Sports Night rewind, episode 2: "The Apology"

Okay, let's continue with our look back at the early episodes of "Sports Night." Spoilers for episode two, "The Apology," coming up just as soon as I jinx a no-hitter...

"That was 11 years ago tonight, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Sam. You deserved better in my hands. And I apologize. That's all." -Dan

Whenever I think back on "Sports Night," Dan's apology to his brother is almost always the first scene that comes to mind. It's such a terrific synthesis of all the things the show did well:

• It doesn't go where you expect it to. After the earlier scene with the suits from Continental Corp., you assume it's going to be a preachy monologue about the damage being done by the War on Drugs, but instead Dan tells the story of his brother Sam and reminds us that the political and the personal can have a complicated relationship.

• It's a nice piece of writing from Aaron Sorkin, and an even better piece of acting by Josh Charles. Because Sam's story is coming to us with no introduction, it could feel like a shameless tug at our heartstrings, but it doesn't. It amplifies and alters how we viewed Dan in the earlier scenes, and Charles plays the hell out of it. Sorkin can over-write at times, but this is nice and spare.

• It ties in perfectly with the comic relief subplot about Casey's fear of not being cool. The subplot on its own still feels a little flimsy, like Sorkin was trying to do a more traditional comedy bit to please the network, but when Casey slides his chair over to Dan and starts talking about The Starland Vocal Band -- effectively telling him, "I'm here for you, man, but I know you didn't want to talk about that, so have a laugh at my expense instead" -- it's a thing of beauty. (And it's made that much funnier/sweeter because they went to the trouble of getting the rights to play "Afternoon Delight" under the scene.)

In addition to giving Dan a spotlight after the pilot's Casey-centric-ness, "The Apology" is also a very good Isaac episode. As with Leo on "The West Wing," Isaac's role here is to be the grown-up in a world of overgrown children, and Robert Guillaume, as you would expect, does a terrific job at playing both the comic and serious side of that role. It's funny when Isaac has no patience for Casey's existential dilemma about being cool, and his presence in the meeting with the network lawyers lends gravity to Dan's side of things. (And the best moment of all is after the suits leave and Isaac deservedly gives Dan grief for his most pretentious comment, telling him, "And because I love you, I can say this: No rich young white guy has ever gotten anywhere with me comparing himself to Rosa Parks.") I grew up on Guillaume in "Benson," but it wasn't until "Sports Night" that I had a real appreciation for the man's range and depth.

Some other thoughts on "The Apology":

• On the negative side, this episode introduces the Unresolved Sexual Tension between Dana and Casey, and while the actors have good chemistry and the storyline occasionally yielded good moments (notably "You're wearing my shirt"), for the most part it featured the two of them acting like idiots, and I cringe during most of those scenes. (The Dana/Casey stuff from next week's "The Hungry and the Hunted" is all but unwatchable.)

• The Jeremy/Natalie relationship, on the other hand, is often very funny, and here leads into more Casey comedy goodness as he lets Natalie talk him into helping Jeremy edit down his first, monstrously-long highlight package.

• Unless I missed one in the pilot, this episode gives us our first mention of Luther Sachs, the mysterious owner of Continental Corp. (and, therefore, CSC). Many bad things will be done (or attempted) in Sachs's name over the course of the series.

• I had forgotten how much I liked Kayla Blake as Kim. Wish she worked more after the series ended.

• Sorkin has a unique authorial voice, and he often struggles when trying to write as anyone else. The alleged Howard Stern joke -- "Dan Rydell lends a whole new meaning to the word 'highlight.'" -- doesn't sound remotely like something Stern would say.

Coming up next Wednesday: "The Hungry and the Hunted," in which Jeremy gets The Call, Dana wears a swank dress, and Dan professes his ignorance of soccer.

What did everybody else think?