As I announced last week, instead of picking one classic drama season to revisit over the summer, I'm trying an experiment, highlighting different classic sitcom episodes from the past. First up for this summer sitcom rewind: "The Public Domain" and "Super Karate Monkey Death Car," a pair of "NewsRadio" episodes from early in the show's fourth season, coming up just as soon as I have fancy plans, and pants to match... In terms of their status at the time they aired, "NewsRadio" is among the more obscure shows I expect I'll be dealing with this summer. The mid-'90s was a pretty great period for TV comedy: "Seinfeld" at its peak, "The Simpsons" at its peak or close to it, "Frasier" presenting classical excellence each week and each season, "Friends" being a phenomenon, etc., plus other series like "3rd Rock from the Sun" and "The Drew Carey Show" that had...
- 6/4/2014
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
NewsRadio Season 1, Episode 1 “Pilot”
Written by Paul Simms
Directed by James Burrows
Aired 3/21/1995 on NBC
Airing as a mid-season replacement after the failure of The Martin Short Show and the Gene Wilder vehicle Something Wilder, it still boggles me to this day that NewsRadio wasn’t more popular in its time. Debuting between Wings and Frasier (two shows it would often be sandwiched between over the years), NewsRadio never achieved the same mainstream penetration as other seminal NBC comedies from the same era, teetering on the edge of cancellation and ending in tragedy, airing a creative but deflated fifth season in the shadow of Phil Hartman’s murder.
Revisiting NewsRadio‘s pilot, it still astounds me the show never took off. Mixing farce with hilarious ironies, the pilot opens with Wnyx’s new news director Dave Nelson (a post-Kidz in the Hall Dave Foley) arriving (approximately) 35 seconds early to...
Written by Paul Simms
Directed by James Burrows
Aired 3/21/1995 on NBC
Airing as a mid-season replacement after the failure of The Martin Short Show and the Gene Wilder vehicle Something Wilder, it still boggles me to this day that NewsRadio wasn’t more popular in its time. Debuting between Wings and Frasier (two shows it would often be sandwiched between over the years), NewsRadio never achieved the same mainstream penetration as other seminal NBC comedies from the same era, teetering on the edge of cancellation and ending in tragedy, airing a creative but deflated fifth season in the shadow of Phil Hartman’s murder.
Revisiting NewsRadio‘s pilot, it still astounds me the show never took off. Mixing farce with hilarious ironies, the pilot opens with Wnyx’s new news director Dave Nelson (a post-Kidz in the Hall Dave Foley) arriving (approximately) 35 seconds early to...
- 3/28/2014
- by Randy Dankievitch
- SoundOnSight
I posted my review of "How to Be a Gentleman" earlier today. Now it's your turn. For those of you who watched - whether you're a Rickety Cricket fan, a Johnny Drama fan, a Murray Hewitt fan, Chloe O'Brien or Dave Nelson fan, or simply someone who left the TV on after "Big Bang Theory" - what did you think? Did you find it funny? Do you intend to come back for more? Did all the characters step out of a time machine from 1997? Have at it.
- 9/30/2011
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
“Smoking” is one of my favorite episodes of NewsRadio, because for purposes of this episode, I am Dave Nelson. For me it was Mountain Dew instead of coffee, but I was a serious caffeine addict who tried to quit, and it was pretty much just like this episode. Humor is so much funnier if you’ve actually experienced whatever it is you’re supposed to be laughing at.
There’s a new state law which officially makes Wnyx a non-smoking office, much to Matthew’s delight and Bill’s annoyance. In an effort to get Bill to comply with the law, Dave agrees to give up his own vice of coffee and suffer along with him. Meanwhile, Lisa becomes paranoid that Joe spotted her and Dave while they were out on a date at the movies the night before, making her worried that their relationship will be exposed.
By the day after their agreement,...
There’s a new state law which officially makes Wnyx a non-smoking office, much to Matthew’s delight and Bill’s annoyance. In an effort to get Bill to comply with the law, Dave agrees to give up his own vice of coffee and suffer along with him. Meanwhile, Lisa becomes paranoid that Joe spotted her and Dave while they were out on a date at the movies the night before, making her worried that their relationship will be exposed.
By the day after their agreement,...
- 9/27/2010
- by Brittany Frederick
- TVovermind.com
Original Air Date: March 21, 1995
It’s time for a new spotlight here at Rewind Recaps, and after exploring the dramatic side of New York with the best of the first season of Third Watch, I thought we’d lighten up a little with another New York-based show that also aired on NBC.
NewsRadio (1995-1999) was the genesis of the modern workplace sitcom, and is probably one of the best comedies ever to see the airwaves. As a kid, I grew up watching this and Wings. Imagine my surprise to rediscover it on TV recently and realize that fifteen years later, it’s still just as funny as I thought it was then. The only thing that’s changed is I no longer have my childhood crush on Dave Foley. (Although I did meet him in 2004 and again in 2006, when I was covering Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown, and I can...
It’s time for a new spotlight here at Rewind Recaps, and after exploring the dramatic side of New York with the best of the first season of Third Watch, I thought we’d lighten up a little with another New York-based show that also aired on NBC.
NewsRadio (1995-1999) was the genesis of the modern workplace sitcom, and is probably one of the best comedies ever to see the airwaves. As a kid, I grew up watching this and Wings. Imagine my surprise to rediscover it on TV recently and realize that fifteen years later, it’s still just as funny as I thought it was then. The only thing that’s changed is I no longer have my childhood crush on Dave Foley. (Although I did meet him in 2004 and again in 2006, when I was covering Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown, and I can...
- 9/12/2010
- by Brittany Frederick
- TVovermind.com
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right Here for free.
Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Sita Sings the Blues - Quick Review
Sooooo….this is awkward.
I want to start off by making clear my stance on this DVD is that you should buy it. Go right out and purchase it any which way you can.
My second point is that not only is this a movie the venerable Roger Ebert reviewed glowingly on his blog a year ago but you can go on the film’s website and watch it for free.
Like Roger, I didn’t really have a strong passion...
The Archives, Right Here
I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right Here for free.
Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Sita Sings the Blues - Quick Review
Sooooo….this is awkward.
I want to start off by making clear my stance on this DVD is that you should buy it. Go right out and purchase it any which way you can.
My second point is that not only is this a movie the venerable Roger Ebert reviewed glowingly on his blog a year ago but you can go on the film’s website and watch it for free.
Like Roger, I didn’t really have a strong passion...
- 12/28/2009
- by Christopher Stipp
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