Poll on Arthur

[Will]

Well, half-hour shows can rarely be classified as dramas on network TV.  But you're right--SportsNight was comedy, just not a sitcom.  I think it just wasn't ready for network TV, or rather, network TV wasn't ready for SportsNight. :-D

[CowbellGuy]

For the curious among you (and there are some very curious among you), actual voting is:

Legendary PA announcer: 85
PA announcer: 31
Crotchety Old Fart: 18

[finchphil]

What ever happened to Barlow Ware?  He was a legend long before the nasaly Arturo took over.  And then there was Bob Julian who subbed for Barlow.

[Charles Persons]

On an entertaining sidenote, Sports Night didn't have a laugh track originally, that was added when it moved to Comedy Central (or so my little brain remembers it). I still feel it was the best never-watched show in history (Sheep in the Big City was a close, hilarious second.)

[rhovorka]

Sports Night didn't have a laugh track originally, that was added when it moved to Comedy Central

I'm positive you're wrong.  ABC execs allegedly ordered the laugh track put in.  That was one of the many things that peeved Sports Night (and West Wing) creator Aaron Sorkin off with the network.  Eventually, Sorkin won the battle...notice that only early episodes have the laugh track.  The 2nd season has none.  Comedy Central did nothing to the show but shift the commercial breaks to illogical places.  

Just do a google search of "sports night sorkin laugh track" and a bunch of pages come up.  Here's a good one: http://tv.zap2it.com/shows/features/tvbiz/p/a/99/05/17sorkin.html

Eventually, some dunderheads at ABC failed to promote one of the best shows to come along in a while, and its death came much too early.

[Josh '99]

Rich Hovorka '96 wrote:

Comedy Central did nothing to the show but shift the commercial breaks to illogical places.

I thought I was the only one who noticed that.

[tml5]

But that's a time-honored comedy central tradition, isn't it?  Cut to commercial mid-scene for no apparent reason, then fail to put a commercial in at the original break point.  

Even so, I love comedy central, although I wish they'd kept the rights to MST3K.

[Josh '99]

Does anyone air MST3K right now?  I haven't seen it in a couple of years, come to think of it.

[jtwcornell91]

Sci-Fi airs MST3k but only the crappy post-Trace ones from after it moved off Comedy Central.

I was out of the country for the entire run of Sports Night, and only discovered it in reruns on Comedy Central.  The fact that it failed while drivel like Survivor amd Millionaire thrived makes me weep for the state of American television.  Then I remember that West Wing is phenomenally successful, and hope is reborn.

[jeh25]

West Wing, Law & Order, and the Sopranos.

Of course, after having boosted that line from Salon, I'd add that 6 ft under belongs up there too.

Now if I could just get TiVO to stop recording gardening shows.....

[ugarte]

Calling "Sheep in the Big City" unwatchable gives that awful cartoon far too much credit.

[Beeeej]

I'm glad I read your second line before rushing down the page to write my reply.  If I didn't have friends with HBO who are happy to have me over every Sunday night, I'd subscribe to HBO just for 6'U.

Beeeej

[Lowell '99]

Before I read John's or Beeeej's message, I I was going to say that the one (and only) good thing to come out of SportsNight's cancellation was Peter Krause being free to be on HBO's Six Feet Under.

And after reading their posts..... well, I said it anyway.  It's that good a show.

[Beeeej]

Yeah... I'm still waiting for Sabrina Lloyd's star-vehicle TV series.  :`(

Beeeej

[jtwcornell91]

Well, you could view her availability for SN as a good thing coming out of her leaving "Sliders". :-)