Sports Night/Shoe Money Tonight

Shoe Money Tonight
Season 1, Episode 10
Airdate	December 8, 1998
Production Number	N-310
Written by	Aaron Sorkin
Directed by	Dennie Gordon
← 1x09 The Quality of Mercy at 29K	1x11 → The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee
Sports Night — Season One

Shoe Money Tonight is the tenth episode of the first season of Sports Night.

When Dan and Casey have to cancel their trip to Atlantic City to host CSC's late show, they play poker against the rest of the crew. Natalie and Jeremy have their first fight, Dana and Casey have their umpteenth fight. Isaac is shrinking, and Dan is not in The Zone.

Starring: Josh Charles (Dan Rydell), Peter Krause (Casey McCall), Felicity Huffman (Dana Whitaker), Joshua Malina (Jeremy Goodwin), Sabrina Lloyd (Natalie Hurley) and Robert Guillaume (Isaac Jaffe),

Guest Starring: Brenda Strong (Sally), Kayla Blake (Kim), Greg Baker (Elliott)

Co-Starring: Timothy Davis-Reed (Chris), Ron Ostrow (Will), Jeff Mooring (Dave)

Plot Overview

Dan instructs Casey on the finer points of blackjack in preparation for their trip to Atlantic City after the show. Casey doubts that Dan is the best person to give the advice, since he usually loses at cards, but Dan maintains that he is in "The Zone."

In the control room, Natalie snaps angrily at Jeremy, who admits that he and Natalie are "having a little thing." Isaac gets Dana out of the room to divulge two pieces of information: his tailor says he's shrinking, and Dan and Casey will have to stay later then expected and do the 2 AM broadcast.

A minute before showtime, Dan proves to Casey that he is in "The Zone" with a quick card game. But their happiness is short-lived when Natalie breaks the news that their Atlantic City trip is cancelled. The boys smile through their tears and do their intro. Sally, the attractive producer of the 2 AM show, thanks them for their help. She also shamelessly promotes herself and talks up all the other networks interested in her work. Dana, watching from the control room, grimaces and orders Sally out of Casey's eyeline.

Dan decides to make the most of the downtime, and organize some poker among the CSC staff. He finds Dana taunting Isaac in his office about osteoporosis (bone shrinking) and invites them both to play. Meanwhile, Natalie and Jeremy continue their fight as they walk from the edit room to the control room. Natalie is angry because on their day off from work, Jeremy played tennis with friends - one of whom being a glamorous actress - rather than spend time with her. Casey interrupts the fight to tell them about the poker game. Natalie warns Jeremy that he'll be humiliated if he challenges her, but Jeremy's fairly certain she doesn't know how to play.

As the crew plays around the table, Natalie is already losing big to Jeremy, but that doesn't stop her from taunting. Sally walks in to preen herself again in front of Casey and Isaac. Dana excuses herself to bring Sally into the newsroom, asking her to change portions of her rundown to suit Casey's style. When Sally lets her know that Casey has already approved the rundown, Dana is flustered. Sally chats a bit more about how much she would benefit if she started her own relationship with Casey, which Dana doesn't want to hear.

Dana pulls Casey out of the poker game to berate him, and Jeremy takes a break from the game and drags Dan along to get relationship advice. Dan advises him to stand firm on his position, and not allow Natalie's illogic to control the argument. In the edit room, Dana is unhappy that Casey takes for granted her skills at tailoring a show rundown to suit his style, and that he would approve Sally's rundown without alteration. Casey comments that Dana's dislike of Sally's work acumen might have more to do with Sally's looks then her skills. Dana shuts him down by pointing out just how inferior Sally's rundown is, with poor camera planning, too many highlights in a row, and puns. Casey asks her to clean it up, but Dana decides to let him twist in the wind.

Back at the poker game, only Jeremy and Natalie remain, with Jeremy having a commanding chip lead. Natalie kicks in her last $50. Jeremy advises her to fold, because he's already realized what hand she's holding, and it doesn't beat his straight. He stands up at the table, asking her to trust him that the tennis game he went to wasn't meant to insult her, and that he has no feelings for his actress friend. Natalie accuses him of bluffing, and is embarrassed when their hand plays exactly as he said it would. She offers the chance to go back to his apartment and "accelerate the healing process." Jeremy tries to stand firm, but can't resist the idea of Natalie in one of his white dress shirts.

Casey, still desperate to salvage his rep on the West Coast, begs Dana to change Sally's rundown. She lets him hang for a second, then decides she can change the script and play poker at the same time.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Natalie and Jeremy have their first couple-fight.
• Sally, producer of CSC's West Coast Update, makes her first clumsy attempt to shill herself for Dana's job.

Characters

• Jeremy seems a lot less nervous about talking to Natalie, now that they have become a couple. He talks back, shouts, even lobs a few insults towards her. He's even able to discuss his sex life with Dan.

Trivia

The Show

• This is the first appearance of Brenda Strong as Sally, the statuesque producer of West Coast Update. Dana already has a "keen dislike" for her, which will only get worse as the show goes on.
• Jeremy went to school with an actress named Judy Restin-Taylor.

Behind the Scenes

• This is the first episode of Sports Night not directed by Thomas Schlamme.
• Actor Joshua Malina, who plays Jeremy, is a skilled poker player in real life. While struggling as an actor, he sometimes had to win his rent money through poker, and he is one of the excutive producers of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker" series.

Allusions and References

• Jack Benny and Henny Youngman are two comedians from the early days of television. Both of them incorporated playing the violin into their comedy. Benny Goodman was a famous jazz clarinetist.

Memorable Moments

• Dan cuts cards to prove he's in "The Zone."
• Dana taunts Isaac repeatedly about shrinking and osteoporosis.
• Sabrina Lloyd's (Natalie) ability to act ticked off and simultaneously funny.
• Dana looks Sally in the eye, or attempts to.
• Jeremy lures Dan away from the poker game with a clever ruse.
• Jeremy asks Natalie to trust him.
• Watch closely: Joshua Malina (Jeremy) does some pretty impressive one-handed tricks with poker chips!

Quotes

• Dan: There's a very palpable zone, my friend. And I am in it.
• [Dan is instructing Casey about blackjack.]
  Dan: I say "double down"?
  Casey: I double my ass down!
• Natalie: Fellas, I've got some bad news.
  Casey: There's no bad news tonight, Natalie. When the show comes down, Danny and I are hopping a limo, heading down the Garden State Parkway and getting off at the exit clearly marked... "The Zone."
  Natalie: That's great, Casey, but all those things you just said?
  Casey: Yeah?
  Natalie: Not gonna happen.
• Sally: My stuff's out there. I talk to a lot of people.
  Dan: Just as long as none of them are talkin' back.
  Sally: CNBC, MSNBC--
  Dan: M-O-U-S-E...
  Casey: Danny--
  Dan: Oh, like she's listening to anybody but herself.
• Dana: (watching Sally on the monitors) And... be sure Casey sees your cleavage as you walk out... there ya go.
• Casey: (on-air) Don't adjust that dial and while we're gone, if any talking animals ask you to buy some tacos or beer, for God's sake do what they tell you.
• [Dana is making fun of Isaac's "shrinking"]
  Dana: (entering Isaac's office) Hey, Isaac, you in here? Whoa, I can barely see you down there.
  Isaac: Pretty funny coming from someone I can fire any time I like.
• Dana: Shoe money tonight! (repeated several times in the episode)
• Natalie: It wasn't the greatest joke I've ever heard.
  Jeremy: I never said I was opening for Jack Benny.
  Natalie: You meant Henny Youngman.
  Jeremy: I meant Jack Benny.
  Natalie: Jack Benny plays the clarinet.
  Jeremy: Jack Benny plays the violin. For that matter, so does Henny Youngman, but you're thinking of Benny Goodman.
  Natalie: Do you really always have to be right?
  Jeremy: No!
  Natalie: Then why are you still talking?
  Jeremy: Because I am right.
  Natalie: Could have guessed.
  Jeremy: Hey, if we're going to fight, can it not be about Henny Youngman?
• Casey: Hey, we're playing poker in the conference room. You guys in?
  Jeremy: Oh, Natalie and I can't play. It's important we spend these precious moments together.
  Natalie: Oh, there'll be no precious moments tonight, darling. You know what I mean?
  Jeremy: I think I do.
  Natalie: No precious moments of any kind.
• Jeremy: Natalie, do you even know how to play poker?
  Natalie: The guys at Sigma Kappa Pi let me play in their poker game any time I wanted. Now, why do you suppose that was?
  Jeremy: 'Cause you're a knockout and your parents are loaded?
  Natalie: 'Cause I got game, baby.
  Jeremy: Have you fallen on your head?
• Natalie: Of my entire roster of boyfriends - and it is, believe me, quite the lengthy list - you are my least favorite.
  Jeremy: Hey, I'm just happy to be on the team.
• Sally: You've got a little thing for Casey, don't you?
  Dana: I can't tell you how little a thing I don't have.
• Natalie: I know why you're beating me so much.
  Jeremy: It's 'cause you're not a very good poker player.
  Natalie: That's not why.
  Jeremy: It really is.
  Natalie: Or, isn't it just possible, you're sitting in the good chair?
  Jeremy: No. What is possible is that the boys from Sigma Kappa Pi are a big honkin' bunch of LOSERS!
• Casey: (re: Sally) I'm just saying it's hard not to notice that the woman's body was put together by a technician very close to God.
  Dana: (incredulous) A technician close to God?
  Casey: Well, not God Himself, but certainly a high-level staff person, a senior VP.
  Dana: Well, her brain was put together by the assistant night guy at the 7-11.
• Casey: (re: Sally & the West Coast Update) Dana, you've either got to stand over that woman's shoulder or you have to call everyone in the Pacific time zone and tell them I'm not really like this.
• Jeremy: Natalie, listen to me. You've lost a lot of money to me tonight. You're basically going to be living the rest of your life on a charitable grant from the Jeremy Goodwin Foundation.
• Jeremy: I've got a straight. You've got three sevens.
  Natalie: You don't have a straight.
  Jeremy: Look at me. I'm not lying to you. I have a straight.
  Natalie: How do you know I don't have a big house?
  Jeremy: A full house. Dan already folded the six you needed and I have the other one. You don't have a house of any sort. You don't have a pup tent. You've got trip sevens and I have a straight. I want you to trust me right now. I want you to say to yourself, "Yeah, I've dated a string of jerks in my life. They were stupid, they were mean to me, but maybe this one's different. Maybe I should take a chance and not adopt the 'break up with him before he breaks my heart' strategy." I want you to remember that when I started liking you, I didn't stop liking tennis. And I want you to know that I don't think there's a woman in the world that you need to be threatened by, no matter how glamorous you think she is. But mostly, I want you to trust me, just once, when I tell you that you have three sevens... and I have a straight.
• Jeremy: Natalie, I think it's best if we spend tonight apart.
  Natalie: You're probably right. I've got no clothes at your place anyway, so I'd just end up having to wear one of your shirts, and I know how much you hate that.
  (Long pause as she stares innocently up at him)
  Jeremy: (slapping the table) I was never even in it!
  Natalie: (jumping up) Good night, everybody!