On the Air (1992– )

In the 1950s, a group of television performers attempt to put together a live variety program and often find disastrous results.

Writers:

Mark Frost (creator), David Lynch (creator),

Stars:

Ian Buchanan, Nancye Ferguson, Miguel Ferrer

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ian Buchanan	...	Lester Guy (7 episodes, 1992)
Nancye Ferguson	...	Ruth Trueworthy (7 episodes, 1992)
Miguel Ferrer	...	Bud Budwaller (7 episodes, 1992)
Gary Grossman	...	Bert Schein (7 episodes, 1992)
Mel Johnson Jr.	...	Mickey (7 episodes, 1992)
Marvin Kaplan	...	Dwight McGonigle (7 episodes, 1992)
David L. Lander	...	Valdja Gochktch (7 episodes, 1992)
Kim McGuire	...	Nicole Thorne (7 episodes, 1992)
Marla Rubinoff	...	Betty Hudson (7 episodes, 1992)
Tracey Walter	...	'Blinky' Watts (7 episodes, 1992)
Raleigh Friend	...	Hurry Up Twin (7 episodes, 1992)
Raymond Friend	...	Hurry Up Twin (7 episodes, 1992)
Buddy Douglas	...	Buddy Morris (7 episodes, 1992)
Irwin Keyes	...	Shorty the Stagehand (7 episodes, 1992)
Everett Greenbaum	...	ZBC Announcer (6 episodes, 1992)

Storyline

The year is 1957. The cast and crew of the Lester Guy Show are extremely apprehensive about their upcoming live television broadcast on the Zoblotnick Broadcasting Co. network. Lester Guy despises fellow cast member Betty Hudson for unknowingly becoming more popular than him and schemes to destroy her career. Only two of the seven episodes were written by David Lynch.

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Plot Keywords:

television | murphy's law | television director | television production | avant garde | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

On the Air - Voll auf Sendung

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lynch/Frost Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (7 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This series was a mid-season replacement in 1992. Seven episodes were made, but only 2 episodes were shown as scheduled, the 3rd episode was pre-empted in most of the US.

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Quotes

Buddy Budwaller: Betty Hudson is a mistake. She's not an actress. She's not the star of the show. She's a receptionist waiting to happen.

User Reviews

"On The Air" is by far the most hilarious show ever aired. I've never forgotten it after 13 years.

When I accidentally caught the pilot episode of "On The Air" on ABC in 1992, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was 13 years old at the time and up to this point, no TV show had ever made me laugh out loud. It just wasn't something I did, even when I thought something was funny. Then came "On The Air."

Watching this show for the first time was like taking a trip to some other universe. I couldn't stop laughing, and I'm talking about that annoying, over the top, tears in the eyes laughing. It was totally and completely out of control! It felt GREAT! I had never seen anything even remotely similar to this before and I knew in the first few minutes that I had just discovered my new favorite show. I'm still kicking myself for having missed the opportunity to record it.

I waited faithfully every week for "On The Air" to come on channel 4. Then one week, after only 3 episodes, "On The Air" did not air. In it's place was some stupid game show or something. I don't remember, I was too upset. I paned and started combing the TV Guides to see if maybe the show had been moved to another day or time. Alas, it was not to be. My new favorite show had been ripped out from under without any warning. I NEVER forgot this show after that, and until I found the posts on this site today, I literally thought I could very well be the only person on Earth who remembered this show.

With any luck, the show will eventually be released on DVD in attempts to recoup the losses. I'll be the first in line to buy a set. Why would a station dump such a good show? The only thing I can figure is that, and to use a classic cliché, it was simply way ahead of it's time. If this show were new today (and probably on a network like FOX) it's pretty obvious that it would be a much bigger success. Maybe we should start a petition to re-run the show? Does anyone know how to do this?