Sports Night episode 3.5: "A New Era" - Mythical Airdate: November 22, 2000

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Open on Isaac, sitting in his office, looking over a newspaper. Dana then walks in, also with a newspaper in hand.

Dana: "Have you seen this!?"

Isaac: "I've got it right here."

Dana: "This is unbelievable! Did you know about this?"

Isaac: "No, I didn't."

Dana: "What kind of a way is this to run a network? You're the Managing Editor of Sports Night, I'm going to be in 6 weeks and we have to find out about this in the newspaper!?"

Isaac: "Now Dana…"

Dana (reading): "The hiring of new general manager, Robert Griffen, could be the beginning of a major shake-up for the Continental Sports Channel. The network's owner, Calvin Trager, has given Griffen full control over all network decisions, including programming and personnel, both on and off the air. In a major glimpse into Griffen want for change he has told several confidants that he feels popular Sports Night anchors, Dan Rydell and Casey McCall, are expendable. Griffen is said to be looking to begin a 'New Era' for CSC."

Isaac: "I know what the story says Dana."

Dana: "Who the hell is Robert Griffen and since when was Calvin Trager looking for a general manager?"

Isaac: "I told you, I didn't know anything about this. All I know is he's coming over from CNNSI."

Dana: "Does he have experience running a network?"

Isaac: "Not that I know of."

Dana: "Well that's just great, Isaac! What are we supposed…"

Isaac: "Dana, Calvin Trager wouldn't hire an idiot to run his network. I'm no more thrilled about this than you are, but before we panic, let's wait and see what this guy plans to do."

Dana: "What he plans to do!? He plans to get rid of Dan and Casey, that's what he plans to do!"

Isaac: "You don't know that."

Dana: "He said they're expendable Isaac, that means he feels the network doesn't need them."

Isaac: "I know what the word means Dana, but first of all, he was never actually quoted as saying that and secondly, that doesn't mean they're not going to be back. After all, Calvin only wanted to keep Casey and you weren't too worried then."

Dana: "Of course I wasn't worried then. Calvin wanted Casey, Casey wasn't coming back unless Dan came back, it was just a matter of time before he signed them both, but now, now he's put the decision in the hands of some guy we don't even know and he's saying Dan and Casey are expendable."

Isaac: "Don't worry about it."

Dana: "Don't worry about it!? Isaac…"

Isaac: "Dana, it's out of our hands. Now, I've been told that this Griffen guy is going to be getting into town tonight. He wants to meet with the two of us tomorrow about the future of this show. You can state your case then."

Dana: "But Isaac…"

Isaac: "Save it. Go do your show."

Dana sighs

Dana: "Fine."

Dana walks out as Isaac sits back in his chair, looking worried.

Isaac: "Expendable..."

He shakes his head and then sighs audibly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Open on Dan & Casey's office. Casey is sitting at a desk, reading a newspaper, when in walks Dan, holding several packets of papers. He drops them on the desk, his back to Casey, and then begins leafing through them.

Dan: "I can't believe this. We've gotten offers from everywhere. ESPN, Fox, CNNSI, MSG, I haven't even heard of some of these places! Honestly, some of these offers are above and beyond what I expected. I think we might have to take a look at some of them, especially the one from Bristol. We're talking about SportsCenter on 3 nights a week, event coverage, and our own radio show. I think I could really get into being on the radio."

Dan turns around, sees Casey looking at the newspaper.

Dan: "What's wrong with you?"

Casey looks up

Casey: "Do you know who Robert Griffen is?"

Dan sits down and picks up one of the packets and begins leafing through it.

Dan: "I've never heard of him. Why?"

Casey: "He's our new boss."

Dan looks up from the paper, surprised.

Dan: "What are you talking about?"

Casey: "He's the new general manager of CSC. Calvin Trager's turned the entire network over to this new guy and no one's even heard of him."

Dan: "Where's he from?"

Casey: "Jeremy said he's from CNNSI, but that's all he knew about him."

Dan thinks for a second, then smiles

Dan: "This is great!"

Casey: "Danny…"

Dan: "No, seriously Casey. We know what Calvin Trager wanted to do, as far as our futures are pertained, but this new guy, well, we've got no idea. We've got the opportunity to sell ourselves to him."

Casey: "He said we're expendable."

Dan: "What!? What are you talking about?"

Casey (reading): "In a major glimpse into Griffen want for change he has told several confidants that he feels popular Sports Night anchors, Dan Rydell and Casey McCall, are expendable."

Dan looks taken aback by this

Casey: "This story claims that Griffen believes that while we're popular, the show is bigger than the two of us and it might be more fiscally responsible for the future of this network to let us go."

Dan: "Let me see this."

Dan gets up and gets the paper from Casey, he quickly skims the article then throws it down on the desk.

Dan: "This is unbelievable!"

Casey: "Danny…"

Dan: "No, I'm serious. Ya know, it's one thing to feel this way and then to sit us down and tell us this. I can take that. I won't like it, but I can take it. However, to put this out there like this, it's not right."

Casey: "I know."

Dan: "So, what are we going to do?"

Casey: "Well, all I know to do is to start looking seriously at some of those offers."

Dan sits down on the couch, still looking shell-shocked.

Dan: "I thought we were good at this."

Casey: "We are good at this."

Dan: "Exactly."

They both just sit there.

Casey: "And yet were expendable."

Dan: "Right."

Dan shakes his head

Cut to a day time exterior shot of New York

(SCENE CHANGE)

Open on Natalie and Dana, in the conference room, looking over some paperwork.

Natalie: "I still don't understand how he can say something like this."

Dana: "Natalie…"

Natalie: "It's just a little frustrating, that's all...."

Jeremy walks in, newspaper in hand.

Natalie: "Hey."

Jeremy: "Hey. (pauses) Have you two seen this?"

Natalie: "The story in the Times? Yes, we have."

Jeremy sits down.

Jeremy: "Can you believe it?"

Dana: "Can we talk about something else? This is all I've heard all day long…"

Natalie looks at Dana, then turns back to Jeremy

Natalie: "So, do you know anything about this guy?"

Dana: "Natalie…"

Jeremy: "Of course I know things about this guy, I'm a fountain of knowledge."

Dana looks up, surprised

Dana: "You know something?"

Jeremy: "Sure."

They stare at him, waiting

Dana: "Well…"

Jeremy: "I know he's from CNNSI."

Natalie: "And…"

Jeremy: "Well, that's pretty much it."

Dana: "I thought you said you were a fountain of knowledge."

Jeremy: "Well, I'm not particularly solid in the Robert Griffen area."

Dana sighs, turns to Natalie, who shrugs

Dana: "Can we get to work?"

Isaac opens the door

Isaac: "Dana, can I talk to you?"

Dana: "Sure."

She gets up and follows Isaac into the hallway, towards his office

Isaac: "I just spoke to Robert Griffen."

Dana: "Really!?"

Isaac: "Yes, he wants to meet with Dan and Casey after the show tonight."

Dana: "Tonight?"

Isaac: "That's right."

Dana: "So, you're saying we're going to know tonight?"

Isaac: "Well, these things take time."

Dana: "Of course. (pauses) So, what do you think he's going to do?"

Isaac: "I have no idea."

Dana: "Well, that's promising."

Isaac: "I'll talk to you later."

They part ways.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Open on the Sports Night studio, Dan and Casey are at the desk, the usual hustle and bustle is surrounding them, but once again, they seem oblivious to it.

Kim (over intercom): "Two minutes to VTR."

Dan: "So, back to the radio show."

Casey: "No, not back to the radio show. We're about to a do a show here, can we focus?"

Dan: "You're right, let's focus."

Casey: "Thank you."

Dan straightens up his paperwork, taps the desk a couple of times, then looks around, finally gives up

Dan: "I think I'd do well on the radio."

Casey sighs, looks up from his paperwork

Casey: "Would you stop?"

Dan: "I'm just saying, I think I would do well on the radio."

Casey: "Well, you certainly have the face for it."

Dan: "Okay, now that was just wrong."

Cut to the control room, all the usual suspects are in their usual places

Natalie: "What is Dan talking about?"

Jeremy: "They got an offer from ESPN, it includes a daily radio show."

Natalie: "Ah."

Dana: "I really do wish he'd stop talking about it."

Natalie: "Why?"

Dana: "Natalie, Dan and Casey have jobs. They're the anchors of our show. I'd kinda like it to stay that way."

Jeremy: "But, that's not up to us."

The VTR intro is now rolling, we hear the music in the background

Dana: "I realize that, but I'd still like him to stop talking about it. Robert Griffen is going to meet with them after the show."

Jeremy: "After the show?"

Natalie: "Do they know this?"

Dana: "No."

Natalie: "Are you going to tell them?"

Dana: "No."

Jeremy: "Why not?"

Dana: "They've got a show to do. (pauses) Now, I wish Dan would stop talking about the radio show."

Natalie (into microphone): "Dan, stop talking about the radio show."

Casey (on monitor): "Thank you!"

Dan (on monitor): "Natalie…"

Dave: "In 3…2…"

Cut back to the studio

Dan: "Good evening, from New York City. I'm Dan Rydell alongside Casey McCall. Those stories plus, we'll take you to Miami, where the Dolphins made a major change. We'll take you to Vancouver, where the Canucks made a major move."

Casey: "And we'll take you to Toronto, where the Raptors made a major mistake. All that comin' up after this. You're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around. "

Dave (over intercom): "We're out."

Dan leans over to Casey as we pull back to a monitor with the commercial break logo on it and then we cut to a night time exterior shot of New York.

(SCENE CHANGE)

Open on the Sports Night studio, Dan and Casey are at the desk, waiting to go back on the air

Dan: "I'm saying that of all the offers we've gotten, this is the best one. I mean, Casey, we'd have our own radio show."

Casey: "We have our own television show."

Dan: "Well, we'd have that too."

Casey: "Not really."

Dan: "We'd be part of a rotation, but we'd have our set nights, we're guaranteed to work together. I'm just saying we need to consider it."

Casey: "And I am."

Dan: "Really?"

Casey: "Danny…"

Dave (over intercom): "Back in 10."

They both adjust their earpieces

Dan: "So, you're really considering it?"

Casey just stares at Dan

Dave (over intercom): "In 3…2…"

Dan: "Thank you, Kelly Kirkpatrick in Miami."

Casey: "Well, that's going to do it for us tonight."

Dan: "For Casey McCall, I'm Dan Rydell, and you've been watching Sports Night. We'll see you tomorrow."

Casey: "Good night."

Cut to the control room

Dave: "Music."

Chris: "Go."

Dave: "Animation."

Will: "Go."

Dave: "And…we're out."

Dana: "Good show, everybody."

Natalie: "And now the fun really begins."

Jeremy: "The storm clouds are gathering."

They both turn to him

Dana: "What?"

Jeremy: "Forget about it."

Natalie: "I'm going to go see what happens!"

Natalie quickly gets up and starts to leave.

Dana: "You can't just spy on them!"

Natalie: "Whatever."

She leaves, Jeremy and Dana look at each other and then quickly get up and follow

(SCENE CHANGE)

Open on Dan and Casey walking through the newsroom

Dan: "Can I run this radio show by you one more time?"

Casey: "At this point, I don't think I can stop you."

Dan: "Okay, here I go…"

Casey: "Before you start let me just say this: I don't care!"

Dan: "So, listen…"

Casey sighs as he opens the door to his office

Dan: "All right…"

Dan stops dead in his tracks, as does Casey, they look at each other

Casey: "Uh…can we help you?"

We pan around to see a man turning around in a chair, he has a briefcase in hand and looks to be in his late 40's to early 50's. His hair is slicked-back and gray with a few strands of black left.

Man: "Dan Rydell, Casey McCall, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Dan: "And you are?"

Man: "Oh, wow, where are my manners?"

He stands up, puts the briefcase down on the desk.

Man: "I'm Robert Griffen, the new General Manager of CSC."

He shakes hands with Dan and Casey as we cut to the newsroom, we see Natalie crouching behind her desk, then she pops her head up, looking towards Dan and Casey's office as Dana and Jeremy come walking up to her and then start laughing

Natalie: "Would you two keep it down!?"

Dana: "They can't hear us Natalie."

Jeremy: "And I doubt their checking for spies either, I think you can probably sit down and spy on them just as well."

Natalie: "You think?"

Jeremy: "Uh…yeah."

Natalie sits down in her chair as Jeremy and Dana exchange an amused glance as we cut back to Dan and Casey's office, both are still standing, arms folded, listening, as Robert Griffen paces back and forth.

Griffen: "Now, I know that article in the Times probably upset you."

Dan: "What article?"

Griffen: "The article about CSC."

Dan: "Oh, there was an article about us in the Times today? Well, shoot, I must have missed it. Did you see it Casey?"

Casey: "Why no, Dan, I can't say that I did. (turns to Griffen) Tell you what, how about you tell us what it said?"

Cut back to the newsroom, Natalie is sitting at her desk, peering into Dan and Casey's office as Dana and Jeremy stand behind her.

Natalie: "What do you think is going on in there?"

Jeremy: "I don't know, but something tells me it's exponentially more interesting than what we're doing right now."

Cut back to the office

Griffen: "Anyway, what I'm basically trying to say is this: that article was a negotiating ploy. We knew if we put that out there that the offers to you two would come pouring in and, as a result, we'd be able to see what we were competing with."

Casey: "But, you're not competing with anyone. We've said all along that we want to stay here."

Dan: "Yeah, but that feeling kinda fades a little everyday, if you get my drift."

Griffen: "Listen, I know you're upset and I also know you're tired. You just got off the air and I don't want to sit here and take up your time all night. I just wanted to come and give you these in person."

Griffen opens up his briefcase and pulls out two packets of paper, hands one to Casey, one to Dan, as we cut back to the newsroom, Jeremy and Dan are watching a monitor as Natalie's eyes-widen.

Natalie: "Hey, guys, do those look like contracts to you or I'm just out of my mind?"

Jeremy and Dana turn, then look at each other

Jeremy: "Well, those certainly look like contracts. (turns back to Natalie) But, that doesn't mean your not out of your mind."

Dana: "I don't believe it, he's keeping our show the way it should be!"

Jeremy: "We don't know that yet."

Cut back to the office, Dan and Casey are looking through the contracts, both looking semi-surprised.

Griffen: "Now, I'm going to be up front about this, we just can't match the offer you've gotten from Bristol, monetarily. We can't afford it, plain and simple. However, what we can offer you is what you have all around you, the network that you two helped build. You'll continue to be the flagship, the franchise, if you will, and you'll be working in an environment you know you enjoy. Now, I'm not expecting an answer tonight or even tomorrow, but I will need to know soon. Look them over and I'll get back with you two later. Thanks for your time."

Griffen shakes hands with both men and then grabs his briefcase and walks out, as both men flip through the contract.

Dan: "Are you seeing this Casey? This is nearly 15 percent lower than ESPN's offer."

Casey: "I'm seeing that, yes."

Dan: "So, what are we going to do?"

Casey looks up at Dan, unsure look on his face, as we see Dana, Natalie, and Jeremy walking towards their office and then we fade to black

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"Sports Night" is the creation of Aaron Sorkin and the writer of this story has no affiliation to him, nor to Touchstone Television, ABC, Disney, or anyone else for that matter.