Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

I neglected to ask about deleted scenes, but suffice it to say that the extras aren't all done and cleared and everything yet, and are still being worked on.

I saw a preliminary list, not for duplication, that made my jaw drop with what they want to do for this release. Hopefully it all happens, but nothing is finalized or set in stone. If we get half of that, we'll all be happy campers.

Just be patient, and I'll report details at TSoD when they are ready. Thanks,

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Thanks for the update Dave. I'll try to be patient, but I think you just increased my anticipation for this even more.

Amazon.com now has this up for pre-order.

Amazon.com: Sports Night: The Complete Series 10th Anniversary Edition: Movies & TV

I just went and pre-ordered a copy. I'm not excited about this re-release, am I?

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Actually I believe that's the episode the scene in question appears in recap. I've watched the show at least four times and unless I've been distracted at the exact same moment on all four occasions, it's not there.

I'm going to start through again soon so I'll keep an eye.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

So, guess what I've been watching since the mail came yesterday?


Wow, this is a great release. I first popped in the 1st of the 2 bonus discs, and watched the Season 1 Gag Reel, the 4 ABC series promos on there, and the "Face Off: ESPN's SportsCenter vs. CSC's Sports Night" featurette. All were drop-dead terrific supplements. The first promo will make anyone crack up, I'm sure...it's a fun gag. The gag reel, while the quality isn't the best (and a text card pops up on screen explaining why), is most certainly worth the price of admission (as soon as the missus wakes up I'll watch the gag reel from S2). GREAT stuff!

And the Face Off featurette is full of interviews with the producers and cast of the show, and the folks over at ESPN, and how SportsCenter begat Sports Night and how SN cast and crew endeavored to capture the feel of what goes on behind the scenes of a show like ESPN's SC...especially in the hectic minutes leading up to the start of the broadcast. You'll LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Seeing this all over again reminds me of what a great cast this is, and how awesome all the acting is with each of these people. I tend to want to single out the big leads, like Felicity or Robert, or Peter or Josh...but then I watch Sabrina and Joshua and Kayla (WHY the heck isn't she currently in a show?) also all standing out, too, and everyone else, and I just have to say "all of them!"

I have yet to pull out my old set and compare transfers directly, but so far my impression is that this one is better, sharper, nicer, more colorful. Maybe I've got rose-colored glasses on, or maybe my equipment is better than it was back then. Maybe it's just my PS3 upconverting, I dunno (if I have time I can stick it in my regular DVD player later and see). But my impression is that the video looks better than it used to.

My one minor complaint about the video is that the credits, noticably the closing credits but also on the opening, have low-res type "jaggies" in the text that probably are exactly the way they should be considered how those credits would have been added to the episodes, but come out looking worse in modern times due to that "better equipment". I'm sure some of you will see what I mean when you view these, and others probably won't see anything at all and wonder what the heck I'm talking about. Regardless, it's not important in the least, but just a minor nitpick that Shout! could not possibly do anything about (well, they could I guess, but I wouldn't want them too!).

Final list of extras: "The Show" featurette, "Face Off" featurette, ABC promos (not mentioned on the box), Season 1 Gag Reel (~11-12 mins!), Season 2 Gag Reel (~2 mins), "Looking Back with Aaron & Thomas" featurette, "Inside the Locker Room: Technical Innovations" featurette, and commentary tracks. Plus a very nice printed 36-page book.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

OH, yeah! THAT'S a better transfer! No doubt when you do a direct compare. The old one is darker, almost dingier. With a much softer look to the video. Nope, the new release is way better on the video!

And yeah, the "jaggies" are present on the text of the credits using the old release on my newer equipment, so it's the hi-def equipment that I've never viewed this show on that's doing it.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Forgot to mention: the cover of the old box set is the same pic used on the cover of the booklet in the new set. Someone mentioned liking that pic better, so just to bring up the fact that it's in there, somewhere.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

That was probably myself getting on the new cover-art and liking the old.

I am happy with the set i own, if i was going to do it i would have sold the old set for the $150 a couple months ago. I am sure like you said there are some good supplements. But i will live. I am however going to get the Fraggle Rock set and replace the season sets.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Dave, I am SOooooo envious.... Thanks for the enthusiastic review - I'm really looking forward to this set. And I know what you mean about the acting: it's hard to single out a few standout performances when everyone is so good.

So do Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick appear in the ESPN feature? And I know someone upthread mentioned the "play all" behavior of the original release -- that you couldn't play just one episode without having it roll into the next instead of returning to the main menu. I hope "play all" is still an option, as I find it hard to turn this show off once I've got it rolling, but for those who do want to watch a specific episode, it would be nice to offer the option to watch it whichever way they prefer.

Good to hear about the transfer. I never really had a problem with the old transfer, so now you've got me really curious to see what the new one looks like.... Enjoy the rest of the series, and remember:


Warning Spoiler! Click to show
Gets me every time.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

I hate you right now David.

And we're getting ABC promos also!?

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Josh Elliott and Jay Harris are the on-air talent from SC that appear in this featurette, which - as I recall - lasts about a half hour. Plus some behind-the-scenes talent, as well as folks from SN that includes Aaron, Thomas, and cast such as Robert, Felicity and others.

They've fixed the other problem: it can be played one ep at a time and then go back to the menu, OR you can hit Play All. It's all good.

As for the rest...y'all don't be hatin'!!!

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Such a great show deserves, what appears to be, a great DVD release. While I'm glad to have had the original release all these years (this is one of the shows I rewatch most often - love the first-season Christmas episode), I'm glad it's being reissued in such a nice set.

I haven't gotten around to listing my old set on Amazon yet but I'll get right on that.

I guess it can't be a perfect package.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Dave, am I right in thinking the set doesn't have English subtitles? (I don't think Shout! releases usually do..) If I'm right, I'll stick with the bare-bones BV release.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

One word: Firefly.

I will totally double dip on this one, my favorite Sorkin show.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

It's not exactly the same. Firefly is getting a re-release in Blu-Ray while Sports Night is just getting a new SD version.

Plus the original Fire Fly has outsold the original Sports Night 10 to 1.

I think My So Called Life is a better comparison to Sports Night. Both are cult shows that have a had a sub par release go out of print and eventually be replaced by a better "Special Edition".

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Hmmm...hadn't thought of checking that yet (funny, I usually do, since my hearing is on the slow-but-sure decline ).

I am watching "Ten Wickets" right now (well, NOW the credits are rolling on it, so it's about to be the next ep), and I just hit the "subtitle" button on my remote. The response was "this operation is not available".

Sorry,

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Ah well - guess you can't have it all. I do wish Shout! would start including subtitles though, their sets are otherwise perfect.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

I got my set today thanks to Deep Discount and USPS.

Here's the breakdown as for content disc wise:

Season 1 Disc 1:
Trailers (1:24) Advertising Freaks and Geeks and Spin City Season 1.
Pilot (22:22) With commentary by Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme
The Apology (22:00)
The Hungry and The Hunter (22:20)
Intellectual Property (21:48)
Mary Pat Shelby (22:19)
The Head Coach, Dinner and The Morning Mail (22:25)
Dear Louise (21:00)
Thespis (22:25)

Season 1 Disc 2
The Quality of Mercy at 29K (22:23)
Shoe Money Tonight )22:24)
The Six Southern Gentemen of Tennessee (21:55) Commentary with Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Sabrina Lloyd and Director Robert Berlinger.
Smoky (20:29)
Small Town (22:24) Commentary with Editor Janet Ashkaga
Rebecca (21:35)
Dana and the Deep Blue Sea (20:54)
Sally (20:53) Commentary with Greg Baker, Kayla Blake, Timothy Davis-Reed and Ron Ostrow

Season 1 Disc 3
How are Things in Glocca Morra (21:19)
The Sword of Orion (22:23)
Eli's Coming (22:26) Commentary with Peter Krause and Director Robert Berlinger
Ordinance Tactics (20:53)
Ten Wickets (20.57)
Napoleon's Battle Plan (21:36)
What Kind of Day Has it Been? (22:23)

Season 1 Bonus Disc
The Show (33:47)
Face-Off: ESPN's SportsCenter vs. CSC's Sports Night (21:04)
Season One Gag Reel (11:48)
Original Promos (1:38)

Season 2 Disc 1
Special Powers (21:34)
When Something Wicked This Way Comes (21:33)
Cliff Gardner (21:36)
Louise Revisited (20:49)
Kafelnikov (21:36) Commentary with Greg Baker, Kayla Blake, Josh Charles, Timothy Davis-Reed, Joshua Malina and Ron Ostrow.
Shane (21:35)
Kyle Whiaker's Got Two Sacks (21:34)
The Reunion (21:30)

Season 2 Disc 2
A Girl Named Pixley (21:05)
The Giants Win The Pennant, The Giants Win The Pennant (21:35)
The Cut Man Cometh (21:41)
The Sweet Smell of Air (21:33)
Dana Get Your Gun (21:05)
And The Crowd Goes Wild (21:01)
Celebrities (21:36)

Season 2 Disc 3
The Local Weather (21:31) Commentary with Josh Charles and Joshua Malina)
Draft Day Part I: It Can't Rain At Indian Wells (21:04)
Draft Day Part II: The Fall of Ryan O'Brian (21:41)
April is the Cruelest Month (21:26)
Bells And A Siren (21:29)
La Forze Del Destino (21:40)
Quo Vadimus (21:37) Commentary with Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme.

Season 2 Bonus Disc
Looking Back: A Conversation with Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme (26:09)
Inside the Locker Room (21:16)
Season Two Gag Reel (1:54)

Despite having 2 more discs, the set takes up less space thanks to Shout Factory using 4 ThinPaks with 2 discs in each case. There's a little booklet that comes with it telling the story of how Aaron came up with the show, an episode guide and a floor plan of the show's floor.

The only episode I watched was the Pilot with the commentary and even on a 27" SD TV, I could tell an improvement in the picture quality. It's not much, but trained eyes can tell.

All in all, it's a set worth getting and double dipping on if you own the original bare bones set. Well done, Shout Factory!

As for the subtitles, I didn't check, but there is closed captioning, which I prefer anyways, since I use that when watching TV.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Thanks for the breakdown, Zachary.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Well it's not like Shout! have the rights to all the "great shows that have been passed over".

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

So can someone confirm the debate from earlier in the thread (I think it was this thread) about Jeremy's parents divorcing, and in the "previously on Sports Night" there's a scene that ISN'T in the prior episode? It has Jeremy talking Natalie.

Won't be bothering with this set. Had they managed to dump the laugh track, it'd be my first ever double dip. But since the audio track is the same, it's just not worth spending $50 to replace a set I spent $80 on in the first place.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

From TV.com

"The "previously on Sports Night" contains a scene of Jeremy talking to Natalie about taking a couple days off to go home, due to his parent's impending divorce. This explains Jeremy's absence at the start of the show. The scene in question never occurred in the show, however. Instead, the news of his parents impending divorce was revealed during Jeremy's voice-over letter to his sister Louise during the previous episode, How Are Things in Glocca Morra? and the scene, apparently shot but elided, appears only briefly in the teaser."

That's the way it aired

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

That was something I came here to mention.

I blind bought this Sports Night set, never having seen the show before. I like the show quite a bit after watching the first disc or so. I just wish there had been a MASH "no laugh track" option, because like MASH (and most non-3 camera sitcoms), this show loses something with canned laughs.

But it's a great show, and nice to see so much cleared music in it. Nice job, Shout.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Speaking of cleared music, for those who watched it originally on ABC and have the DVD, is ALL of it secured? I'm still waiting on my copy to arrive in the mail, but I didn't think of it until Shane brought it up; and I always assumed it would be all intact. Thanks.

Re: Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?)

Here's something I had been told in regard to Shout! addressing the laugh track (but it's not something I was sent officially, so I shouldn't really post it at TSoD...but I guess I can post it here):