[SPN] Cliff Gardner

TV Programme: Sports Night
Season: 2
Episode: 3
Date I watched this episode: 02/08/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 1 day.

This episode was really about showing the character of Sam Donovan. We didn't get to see much of Sam in the previous episode, but we saw enough to know he was going to cause some problems. This third episode was set 8 days after the second, and the "stiffness" is really showing through. It's just an adjustment period though, and this episode turned out to really be a turning point for the relationship between Sam and the crew.

The opening sequence showed quite obviously that Sam was able to get his way pretty much 100% of the time. Sports Night is not really renowned for its misdirection, but this was a real example of that: I really had no idea that Sam was not just showing weakness by bowing out of the studio; his plan just so smoothly and cooly got him the result that he wanted. I think that if the crew didn't HATE him so much, they'd actually admire him for that. He's a very clever, intellectual guy, much like the typical person working at the show.

Dana really has lost it here. She's considering leaving, throwing herself into near-suicidal situations where she is bound to get fired, being deliberately obnoxious with the executives. It's amazing how quickly things can come crashing down when things don't go to plan - ever since the events of last season's "The Six Southern Gentlemen Of Tennessee" things have gone from bad to worse. Dan and Dana have butted heads throughout this - Dan thinking that more of a stand should be made while Dana defers to Isaac's judgment. Things reached a head in this episode, with Dan saying that Dana was now a mere secretary, but what was really heartwarming was that he jumped to her defense in the meeting with JJ.

Isaac is also one playing a dangerous game; making a stand against JJ in his office, making JJ seriously consider replacing him. Everyone there knows it would be a bad idea, completely wrong, to "dumb down" the show and make it just another sports show, but JJ and his buddies really don't understand how this all works. When the job is offered to Sam (and they lament that Isaac was perhaps never able to do the job), Isaac is wonderfully moral about it and tells Sam to follow his heart and take the job if he wants it. However you have to wonder whether inside, Isaac has a hidden agenda, as surely he wouldn't want his team left in the hands of Sam.

The most revealing part of the episode though was the final sequence, starting from Dana's 5-minute break. The story which Sam told was about Philo Farnsworth, is something Sorkin is clearly quite interested in, because he wrote a play about it titled "The Farnsworth Invention" which was on Broadway early last year (some 10 years after the broadcast of this episode). Anyway this sequence really showed up what kind of person Sam was, shocking Dana into saying "Woah" as the episode closed.

The fact is that Sam has a single goal in mind - to boost the ratings of the show. He will take whatever means necessary to do that, and will knock down anything that stands in his way. That includes Dana, but it also includes JJ. Sam is the archetypal Cliff Gardner; he knows how to do something and he does it well. But he can only do it well when he's working with someone like Isaac who does his part well too. The fact is that Sam is what the show needs, not a bunch of notes from executives. He puts JJ and the boys in their place because they were in his way, hindering him from what he needs to do. All he needs now is a little trust from Dana and her crew.

It's also notable the way Sam chooses to do things. Isaac observes "you should have said it in front of them", to which Sam responds "it's not what I do". Sam has an odd way of expressing himself, he doesn't go for obvious displays of drama and self-promoting, he just wants to get the job done. Which means that he may well be doing a lot more good than people know about.

Again we briefly had mention of the Casey-Dana situation, but only in one scene. Dana clarifies by saying that while she wants Casey to date other women, she doesn't want him to enjoy it. This kind of puts to bed Dan's plan of getting Casey to date the women and make Dana jealous. But it does arguably make things easier for Casey. It's a bit strange that Dana still hasn't seen how crazy all this is after 8 days.

Again another superb episode, really fleshing out the character of Sam Donovan and showing how much potential he has as a character in this season. I'm sure we haven't seen the end of this arc, and he has a long way to go before he is accepted, but I certainly can put my trust in Mr Sorkin to give us a cool ride along the way.