TVSquad

(S01E04) For some reason, I think this might have been the first episode of NewsRadio that I ever watched. That seems right to me, and I think I've seen it more times than any other NewsRadio episode, except maybe the episode where Matthew tries to get Dave to let him do a story about Dilbert.

This is the episode where we really see Dave getting in over his head as news director and his employees trying to take advantage of him. During a subway crisis, Dave wants the whole team to snap into action and cover the incident, but everyone is too obsessed with the new desk that Dave got Matthew.

It's funny how, in this early episode, Matthew actually goes out to dinner with Dave. This is, of course, way before Dave found out how weird Matthew was. But he finds out rather quickly. And then Lisa lets it slip that she went out to dinner with Dave more than once, and this just gets Phil and Katherine and Beth even more pissy. Joe? At first he wants one, then Dave points out "you're an electrician. You don't even need a desk!"

Jimmy brings in one of his business buddies to watch the team in action covering the crisis. But he spends most of the day just walking around the studio and eating Oreos.

Dave is trying to get exclusive access to the tunnel, but he keeps getting put on hold. Finally he decides to have Matthew just go down there and try to get in with a fake I.D. Dave stole from the commissioner. He's running around like a nut (this is one of the more hectic episodes), no one is listening to him, and every time he gets close to getting breaking news about the subway, he's foiled by one of his employees talking about desks (he gets a cell phone call from someone on the train, but loses the call after it's mixed up with the call from Phil's desk-selling buddy) or from Jimmy buying lunch for everyone and screwing things up.

In the end, the subway crisis turns out to be much ado about nothing, all of the desks are taken out without new ones brought in, and Dave has to agree to go out to dinner with everyone at least once.

Quotes:

"That's not a question." - Dave, to Bill, who said he had a question and then said "I don't have a new desk."

"So what's the story Dave, another subway commissioner whacked out on Mary Jane?" - Jimmy, trying to find out what the subway story is all about.