"Small Town" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the television series '' Sports Night'', written by

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

and Paul Redford, and directed by Thomas Schlamme, premiered on ABC in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on January 12, 1999. In the episode, Dana and Casey are supposed to take the night off but are reluctant to do so. They choose to have a double date, Dana with Gordon and Casey with blind date Lisa. Natalie is left to produce the show for the first time, and has to handle a late trade, and Isaac and Jeremy question her authority amongst the rush of the deadline. Bobbi Bernstein, Casey's replacement for the night, claims that Dan slept with her in Spain and failed to call her afterwards, which Dan disputes, calling her "psychotic". In a subsequent episode, "Eli's Coming", Dan learns Bobbi is not wrong, but her appearance was different at the time, and Dan knew her as "Roberta". Six characters receive top billing in the episode: Casey McCall ( Peter Krause); Dan Rydell (

Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night, '' Will Gardner on '' The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Awar ...

); Dana Whitaker (

Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...

); Isaac Jaffe (

Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer. He played Fishbone on television series " Good Times", Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-o ...

); Natalie Hurley (

Sabrina Lloyd Sabrina Lloyd (born November 20, 1970) is a retired American film and television actress. She is known for portraying Wade Welles in the science fiction series '' Sliders'', Natalie Hurley in the ABC sitcom '' Sports Night'' and Kelly in '' Fathe ...

) and Jeremy Goodwin ( Joshua Malina. Several recurring characters also appear in the episode including Kim (

Kayla Blake Kayla Blake (born Elsie Mapuana Sniffen; December 4, 1963) is an American actress. She is also credited as Elsie Sniffen. She is best known for the role of Kim on the ABC Television series '' Sports Night''. Career Blake starred on '' One Wes ...

); Elliot ( Greg Baker), Chris ( Timothy Davis-Reed), Will ( Ron Ostrow) and Gordon (

Ted McGinley Theodore Martin McGinley (born May 30, 1958) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jefferson D'Arcy on the television sitcom '' Married... with Children'', Charley Shanowski on the ABC sitcom '' Hope & Faith'', and as Derek on the ...

). Lisa Edelstein, who would later have a starring role in ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'', guest-stars as Bobbi Bernstein, while other guest stars include Alice Coppola and Amy Powell, who appear as Leesa and Kelly respectively. The episode received mostly positive reviews. The episode won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Picture Editing in a multi-camera series at the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards in 1999, and was nominated for the award Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Comedy Series at the Directors Guild of America Awards 1999. Janet Ashikaga was also recognised by the

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editing, film editors who are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the ...

for Best Editing in a Half-Hour Television Series.

Casting

The series uses an ensemble cast, with six of the cast members identified as main characters. Peter Krause and

played the two lead anchors on the CSC network, Casey McCall and Dan Rydell respectively.

played ''Sports Night'' producer Dana Whitaker, while

appeared as her boss Isaac Jaffe, the executive producer. The main cast is rounded off by

, who plays co-producer Natalie Hurley, and Joshua Malina, who plays Jeremy Goodwin auditions to join the crew in the pilot. Other characters given billing include

as Kim, Greg Baker as Elliot, Timothy Davis-Reed as Chris and Ron Ostrow as Will.

References

External links

* {{DirectorsGuildofAmericaOutstandingDirectingComedySeries 1990–2009 1999 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Thomas Schlamme Television episodes written by Aaron Sorkin