'Sports Night' is still a winner

With only 45 episodes over two seasons, "Sports Night's" 10th anniversary rerelease on DVD (Shout! Factory, $70) reflects the degree to which its snap and style, and the subsequent success of its cast, have made it a cult favorite at a time when longer-lived shows have yet to make it to DVD for the first time.

The short-lived (1998-2000) ABC series from Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme, who created and directed "Sports Night" while also launching "The West Wing," was loosely modeled on the byplay between Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick and their associates on ESPN's "SportsCenter." Alas, ABC's programmers lacked the prescience of ESPN's founders, who successfully rejected suggestions by some that they cancel "SportsCenter" after that show's first few years.

"It may be a cliché, but 'Sports Night' was one of those shows that was before its time," said cast member Joshua Malina, who played Jeremy Goodwin, an associate producer and resident stats geek for the cable sports program that was the center of the show-within-a-show concept.

"Now you see shows like 'The Office' or '30 Rock' that are single-camera comedies that owe a certain debt to the writing and visual style of 'Sports Night.' They are bread-and-butter network comedies. But back then, ['Sports Night'] was a different creation, and different is not always good in TV. If 'Sports Night' were starting today, I think it would have a different outcome."

Cast members included veteran Robert Guillaume plus Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under," "Dirty Sexy Money"), Josh Charles ("In Treatment"), Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") and Sabrina Lloyd ("Numb3rs"). Notable guest turns featured William H. Macy, Teri Polo, Brenda Strong and Ted McGinley.

Malina was cast, he said, even though "my sports knowledge was, I would say, in the ballpark of nil and even afterward was somewhere around nil, plus or minus 2 percent."

Sports knowledge, fortunately, was less a prerequisite than meshing with Sorkin's cast. Huffman and Lloyd, in fact, volunteered to work with Malina during his audition, which he said reflected the degree to which the fictional CSC network family bonded off-screen during the show's brief tenure.

"People would be called to the stage, and they would say 'One more hand, one more hand,' which is a phrase that rings through my head," he said.

"If you ask Josh Charles, he'll tell you that I gave poker lessons over the course of two years and created some fine students. But I won't say that I gave them for free."

After "Sports Night," Malina played political wonk Will Bailey on Sorkin's "The West Wing." The parts were similar, as was the style of the two shows. "Sports Night," however, never enjoyed the early ratings success that greeted "West Wing."

"Ultimately, the answer lies maybe in the marketing or scheduling departments, because I don't think 'Sports Night' failed to connect with the audience," Malina said. "If my straw poll of who stops me to say what is any indication, 'West Wing' may only slightly edge 'Sports Night.'"

Unlike the initial bare-bones DVD release, which was selling for as much as $124 at online sites before the rerelease was announced, the new eight-disc set includes cast commentaries and two discs of gag reels and interview segments, including one feature in which ESPN employees compare their jobs with the jobs portrayed by the "Sports Night" characters.