Sports Night - General Discussion

[St. Claire]

Some of those awful mis-steps are [almost] redeemed by their conclusions. The light-grid poultry thaw gave us Dana's remembering that she and her mother love each other above all else (even though sports is no place for an educated woman, and who the hell doesn't know how to cook a turkey?!), the disasterous dating plan gave us "You've just been hanging out in the men's room," and the horror I felt when Danny lost all professionalism on air during Draft Day was eased by the most perfect Seder I've ever witnessed.

 

And speaking of Seder, I'm about to go off on some religious/philosophical musings. Dan's and Jeremy's (and for one episode, Will and Elliott's) faith are called out a few time over the episode, but I don't think we ever explore the religous background of the other characters. We know that Natalie is Catholic because Jeremy mentions it, but she doesn't show or tell anything to provide more context of how she practices. Dana goes to an un-disclosed church for shelter and has a very short-lived epiphany. I really like how the Seder, which is so central to the Jewish faith even for non-practicing members. I am a Gentile, so I may be speaking out of turn, but I see Passover as the central embodiment of the chosen people's rise above their adversity (even if that rise took forever). Wrapping my head around the idea of the first-born sons in every family just dying on night, is just huge. But as a Catholic, I can't let go of the idea of the Last Supper as a Seder meal, and how that final meal was not just about the rememberence of that fight aganst adversity, but about sacrifice and forgiveness. So, the inclusion of the non-chosen people in Jeremy's gave me a sense of the joining together of the group against whatever adversity faced them, but also about how they would do anything for each other (OK, maybe not died for each others' sins, but nobody who is simply human could be expected to do that...) and how no matter how hurt we are, we can always strive to forgive and to ask for forgiveness.

Edited April 25, 2014 by St. Claire

[Reishe]

--This is a third place show on a fourth place network.
--Yeah, but that's all gonna change once I grow a goatee.
--He's just crazy enough to do it, too.

[Dani-Ellie]

This is the episode that sold my 17-year-old self on the show we watched mostly because my mother didn't want to change the channel for the half-hour between Spin City and NYPD Blue. I don't know what it was about this episode in particular that made me all "Hell yes and more please" -- still don't, come to think of it -- but there it is.

 

I use "talking to myself, and that can't be a good sign" far more often than is probably healthy.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Dani-Ellie

[BizBuzz]

I have always felt this episode difficult to watch.  It has nothing to do with the acting, as it's spot on, it has more to do with the subject matter. 

 

I remember the first time I watched this episode, I was like, dang, what is so different about it?  They DITCHED the laugh tract.  Ah yes, what a difference, eh?

 

Even though this episode concentrated on Natalie, it really felt as if Dana was more center stage.  Dana had to make some pretty tough decisions, and through it all, she managed to keep her cool.  Brilliantly acted Felicity, Bravo!

 

Another one of my fave lines:

 

What do I look like, I just sailed in from Minskapinsk?

 

::giggle::

[BizBuzz]

Casey: A: I am not feeling what you think I'm feeling. B: if I were feeling what you think I'm feeling it wouldn't be in my head and C: you have serious feelings for me that only now are you being forced to confront and that will likely send you into a lamp-buying frenzy.

Lamp buying frenzy. Heh Heh

The fight between Dana and Casey gave us a lot of back story. Showed a long history of what looks like unrequited love between the two of them.

And Lisa Simpson, oops, Yeardly Smith! Totally forgot she was in this episode.

[smrou]

In the "Intellectual Property" thread BizBuzz quoted Casey:

Casey: A: I am not feeling what you think I'm feeling. B: if I were feeling what you think I'm feeling it wouldn't be in my head and C: you have serious feelings for me that only now are you being forced to confront and that will likely send you into a lamp-buying frenzy.

 

This line reminded me of how (in a different episode, I realize) Casey was described by Dan as "conversationally anally retentive".  I love that phrase and it is one that I have used repeatedly to describe either myself or someone else.  

 

Dan: So I have a complaint- two complaints actually.
Casey: You're cold.
Dan: Three complaints.
Casey: What are the first two?
Dan: I haven't put these in any order.
Casey: Okay.
Dan: I haven't numbered them. I'm not conversationally anal-rententive the way you are.
Casey: I'm conversationally anal-retentive?
Dan: Yes, indeed.

 

...

 

Casey: How am I conversationally anal-retentive?
Dana: Let me answer that question in four parts, with the fourth part first and the third part last. The second part has five syllables...

[yeswedo]

This episode is the first time Dan shows his disdain for soccer. In my memory it seems like it comes up a lot so I've decided to keep count during the rewatch and assign a winner/loser.

 

Dan vs. soccer = 0 - 1

 

I'm giving the win to soccer for this one.

 

ETA

 

Are there actually bosses like that?

My boss is like that! It's what has kept me working for him for more than 10 years. 

[Dani-Ellie]

I remember the first time I watched this episode, I was like, dang, what is so different about it?  They DITCHED the laugh tract.  Ah yes, what a difference, eh?

 

Y'know, I wonder if that was the difference for me, too. Without the laugh track in the way, the viewer is more able to connect with the emotions and ethical questions at play here. Sports Night to me was never a straight sitcom. It's more like a half-hour drama that's funny. (Or, y'know, dramedy, but I don't think that term existed yet when this show premiered.) This episode in particular just felt different but it was a difference I liked and wanted more of. Maybe without the sitcom trappings (i.e. canned laughter), I was able to see it more for what it was than what I thought it was, if that makes any sense.

[St. Claire]

One scene in which Felicity Huffman always impressed me is when she is in Isaac's office, staring out at the skyline, and she is working so hard to keep control and choose her words when she is feeling her attack of guilt about what happened.

"...I wanted to [slightly bracing herself and carefully debating her words] *provoke* a reaction..." She did something that was a good choice from a professional standpoint (get a good story by taking your subject off guard) but now feels as though a piece of her humanity may have been sacrificed. Did she know that Chris Patrick would actually assault Natalie as opposed to just getting a bit pissed and speaking more candidly than expected? Of course not.  But she still has that moment of panic about whether she *should have* thought the situation out to its end, and maybe she would have done something differently and saved her friend and colleague the emotional trauma. Dana is not at fault; she had every right to send a staff person to the locker room, and Natalie was just doing her job. The fault is all on Chris Patrick. But logic and reality don't always cooperate with emotion.

[BizBuzz]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[mnementh]

Dan's writer's block and Natalie's ongoing attempts to knock it out of him will never not be one of the funniest things ever.  The acting by all the bystanders had me convinced that they were actually breaking up during the scenes- Chris laughing in the background of the conference room, the laughter in Elliot's voice as he tells someone to get Dan a towel, Casey looking at someone offscreen and laughing.  Pitch perfect responses to someone seeing that happen.

 

I also love the entire conversation about going out to El Perro Fumando and "I'm not promoting the economic upside so much as the opportunity to drink something giant and blue."  That's a line that I really want to quote but it doesn't lend itself to everyday conversation.

[BizBuzz]

Finally getting here to post my thoughts on the episode.

 

Caught something in this episode that I didn't notice before, and so the reason and the benefit of doing a re-watch, catching the ambiance.  When Gordan walks up to Casey to tell him the he agrees with Casey about the coach thing, I got the feeling that Casey started playing the other side just so he could be adversarial with Gordan ... you know how men do sometimes, like a pissing contest thing.  But then, as the conversation moved on, he actually started believing his argument and bam, he let it go.

 

Great introduction to the relationship between Jeremy and Natalie. 

 

LOVED Dan telling Jeremy how to pick a restaurant, it still makes me want to live in NY:  "Make it some place that you like. Restaurants - they don't impress women as much as we think they do, and food always tastes good on a first date. You're not in Vegas, and you're not in L.A. You are in the most magnificent city in the world. It's the city of Gershwin and Cole Porter, Damon Runyon and Figerlo La Guardia. Surprise her, but make her feel comfortable. Make it different, but make her feel at home. But mostly, make it some place that you like."

 

Crash and burn.  HA!  Why is it that us woman are incapable of sound effects?  Well, at least as good as the guys?

 

Dan:  You should know that Tony Orlando wasn't Italian. And if you guessed that the man was of Latin descent, you'd be incorrect as well. Mr. Tony Orlando hails from Greece. We thought you should know that.

 

::giggle::

 

Overall, a great episode.  I like Jeremy, as my daughter would say, he is adorkable. 

[BizBuzz]

::giggle::

Isaac: Dana, did you hear me? I said he was a republican. HA!

This episode was great insight into even though all these people have an intensely high pressure job, they are still people with feelings and they care about each other immensely.

Aaron Sorkin likes the writing a letter thing to home to give back story for everyone. He used it with great finesse in The West Wing episode "The Stackhouse Filibuster", as he did here too.

Shock therapy by Natalie ... OMG, I am with the poster above who said that whole scene seemed very natural.

Casey to Isaac: Gordon is a much more formidable foe than I first realized.

Isaac to Casey: My daughter is dating a republican.

OMG, awesome episode.

BOOGIE SHOES! The dancing? Favorite part of the episode!

[Reishe]

I also love the entire conversation about going out to El Perro Fumando and "I'm not promoting the economic upside so much as the opportunity to drink something giant and blue."

Agreed.

 

Dear Louise is definitely up there with the best of Sports Night episodes. As BizBuzz points out, AS does well with the letter episodes. If you reach back to the M*A*S*H episode Dear Sigmund, you can compare and see what makes letter episodes so great: by definition, they are ensemble portraits: "These are the people in my life, their quirks and their beauty, and my everyday life with them is something special and funny." So we get scenes from life in the offices of Sports Night with these witty people who care very much about each other and have a great dialogue writer (!), without huge amounts of angst or conflict. What's not to love?

 

However, I think that Jeremy lives in a dream land. Stamps pretty much never materialize when I need one.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Reishe

[Reishe]

I still think the turkey in the lighting grid is over the top. If this is a dry run, is Dana really planning on thawing the actual T-Day turkey in the grid? And if she's planning that far ahead, can't she just thaw it in the fridge like the rest of us? But mostly I can't believe that the lighting people would tolerate having it up there, seems like it's just asking for an electrical short. I know the gag with the turkey falling is funny, but to me it's not worth the loss in believability. And of course the same sort of gag shows up in Studio 60 with the coconut "snow"--yes, I think the gags end up being funny, but it's hard to believe professionals would do it.

That said, I love the little snafus that Thespis inflicts upon our merry crew, and his message of humility. Interesting that throughout the series mere mortals occasionally tell our characters that "it's just a sports show" and maybe they should take a step back once in a while for perspective, but this episode is the one time when it's presented as having validity and not as a personal attack.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Reishe

[yeswedo]

Agreed about the turkey @Reishe . It's likely Dana would have bought a fresh turkey since she was so concerned about impressing her mom. And if she was truly doing a test she would have done it more than one week in advance.

 

I do enjoy the reaction from the rest of the crew to Jeremy and the debate about the Roman god / Greek ghost.

[Dani-Ellie]

"There's a god of theiving?" "There's a god of gymnastics?"

 

I kind of love Dana imposing rules on a ghost's haunting. Heh.

 

Also, I routinely wish people a Happy Thespis Day on November 23rd. (Or, okay, I post "Happy Thespis Day!" on Facebook and Twitter.) People who've seen Sports Night are amused. Everyone else thinks I'm a little nutsy. ;)

[AriAu]

Casey: "Whitson, Woodson Robovsky"

 

Casey: "You're dating a porn star who likes sports?"
Jeremy: "I know, that's why I'm not talking about it. Any minute now my mother's gonna wake me up and tell me it's time to go to school."

 

"It's Draft Day Baby"

 

By the way, and just an FYI, The Weather Channel says there is a 0% chance of rain today at Indian Wells.

[St. Claire]

Do you know something about Tommy Castro's knees?

 

I have a recurring nervous skin condition. It...recurred.

Do you know something about Tommy Castro's knees?

 

I have a recurring nervous skin condition. It...recurred.

[Bastet]

I am standing hip deep in pie today, and having that phrase to describe my day is just about the only thing preserving my sanity ... until I head out of here to drink something giant and blue.

[Loandbehold]

Bastet, if you feel like it, why don't you spread it out for us in a nutshell.

[Loandbehold]

There has to be a worst episiode of every tv show, and this one is it. Sorkin at his most treacly. I'm just glad that Danny solved the homeless problem and all it took was one half of a turkey sandwich.

[Bastet]

Let's just say I have seen enough to know that I have seen enough.

[BizBuzz]

I consider myself well versed in the English language, but I learned a new word today:

 

treacly, noun, contrived or unrestrained sentimentality

 

Yup, that about sums it up @Loandbehold

[Bastet]

Yeah, I really can't watch this one.  It's not Isaac & Ishmael level of offensive, certainly, but it's pretty bad.

[BizBuzz]

Sometimes you gotta wonder where his head was at when he was writing...

 

Although, gotta say got one great piece of dialog from the episode:

 

Casey: It's a vicious circle.

Dan: It is.

Casey: It's a never ending circle.

Dan: Just keeps going round and round.

Casey: Never ends.

Dan: That's what makes it vicious.

Casey: And a circle.

[Bastet]

Sometimes you gotta wonder where his head was at when he was writing...

 

I think it comes from one of the several ways in which he is willfully blind to the realities of the world.  He's one of the lucky ones whose talent and drive was rewarded, and to him that translates to a ridiculous notion that some form of success is possible for everyone.  Instead of recognizing the homeless man as an example of how society is not set up to work that way, he has Dan essentially pat him on the head and wax on about "look what we can do."  Fool, shut up.  That man can't even feed himself regularly, and he's supposed to take inspiration from people with the time and resources to climb a mountain for recreation?

[BizBuzz]

Jeremy: He's a 3000-year-old Greek ghost.

Dana: Well I'm a 33-year-old producer and for one hour every night, this is my little corner of the world. And nothing screws up here unless I screw it up.

[shouting at the ceiling]

Dana: You got that?

::giggle::

The scene when Dana goes and talks to Isaac in his office about his daughter needing a c-section, I feel that this scene was brilliantly directed. There is a very long moment of silence when Dana tells him about her brothers wife's experience and losing the baby, but the mom was fine. You don't see Dana's face, but you see a range of emotions as Isaac deals with the possibility that he could lose his grandchild, but still have his daughter.

I know Joshua Malina and Aaron Sorkin were friends, and you can really tell that Aaron has a handle on how to write for him.

[St. Claire]

As much as I like Natalie's "My portfolio's pretty much tied up in food and shelter, Dan" comeback, I hated the "Dan wants to make a difference" storyline. Just awful. And we are supposed to believe that the homeless guy came in from the cold and decided to just come up the elevator to the 49th (or wherever the hell they are) floor and through the whole place to just hang out at Dan's office door? Nope, not buying it. Also, I seriously love the theater. If given enough time, I could bore you to tears with all of the fantastic elements of the production of "Mary Poppins" we went to two years ago (seriously, I could probably spend 20 minutes on just how fantastic the scenery changes were). Even I was pissed off by Dana being so damned enthralled by the show.

[St. Claire]

Thanksgiving was on the 26th. Why was Dana doing a dry run three days before she was going to have to thaw the turkey for real? Why not just predict the thaw time based on having the bird ready to cook on Wednesday, thus insuring that she has an extra day if she underestimated? And how is testing it out on the light grid going to help on the actual day? Is she cooking in the studio?

 

I guess this is the part where Thespis smacks me across the face and tells me to just watch the show without thinking so much.

[Reishe]

From the lack of posts so far, I'm guessing I'm not alone in not really liking this episode? The osteoporosis story line isn't funny and the Jeremy/Natalie dynamic here makes me cringe--although I think AS makes Natalie's character unlikeable quite often in the series, in the service of comedy or dramatic conflict. The Sally story line... I'm not a producer, but it seems like Sally did her job (structuring the show) and then Dana saw it and knew Casey wouldn't like it, so Casey then asked Dana to do Sally's job for her and switch everything around? It would be one thing if Dana alerted Casey to the points he wouldn't like and let him take it up with Sally, but it looks like Dana plans to rework the whole rundown, which is overstepping and unprofessional.

[St. Claire]

This episode is one that I am very torn by.  I hate Dana stepping in and re-doing Sally's show. It is so wrong and so unprofessional to step on Sally's toes like that- Dana has her show and has no right to stick her fingers into what Sally is producing. And it serves Casey right if he has cameras 2 and as his primaries, if he has three highlights in a row without a feature, and if he has puns in his intros. If he's read the script, he'd know and he'd be able to fix it with Sally himself.

 

I liked the casual banter among the crew (despite the silliness of the osteoporosis storyline, the "Will [me reading aloud about osteoporosis] distract you?"/ "No, I just want to make sure you have time to put your resume in order and clean out your desk?" exchange made me laugh). I liked the closeness implied by Dana coming into the poker room and sitting down the arm of Dan's chair. "You are living on a charitable grant from the Jeremy Goodwin Foundation" made me laugh, since I work in non-profit governance. 

 

I actually think the best thing about the episode is the plethora of quotes.

"That's pool you mental patient!"

"He's my boy." "You're his boy?" "Yeah, but it's OK."

"You know someone named 'Judy Rooty-Tooty?!"

"Her body was put together by a technician close to God"..."Her brain was put together by the assistant night guy at the 7-11."

"I have a keen dislike for that woman" (I used this, or a variation thereof, fairly often in my life.)

"Maybe the boys from Sigma Kappa Pi are a big honkin' bunch of losers"

and, in response to Dana incessantly saying the episode's title, "Would you please stop saying that!"

Edited May 16, 2014 by St. Claire

[Reishe]

I understand that the story arc needed to set up Isaac's job to be in jeopardy, but again the storyline is a little weak. Were the football players not aware of the confederate flag issue when they were recruited to go to the school? I was never clear on why the young men suddenly chose this day to protest, unless it was to deliberately sacrifice themselves to shame the school into changing its policy. As far as the show's response--I've always felt there should be several steps in between seeing a problem and publicly shaming someone, and they seemed to jump right to that step. Makes for good television, but a poor example on motivating people to do the right thing. Actually, it's interesting that AS gives us examples of the two roads in this one episode: Monica approaches Casey very respectfully, in private, and asks him to please reconsider his actions and not to tell her boss that she had said anything, while Isaac calls out Luther on his own network. I love Isaac and I respect him, but I think this was an unfortunate premature escalation, and Danny's goading him on didn't help.

 

However, Monica's speech to Casey is one of my favorite Sorkin speeches, and I tear up every time I hear the long list of acknowledgments at the end.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Reishe

[Reishe]

"Natalie's my second-in-command, she's the only one I told."
"Jeremy's my boyfriend. He's the only one I told."
"I told many, many people."

 

It's like Josh Molina was born to say that line.

[Loandbehold]

Liza would be very upset that TheTVDB.com description didn't spell her name properly. It may be pronounced "Lisa" but it's spelled with a "z" damnit.

 

This episode once again shows how well, in general, these guys do their show, but how awful they are outside of it. Good for Natalie getting the story and sticking up for herself.

[Loandbehold]

I'll try to take a stab at some of your points, Reishe. I haven't seen the episode in a while, so if any of my facts are wrong, please forgive me and feel free to correct them. I also admit that I never considered your points before. They just didn't occur to me. OK, that aside, the running back was the first of his family to go to college. It is likely that he could only go if he got a football scholarship. It very well could be that this was the only school that offered him one. He wasn't a starter until only a few weeks before he began his protest. Once he became a star, he had the power to try to get the university's policy changed. Similarly, the other players were not stars and, I believe Isaac said that they wouldn't be able to transfer to another school's team. Therefore, they only responded when their now star teammate took a stand.

 

Your point about Isaac's going nuclear is an interesting one. He did tell Danny that he used to pick fights with his bosses all the time, but that was because he knew he could get another job. He wasn't sure about it now, which is why Danny goaded him into taking action. If Isaac approached Luther quietly, it is doubtful that Luther would take any action against his alma mater. And, he might fire Isaac for being a pain-in-the-ass. But, by going on SportsNight to do his editorial, Isaac was staying Luther's hand on firing him for making the comment or for poor ratings, at least for the time being.

 

Edited because I really should know how to use an apostrophe and spell simple words.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Loandbehold

[BizBuzz]

The quotes are pretty amazing in this episode. I do like the speech Jeremy gives to Natalie about trust, the silence at the end before Natalie says he is bluffing was thick with anticipation.

The banter about being in the zone, I have always loved that.

[Reishe]

Amusing aside: I was just looking at the AMC Q & A with James Wolk (Bob Benson) of Mad Men. I guess Monica's speech hasn't fallen on deaf ears:

 

Q: Last season GQ named Bob the best dressed Mad man. Were you surprised by that?

A: Listen, I’ll take it where I can get it! He’s a well dressed man. I thank Janie Bryant for that. She’s an amazing costume designer.

 

Edited May 20, 2014 by Reishe

[St. Claire]

Just for the record, I have always heard the expression as "...birds home to roost," not chickens. 

 

This is another episode that is replete with quotes I love:

He's talking about you, ya freak!

I told many, many people.

You're on at 2 AM; your competition is a Bonanza rerun and four guys making cheese.

Are we really flirting? Or is this you pretending to be you flirting with me actually being me?

[AriAu]

"How do you know I don't have a big house" still cracks me up.

It is a great episode and shows the affection they all have for each other. I remember watching the episode and thinking "I want to work with those people"

[BizBuzz]

Wow, I have never thought this was my favorite episode, but I can say it is one that makes me cry at the end. How touching the whole ending was. And Monica's speech, gets me very time.

I never considered the jumping to the public editorial as anything but a sequence of events, but I can see the point.

I do love how AS seems to love Latin. LOL

Overall, great episode!

[mnementh]

He's talking about you, ya freak!

I told many, many people.

I remember lying in bed the night this episode had aired and laughing out loud just thinking about those two lines.

[Loandbehold]

And, b/c Aaron Sorkin must use every idea he ever had, Jeremy makes and attempts to drink egg nog to be prepared when he sees Natalie's family - on Easter. Still, it does give Joshua Molina a chance for one of the all time great spit-takes. Well, not really a classic spit-take, but still hysterical to watch.

[mnementh]

I love this episode.  If you ask for my favorite part, I'd probably end up quoting the whole thing.  Just... the park all covered with cheese, we got all kinds of sentence construction here, have you tried doing it 20 times?, I have a list!, I swear everyone but me, I can't believe none of that's going to happen because once there was a time you married an idiot, I'm going to do something bad to you with numbers, plenty of hay, that makes more sense, sometimes you just stand there hip deep in pie.

 

One of the greatest moments in my life was when my sister-in-law posted on Facebook that she was afraid of fish, and I was able to reply:

Are you afraid the fish are gonna look at you and laugh and point and say "Look at that thing with the lungs"?

God bless Isaac Jaffe.

[mnementh]

Obligatory link to Josh Malina's Twitter and his current picture:

https://twitter.com/JoshMalina

(click on the picture to get the gif of the non-spit take)

Edited May 30, 2014 by mnementh

[DXD526]

This has always been my least favorite episode, and I see I'm not alone. It annoys me even more than Dana's dating plan. The way Dan condescendingly spoke down to that homeless guy like he was five years-old is infuriating. I wanted to smack him. 

 

Shoe Money Tonight was a big improvement. But I must admit, for me, Dan's character took a hit from this episode. It was always kind of in the back of my mind what a jerk he could be when he put his mind to it.

[Loandbehold]

This was recently shown on FXX when I happened to be home. What I really liked was how the gang, and especially Casey, understood why Jeremy needed to do this story. Even though yachting would get absolutely zero time on a Sports Center-type show unless it involved the America's Cup (and it took me a few minutes to even recall the name of the race), and that for a one minute recap. Still, this was a case of Sorkin's writing and story allowing me to set aside the implausibility and enjoy what I was watching.

 

The Rececca - Dan story does not work as well. First, Dan comes off as quite the stalker as Rebecca has rejected him countless times, yet he still goes down to her office and makes friends with her co-workers. As for his not wanting to know about how Orlando Rojas pitched, well, in spring training (unless it's the last start before the season begins), he probably pitched two or three innings, and possibly against a number of minor leaguers. So, he could have picked up the feed from somewhere and just watched the guy pitch. Which is my long-winded way of saying that this story was not good enough for me to set aside its implausibility.

[DXD526]

The apology part of "The Apology" is some typical strong Sports Night writing. So it's strange that Jeremy's plot is so silly and over-the-top. Someone who's spent as much time watching sports and sports shows doesn't know that highlights from a single ballgame can't run several minutes?? Really?? Casey's frustration is funny, but if afterward he went into Isaac's office and said, "Hey, for someone so smart, the new guy's a bit clueless...", I couldn't have blamed him.

[Reishe]

I agree that it's over the top. And AS never let real-world considerations stop him from an illogical setup if he really thought the joke was funny. Studio 60 was filled with them.

 

That being said, the whole "make it shorter" is one of my favorite bits ever. I work for a small non-profit magazine, and if I had a nickel for every time we asked a contributor for a 3,000-word article and they handed in over 6,000 words, I would no longer have to work for the small non-profit magazine. On the book he's currently editing, my husband has dealt with the same issue. And his authors are all university professors with long lists of books to their name--not inexperienced in the business, and thanks to word processors we know they know how many words they've used. There's just something about telling a story that gives people blinders when it comes to self-editing.

So whenever I have to drastically cut someone's work, I hear Casey in my head: "make it shorter."

Edited June 15, 2014 by Reishe

[Loandbehold]

I see The Apology as having a brilliant "A" story (although the dates don't make sense since Dan was interviewed some time prior to the magazine coming out), no "B" story, and Jeremy's "C" story as pure comic relief. The look on everyone's face as Dan sits at the desk and we all wonder what is he going to say. And then he comes out with such a heartfelt, gut-wrenching story. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it.