# Sportsnight, West Wing, Studio 60? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872 "2006-12-04T21:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/21 "2006-12-05T18:40:20Z")
Simulpost photo finish! ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/22 "2006-12-05T19:09:28Z")
We’ve already had a bunch of cross-overs from Sorkin’s previous shows, but the only one that absolutely must happen is Josh Malina. He’s the only person, afaik, who had already scored a Sorkin hat trick before Studio 60 started: American President - Sports Night - West Wing. So it’s only right he makes it four in a row. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/23 "2006-12-05T19:40:39Z")
It’s more than four. Josh Malina was in A Few Good Men when it was still a play. He was also in the movie, in Malice, and then in The American President, Sports Night and The West Wing. According to the (quite frequently inaccurate) IMDB bio, Malina once saved Sorkin from chocking to death, so maybe he feels like there’s a debt of honour or something… ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/24 "2006-12-05T20:14:43Z")
They’ve been friends since high school or Hebrew school. One having control of a project without the other involved at some point would be like Kevin Smith making a movie without having his girlfriend/wife in it - inconceivable! ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/25 "2006-12-05T20:37:12Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] (4) An episode will use someone-writing-a-letter as its plot conceipt (5) An episode will use “someone is doing something amazing like almost-beating-Pete-Sampras or filibustering-forever” as its plot conceipt [/QUOTE] These two were actually combined into a single episode in both Sports Night and West Wing (although Sports Night did two letter-writing episodes). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/26 "2006-12-06T03:13:54Z")
A cast member’s real-life significant other will appear as a key guest character for two or three episodes. I’m betting on Jane Kaczmarek. Isaac had a stroke. Bartlett had MS. I’m looking for Ed Asner’s character to suffer a debilitating (but not fatal) illness. Frankly, I’d love to see Ted McGinley show up. Maybe as the host one week when things are going so bad that they have to get an emergency replacement host and the only one available is. . . Ted McGinley. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/27 "2006-12-06T07:48:57Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] Isaac had a stroke. Bartlett had MS. I’m looking for Ed Asner’s character to suffer a debilitating (but not fatal) illness. [/QUOTE] I vote for lupus! ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/28 "2006-12-06T10:46:11Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] I vote for lupus! [/QUOTE] [House, MD]It’s never lupus![/House, MD] ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/29 "2006-12-06T10:51:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] it’s been on DVD for a couple of years now, at least in the US. [/QUOTE] Sportsnight box set was, actually, the first DVDs I ever owned, once I’d figured out how to play DVDs on my computer. (I rented a few movies to figure that part out.) That was before I had any kind of DVD player I could attach to my tv. Back in 2002 at least. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/30 "2006-12-06T13:51:00Z")
There will be an episode revolving around somebody’s extreme dislike of guns. It was a plot point in _The American President_ with a firearms bill, was part of an episode toward the end of _Sports Night_’s run, when Dana inherited an antique rifle, and I admit to having watched very little of _West Wing_, but I’m sure, given what I’ve seen of Bartlett’s presidency, it was a significant part of at least one episode, probably again with some ineffectual, stupid firearms bill going through Congress. Anybody help me out with this one? ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/31 "2006-12-06T13:53:02Z")
Don’t remember any gun control issues in _TWW_. It kind of happened twice in _Sports Night_. In the third or fourth show, Jeremy had to field produce a hunting show. He was very anti-hunting, and was afraid to tell the people he worked for. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/32 "2006-12-06T14:29:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] Don’t remember any gun control issues in _TWW_. It kind of happened twice in _Sports Night_. In the third or fourth show, Jeremy had to field produce a hunting show. He was very anti-hunting, and was afraid to tell the people he worked for. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah, “the call.” From which I learned deer love twinkies. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/33 "2006-12-06T15:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=Only Mostly Dead] I admit to having watched very little of _West Wing_, but I’m sure, given what I’ve seen of Bartlett’s presidency, it was a significant part of at least one episode, probably again with some ineffectual, stupid firearms bill going through Congress. Anybody help me out with this one? [/QUOTE] There was one, but it was very watered down and even Josh rolled his eyes at what passed. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872/34 "2006-12-06T16:45:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] Don’t remember any gun control issues in _TWW_. It kind of happened twice in _Sports Night_. In the third or fourth show, Jeremy had to field produce a hunting show. He was very anti-hunting, and was afraid to tell the people he worked for. [/QUOTE] First season, “Five Votes Down.” Leo loses his marriage over working to get an assault weapons ban passed. And of course, there was the whole thing about the President getting shot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sportsnight-west-wing-studio-60/382872.md?page=1)