Dan Rydell
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| Daniel Rydell | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Pilot |
| Last appearance | Quo Vadimus |
| Information | |
| Age | 31 (at series end) |
| Occupation | Sportsanchor for Sports Night |
| Family | Jacob "Jay" Rydell (father) Mother David Rydell (older brother) Sam Rydell (younger brother, deceased) A Sister |
| Portrayed by | Josh Charles |
| Created by | Aaron Sorkin |
Daniel "Dan" Rydell (born 1969) is one of the lead characters of the ABC dramedy Sports Night which lasted from 1998 until 2000. Dan was played by actor Josh Charles.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Dan is a sports anchor for the CSC evening sports program Sports Night along with his partner for ten years, Casey McCall. Four years younger, Dan has the reputation as being the "cool" one of the pair while Casey is the more respected (and better-paid) of the two. Dan's comparative lack of recognition is often a sore spot between the two as Dan puts just as much effort into the creation of the show as Casey does. While Casey has won awards, Dan has only been nominated for them. Despite these sources of tension, Dan and Casey are fiercely loyal to each other and are as close, or closer, than brothers.
Dan attended Dartmouth College, a fact he is very proud of although he often does not let his intelligent, well-educated side show. Born in a wealthy upbringing Connecticut, Dan is a practicing Jew who celebrates Christmas as well.
Behind a veneer of sarcasm and charm, Dan is haunted by a variety of mental and psychological issues that have plagued him since he was a teen. Dan's genius younger brother, Sam, got involved in drug use (thanks to Dan's influence) which ended up costing him his life in a car accident. Sam's death caused Dan to get his act together, but caused a rift between Dan and his parents, particularly his father, who blames him for Sam's fate. Since that day, personal relationships and interaction have been extremely difficult for Dan who constantly feels the need to put on a show and only feels comfortable with people when performing. Although it would be imperceptible to someone who doesn't know him well, as Dan is often the life of the party, these feelings would often manifest themselves as cold sweats or even vomitting immediately following personal interraction.
[edit] Similarities between Dan Rydell and Josh Lyman
There are many similarities between Dan and one of the main characters of creator Aaron Sorkin's other show The West Wing, Josh Lyman. Both are wealthy Jews from Connecticut who despite a sarcastic and outgoing veneer deal privately with severe psychological issues that include issues of guilt resulting from the death of a sibling.
[edit] Relationship with Rebecca
One of Dan's most significant storylines during the run of the show was his relationship with Rebecca Wells, a market analyst who worked in the same building. Dan was introduced to Rebecca on an elevator by Natalie and he believes they hit it off. Natalie began pestering Dan to ask Rebecca out which he was hesitant to do as he had begun seeing someone else. Eventually Dan went up to Rebecca's office to apologize for not asking her out, only to have Rebecca claim that she doesn't remember him and never told Natalie to have him call her. Rebecca's apparent lack of interest in him causes Dan's interest in her to rise and he begins an aggressive pursuit of her, during which he finds out that Rebecca did remember him and was feigning her lack of interest because of her turbulent relationship with her ex-husband sport caster Steve Cisco who, due to his similar profession to Dan, Rebecca assumed Dan was just like. Dan is soon able to prove how different he and Steve are and the two begin to date, their relationship often made difficult by Rebecca's defensive emotional wall.
Just as Dan and Rebecca seem to be getting past Rebecca's past issues with Steve, he returns to her life and Rebecca is forced to admit that she and Steve are not divorced, but separated and that Steve wants the two of them to go into counseling. Although initially livid with Rebecca both for lying and for still wanting Steve in her life, Dan respects that the two of them are married and that if there's a chance for them to work it out, they should take it. It takes a little while for Rebecca to make up her mind between Dan and Steve but she eventually opts for her husband and Dan and Rebecca part ways.
In the penultimate episode of the series Dan recieves flowers signed "R.W." and for a while the always glib Dan goes around telling people he's been sent flowers from the likes of Robert Wagner or Raquel Welch until someone mentions Rebecca's name in passing and Dan suddenly makes the connection. Rebecca returns in the flesh in the next episode, the series finale, where she tells Dan that she and Steve are divorced (for real this time) and asks him to dinner. At the time, Sports Night is under threat of being cancelled and if it is Dan is headed to Los Angeles to anchor a sports program out there. Due to not knowing in which city his future is, Dan pre-emptively ends things with Rebecca because he can't have his feelings for her play a factor. In the final scene of the series Dan (along with Casey) learns Sports Night isn't going to be cancelled after all and that they're staying in New York leaving the implication that Dan and Rebecca will find their way back to each other.
[edit] Trivia
- Although he's obviously a major sports fan, Dan's sports tastes are highly eclectic. For instance he loathes soccer but loves offshore yacht racing and other water sports.
- He is left-handed.
- Despite a capable intellect, he is frequently scatter-brained. Once argued vehemently that he had neither slept with substitute anchor Bobbi Bernstein nor ever been to Spain (where Bobbi claimed the tryst happened). He was later shown photographic evidence that he was wrong.
- He didn't realize that Kim, one of the show's producers, wasn't his secretary until almost five years into the job.
- A recurring joke involves Dan continously referring to various sports as "The Sport of Kings" and being informed that it's horse racing that's The Sport of Kings.
- He nominated Babe Didrikson Zaharias as Athlete of the Century.
- His favorite singer is Tom Waits.
