Bob Starr

Television shows based around sports have always been a bit of an enigma to me. While I appreciate the need to represent the theme of athleticism on TV it seemed the audience for such a show would be tuning into other programming. That would be actual sporting events, specifically.

This obviously put a series like Sports Night in a difficult predicament. The perceived core demographic is either out playing sports, or watching it on TV (instead of this show) and the remaining viewing audience thinks they need to be sports fans to understand the content. Even with a tagline of, "It's about Sports. The same way Charlie's Angels was about law enforcement." the inherent misperception of who Sports Night was trying to capture as an audience is the most likely reason the series lasted only two seasons.

Trust me when I say, this may have been one of the greatest upsets in television history because Sports Night is simply one of the best shows I've watched. It was deserving of overtime, and I'll tell you why after the jump.

Let me start with a slight disclaimer. This was supposed to be a review of Sports Night: The Complete First Season. Upon inserting the DVDs I discovered they contained all the season two content. With that out of way, allow me to continue.

Created by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), Sports Night follows the team behind a sports commentary show of which the series is named after. As I mentioned, you may feel you need a playbook to understand what the show is about, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It only takes about three minutes of viewing before you realize the sports backdrop has little to do with the story arcs in the series. Even when sports do take precedence, the concepts are pretty clearly spelled out. As the tagline above states, Sports Night really has nothing to do with sports.

For those who have only seen the first season you'll notice one very notable difference in season two, the absence of a laugh track. In an effort to stand apart from sitcom counterparts at the time Sorkin never wanted a laugh track but the network insisted. ABC relented, however, and removed it entirely for season two. As such, the show feels more like a drama and less like a comedy. While a significant retooling to the series, there is absolutely no shortage of laugh out loud moments even without the canned laughter. Perhaps even better, the jokes and dialogue feel much more natural when not accompanied by the invasive prompting which a laugh track typically brings with it.

In season two there are three prevailing story arcs amid the other random occurrences from episode to episode. The ongoing romance between Casey McCall (Peter Krause) and Dana Whitaker (Felicity Huffman), an identity crisis by co-anchor Dan Rydell (Josh Charles) and, to a lesser extent, the loss of confidence in managing editor Isaac Jaffe (Robert Guillaume) after suffering from a stroke by network executives. Make no mistake; while these are the main reoccurring plot points, Sorkin goes out of his way to make sure Sports Night is riddled with plenty of other chaos-inducing scenarios.

Two other characters of note are senior associate producer Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd) and associate producer Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina). Much like Huffman, Lloyd brings a tenacious and strong female character to the series, something Sorkin is known for in all his shows. Malina delivers his enjoyable "dork" role which stands in contrast to the two leading sports anchors. One episode in particular finds Malina, as a would-be, intrepid tech guru performing a trial run of his Y2K prevention plan. His response when things go awry is thoroughly entertaining, especially when watching everything unfold so many years after that incident occurred.

The ensemble cast brings nothing short of synergy to Sports Night. Setting the stage for shows like The West Wing, Sorkin makes sure each person has a role to play and builds on individual skill sets. At no point are you left wondering what a character is doing or what their place is. Everyone falls perfectly into place every episode. Moreover, the archetypes of each character will be very familiar to those who have come to know Sorkin's other work.

The setup and subsequent evolution of the story lines throughout season two is masterfully done. While there is some regret that we never get the full pay off due to Sports Night's untimely demise, the characters are so enduring you can't help but watch with extreme interest. One character in particular is ratings consultant Sam Donovan, played by guest star William H. Macy. Macy's performance as the overly confident Donovan is nothing short of brilliant and if you watch Sports Night for no other reason make it him. Interestingly enough, Macy seemed to make the biggest impression on Sport Night's own Felicity Huffman as she would become his future wife.

Regardless of the help Donovan's character gave to the show in respect to ratings ultimately the fictional cable network is faced with being sold off to another company. This is when art begins to imitate life and Sorkin's gift for bridging fantasy and the real world unfolds. As the characters struggle with the impeding sell off and potential loss of their jobs, Sports Night (the real show) was in the midst of a possibly being handed off itself. Struggling to find an audience, ABC was looking to cancel the series, but networks such as HBO, Showtime and USA were interested in picking it up.

At the same time, Sorkin and executive producer Thomas Schlamme were heavily invested in the first season of The West Wing. In turn, Sports Night had become somewhat displaced and Sorkin decided his new politically charged drama was the way to go. That being the case, the curtain fell on Sports Night.

Its unfortunate Sports Night had to be sacrificed so The West Wing could succeed. Looking back though, it's clear to see that Sports Night paved the way for Sorkin's future work. It has all the elements that make his shows so great; rapid dialogue, walk-and-talk sequences at every turn and characters that are both very real and fantastic at the same time. If you're a fan of The West Wing or Studio 60 you will instantly love Sports Night.

With director Sam Raimi no longer directing Spider-Man, one has to wonder what he'll be working on. Many thought he would focus on the film adaption of the popular World of Warcraft video game, but a reboot of The Shadow may be next on deck. IESB is reporting that Raimi, who was already set to produce The Shadow, may be considering directing the film as well.

I'll admit it, the 1994 film version of The Shadow, starring Alec Baldwin as the title character, is a guilty pleasure. Sure it was super cheesy but most of the comic book films were back then, and I loved them for it. As such, the thought of Raimi, known for his often campy take on content, is a perfect match for this film in my opinion. Don't worry though; from the sounds of it The Shadow will follow a more contemporary vision, something on par with Batman Begins.

The script written by Siavash Farahanl, of which you can find a very detailed synopsis of over at IESB, is clearly R-rated with an in-your-face dark tone. Just how dark is it? Well, here's a brief summary: "There is nudity and some brutal fight scenes. A man thrown into meat grinder and coming out as ground beef on the other side. Broken bones at every turn. Body parts strewn around a train station. Hookers servicing males."

That description may sound extreme, but if you read the original comic series it was pretty intense. Furthermore, with films like The Dark Knight and the upcoming Kick-Ass, movie-goers have come to enjoy vigilante heroes. The anti-hero is a big commodity right now so The Shadow is a natural fit for these times. We'll finally get to see a film in the true spirit of The Shadow instead of something like the watered down Baldwin version.

Speaking of spirit, which leads me to the main concern I have for this character. Frank Miller's The Spirit, which came out 2008 kind of flopped. Did I say, "kind of", I meant flopped. That said, I really enjoyed the film, but I don't think audiences understood what he was going for, nor did they know anything about the character. Hopefully The Shadow doesn't fall prey to the same circumstance.

It seems natural for Raimi to take the helm of The Shadow before heading into World of Warcraft. The Shadow script is near complete whereas World of Warcraft just got a writer on board. Raimi's no stranger to comic book films so I have no doubt he'll bring us a modern take on this great character with a possible return to his campy roots to please the purists out there.

Good news Planet of the Apes fans, it appears a reboot of the classic film franchise may in fact be moving forward. While the project was originally thought to be dead, reports indicate that Twentieth Century Fox is eager to get a new film underway. Sources close to the project have said, "...the studio is now more determined than ever to make the film"

Initial speculation about the film not happening came when writer Scott Frank (Minority Report, Marley & Me) left the project. Many thought this was the end of Planet of the Apes, but as it turns out the opposite may be true. Fox has turned the project over to producer Peter Chernin and hired writer Jamie Moss (Street Kings) to revise Frank's version. Furthermore, scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (The Relic, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle), have returned to the fold to polish the dialogue.

While Fox originally wanted to pursue a different story when Frank wrote his script (code named "Caesar") now, "...the studio wants to make the Caesar project, post haste"

So, just what can we expect from this new tale?

"Frank's Apes script, code-named Caesar, showed how genetic experiments on apes led to their evolutionary eclipse of humans. "Caesar" refers to the genetically altered leader of the simian rebellion, so dubbed because the ape was capable of grand strategic thinking on par with Julius Caesar (whose own surname means "hairy" in Latin). The "Caesar" code name also foreshadowed the script's plot: Just as the actual Julius Caesar set Rome on the path to the Roman Empire, the experimental ape's escape sets in motion his fellow hirsute hominids' (wait for it ... ) guerrilla war and subsequent dominance."

While the original film started with a planet populated by Apes out of the gate, it will be interesting to see how this origin film plays out. However, if anyone can make it happen it's certainly Chernin. The producer has been championing a reboot since 1992 when he paid Oliver Stone a million dollars to produce a Return of the Apes film. In fact, Fox is so confident in Chernin, and the script they have, it is likely a director will be hired immediately.

While Tim Burton's 2001 remake left us with a somewhat enigmatic ending, Planet of the Apes is certainly a franchise worth investing in. Sure, a lot of jokes have been made at the film's expense but there's a noteworthy story to be told. Having watched all the films back-to-back, I found myself taken in by the unsung complexity of the story. I know, that's something you may not hear often regarding Planet of the Apes, but I personally have no doubt that in the right hands this could be a blockbuster series.

While attending the National Board of Review red carpet event, director J.J. Abrams commented on the status of a potential Cloverfield sequel. For those who may not remember, Cloverfield was a first-person take on giant monster movies. It followed a group of bystanders, armed with a video camera (which was the single point of view for the film) as they desperately tried to escape New York under siege by a monster of unknown origin. While vague, Abrams at least acknowledged that something is being worked on, "We're working on something right now with that and again, you know its early stages."

Let me start by saying I'm a huge fan of Cloverfield. Sure, the premise had been done before, pioneered by The Blair Witch Project, but nothing had been done on this scale from a first-person perspective. By scale I don't simply mean the size of the monster, which was huge, but also the proliferation of user generated content.

You see, any number of people may have been recording the events that occurred in Cloverfield. There could be hundreds, if not thousands, of videos capturing the destruction, monster, and military response to the threat. Therein lays the great sandbox that is Cloverfield.

You can take any character in that film with a video camera and tell their story. I would say this offers limitless potential, but there is the one caveat of having to tell a compelling story as well. Watching random footage of this particular event would get pretty boring. That being said, I do have one dream scenario for a sequel.

Nothing would please me more then to see the military's perspective of the events in Cloverfield. Let me pitch this idea as simply as possible: it's Aliens meets Cloverfield. Put a camera (or cameras) behind an elite squad of soldiers tasked with killing the monster and I'll be there. The premise would certainly work given the massive military response we saw in the first film.

Interestingly enough, Aliens director James Cameron (Avatar) proved he was ahead of his time once again. All the Colonial Marines in Aliens were outfitted with cameras on their helmets. We even got to watch some of that footage, and for anyone who saw the film you know how well it worked at putting you right in the action.

Now, Abrams would probably want to up the ante for the sequel so here are two more suggestions. Add some great 24-esque split-screens with each soldier's video footage and drop in some Avatar-like 3D to make everything that much more real. Put all these elements together and Cloverfield 2 practically writes itself.

From the set of the upcoming film adaption of The A-Team, director Joe Carnahan talked about the TV-inspired remake. Many have wondered which direction Carnahan will take the film. Campy, like the television series, or bring to the big screen a more serious action film. Fortunately, it's the latter, "I'm not interested in making the easy, breezy Cover Girl version of 'The A-Team,'" Carnahan said.

Citing films such as Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Carnahan was determined to do the story and characters justice; going so far as to toss out previous scripts, "I thought they were too slavishly devoted to the TV show," he noted. "While I like the TV show, I didn't think it was any great shakes in terms of heavy drama. You could take that story and have it translate into the present day with more success."

For the purists, don't worry, Carnahan certainly paid tribute to the original television show. In particular, Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, played by Liam Neeson, does in fact use the phrase "I love it when a plan comes together." This is probably the most befitting element, if for no other reason than to honor the original Hannibal, played by the late George Peppard.

That said Carnahan recognized that The A-Team needed an update to reflect contemporary times. Carnahan used "Howlin' Mad" Murdock, played by District 9's Sharlto Copley, as an example: "People are a lot more keen and savvy. If you tried to put that show out today, you wouldn't get away with what they got away with. I mean, Murdoch for what passed as crazy 25 years ago? It doesn't hold up. Nowadays, you have Steve-O on 'Jackass' strapping on a g-string made out of chicken parts and rappelling over an alligator pit. So you have to reevaluate things like 'crazy.'"

Also gone is the tendency for Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's B.A. Baracus to repeatedly utter the line, "I pity the fool!" Now, to his credit, he does sport temporary tattoos across his knuckles which read "P-I-T-Y" and "F-O-O-L". That's a trade-off I can live with.

All the idiosyncrasies aside, The A-Team does in fact have a very simple premise. Four soldiers on the run for a crime they didn't commit. While the theater of war may have changed, from Vietnam to the Middle East, the premise remains the same and in that simplest The A-Team is sure to shine.

Carnahan noted, "We're not making an homage to 'The A-Team,'" he said. "We're taking the base story of four guys wrongfully convicted of a crime, they're an Alpha Unit, that's it. That's the point of departure."

While I was skeptical at first about The A-Team it didn't take me long to hop on the promotion bandwagon. As the cast was announced, and images trickled out, it became clear this was my big movie of the summer. Maybe it was childhood sentiment of watching the original show. More likely, however, it was the thought of Carnahan bringing the action of his film Smokin' Aces to such a great collection of characters.

We'll all get to find out if this plan comes together June 11 when The A-Team hits theaters.

(500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb may be taking over for Sam Raimi on the Spider-Man reboot. Sources say that Webb met with Spider-Man's producers in an effort to possibly get production underway for a Summer 2012 release date. The overly lengthy timeframe is most likely due in part to the fact Sony is looking to shoot Spider-Man in 3D.

While Webb may come as an unconventional choice, especially against names such as James Cameron and David Fincher, Sony was impressed with Webb's direction of young people in (500) Days of Summer. This, of course, plays out well for the script by Jamie Vanderbilt in which Peter Parker is back in high school. This is the good part.

The downside (for some fans anyway) to all this is that it may further confirm that Sony is looking for a younger demographic for the next run on Spider-Man. By focusing on a story that puts Peter in high school I imagine they will bring in other characters such as Flash Thompson and Eddie Brock (who ultimately becomes Venom) to flesh out the cast. Yes, it pains me to make the comparison, but Spider-Man is starting to sound a little like Twilight.

Adding to this is the fact the recent cartoon series; The Spectacular Spider-Man also portrays Parker in high school. Granted, while nothing has been confirmed as of yet, all signs are pointing to a younger take on the character instead of an older one. Frustrating, I know, but at least it's better than watching Spider-Man in a movie adaption Marvel's The Super Hero Squad Show.

This marks the second time Townsend has been replaced in a major film release. He was originally cast to play Aragon in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a role that ultimately went to Viggo Mortensen. This casting change could be a big win for newcomer Dallas who is also set to appear in George Lucas' upcoming Tuskagee Airmen drama Red Tails.

Directing by Kenneth Branagh, Thor stars Chris Hemsworth in the title role alongside Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Renee Russo and Tom Hiddleston. Thor was scheduled for a May 20, 2011 release but was moved to May 6, 2011 after Spider-Man 4 suffered script delays.

Stars of Arrested Development, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett are joining forces to create a new digital-driven production company. Alongside Ben Silverman's Electus, the pair's new label, DumbDumb, will focus on commercials, shorts, and original content that could be adapted for the big screen. Electus is set to deliver DumbDumb's content via its already established comedy division while utilizing the web production and development infrastructure of CollegeHumor.com.

Look to anything Bateman or Arnett have worked on and it becomes clear why DumbDumb seems to be destined for success. The pair delivered pitch perfect comedy together in Arrested Development and respectively with Bateman in Extract and Arnett in 30 Rock. Adding to this is the fact both men have an uncanny ability for staying front and center in the entertainment industry. Between the two, they were involved with over 20 projects in 2009.

So, with such a steady career, why would Bateman and Arnett choose to get into production? Not surprisingly, the pair was already creating content before DumbDumb was even conceived. Bateman explains, "Will and I, and our friends and colleagues, are spending a lot of time doing these funny viral videos, sketches made for a low price," he said. "It's a fun hobby for a lot of us. There's a marriage to be made there, between sponsors and what we find ourselves doing."

Formalizing the work behind DumbDumb seemed only natural so Bateman turned to high-school friend Silverman for assistance, "Ben educated us on the branded landscape and digital distribution. It's been an education."

While the pair was educated in their own right, Silverman is quick to recognize the talent at work behind DumbDumb, "Jason and Will are unique triple threats, people who can direct, write and act," Silverman said. "They have an intrinsic talent for understanding what makes something funny and how that content will resonate with audiences."

With original content becoming more and more popular for consumers and advertisers alike, DumbDumb plans on hitting the ground running. While a competitive industry, Bateman is certain the new company will make its mark on the industry. "We've got some ideas in mind, some things that might work great for soft drink or cookie or computer companies," Bateman said. "We've been thinking about our advertising voice and brand, and at some point people will be immediately able to look and say, 'That's a DumbDumb spot.'"

There's certainly nothing dumb about the plans Bateman and Arnett have. Individually, the men are gifted comedians. Together they will undoubtedly raise the bar for hilarity and comic appeal.

If CollegeHumor.com and Funny or Die are any indication DumbDumb is certain to find eager partners in this expanding market. It will also make for some great laughs while we eagerly await the upcoming Arrested Development movie.