Entry 026 - Sports Night 123 (What Kind of Day Has It Been)
In which I cuss out Rob Reiner again
SERIES: Sports Night
EPISODE NUMBER: 123
TITLE: What Kind of Day Has It Been
PREMIERE: 4 May 1999
DIRECTOR: Thomas Schlamme
DRAFT SCRIPT: HTML
There are two types of season finales in television: the “make everything right” finale, and the “break shit to fix in the next season” finale. Given the direction of the first season of Sports Night up to this point, I think it’s a pretty safe bet as to which we get here — though I suppose anything can theoretically happen. Before we get into the episode, though…
NEW Plot Bunny: What Kind of Day Has It Been™
I’ve been waffling for a while on what kind of Sorkinism to consider this phrase, as it doesn’t exactly fit cleanly into any of the categories I set up for this project. It is simply an episode title that gets reused, after all (though the words are spoken at one point — brownie points to whoever can remember when). It’s particularly weird in this case since, as I mentioned back in the entry for the third episode, episode titles for Sports Night never appear on screen like with Mr. Sorkin’s other television shows. Nonetheless, as our third revision on the final draft script shows (good god, here we go again), the episode title was indeed set in stone by the man himself, and it won’t be the last time he does so. Let’s get into the episode now.
CASEY: Did I mention yesterday’s game?
DAN: Yes, you did. In fact, I believe I know the stats.
CASEY: Three for three with two RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base.
A kid’s baseball game went long enough for a player to have five at-bats? You sure you want to believe that, Casey?
RETURNING Verbal Tic: Bet your ass
Running count: 2
CASEY: What, you don’t think that’s impressive?
DAN: I think it’s very impressive.
CASEY: You bet your butt that’s impressive.
I have better things to do with my butt.
DAN: I’d think about takin’ him out of school.
CASEY: See, you joke about this.
DAN: I’m not kidding. There’s nothing he can learn in fourth grade that he can’t pick up in a good minor league farm system.
“Besides which, he’s white, so nobody’s gonna mind.”foreshadowing detected
RETURNING Dialogue Motif: World gone mad
Previous instance: The American President
DAN: Wouldn’t you think she’d have come crawling back to me by now?
CASEY: Rebecca?
DAN: Yes.
CASEY: Well, I would’ve thought so, but instead she went crawling back to her husband.
DAN: It’s a world gone mad, Casey.
So we’re going to get Dan in a silly funk for this episode. Aight.
WILL: Riverfront’s up.
NATALIE: That’s not Riverfront.
WILL: You’re right.
NATALIE: That’s Three Rivers.
WILL: I know.
ELLIOT: Riverfront’s in Cincinatti.
WILL: I know where Riverfront is.
CHRIS: Three Rivers is in Pittsburgh.
WILL: Yes.
CHRIS: Pittsburgh is in Pennsylvania.
WILL: Thanks very much.
Okay, Chris, now tell us which time zone both are in.
DANA: I’m going to take the inaugural picture tomorrow, the maiden photograph. I’d like everyone to bring nice clothes.
ELLIOT: You’re going to take a picture of our clothes?
KIM: I think she meant she wanted us to wear the clothes.
Man, I want to label this a dangling modifier correction, but technically it isn’t one. It’s in the same spirit as one, though.
KIM: Dana wants to take everyone’s picture tomorrow.
DAN: Why?
CASEY: She bought a new camera.
DAN: I didn’t know Dana took pictures.
CASEY: She doesn’t, she doesn’t know anything about cameras, but she felt the sudden need to own one.
DAN: Is this part of her psychotic episode?
CASEY: Yes.
Yeah, I guess with all the lamps in her apartment, she figured she had the perfect lighting for a picture now.
CASEY: Alyson — did you know my son Charlie went three for three yesterday with two RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base?
ALYSON: No.
CASEY: He did.
ALYSON: That’s great.
CASEY: I wasn’t there to see it, but that’s a different thing, and I’m not gonna get morose right now.
ALYSON: Okay.
CASEY: Not gonna lay all that on you.
ALYSON: Okay.
CASEY: Not gonna get heavy with you.
ALYSON: Okay.
CASEY: (beat) Even though I can see you’re feeling chatty right now.
You know, come to think of it, it’s arguably rather strange that we’ve heard literally nothing from Charlie since the pilot of this show. As I’ve alluded to previously, Casey’s relationship with Charlie was one of the driving factors for making the audience cheer for Casey, but that relationship has been absent since then. It’s particularly strange considering Casey is supposed to be seeing Charlie on Wednesdays and alternate weekends — that’s four days every fortnight, and yet Charlie hasn’t show his face in 22 episodes. I suppose now is as good a time as any to remedy that?
JEREMY: This show needs a ninth inning rally.
DANA: I think, under the circumstances, the show is doing fine.
JEREMY: Oh, I think so, too.
NATALIE: Then why did you say we need a ninth inning rally?
JEREMY: I wasn’t speaking metaphorically, I meant the show could use an actual ninth inning rally.
DANA: The show hasn’t even started yet.
JEREMY: I’m not talking about the show. I’m saying wouldn’t it be great if the show we’re about to do included a ninth inning rally.
NATALIE: And we’re saying that in order to have a ninth inning rally, the show would have to necessarily begin from a disadvantageous position, which neither one of us thinks would be great.
JEREMY: I’m gonna start again because that’s how completely you’ve both missed the point.
And the laugh track gasps out yet another dying breath…
Also, good god, Jeremy, how hard is it to say specifically that the show could use a game with a ninth inning rally? Dana and Natalie aren’t being deliberately obtuse here, as in-character as that would be.
DAN: Wouldn’t you think that Rebecca would have come crawling back to me by now?
ELLIOT: If you love something, you gotta set it free, Dan.
DAN: That’s good advice, dude, thanks.
(beep) Sarcasm Self Test complete! (beep)
CASEY: Do me a favor, would you? When he comes by tomorrow, make a big deal out of the baseball thing.
DAN: I will.
CASEY: And try not to traumatize the new nanny.
DAN: Why would I traumatize the new nanny?
CASEY: I don’t know, but you always do.
Oh, okay, so Charlie’s upbringing has just been continuing off-screen as usual with a revolving door of nannies? And apparently Dan has been involved the whole time as well? It’s a solid way to make the show feel lived-in, but at the same time I feel a little robbed.
JEREMY: Listen to me, this isn’t hard. Forget we work on a television show, we’re just sports fans and we work in a haberdashery. A ninth inning rally would be a fun thing to see.
Not all that long before the time of my writing this, Apple published a study concerning the performance of AI models in the face of mathematics questions. They found that simple math questions (think: I had five apples and gave two to my friend, how many apples do I have) are typically no problem for AI models, but if you add unnecessary additional details to the query (think: last week I had five Granny Smith apples, three days ago I gave two apples to my friend who is a gluten-free vegan, how many apples do I have today assuming it’s raining) those same AI models are considerably more likely to return an incorrect answer, since the AI models are doing pattern matching rather than proper mathematics. Jeremy’s addition of working in a haberdashery feels like something along those lines — an additional detail that serves to do nothing but confuse matters for the recipient of the message. Case in point:
NATALIE: I was confused.
JEREMY: Yes, I know.
NATALIE: But your haberdashery parable cleared it up for me.
NEW Dialogue Motif: Doctor Zhivago reference
JEREMY: Dana, do you have the first idea how to operate any of this equipment?
DANA: This is called an owner’s manual, my friend, and I have read it cover to cover.
JEREMY: I’ve read Doctor Zhivago cover to cover, doesn’t make me the czar.
Must I remind you again she can fire you, Jeremy?
NEW Non-Verbal Signature: Ear twist
DANA: We have a name for people like you back home in Cedar Rapids, it’s called sourpuss.
JEREMY: We have a name for people like you back home in Boston, too, it’s called (NATALIE twists his ear) ow, ow, pain, pain, pain…
Thank you for cutting him off, Nat.
DANA: Dan, good, get over here.
Uh oh, we already have some lines getting dropped from the third revision on the final draft script (mother of fuck, Aaron, stop using the word ‘final’ already). Four lines went by the wayside here — but they aren’t anything you would miss, I assure you.
DAN: How much did you spend on this?
DANA: It’s a little extravagant, but I think a hobby’s a good idea for me.
DAN: Annie Liebovitz [doesn’t have —]
DANA: [I’m treating] myself.
DAN: Go to Vegas.
DANA: I don’t like Vegas.
DAN: If you don’t like Vegas, then you’re just crazy.
DANA: That’s what I’m saying.
DANA: Where’s Casey?
DAN: Madison Square Garden.
DANA: What’s he doing there?
DAN: Interviewing Michelle Kwan.
DANA: That was supposed to be you.
DAN: Michelle Kwan doesn’t like me.
NATALIE: You’re wrong.
DAN: She dissed me at the ESPYs.
NATALIE: She did not.
DAN: She dissed me.
NATALIE: Dan, [she’s not —]
DAN: [I gave her] a little of this at the ESPYs and she frosted me — not unlike Rebecca.
“Except in this case I’m also barred from travelling to Belize.”
DANA: We’re gonna do a practice picture.
JEREMY: Dana…
DANA: Yes, without Casey — that way I can work out any kinks and he won’t be able to make any jokes.
NATALIE: He wouldn’t make any [jokes.]
DANA: [Yes,] he would.
Okay, seriously, what’s with Dana thinking Casey would make fun of her? She’s apparently been holding a grudge about something that happened nineteen episodes ago despite Casey’s not repeating the offense since then, her overinterpreting Casey’s culinary anal-retention surrounding cake notwithstanding. It’s honestly like she’s been openly picking a fight — which make me relieved we’re at the season finale so it’s about to end.
… Right?
DANA: Alright, now, just so you know, what we’re working with here today is the Soshi/Suntac RTS III with a built-in datapack and a 70 [millimeter —]
DAN: [Dana!]
DANA: Okay, everybody hold still. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna hear three beeps — beep, beep, beep — followed by a one and a half second pause, then a flash from my Exeter 220G strobe with the 18-inch parabolic reflector. Ready?
JEREMY: Could you tell us again what the beeps are gonna sound like?
(DAN laughs)
There, you see, ABC? We can have a laugh-worthy joke land without putting in an artificial laugh track! Take notes!
NEW Dialogue Motif: Timing problem™
(Camera beeps thrice, then nothing happens)
DAN: Don’t be impatient now, ‘cause a second and a half is a lot longer than you think.
(DANA walks back toward camera, then the shutter clicks; everyone chuckles)
DANA: Well, it’s a little timing problem, I can fix that.
NATALIE: Also, the flash didn’t go off.
DANA: That’s right.
(DANA turns toward the flash, then the strobe pops and flashbangs her)
DAN: Well, I don’t see where Casey could have gotten any material here, Dana. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Yeah… besides which, any joke to be made would be cracked by Jeremy first, anyway.
RETURNING Sorkin Player: Nina Siemaszko
Character: Holly
Previous appearance: The American President
DANA: Hey, Charlie! I heard a rumor you were paying a visit. (to HOLLY) Hi, Dana Whitaker.
HOLLY: Hi, I’m Holly. I’m the new nanny. Deborah had to —
DANA: I heard.
Oh, boy — Deborah had to what exactly?
DANA: Jeremy, could you take Charlie and Holly to the conference room?
JEREMY: Sure.
DANA: I’ve gotta wait here.
CHARLIE: Uh, Holly?
HOLLY: Yeah?
CHARLIE: I think [my mom —]
HOLLY: [We’re meeting] her soon.
Cut from Dana’s dismissal of Charlie after this point is Dana letting Charlie know that he’s “lookin’ fine” — down, girl.
DANA: I’ve gotta wait here. I’ll be right here.
JEREMY: Okay.
And here we’ve reached the point in our third revision on the final draft script (that word is cursed, I fucking swear) where an entire scene got cut! Seriously, it’s right here in the draft script. In the scene…
Actually, you know what? It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these — impromptu solo table read!
WHY THE FUCK DID THAT GET CUT?!
Not only does the scene further establish Jeremy as the nerd he is, it also serves to humanize Casey by proxy — a particularly important thing to do considering, as I mentioned earlier, we’ve had literally no Charlie since the pilot. That Casey is friendly enough with his son to tell him about his work friends shows just how much he loves his son, not unlike how Dan showed his love for Rebecca by looping her into his work family as well (as evidenced by Rebecca’s asking after Isaac). Surely something else could have been cut from the episode instead?
GORDON: I’m sorry it took so long, something’s happening on Sixth Avenue.
Another mention of Sixth Avenue — adding that to my catalog.
GORDON: I wanted to come over ‘cause I know we’re supposed to go to that thing tonight.
Stunning specificity, man…
DANA: We’re not going?
GORDON: Listen —
DANA: I’m not saying we need to go, I just thought it’d be fun because we don’t get to get dressed up that much.
GORDON: I need you to stop talking.
Woah, yikes — how long have you been holding that one in, my guy?
DANA: What is it? Unless you’re calling off the engagement, I can’t even imagine what it is that has you so frazzled.
(GORDON simply looks up at DANA)
Uh oh.
DANA: I’d prefer not to talk here.
GORDON: Should we go someplace?
DANA: Yeah.
(DANA leads GORDON through the studio and the news room)
ELLIOT: Dana — how’d you feel about moving the pre-fight coverage to the 4-block?
DANA: Kevin would need to give us fifteen back.
(The walking continues)
DAVE: We’re two minutes long.
DANA: We’ll get it.
Once again, an exchange assigned to Kim (“I got what you wanted”) got traded for a man speaking instead, just like three episodes ago. I’m honestly at a loss as to why — IMDB doesn’t show Kayla Blake as having any additional work during this period, so it’s not like she was working elsewhere at the time of each shoot.
DANA: That was a joke.
GORDON: Look —
DANA: That was a joke.
GORDON: (beat) I know.
DANA: I’m just saying, I think I’m funnier that you’ve given me credit for being in the past.
Um… okay — I suppose yours is a dry wit.foreshadowing detected
RETURNING Verbal Tic: Here’s the thing
Running count: 14
DANA: You’re mad at me?
GORDON: I’m not going to —
DANA: You spend six months making me feel guilty for liking my job, then propose to me, then two days later you tell me you slept with the woman who wants my job. I say, “Fine.” I say, “Fine.” Then six days after that, you tell me you want to break off the engagement? Here’s the thing — I think only one of us should be angry at a time, and I have a hunch it’s gonna be me.
Yeah, you go, girl! Stand up for yourself for once!
GORDON: I think you’re hung up on Casey.
It really took you this long to figure that out, Gordon? Let’s review:
- Dana very likely directed Gordon how to nudge Casey away from continuing his clowning on Rostenkowski.
- Dana most definitely fed Gordon intel on Casey’s envy of postgraduate degrees.
I guess it takes three pieces of direct data for Gordon to come to a conclusion? Perhaps that’s even why Gordon brought about the double-date, in order to fish for that third piece of data? Well, better late than never, I suppose, you got that data now.
DANA: This is a cheap excuse to get out of marrying me, which you never wanted to do in the third place, and the only reason you proposed, in the second place, was out of guilt for having slept with Sally in the first place.
… That was a truly spectacular sentence.
GORDON: You say “fine”? I sleep with Sally and you say “fine”? Casey sleeps with Sally, you have a level three nervous breakdown.
There was at the very least a fourth revision on the final draft (I will never relent) — we went from “that’s a different story” to “you have a level three nervous breakdown”. I’d say it’s definitely worth it for Gordon to be more on-the-nose here, especially considering Dana is having a nervous breakdown this episode.
RETURNING Dialogue Motif: Beat the shit out of X
Previous instances: The American President; Malice; A Few Good Men; Sports Night 101, 122
DANA: You’re calling off the engagement because I wasn’t mad enough when I found out you were sleeping around? Let’s do the whole thing all over again and this time I’ll just beat the living crap outta you?
GORDON: I’m leaving.
DANA: Don’t go!
GORDON: Dana —
DANA: Don’t go! (pause) Oh, what the hell, go.
Fucking finally — we get an end to the toxic heteronormativity shepherded by this plot arc. Go on and get out of here, Gordon — and, hey, maybe start your own live broadcast show while you’re at it.
CHARLIE: Maybe it’s okay if I leave a note for my father.
HOLLY: You don’t have to leave a note. We’re gonna see him in a minute.
Couple of lines cut here:
DRAFT CHARLIE: Yeah, except we shouldn’t be late to meet my mom.
DRAFT HOLLY: Charlie, you’re a worry-wort, did you know that? Why are you a worry-wort? Say that fast, “Why are you a worry-wort?”
Oh, dear — Holly went too far in that line, I can see why it got cut.
DAN: What’s up with you [sic] not coming by to say hi?
CHARLIE: I was in here.
DAN: I can see that you’re in here. Can you see that over there? That’s my office. I make it a six and a half second walk from here.
“Four and a half, if I’m talking while doing it.”
HOLLY: Hi, I’m Holly, I’m the new nanny. Deborah —
DAN: I lived through the trauma.
HOLLY: Yeah.
Huh? Just what in the hell happened to Deborah?! Did she send herself into an institution or something?
DAN: Listen, I need to speak to Charles for a second, if you feel like taking five.
HOLLY: Sure.
Cut from the third revision to the final draft script (I swear to crap I won’t stop) is Dan’s directing Holly to the wares of the commissary table, which he says “from time to time” includes Belgian Waffles. Damn, I was really looking forward to clicking that meter again…
DAN: Three for three with two RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
DAN: What’s a stolen base?
(CHARLIE remains silent)
DAN: I’m gonna pop this tape in here.
The start of this line from Dan got shaved:
DRAFT DAN: There’s no reason why you should know the answer to that question, Charlie, you’re nine years old and there’s no stealing in your league.
Good idea to cut that, I’d say — it makes what happens next all the more impactful:
DAN: (on tape) Ken Griffey, Jr., busting out of a slump at the Kingdome by going three for three with two RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base…
Busted, Charlie.
DAN: There’s nothing wrong with padding your stats over pizza after the game, but I’m a little concerned you feel you need to lie to your dad.
CHARLIE: But I can’t play very well.
DAN: Most people can’t play very well.
CHARLIE: I can’t play at all.
Dan’s grilling of Charlie got condensed quite a bit from the draft:
DRAFT DAN: Most people can’t play very well.
DRAFT CHARLIE: I strike out.
DRAFT DAN: Well, god, Charlie, you mean to tell me you’re finishing up fourth grade and you’re not a good athlete yet?
DRAFT CHARLIE: I can’t play at all.
DRAFT DAN: Are you hoping to earn a living one day as a professional baseball player?
DRAFT CHARLIE: No.
DRAFT DAN: Then what do you care?
I desperately hope that was only cut for time — if for no other reason than it brings Dan further back into the land of the reasonable in the midst of his moaning about Rebecca up to this point. In its absence, we instead get sudden-onset realization from Dan:
DAN: Say, listen, I think I know why Charlie’s behaving a little strange.
CASEY: Really?
DAN: Yeah, it’s ‘cause you’re a jackass.
This accusation seemingly comes out of nowhere without the lines that got cut, as without them Dan never confirms directly that Charlie doesn’t actually care about sports. An hour-long show packed into thirty minutes, indeed…
CASEY: Wait, he lied to me?
DAN: Yeah… and you know what else? It’s actually the first time in history that a son has lied to his father, so I would definitely go off the deep end.
CASEY: Charlie!
No, come on, Casey, he was being sarcastic and you know it!
CASEY: You know I don’t like lying. There’s no need for it, Charlie. Did you really think I was going to be mad at you because you didn’t play well in a baseball game?
CHARLIE: I’m sorry.
CASEY: I gotta find this out from Dan? And I also think you’re old enough to have something more than “I’m sorry”.
CHARLIE: Dad, I can’t play… and I lied ‘cause I didn’t want to embarrass you. I’m sorry.
Charlie’s line here got trimmed massively — in our draft version, Charlie explicitly notes how “everyone knows who you are because they watch you on television” and how he thinks Casey would “be happier if I was good at sports”. To be honest, as much as we’ve seen get cut for time so far, it’s probably just as likely that the kid had trouble remembering as many lines as were written for him — the actor in question was eleven at the time and has no acting credits after the age of sixteen.
CASEY: Man… there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that you’re my son… and you can’t even blame me, ‘cause Grandpa started it — and I have a hunch his dad was no picnic, either.
Get that Freudian shit out of here, Case.
NEW Dialogue Motif: “Come home at the end of the day” speech
CASEY: In your lifetime, you’ll never embarrass me. It’s not gonna happen. You play baseball if you want to play baseball, and the only thing you have to do to make me and your mom happy is come home at the end of the day.
Not only did Mr. Sorkin steal from himself here, this speech got reduced quite a bit from how it is in our draft script. It even includes the bit of how “school is for you”, which further establishes its lineage with the scene from The American President that got cut for no reason.Still can’t fucking believe that fucking got cut, fucking goddammit…
HOLLY: Casey, we gotta meet Lisa.
“Also, I’m late for meeting my sister at the White House.”
CASEY: Then be gone with you both.
CHARLIE: Bye, Dad. (hugs CASEY)
CASEY: Bye.
Another cut from our third revision on the final draft script (help me I’m trapped in a ‘final draft’ factory) — Dan arrives at this point to offer Charlie a piece of underhanded advice:
DRAFT DAN: Charlie? I used to not be able to ride a bike.
DRAFT CHARLIE: What happened?
DRAFT DAN: I kept riding my bike.
As helpful as that advice is, it’s technically a little out of place considering in the same draft we established Charlie doesn’t actually care for baseball. Just as well Dan’s appearance here got cut anyway, considering it then devolves into Dan’s taking another jab at Rebecca on Holly’s way out.
NEW Dialogue Motif: Lion in Winter (mis)quote
JEREMY: Listen to me, everybody, stop your work! A writer once wrote, “As if it matters how a man falls down. When the fall is all that’s left, it matters very much.”
Oof — Jeremy botches the quote so hard he doesn’t make it very obvious that he’s quoting two different people in dialogue. Maybe we’ll get a correction on that later? Like, much later…
DANA: Picture time.
CASEY: What happened to your ring?
DANA: What do you mean?
CASEY: What happened [to your ring?]
DANA: [My engagement] ring?
CASEY: Yeah.
DANA: It’s being cleaned, it’s at the ring cleaners.
DANA: I’ve fixed the glitch, we’re good to go, we’re ready to roll, let’s make some magic!
DAN: I’ve forgotten, do the three beeps come before or after the strobe blows up?
Damn, and Dana was worried about jokes from Casey…
(Camera beeps thrice, then nothing happens)
DANA: Alright, everybody just stay where you are. This is nothing, this is a small timing problem.
(Film falls out of the camera; DANA gasps and everyone else chuckles)
DANA: Casey, if you even say one word —
NATALIE: At least the strobe didn’t explode.
Tempting fate, anyone?foreshadowing detected
(Strobe explodes)
Yep.
DANA: Alright, that’s it! That is absolutely it!
DAN: Hey, where’s your ring?
CASEY: It’s at the cleaners.
DANA: It’s not at the cleaners, you idiot! There’s no such thing as an overnight ring cleaners! Gordon and I broke up, which is just the most recent in a series of recent humiliations, and I’m okay with it, I can take it, but this is really the livin’ end! I have seen enough to know that I have seen enough, and now I want something good to happen! I want something good to happen before the day is over, and I’ll be the judge of what’s good!
Not much chance of that, I’d say.
ISAAC: (O.S.) Hey, lady!
Wait, what?
ISAAC: Are you thinking about gettin’ my show on the air any time soon?
DANA: Isaac! (rushes over to hug ISAAC as everyone claps and cheers)
Just as a reminder to everyone reading: Isaac’s stroke was informed by Robert Guillaume’s having a stroke in real life. There wasn’t necessarily any guarantee at the time that Mr. Guillaume would be in fit enough shape to be back on the set of Sports Night in a timely fashion. Nonetheless, Mr. Sorkin took the risk and it paid off for this season finale — despite recent events, all is right with the world because Isaac Jaffee is back in the house. I told you the finale type was a safe bet.
DAN: Y’know, Isaac…
ISAAC: Yeah?
DAN: Casey and I were talking before and, well…
ISAAC: What?
DAN: We think you’re a bit of a cheese danish.
ISAAC: Hey…
CASEY: A strawberry parfait, Isaac.
ISAAC: I had a stroke.
CASEY: Out six weeks on the DL with a stroke? I’ve seen gored matadors get up off the floor faster than you.
DAN: You’re a bit of a crumb cake there, aren’t ya, pal?
Man, come on, guys, he’s 71 years old! You see many athletes still kicking it at 71 years old?
ISAAC: Let me look at you both. (looks over DAN and CASEY) You look good, boys.
“I’m not crying, you’re crying!”
RETURNING Dialogue Motif: By and large
Previous instance: Sports Night 108
CASEY: So what’s the problem?
DANA: Well, Casey, it’s pretty complicated. This is a sophisticated instrument.
CASEY: Uh huh.
DANA: It’s not any one thing, and it would be difficult to explain to anyone who didn’t have at least an intermediate background in photography, but by and large it’s that… I put the film in backwards.
CASEY: (chuckles)
DANA: What?
CASEY: Nothing, I just think you’re funny.
(DANA looks at CASEY)
… Okay, I’ll bite — let’s see how this develops into next season with Casey’s doing what Gordon couldn’t do.
DAN: Before we do this, can I call my broker real quick and tell him to buy some Eastman Kodak?
Good choice, Dan, you’ll never let go.foreshadowing detected
All this talk about a ninth inning rally ends up being rather meta, as this season finale has the sort of ninth inning rally energy Sports Night has needed. We see Dana finally stand her ground and stop attempting to conform to society’s expectations of a woman her age; we get a well-overdue dose of father-son time for Casey and Charlie that we’ve been waiting for since the pilot; and finally, we get the triumphant and touching return of Isaac Jaffee. The attempt to keep a throughline with the Rebecca subplot is a little clunky, but I suppose the Rule of Threes makes that an inevitability. All in all, we have ourselves a fantastic season finale.
I suppose I should also get into a retrospective of the season as a whole as well. I’ve made it no secret that this season is not my favorite season of Sorkin television, what with my moaning about toxic heteronormativity and Bechtel Test sabotage. I think it helps, however, to view things in the light of the fact that this is Mr. Sorkin’s first season of television — which, among other things, makes it impressive how he was able to change things on his feet to deal with Robert Guillaume’s stroke. Overall, as I’ve mentioned previously, the primary job of a television show writer is to motivate the show’s viewers to cheer for the show’s characters. Did Mr. Sorkin do his job?
Yes. Yes, he did. The last remaining holdout for me was Dana, and with this episode I’m finally beginning to cheer for her. The establishment of the in-universe Sports Night as a happy band of misfits largely seemed to escape Dana’s mind to start out (despite being in the room when Isaac verbalized as much), as for much of the season she still attempted to fit herself into what society at large wanted of her — namely, to be in a relationship outside of work and get married. It frankly took too long for my tastes, but she eventually came to realize that she doesn’t need to do that anymore, and she’s come to join her comrades-in-arms in making the most out of their work despite what others might think of them — like Casey with Lisa, or Dan with Luther Sachs. With that final conversion, I’m better able to put Dana’s character arc in perspective and say, yes, this was a successful season of television — and I can look forward to the next.
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