in a while, I come to dread the simplicity of reviewing the old VHS tapes. With two episodes each, The X-Files videos sometimes paired tremendous episodes with complete lemons. "Conduit" and "Ice" is an example of one such pairing. "Ice" is a tense psychological horror with a creature of the week plot that is likely to keep most viewers guessing well into the last act, while "Conduit" is a somewhat standard alien abduction storyline with a very slight twist.

The X-Files had some truly great episodes and "Ice" might well be one of the first that truly knocked it out of the park. Following on a string of strangely similar corporate crime mystery episodes, "Ice" popped up to freak out viewers with a very straightforward frightening bottle episodes. Sadly, "Conduit" seems like one of those episodes that had a one line pitch and the writer struggled to make it into a full forty-three minute show.

In "Conduit," a young woman goes missing in Iowa while sleeping out under the stars next to her eight year-old brother. Her mother, who as a girl witnessed a UFO at the same lake her daughter disappeared from, is gratified when Mulder picks up the case and arrives to investigate. Scully is deeply skeptical about the abduction, more so when it appears that the girl is something of a wild child.

Soon, though, even Scully is doubting when the body of the girl's boyfriend is unearthed and Mulder discovers strange burns around the campsite the girl disappeared from. But none of it is as strange as her brother, who is writing ones and zeroes that he is receiving from television static, binary codes that are anything but random!

In "Ice," Scully and Mulder are sent up to the Arctic Circle to a scientific research outpost that is studying ice samples from deep in a crater. The members of the drilling team are all dead, having killed one another and the final two scientists taking their own lives while claiming "we are not who we are." The FBI agents arrive at the outpost with a geologist, two doctors and a pilot to try to determine what happened to the original expedition.

Soon, though, it becomes clear that the ice that the scientists were studying contained something living and possibly extraterrestrial. When a dog at the facility bites the pilot, it quickly becomes clear that the bite transferred something into him and when Mulder and Scully determine what it is, they struggle to maintain a quarantine to prevent it from being released upon the population at large!

Perhaps the only thing that works in "Conduit" is the character development. Viewers are reminded of the open case of Samantha Mulder, abducted while Fox Mulder was in the room with her. Mulder takes a tabloid journalism piece and turns it into and FBI case in part because he is still hunting his sister. "Conduit" does an excellent job of presenting Mulder as a man so lost in his own grief and sense of self-absorption over the loss of his sister that he will follow any clue to try to discover what really happened to her. This is played out and played up in "Conduit," with Mulder using every possible opportunity to mourn the disappearance of his sister again.

Conversely - and ironically given the overall quality of the episode - "Ice" is a plot-driven episode that does not include much in the way of character development at all. Instead, Mulder and Scully are turned against one another when one of the members of the team is murdered, leading the audience to legitimately wonder who in the group killed their fellow and what, exactly, it is that possessed the scientists. "Ice" does not belabor its decisions or cause the characters to question why they are doing anything; they are afraid for their lives and one person is contaminated with something that might drive him to kill!

The performances in "Ice" are very tight. In addition to wonderful performances by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson - who finally seem to be in their groove as Mulder and Scully - the episode features an appearance by Felicity Huffman. Long before she got work on Sports Night (reviewed here!) or Desperate Housewives, Huffman appeared on an episode of The X-Files and she gives such a strong performance as one of the doctors sent to investigate the outpost that one is forced to wonder if she auditioned for the role of Scully originally. Character actor Jeff Kober makes a similarly distinctive appearance as Bear, the pilot.

Just as everyone seems to bring their a-game to "Ice," they seem to let "Conduit" flow with little or no enthusiasm for the script. Gillian Anderson presents her usual lines of disbelief in the phenomenal with a surprising amount of boredom and detachment, as if she's beginning to wonder why Scully isn't opening up to extreme possibilities yet. None of the guest actors make much of an impression either in "Conduit."

This is not to say that "Conduit" is a complete wash; the episode is fairly clever in that it has a neat gimmick/concept. The boy appears to be a conduit and how that manifests is that he sits in front of his television writing binary codes that turn out to be snippets of music or famous images or defense department transmissions. It's a cool concept, but it doesn't go anywhere. By the end of the episode there is no greater sense of what the boy is than when the gimmick is first introduced and that tends to make the viewer feel like a tool as opposed to entertained.

The result is a wildly uneven viewing experience. On the plus side, like all of The X-Files videos, there are bonus features! Long before DVD, Fox Video decided to add some value to the VHS releases of The X-Files by including snippets of an interview with Chris Carter, the creator of the show, wherein he discusses the episodes. This is a decent little bonus and his thoughts on both episodes are interesting enough, but will likely just be appreciate by the fans.

Ultimately, I recommend this video because "Ice" is just that good and "Conduit" is not the worst hour of television by any means. But largely this will be enjoyed by fans of science fiction and horror more than general aficionados of drama in general.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete First Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy! That’s reviewed here!
Thanks for reading!]

“Conduit” – 4/10
“Ice” – 8/10
VHS - 6/10

For other television show reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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More Average Than Some Of The Prior Seasons: Frasier The Tenth Season Is Worth Watching!

The Good: Funny, Some great character moments, Acting is decent
The Bad: No DVD bonus features, Some plot/character aspects get tiresome
The Basics: Frasier The Tenth Season is a four-disc set which has the erratic episodes of the penultimate season for viewers to make part of their permanent collections.


Longrunning television shows have it tough in a lot of ways. Television series' which endure have the burdens of staying fresh while maintaining the audience base of loyal fans. This can be exceptionally difficult, especially when the network the show is on does not support the series as vigorously or as well as it originally did. Take, for example, Frasier (click here for the review of the entire series!), which was on for eleven years. By the time its tenth season had come to air, NBC - which aired the program - was devoting far more money to developing and advertising Friends. At the same time, Frasier was being jerked around in timeslots and nights it was aired on, despite continuing to win awards.

Sadly, with Frasier The Tenth Season, viewers are likely to feel some sense that the show deserves its poor treatment from the network. So much of what is presented in Frasier The Tenth Season on DVD will feel familiar to fans of the long-running comedy. Continuing where the ninth season of Frasier left off, the tenth season focuses on the whole Crane family, now with more emphasis on Daphne than in prior seasons. Even so, there are some truly uproarious moments in this season of Frasier and fans will love references to prior seasons, like the resolution to Frasier and Roz's having slept together in the prior season! In "Enemy At The Gate," the entire episode is a set-up for a joke which is hilarious and worth watching many times over.

In the tenth season of Frasier, emphasis returns to Frasier and his radio show, as well as to the new emphasis on Niles and Daphne. Niles and Daphne return from their secret wedding in Reno to realize that their families will be hurt to not share in the special day. So, they stage a series of fake weddings to appease Frasier and Martin and Daphne's mother, Gertrude. As Gertrude continues to live with them, Niles and Daphne become more and more frazzled and at Frasier's apartment, Frasier and Martin look to replace Daphne with a housekeeper, which does not work out. After offending Noel, Frasier inadvertently blesses Frederick at his Bar Mitzvah in Klingon and the family is rocked when Niles abruptly develops a heart condition which requires immediate bypass surgery!

Recovering from the incident, Niles has a slight spell of obnoxious overzealousness about life and he and Frasier fight over where Christmas ought to be celebrated, which is complicated by Martin working on Christmas Day. As Frasier's career begins to become as stagnant as his love life - though he does date a gym teacher - a former CNN analyst, Julia Wilcox, arrives at KACL and puts everyone there on edge. When she begins having an affair with one of Frasier's friends, Frasier is shaken and finds himself troubled.

The tenth season of Frasier is remarkably erratic and fans are more likely to enjoy stories out of a sense of nostalgia than out of the actual quality of the episodes. So, for example, Lilith turns up for her annual episode (she's actually in two episodes this season) in "Lilith Needs A Favor" where she asks Frasier to donate sperm to help her have another child and Bebe resurfaces in "The Devil & Dr. Phil." But there are episodes which are tiresome even when they seem original. While "Enemy At The Gate" effectively holds almost the whole episode in Frasier's car as set-up for a hilarious punchline, "Proxy Prexy" is utterly predictable when Frasier, unable to win an election as condo board president, has Martin run instead and then controls him. Similarly, "Door Jam" seems entirely familiar as Niles and Frasier work to become members of an exclusive day spa's inner sanctums. The season has familiar styles of episodes, like farcical episodes ("Daphne Does Dinner") and episodes where Frasier does absolutely obnoxious things, even when his intent is good, like "Some Assembly Required."

Part of what makes the season so difficult to watch for fans of Frasier is the introduction (or continued and growing presence) of two terrible new characters. Felicity Huffman plays Julia, who is absolutely loathsome. While Huffman does an excellent job of playing Julia as horrible and off-putting, the character is so effectively rendered that the show becomes unpleasant in every scene she is in (though in "The Harassed," it is fun for seasoned viewers to see how Julia acts as a foil to Kate Costas from back in season three). But the one who truly turns the viewer's stomach is Gertrude. Having abandoned her husband in the prior season, Daphne's mother becomes a canker sore on the series. She is crass, obnoxious and utterly horrible, everything that Daphne foreshadowed her to be. And what is more troubling is how her continued presence lessens Niles and Daphne from smart, adult characters to troubled adults who act more like mewling children in her presence.

This is not to say the entire season is a loss: far from it. Frasier is solidly entertaining through most of the tenth season and the three-episode arc - "Bristle While You Work," "Rooms With A View," and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - effectively toy with the formulas of the series. While "Bristle While You Work" might seem like a sitcom standard, it leads to the hospitalization of Niles and that episode is particularly impressive. "Rooms With A View" is heavily dramatic and illustrates the horror of waiting for medical results through Martin, Frasier, Roz and Daphne reliving significant moments in hospitals. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" reminds viewers why Frasier was one of the smartest television shows to grace the small screen, when Frasier refuses to fight with Niles and Niles is nervous about returning to lovemaking with Daphne following his surgery. When it tries, it effectively usurps the expectations of viewers by creating a show that is more dramatic than comedic, but is not without laughs.

And there are laughable moments throughout the season, from the many marriages of Niles and Daphne in "The Ring Cycle" to the interplay between Noel and Frasier in "Star Mitzvah." Even "Fraternal Schwinns," which has Niles and Frasier learning to ride bicycles, has good use of physical comedy and the viewer will find themselves laughing pretty consistently, even if it is somewhat predictable.

But to get the most out of the tenth season of Frasier, it helps to understand just where the primary characters are this season. In this season, the principles are:

Dr. Frasier Crane - the renowned radio psychiatrist, who is irked to have time taken out of his program to make room for financial updates by the disgraced Julia Wilcox. He takes an ethical stand against a parking garage, runs the Elliot Bay Towers condo board through his father and tries to one-up Bulldog at pranks. After his son has his Bar Mitzvah, he finds himself in an ethical bind over creating another child with Lilith and he becomes obsessed with a secret day spa. He sets his heart on Julia, a gym teacher and he works to survive an encounter with Bebe, who is Dr. Phil's manager now,

Roz Doyle - Takes her cousin on a tour of Seattle and realizes she is no longer a teenager before sparring constantly with Julia. She and Martin continue to get along, but she and Frasier have a tense exchange over how much attention Frasier is paying to Julia. She has a professional opportunity which leads her to consider leaving Frasier for a much better job,

Martin Crane - Back at work as a security guard, he has to decide the Crane family's Christmas plans. He has some success with Eddie teaching safety to local elementary schools, but gets ill and has to have Niles stand in for him. He befriends Kenny and is thrilled when Niles takes up target shooting. He attempts to right a bank error and instead ends up with a lot of money. He questions whether Niles and Frasier are his children when Hester's old lab assistant arrives and has more in common with them. When he is forced to fire his choice for housekeeper, he begins cleaning the apartment himself,

Daphne Crane - Now married to Niles, she is plagued by her abusive mother's presence under their roof. Still, she and Niles decide to work on having a baby of their own. She is terrified of losing Niles when he gets ill and has a psychic flash of the future when she and Niles have their own babies. Like all Cranes, she throws a disastrous dinner party and finally resolves to kick her mother out of the house,

and Niles Crane - He supports Frasier during his brother's "sit in" before he is stricken with an abrupt and near-fatal heart condition. Recovering from that, he and Frasier fall in with caviar smugglers to try to raise their social position. When a new musician is installed at Cafe Nervosa, he and Frasier begin to search for a new coffeehouse. He continues to illustrate a passion for Daphne that is unmatched and he seems truly happy for the first time in the series.

Supplemental characters continue to make Frasier a well-rounded show and in this season, Bulldog has a wonderful time pranking Frasier in "Tales From The Crypt" (which features an absolutely terrible b-plot involving Gertrude fighting a child in Niles apartment building). Kenny gets two significant plots when Roz's cousin offers him a new lease on life and he goes to Frasier for counseling after his divorce becomes finalized.

On DVD, there are no bonus features, so fans of Frasier are likely to be let down by the boxed set for its absence of any goodies whatsoever. I know I was. Still, there is enough in Frasier The Tenth Season to enthusiastically recommend, even if some of its greatness has passed. It is a placeholding season preparing for the final season and in that regard, it sets up what comes next quite well.

For other comedy reviews, check out how I evaluated:
Wonderfalls
Family Guy – Volume 1
The Big Bang Theory – Season 3

6/10

For other television reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Love And Redemption And Cinematic Perfection: Magnolia Is Incredible!

The Good: Characters, Dialogue, Plot, Acting, "Look."
The Bad: None.
The Basics: Without exaggeration, Magnolia is a perfect film. A masterpiece of American storytelling, acting and directing with wonderful characters weaving an intricate tapestry.


"And the book says we may be through with the past, but the past is not through with us. And no, it is not dangerous to confuse children with angels!" So speaks the middle aged Donnie Smith, played by William H. Macy near the middle of the film Magnolia. That line epitomizes the level of thought ongoing in the film as all of its characters search for love and/or redemption.

Magnolia reviews have often been criticized for being pretentious, often stated as "as pretentious as the film itself." However, while some of the reviews do attempt to be overly dignified and important (or self-important), the film is truly excellent. In all implications of the word. It is containing an emotional and psychological depth often lacking in film today, it utilizes dialogue a caliber that is rare inside the dumbed-down popular culture too often prevailed upon in the U.S. and it is big and long. In a word: adult. This is an adult movie. It's not pandering to children, it's not pandering to teenagers ages 14 - 21, it's a movie with breadth and depth written by an adult, for an adult audience. Allow me to explain why.

First of all, the duration of the film is geared toward adults. At 191 minutes, three hours, eleven minutes for those of you doing the math, it's a long film. To watch the movie takes some degree of patience. "Patience?! The film can't be engrossing if it requires patience!" Au contraire, while the film requires the ability to remain stationary for three hours, it is very engaging. I've seen the film twice now and not once during it have I looked at a clock. It is that easy to lose oneself in it. If anything, I'm upset by the length only in that it requires two tapes. Ideally, I'd like to see the film without having to get up and change tapes. The reason the length is not at all a "con" is because it's all necessary. The film The Road Home, for example, is filled with simple conflicts that are easily resolved. Add to that that that film attempts to illustrate such things as waiting by showing the young woman waiting for her lover actually waiting. For extended periods of time, nothing happens because she's actually waiting. How does this relate to Magnolia? Several scenes in The Road Home could have been cut, not true with Magnolia. The sheer number of characters and plots make everything that appears in the film necessary. There aren't whole scenes or ideas that could be eliminated or trimmed in this film. Quite simply, the length of the film is indicative of the themes it explores. It's an adult movie, it's an adult length.

A huge reason the length is appropriate is the themes the movie portrays. The resounding themes of the movie are love and redemption. All of the primary characters in the film are either attempting to find or express love or are in a search for redemption. Some are involved with both themes. But this is not a juvenile exploration of either emotion or desire. The film deals with love with sensibilities and sensitivities of an adult. The need to be forgiven is powerful throughout the movie and it is written with appropriate passion and force. These are compelling ideas, aspects of human nature, that adults wrestle with. Magnolia is about adults wrestling with adult problems and themes.

So, what is Magnolia and how to write a review about it without sounding pretentious? The film as a mosaic of intertwining people's lives. That is the best description of the film: it is a larger work consisting of smaller, often unrelated elements. If you look at the pieces of the film, you'll see individual stories and characters, if you look at the film as a whole, you'll see overriding themes and ideas. I'd liken it a little more to a tapestry; the threads of a tapestry weave together and while it's possible to appreciate the various threads, the overall image is more pronounced. The difference between a tapestry and mosaic is subtle; with a mosaic, there's often less interaction between the component parts, whereas threads of different colors in a tapestry weave and wind through the larger work in more analogous ways. That is, one character or plot will appear suddenly in the film and another character or plot may disappear for quite some time.

So, what is Magnolia about? Due to the character-driven nature of the film, it's impossible to discuss the plot without focusing on the characters. The movie is about characters, about people, feeling and doing things. And the principles are:

Jim Kurring, a seemingly-together beat cop who plays by the rules and lives a principled, often humble, life is going about his life looking for love. In the course of the film and following a good arrest in a pretty heinous crime, he discovers Claudia.

Claudia is an often-inarticulate coke junkie who is recovering from her past (thought that quote at the beginning was irrelevant, did ya?! Shame on you!) and looking for love and seeking redemption from her past and present indiscretions. Claudia and Jim are often the heart and soul of the film, though it's near impossible to say that as they both have the screen perhaps a third of the movie. But their relationship is beautiful, realistic, and more than anything, adult.

Claudia's father is Jimmy Gator, aged game show host of the long-running "What Do Kids Know?" Jimmy is dying of cancer and in the course of the movie confesses all his indiscretions to his wife and appears before his daughter desiring nothing more than complete redemption for his crimes against her. Jimmy is lost and his inability to resolve himself to even being honest to the full truth of all he's done cripples him. He's a complex character seeking a complex absolution.

Perhaps the best foil for Jimmy is the child Stanley. Stanley is a child prodigy appearing on "What Do Kids Know?" As Jimmy degrades, Stanley, under enormous pressure to perform (as he is about to break a longevity record on the gameshow) from his father, his teammates, the producers of the show, begins to become actualized. He steps out of his childhood (which his intelligence has already forced him out of) and asserts his desires. One of the film's last lines is his and it articulates the most important desires of any human who has ever been an underdog, anyone who has wanted respect. Stanley is seeking love and acceptance for the person he is, not just the potential he represents.

On the same side of the spectrum is Donnie Smith, former champion on "What Do Kids Know?" It is his record Stanley is two days away from breaking and it's clear Donnie never had the actualization Stanley is seen achieving. Instead, Donnie, at the end of his celebrity, laments the losses of his life as he tries, more than anything else, to attempt to articulate his loves. His heart is a big one, his sense of damage deep, and as he tries to manipulate circumstances throughout the film to make his love possible, he expresses a vast range of emotions.

For every bit Donnie loves, Earl Partridge seeks redemption. Earl, aged and also dying of cancer (the fact that there are two people in the film dying of cancer seems to bother many reviewers; I'm not sure why. There are many people dying of cancer, especially in the 60+ range. These things truly happen!), is seeking forgiveness from his son. Through the course of the movie, the reasons for that desire become clear, but it is one of the bigger surprises of the film, so I'm not going to ruin it. Actually, this is a good time to say this: all of the driving forces behind the characters, complex as they are, come out. This film masterfully weaves so many of their motivations together, making them explicit and real. Earl wants deathbed redemption and his reasoning is compelling.

Around Earl are two very important and engaging characters. The first is Linda Partridge, Earl's significantly younger wife. Linda is a nexus of love and redemption. As one might guess seeing such a young woman with such an old man, her marriage to Earl was more than for love. The problem Linda has is that as Earl has moved closer to death, she has actually fallen in love with Earl and she feels tremendous remorse for the horrible things she's done, for her betrayals of Earl's love. There's a sense of poetic justice in the relationship Linda and Earl have.

The final primary character, and the second intertwined with Earl is Frank T.J. Mackey. He is a misogynistic, angry man, filled with hate and dogma. He's like the reactionary anti-christ motivational speaker. He conducts workshops on empowering men to be Men (read: men to be dogs). His "Seduce and Destroy" philosophy resonates through the film and it becomes clear early on that this is a scarred individual who is filled with hate. When news reaches him that Earl is dying, his becomes a most compelling exploration of how and why to give redemption and the magnitude of love, even for those who have done horrible wrongs to us.

The only character heretofore unmentioned is Earl's nurse, Phil. Phil is played expertly by Philip Seymour Hoffman and he serves as an excellent place to continue the analysis of Magnolia. Hoffman delivers a heartfelt performance as the nurse, carrying through the stages of Earl's degradation with stark realism, blind optimism and an impressive array of facial expressions. Juliane Moore and Melora Walters amazingly play Linda and Claudia. Their performances are sharp, expertly delivered in dialogue and simple strength of their portrayals. Jason Robards and Jeremy Blackman are expert actors fleshing out the dying Earl and the boy on the brink Stanley. Their acting is wonderful. The film is filled with wonderful actors acting wonderfully.

The best acting comes from three men, which is actually a semi-surprise to me. William H. Macy, who I've come to expect great performances from, adds so much depth and greatness to Donnie. He doesn't fail to deliver in Magnolia; if anything, he makes me raise his bar for his work even higher. He's that great. As good is John C. Reilly as Officer Jim. His performance is nothing short of incredible. He plays the part with such simplicity and presence that, when viewing the film, it's hard to take one's eyes off him. He's very real. He's needy and lovable and his words are poetic and portrayed with such stark realism and near-clumsiness that it's easy to miss how on-the-nose his dialogue truly is. The triumvirate is completed by Tom Cruise. Usually a clumsy, stylish, pretty face/bad actor, Frank is the role Cruise was born to play. If nothing else, it proves Cruise can act. The characters is slick, disgusting and loathsome and Cruise plays him expertly. He deserved every nomination and award he received for this role. He was that good. I never thought I'd ever say that about Tom Cruise, but this is the film to see him in.

On DVD, Magnolia comes with a featurette, a video diary of its production, which is enlightening. There is not a commentary track, but the behind-the-scenes featurettes are entertaining and educational. The bonus disc also contains closer looks at background components of the primary film.

Magnolia, in final analysis, is beautiful to watch. It's wonderfully shot, expertly put together, visually impressive. The soundtrack is integral and it works well. In short, this is a perfect film. It is an adult film and it deserves the attention of adults who have compassion, thought and emotions. This is the film adults have been waiting for. It captures our imagination and deals with real, adult problems and solutions, thoughts and emotions.

For other incredible dramas, please check out my reviews of:
Inception
Watchmen
The Social Network

10/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2007, 2001 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Aaron Sorkin's Worthwhile (And Neglected) Endeavor: Sports Night Might Be Short, But It's Perfect!

The Good: Funny, Heartwarming, Great Acting, Wonderful Characters, Great Stories, Originality! Now with decent DVD bonus features!
The Bad: Short-lived.
The Basics: An amazing series that follows the exploits of professionals in the television industry as the love and grow.


It's a rare thing when pretty much every critic in the world agrees on the merit of a television show. But the truth is, the universal praise Sports Night received in its two-year run on ABC was just that, universal. And fans of this show were a remarkable thing: we rallied to it EVERY week and tried to convince those who had not seen the series to tune in. It's too bad not so many people did. I blame ABC (who took the show off EVERY time sweeps came around) and Aaron Sorkin, the show's creator.

Why do I blame Sorkin? The title. Sports Night killed this show even quicker than ABC. Why? I hate sports, so do a lot of other people. This show has nothing to do with sports. While it has everything to do with a show about sports, Sports Night is NOT about sports, it never was and it never would be. The problem is, one of the audiences that would have appreciated this series quite a bit was turned off just by the name. I speak of women. This is a show that, among other things, illustrates the power, ingenuity and greatness of women. Unfortunately, so many women were turned off by the title that feminist organizations failed to rally to keep the show on the air.

So, what is this great show that has nothing to do with sports?

Sports Night follows the lives of six individuals who are working on a late-night cable sports show called "Sports Night." In the course of the series, it follows their triumphs and emotional entanglements as they bring their lives to the office. The characters include:

Casey McCall, the lead anchor of "Sports Night." The series opens with Casey undergoing the final stages of a messy divorce to a heinous woman named Lisa who has basically emasculated the anchor. As the series progresses, he opens up to loving again and finds himself attracted to Dana.

Dan Rydel, the other anchor of "Sports Night." Dan is a standup, emotionally connected guy who has several issues. Rather rapidly, we learn that Dan had a brother who died and Dan blames himself for it. As Dan progresses, he falls in love with a woman who claims to be divorced and ends up in therapy. He is the emotional soul of "Sports Night."

Dana Whittaker, the producer of "Sports Night." She is an easily frazzled, woman in charge who is in command of "Sports Night," but completely lost in her social life. Her arc follows an engagement that goes bad to her opening up to Casey as a partner and ultimately losing what she wants most.

Isaac Jaffe, the managing editor of "Sports Night." He's a respected man who tries to protect the show from the network that seeks to cancel the show constantly. He's a man of great dignity and integrity. Isaac has a stroke which cripples him and puts the show in jeopardy.

Natalie Hurley, the senior associate producer. She's a flighty, kind young woman who is very emotional and very loyal to Dana, Isaac and the show. She's ambitious and absent-minded.

Jeremy Goodwin, an associate producer. In the first episode, this genius is brought on board by Natalie to help keep facts straight and keep the show running better. He's an analytical geek who is most comfortable being a sports genius and his love for Natalie grows and changes throughout the series.

The characters undergo a good number of adventures, such as Casey trying to demonstrate something to his son's class, Dan learns the consequences of singing "happy birthday" on the air, Dana discovers the joys of removing her panties while eating dinner in a restaurant, Isaac stands up for his morals, Natalie is assaulted by a football player and Jeremy deals with his parents divorce.

The hallmark of Sports Night is the fast-paced dialog. People on the show speak at the speed of normal conversation and as a result, it's often difficult for the casual viewer to keep up. Sports Night is definitely a show to sit down and watch, not just for use as background noise. But the show writes with intelligence and this is not the typical, idiotic sitcom that we're stuck seeing most times.

Sports Night is known for defying the typical pretenses of a situation comedy. The first is that Aaron Sorkin fought hard to have the laugh track removed from the series and for the second season he succeeded. Many people cite that it takes on serious issues in addition to trying to be funny, but the truth is, this is a very funny show. A lot of the humor hinges on the speed of the dialog so something like,
"Dana, did I say 'a neighborhood park all covered with cheese?'"
"There's a consensus yes." . . .
"Let me fix it when we come back." . . .
"Are we sure it's wrong? Are we sure the park isn't all covered with cheese?"
might not translate quite so well to the page. But it does have quite a bit of humor and it's a worthwhile series.

But more than anything, this is an intelligent comedy that respects its audience. It's funny and heartwarming and it is about people who make decisions and live with the consequences of them. People in this series grow and love and get hurt. This is a drama with humor.

The DVD set of Sports Night is a great way to go . . . finally. Following on a lackluster original release, Shout! Factory as released the Tenth Anniversary Set. In this DVD set, viewers get the whole series in one fell swoop. In addition to scenes that have been added back into the show from the original release, there are other bonus features. For restored scenes, there are several scenes on the last disc's "The Local Weather." I still haven't figured out what was cut out of the episode to incorporate the new scenes. There are also new commentary tracks on eight of the episodes, as well as featurettes on the making of the show. There is also a gag reel for each season, which is fun as well.

Even without the scenes that have clearly been deleted to keep each episode 21 minutes, this is a perfect series. It's wonderful and intelligent, the dialog is witty and funny and worthwhile. The worst aspect of the failure of Sports Night to endure on television is that writer Aaron Sorkin recycled important character and plot events into his other show The West Wing. You know that great speech Sam Seaborn gives about his father cheating on his mother? If you thought it was clever, see it done the first time when it was original in "The Sword of Orion" when Jeremy undergoes the same problem.

Sports Night is an amazing series and it has several episodes that are completely perfect, like "Shoe Money Tonight" where the gang plays poker for a night, "The Sword of Orion" where Jeremy learns his father is having an affair, the second season premiere "Special Powers" wherein various characters reunite, and "The Giants Win the Pennant, The Giants Win the Pennant" where Dana and Casey's near-relationship comes to a heartwrenching conclusion.

Well worth the money for anyone who likes an intelligent television series.

For other television program reviews, please check out my takes on:
30 Rock Season 1
Lost The Complete Series
VR.5

10/10

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© 2010, 2008, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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