Newsradio The Complete First and Second Seasons

The show "NewsRadio" first came on TV, in 1995, just before I stopped watching sit-coms in 1996. I recall looking forward to it then, so after I finished my watching every episode of "The West Wing" in order, I looked around for something new, and I was reminded of this show, which had a lot of promise, because I enjoyed it when it first aired, I only saw the first, and maybe the second season when it was broadcast, and one of the stars is Stephen Root, who was a featured guest star on Season Seven of "The West Wing." One may be inclined to compare this to "The Mary Tyler Moore" show, but that's unfair in many ways, except that "The Mary Tyler Moore" show created the character types against which "NewsRadio played. A closer comparision is with "WKRP in Cincinnati" which was produced by the MTM, Mary Tyler Moore's production company. "Mary Tyler Moore" was stronger than both, because it had two rather than just one focal point. It played out both in the studio and in Mary's apartment. It's odd Stephen Foley is given top billing as the new station manager, who, in the pilot, is expected to fire the old station manager. We immediately see this character seems to have only the most modest amount of backbone, a strong contrast to the fire-breathing news manager, Lou Grant. His affair with Nr. 4 billed Maura Tierney seems to occupy the center of the story arcs in the first two seasons. But most of the real sparks come from Stephen Root, the entrepeneur who owns the station "on a whim", and who mixes some of the oddest quirky behavior with eminantly good business sense. The actor in the trailing, and therefore place of second highest honor, is Phil Hartman, who is a strong contrast to the hapless Ted Knight on MTM. He is totally competent, and is recognized as such by his peers in New York City Radio. In many ways Root and Hartman get most of the best gags. The "goof-offs", the roles comparable to Les Nessman and Herb Tarlik on "WKRP" are played by Andy Dick and Vicki Lewis. These are the characters whose persona tends to wear out faster than the others. Joe Rogan, the handyman / electrician has the advantage of being in the background much of the time, so it is easy for him to surprise you, as he did when he was put on the air to replace a sick broadcaster, and did remarkably well. It's not unlike the gag when Jim Ignatowski sat down at the piano and started playing beautifully (on "Taxi"). Khandi Alexander is the last listed regular star, and has a role which, in these two seasons at least, are virtually pure "straight man" (sic). I recall no lines where he casts the punch line of a joke. Her primary role is to punch holes in the windbag of Phil Hartman's character. Foley and Tierney are also prinary the straight roles against which the Dick, Root, Hartman, and Lewis play. They are the Alex Rieger ("Taxi") and Andy Travis ("WKRP") roles who try to keep things together, but rarely succeed. One thing I like about this kind of show (you expect it with big dramas like "The West Wing", but not in comedies done with about 1/10th the budget) is when they have guest stars, which average about one every two episodes. Mostly, they are "Hey, look who it is!" episodes, with people like John Ritter, Norm MacDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, and Janeane Garofalo. They add interest to a single show, and don't reappear. My main impression on seeing three or four episodes a night is that one gets very used to the quirks of the characters, and you can start anticipating their reactions. There is only one story line, the affair between Foley and Tierney, which bridges more than two episodes. It starts around episode two or three, and runs to the end of the second season. In those two seasons, not much else happens. What we don't also have is one or two "GREAT" scenes, like the infamous "WKRP" scene when live turkeys are dropped from a helicopter before Thanksgiving, which ranks as Nr. 40 in TV Guide's 100 greatest TV episodes. Each episode is a little gem. None are especially weak, and none are especially strong, in these first two seasons. This may play much better as viewing with your siginificant other than by yourself. That's what romantic comedies are for, after all. Note that I sensed none of the problems some reviewers complained about regarding "compression". It all looks fine to me, on a conventional TV, the kind I used to watch it 17 years ago. Read more

In the spirit of ensemble pieces like "Taxi," oddball half-realities like "The Bob Newhart Show," and slapstick like "The Three Stooges" came a show called "NewsRadio." Created by Paul Simms (who also worked on the hilarious "The Larry Sanders Show"), "NewsRadio" focused on the workaday lives of those employed at WNYX, a New York radio station. In spite of network ambivalence, an almost lethal dose of time-slot shuffling, and a dismal want of marketing, the show earned a devoted following, even winning an Emmy in the process. Maybe it was the dialogue, which sparkles with a creative wit that never devolves into predictable puns or cheesy gags. Maybe it was the stories; nut-bar plot-lines about stolen gelatos, interns straight out of "Single White Female," unnecessary canes, sinister Santas, and employees being used as bets in poker games. But where its success really lay was in the characters. The odd-ball Matthew (Andy Dick), the eccentric, millionaire boss, Jimmy James (Stephen Root), the unabomber-inspired handyman, Joe (Joe Rogan), the vain and acerbic anchors, Bill and Katherine (Phil Hartman and Khandi Alexander), the ditzy secretary, Beth (Vicki Lewis), and -- the most "normal" of the crew -- reporter Lisa (Maura Tierney) and news director Dave (David Foley). The talent in the list is obvious. Root is a flawless character actor, and Dick, Foley, and Hartman had already (by this time) all proven their salt in previous, take-no-prisoners comedy troupes (The Ben Stiller Show, The Kids in the Hall, and SNL during its golden years, respectively). It was the competence of the actors and actresses that kept the show's sillier elements from seeming like wackiness-just-for-the-sake-of-wackiness. And when "NewsRadio" wasn't holding rat funerals or holding practical joke wars, it was breathing new life into stories that might otherwise have been mundane and full of old jokes. See Bill and Dave's attempt to beat their addictions to cigarettes and coffee. See how Dave deals with overheard complaints about his style of management. Or, perhaps most acutely, see how the show deals with the secret office romance between Dave and Lisa. While most shows spend entire seasons taunting the audience with sexual tension and the question of "will they hook up?" "NewsRadio" wisely decided that the real comedic gold lay in the relationship itself, and not in its likelihood. But that's the true genius of the show -- finding humor wherever it's possible, and milking it for all its worth. In the hands of such able writers and even abler on-screen talent, this collection is a gem, made even more valuable by the inclusion of a satisfyingly long gag reel and twenty episode commentaries. Each commentary is almost as funny as the show itself, delivered by a cast of comedians, offering up not just their own bonhomous jokes about Life On The Set (the chemistry between Rogan and Dick, the exploits of a misguided costume designer, the methods writers used to come up with ideas), but even feeding us some tasty insider tidbits (including pointing out cameos you would otherwise miss, discussing the stress of the network's schedule shuffling, and the fact that Ray Romano was actually fired from the show before the first episode aired). Every once in a while a comedy airs that surpasses expectations so much that people tend not to understand or value it for what it's really worth. Most recently there was "Arrested Development." Before that "Mr. Show." "NewsRadio" has the dubious distinction of being on that list; an incisive, happily warm-hearted (if not shale-edged) and gut-busting show that never really had a chance the first time around (especially after the unfortunate demise of Hartman). Here's its chance, again, after so many years. I suggest you take it. [...] Read more