Watching Studio60

We’re taking a second look at “Shoe Money Tonight,” the tenth episode of Sports Night. Following up on the review, here’s a recap of the episode. Still to come: Memorable lines.

Dan is in the zone, and that’s a good thing, because he and Casey are planning a trip to Atlantic City after the show. Not anywhere near the zone is Jeremy, who has gotten into hot water with Natalie by spending their first night off together playing tennis with friends — those friends unfortunately including a beautiful actress. There’s tension galore in the control room, as Natalie snipes at Jeremy and recruits Dana to do the same, while Jeremy maintains his innocence and Natalie’s nuttiness.

Isaac calls Dana away from the relationship drama to tell her, first, that he’s shrinking — he was just measured for a new suit, and he’s shorter than he should be — and second, that the 2 a.m. anchor team is stuck in a snowstorm in Pittsburgh. That means Dan and Casey will have to stick around for that late-night show instead of going on their gambling trip. They’re not going to be happy about that, which is why Isaac delegates the job of telling them to Dana, who in turn delegates it to Natalie.

They’re actually very mature about it when Natalie breaks the news. She compliments them on how well they take it. It’s not until she walks away that they set in grumbling about how much it bites. Their pity party is cut short, though, by the start of the show.

On a break partway through, Sally, the 2 a.m. producer, comes to schmooze with her guest anchors, leaning over the desk in her skintight outfit and doing some advanced hybrid of flirting and networking. Dana reveals that she has a keen dislike for that woman, and strikes a deal with Natalie: She’ll stop thinking Jeremy is right if Natalie will stop thinking Sally is nice. Solidarity!

Still determined to gamble the night away, Dan and Casey decide to start up a card game in the office to kill time until 2 a.m. When Casey throws a quip opportunity Dan’s way and he totally blows it, Dan realizes that he is no longer in the zone. But the game is on, and when Dana, who’s busy teasing Isaac about osteoporosis, hears about it, she yells, “Shoe money tonight!”

Natalie’s determined to join the poker game, too, threatening to beat Jeremy even though it seems clear that she truly does know nothing about the game. The co-workers all gather in the conference room, and as play proceeds, Sally comes in again to sweet-talk Dan and Casey. Dana asks her to step outside, and begins to go over the 2 a.m. rundown with her. Sally resists, and when Dana says it’s because Casey will never approve the rundown as is, Sally tells her he already did. Sally wonders whether Dana has a thing for Casey, then decides she might have one herself if only for the sex and contacts. Of course, that would involve Casey surviving the wrath Dana’s about to hand down on him.

In the conference room, Jeremy keeps winning and Natalie keeps losing, though that doesn’t stop her from bragging and threatening. She thinks Jeremy’s good fortune must spring from him having the good chair. Dana comes in and smacks Casey on the head and all but drags him by the ear into the hallway. Meanwhile, Jeremy gives up his good chair, making excuses about having to go to the bathroom and suggesting Dan should go with him. They wind up in Dan’s office, where he tries to pass on some wisdom about women to Jeremy, but without much success. Jeremy finally decides he needs to stand firm with Natalie, although his will is weak when he thinks of her wearing one of his shirts and nothing else.

When Dana yells at Casey for approving Sally’s script, he first accuses her of being jealous of Sally’s looks. Then he hears just what Sally has in store for him — the wrong cameras, too many highlights in a row, and bad puns. He begs Dana for help, but she’s going to go play some cards. He runs off in search of Sally.

Back in the conference room, things are tense between Jeremy and Natalie as they become the last two playing a hand. She’s lost so much money that she’s going to be going through life on a charitable grant from the Jeremy Goodwin Foundation. He tells her exactly what her cards are, exactly what his cards are, and appeals to her to drop her defenses and not assume he’s a bad boyfriend just because he plays tennis. It’s a pretty eloquent speech, and has everybody else in the room holding their breath to see what will happen.

And then Natalie calls his bluff, and he wins again. She tries to get back in his good graces, but he’s having none of it … until she mentions going back to his place and wearing one of his shirts. The room falls silent again to see whether he’s going to go for it, and it’s no contest. She wins, and they’re off. Also winning is Dana, who has Casey pleading with her again to make everything right. She’s in the zone.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

Sports Night, ABC, Shoe Money Tonight, recap