NewsRadio

NewsRadio has to be one of the most wittiest television sitcoms the 90's has to offer. Every character is wonderfully written and hilariously portrayed by a cast of excellent actors. Dave Foley, from Kids in the Hall, is great at playing the dead pan and sarcastic new boss "Dave." And of course Phil Hartman and Andy Dick steal the show as a great combination of stand up and slapstick. This show is one of the funniest ever!

I have to say, I really didn't get into this show until A&E started showing it in reruns. I really miss the fact that there are no new shows that will ever come because NBC didn't have the foresight to place it on its Thursday night lineup. In that time slot it would have easily outpaced such dogs as Veronica's closet even without Phil Hartman (I raise my glass to you sir).

While Phil Hartman was truly the glue to the show, it did start to make a recovery after the writers and Lovitz started to make some sense of what to do with his character (I think it might have been good to use him as his original role as a mental patient).

I think Steven Root's character was possibly the greatest TV boss in history. He was nuts! If you think that his character was little unrealistic for a multi billionaire, just look at the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban. I was glad to see him again in the movies in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"

The writing was always fresh. The actors were all perfect for the role's they played (I am NOT an Andy Dick fan, but he even worked in this show). The humor was sometimes understated, sometimes slapstick, but always funny.

NewsRadio was an excellent and clever show, yet it was cancelled while shows like Suddenly Susan (which when you really think about it rips off NewsRadio) got to continue. What's with that? Granted, the series never recovered from the loss of Phil Hartman, but NewsRadio was still good and way better than other shows on NBC or any other networks. The cast was great, especially Phil Hartman. Jon Lovitz was not as good as Phil Hartman, but he was a good replacement and funny. My favorite episode would be the one where Bill gets a piano and sings hilarious songs about the government and Dave keeps trying to stop him. Hilarious. NBC, cancelling this series makes you the dumbest network in the world without a doubt. And with a network like Fox around, that saying something.

I can't believe I'm the first person to write about this gem! I didn't discover it until after Phil Hartman had been killed and the show was in it's final year. A friend forced me to watch the late-night reruns; I was and am forever hooked.

The writing is the kind of inspired lunacy that flourished briefly in the 1930's--smart sharp and deliberately, hilariously dumb. Packed full of pratfalls, zingers, visual puns, inside jokes, sharp satire and side steps into the downright surreal.

All the actors were great, but especially Phil Hartmen (true genius); Dave Foley; Andy Dick (poor guy) and a generally underestimated, marvelous Steven Root. Maura Tierney, Vicki Lewis and Khandi Alexander all shine but it's the guys who really get the guffaws.

Nearly every episode has classic moments, but the corkers are The Titanic ; The Space Station; Mr. Jame's Balloon Flight; Bill McNeal in Bellvue (?); The Secret of Management and The Halloween Party.

While Phil Hartman was alive he and Jon Lovitz paired up in a few episodes and were wonderful foils for eachother, but after Hartman's death, no matter how hard Lovitz and the rest of the crew tried, the show just wasn't the same.

If you haven't watched this show do it. It's one of the last bastions of real laughs left on television and one of the rare cases where you can honestly say "thank God for reruns."

***Note Hartman's picture on 'Dave's' desk til the very end.

A true classic, one of the funniest shows in the history of television. It's a shame that Phil Hartman passed away, which basically was the beginning of the end. I can understand why they tried a fifth season, but it wasn't the same. Newsradio was smart, funny and had an amazing cast from top to bottom. A&E airs reruns daily from 8-9 am, and 2-3 pm. Definitely worth a look, you'll not be disappointed.