Date: January 30, 2021

Season 1, Episode 6

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: I strongly dislike they did not use the Oxford comma in the title of this episode. I aim to be back writing about Trek in February, which is right around the corner.

Favorite Quote:

Dan: 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 Fiorello 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.

Jeremy: Where is that restaurant?

Dan: I’ll let you know when I find it.

Dan giving some of the best first date advice ever.

“You’ve been screwing up all week and it’s gotta stop. Get your act together and do it fast. Got it?“: This episode picks up after “Mary Pat Shelby“, so Natalie is distracted and screwing up at work and everyone is trying to cover for her. It’s freezing in the studio, which leads to some amazingly funny scenes during commercial break as it takes Kim almost as long to dress Danny in a scarf and coat as it does to take him out of it. Jeremy is clearly in love with Natalie, but doesn’t think she likes him back and doesn’t want to throw himself all over her. He spends most of the episode being told to “go to sleep” and then falls asleep in Natalie’s lap at the end where she’s so taken by the gesture of candles, wine, and food on the office floor. I absolutely love that he wrote a program to go through all of the food options available, mostly because I’ve totally done that myself.

I love that Casey is all over a coach until Gordon agrees with him and he understands the pressure said coach must be under. It’s the same way I look back at these episodes, or that of Trek, and I can think of several different ways to have done it differently – but if that was a real life situation I only have maybe a split second to make a really hard choice. I also love that Dana gets the “crash and burn” sound completely wrong and she eventually understands she can’t coddle Natalie. She gives Natalie the gentle kick in the pants she wants and all is well in the world. This isn’t the best episode, but it’s surely not a terrible one.

TA Out!

Date: January 29, 2021

Season 1, Episode 5

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: I will be back to Star Trek sometime over the weekend when my brain power comes back. I’ve spent a few days not feeling myself and Sports Night has been helping me. Did three-ish loads of laundry today (one was just a really big blanket, so I hasten to call it a fourth full load) and I’m so wiped.

Favorite Quote:

Casey: Now, when I say ‘yesterday’ I’m not speaking metaphorically, I mean it was YESTERDAY. What happened to your values?

Dan: I find that maintaining them is a lot of work. I take a day off every now and then.

Casey: You take a vacation from doing the right thing?

Dan: Yeah. I don’t loot store fronts or anything, but once in awhile when I consider the effort it takes to diligently adhere to a moral compass, I take myself out of the lineup and I rest for the next game.

Casey and Dan, talking morals.

“I’m asking you right now, this very moment, how much do you love me?”: This episode makes me angry, not because it’s a bad episode, but because it’s STILL FUCKING HAPPENING in today’s sports. I will say it’s not just men, but since men’s sports are what is most prominent in the news… it’s what we see the most. Michael Vick gets vilified for dog fighting (which was horrible, but he also went to jail and -I hope- learned from his mistake), other men smoke pot and get suspended, and then the guys who ASSAULT their wives or girlfriends get a slap on the wrist and a fucking fine. There was the kid who was caught raping a women, but because he was white and a swimmer, he only served MONTHS for violating a woman’s body. It’s the subject that incenses me and I absolutely love how this episode handles the situation.

At first, Dana and everyone are super excited… and then there’s the first bit where his lawyers won’t allow any questions about the woman for whom the episode is named after. Then Natalie is sent for a pre-interview and it’s later revealed that she’s been assaulted by the guy they’re about to interview. Everyone is so worried about protecting her and they all later realize “they did a big thing badly” and start to rectify the situation before they can’t come back from it. I’m not saying what they did was perfect, but it was real and it felt that way. This is such a powerful episode and I am pissed every day that the world, especially the sports world, hasn’t gotten their shit together. Just because a woman isn’t physically big enough to play pro football, for example, doesn’t mean she can’t love the game and comment on it or officiate it or coach it. This year’s superbowl has the first female officiant and two women on the coaching staff of one of the teams. The NBA has their first duo of female officiants. Yet the New York Mets just had to fire a man on their staff because he was sending dick pics to women who didn’t want them and told him to stop. I want to tell them all… SNAP OUT OF IT!

TA Out!

Date: January 27, 2021

Season 1, Episode 4

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: Brain power is approaching zero, we’ll see how far I get writing this.

Favorite Quote:

Casey: Look, of course I want to see you naked.

Dana: Louder.

Casey: I want to see you naked.

Dana: I can’t hear you!

Casey: I want badly to see you naked. (Jeremy walks by and stops)

Dana: Yeah you better wanna see me naked! 

Such an absolute great exchange

“Took two people to write that song?”: I adore the fuck out of this episode for so many reasons. One of the quotes I use the most is the one in bold at the top of this paragraph. It’s just such a fun exchange between Dan and Isaac and it highlights the absurdity that a song could just “happen”, of course someone wrote it! Those who create art, or song, or words should absolutely be paid for their work – not “their exposure” – and if they copyright it then they should damn well be consulted when someone wants to use their work. Dan isn’t the best with Mallory, at first, and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s a woman or she’s new, or it’s just how he is with lawyers. I also think it could have a lot to do with how young and inexperienced he is. He is just so green and so in his own yuppie world that he never stopped to think about something like intellectual property. However his exchanges with Casey, Mallory, and Isaac are just wonderful and I can listen to this fast paced conversation any day of the week.

The other wonderful bit in this episode is the continuing Dana/Casey drama as she’s started dating a man named Gordon and she’s going to Vermont with him for the weekend. We finally get to see them have it out that they’ve been doing the “will they, won’t they” thing for many years and Dana just isn’t here for it any more. The real kicker, though, is Casey claims there’s been a fly in the studio for the last several days… though no one can see it but him. As Dana tells Casey off and goes to get her bags, she’s attacked by the fly and realizes Casey wasn’t making it up and maybe this time he really does have feeling for her.

TA Out!

Date: January 26, 2021

Season 1, Episode 3

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: Been super low on energy the last few days, sigh.

Favorite Quote:

Jeremy: My instincts told me to shut the the hell up and do what I was told.

Isaac: Your instincts were wrong.

Jeremy: Not fitting in is how qualified people lose jobs.

Isaac: Yeah, but a lot of the time, it’s how they end up working here.

Isaac is the absolute best.

” I just wanted to tell you something nice happened at work today. I got the call.”: This is an absolutely wonderful episode, and I feel like I will continue to say that a lot about this show. Jeremy gets “the call”, meaning they want him to go to a location and produce a segment when he gets back. However it’s about hunting, which he’s morally opposed but keeps silent until he winds up in the hospital after fainting. Isaac explains that it’s up to Jeremy to tell them his limits, he’s part of the Sports Night family now. In a lot of hiring committees I’ve heard talk about the candidate “fitting in” or being “a good fit”, and I’m so glad that’s now an outdated practice in higher education. We need people who are right for the job and who will keep the department honest. I love how Isaac explains that Sports Night is for the outcasts, but that’s their strength.

The other bit of this episode is Natalie trying to get Casey and Dana together. She asks Danny to ride with Isaac so the other two can ride together, and Danny proposes this to Casey after totally getting schooled on Major League Soccer by the rest of the crew. Casey’s totally out of his depth not only with getting himself dressed, but his understanding of just how much he’s attracted to Dana. He goes on a long rant about how it’s been a long day, he’s tired, and he won’t notice anything… let alone her shoes, when Dana walks by in her little black dress. Casey watches her walk past, he then walks backwards, trips, and falls down while Dan calls to him “on your feet, partner, let’s go.” and it’s so classic, I love it every time I watch it. If you’re not watching this show, you totally should. It’s “free” on Amazon Prime through IMDB TV.

TA Out!