TV Squad http://www.tvsquad.com TV Squad http://www.tvsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gif TV Squad http://www.tvsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/DVD Review: NewsRadio: The Complete Fifth Seasonhttp://www.tvsquad.com/2007/03/23/dvd-review-newsradio-the-complete-fifth-season/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/03/23/dvd-review-newsradio-the-complete-fifth-season/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/03/23/dvd-review-newsradio-the-complete-fifth-season/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

NewsRadio season 5I think it can be universally agreed that the fifth season of NewsRadio - the final season - was by far the worst season of the series. Not only was Phil Hartman killed during the hiatus, but another cast member (Jon Lovitz) came on board and just didn't fit in to what the rest of the group had built over the previous four seasons.

The season kicks off with the "Bill Moves On" episode, where the gang has just returned from Bill's funeral (he died of a heart attack), and everyone mocks Dave's 2 hour eulogy. Matthew doesn't really believe Bill is dead, everyone thinks Lisa is drunk, and Catherine (Khandi Alexander) returns to the show for one episode. This is one of the better episodes of the last season, because it's important to the show's history and (as is revealed on one of the commentaries), they didn't really rehearse it or do any run throughs. It was hard enough getting through it once on tape night. The tears you see are real. It ends with everyone taking an item off Bill's desk to remember him. Jimmy takes the whole desk. A nice tribute.

Continue reading DVD Review: NewsRadio: The Complete Fifth Season

 

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]]>andy dickdave foleyDaveFoleyjoe roganjon lovitzmaura tierneynew hampshirenewsradio season 5NewsradioSeason5paul simmsphil hartmanradio stationstephen rootvicki lewiswnyxBob SassoneFri, 23 Mar 2007 18:06:00 ESTThis NewsRadio DVD cover depresses mehttp://www.tvsquad.com/2007/01/14/this-newsradio-dvd-cover-depresses-me/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/01/14/this-newsradio-dvd-cover-depresses-me/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/01/14/this-newsradio-dvd-cover-depresses-me/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

NewsRadio season 5 dvdFor two reasons. The obvious reason is because Phil Hartman isn't in the picture. Instead, we get Jon Lovitz, who pretty much made the last season of the show unwatchable (except for a couple of episodes). He was really out of place as a regular cast member on the show (though he was great in the guest roles he had earlier in the series), and his character was completely unlikable.

But the second reason I'm not thrilled with the pic is that the original artwork on the box actually had Phil Hartman on it (you can see it here). The cast was standing in front of a picture of Hartman. In the new version, the cast is standing in front of a picture of New York City. Yeah, Hartman wasn't in the last season, but wouldn't that have been a nice nod to Hartman in the final set? The first episode of the season is about Bill McNeal's death, after all.

The fifth season set will be released on March 20.

 

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]]>andy dickdave foleyjoe roganjon lovitzmaura tierneyphil hartmanPhilHartmanstephen rootvicki lewisVickiLewiswnyxBob SassoneSun, 14 Jan 2007 15:16:00 ESTNewsRadio: Sweeps Weekhttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/22/newsradio-sweeps-week/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/22/newsradio-sweeps-week/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/22/newsradio-sweeps-week/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Janeane Garofalo(S01E07) Along with Mary Tyler Moore and Amy Sedaris, I've always had a crush on Janeane Garofalo. I remember being happy when this episode came on, since I had loved her standup and her work on The Ben Stiller Show (with Andy Dick). She plays Nancy, Dave's ex-girlfriend who seems nice on the outside but is really kind of a nut. She comes to New York City to be with Dave, who never quite told her that they were officially broken up.

Meanwhile, Jimmy meets a business and technology "visionary" named Tom at a conference and arranges for him to be interviewed by Bill, but that doesn't turn out quite as Jimmy or Dave had hoped...

Continue reading NewsRadio: Sweeps Week

 

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]]>andy dickbusiness expertBusinessExpertcomputersdave foleyjaneane garofaloJaneaneGarofalojoe rogankhandi alexandermaura tierneyphil hartmanvicki lewiswnyxBob SassoneSat, 22 Jul 2006 22:32:00 ESTNewsRadio: Luncheon at the Waldorfhttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/15/newsradio-luncheon-at-the-waldorf/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/15/newsradio-luncheon-at-the-waldorf/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/15/newsradio-luncheon-at-the-waldorf/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

NewsRadio(S01E06) This is one of the first episodes to show that Bill isn't always the type of person everyone thinks he is. He asks Beth to go with him to an industry luncheon, and everyone assumes that he's just asking her because he wants to "make his move" on her, as Matthew puts it. She starts to think that he has ulterior motives, especially after he requests that she wear her sexy blue dress.

Meanwhile, Dave discovers that the station is $6000 overbudget, and he does some investigating to figure out what's going on.

Continue reading NewsRadio: Luncheon at the Waldorf

 

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]]>bethbill and beth's datebill mcnealblue dressdave foleymaura tierneyphil hartmanvicki lewisVickiLewiswnyxBob SassoneSat, 15 Jul 2006 20:08:00 ESTNewsRadio: Big Dayhttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/08/newsradio-big-day/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/08/newsradio-big-day/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/08/newsradio-big-day/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

NewsRadio(S01E05) This episode has one of my favorite scenes of any sitcom ever. It's a scene that probably wasn't even that funny on paper, but Phil Hartman makes hysterical.

The plot: while Jimmy gives Dave the task of deciding who gets what bonus this year (and who gets "the shaft" - nothing), Bill has to contend with fellow employees leaving food and drink on his desk.

Continue reading NewsRadio: Big Day

 

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]]>bill mcnealdave foleykhandi alexanderphil hartmanstephen rootthe shaftwnyxBob SassoneSat, 08 Jul 2006 20:00:00 ESTNewsRadio: The Crisishttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/01/newsradio-the-crisis/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/01/newsradio-the-crisis/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/07/01/newsradio-the-crisis/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Stephen Root(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.

Continue reading NewsRadio: The Crisis

 

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]]>andy dickdave foleydesksjimmy jamesmatthew brockmaura tierneyphil hartmanstephen rootsubway crisiswnyxBob SassoneSat, 01 Jul 2006 22:24:00 ESTDVD review: NewsRadio, season 4http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/28/dvd-review-newsradio-season-4/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/28/dvd-review-newsradio-season-4/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/28/dvd-review-newsradio-season-4/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Khandi AlexanderSeason three of NewsRadio is the best season of the show. Having said that, season four has quite a number of gems too. You can see that this was the season that they started to tinker with the show: they brought in new cast members, they switched around the jobs of a few characters, they fired Matthew, introduced more of story arcs over several episodes, and they started to have more surreal moments. Not all of it works (I, for one, was a fan of the Dave/Lisa romance, and breaking them up and then having them switch jobs put the show out of whack in a way), but this set is a lot of fun.

Continue reading DVD review: NewsRadio, season 4

 

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]]>andy dickdave foleyjoe roganjon lovitzkhandi alexandermaura tierneynewsradio dvdsphil hartmanPhilHartmanstephen roottitanicvicki lewiswnyxBob SassoneWed, 28 Jun 2006 12:30:00 ESTNewsRadio: Smokinghttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/24/newsradio-smoking/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/24/newsradio-smoking/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/24/newsradio-smoking/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Phil Hartman(S01E03) Another funny episode, as a new no smoking ordinance in the office causes problems for Bill, who smokes like a chimney. And, because any problem for Bill ultimately becomes a problem for Dave, Dave has to give up drinking coffee, to help Bill with his addiction.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Joe are nervous around each other because they saw each other at the movie theater. Lisa thinks it's because Joe knows about her and Dave, but it's actually something else...

Continue reading NewsRadio: Smoking

 

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]]>andy dickcigarettesdave foleyDaveFoleydrinking coffeejoe rogankhandi alexandermaura tierneystephen rootvicki lewiswnyxBob SassoneSat, 24 Jun 2006 18:56:00 ESTNewsRadio: Inappropriatehttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/17/newsradio-inappropriate/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/17/newsradio-inappropriate/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/17/newsradio-inappropriate/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Foley and Tierney(S01E02) The second episode (after the pilot) of NewsRadio was actually the third episode filmed, and it introduces the Dave/Lisa relationship storyline. Paul Simms mentions in the commentary that NBC wanted Dave and Lisa to not get together so quickly, because they wanted a long dance a la Sam and Diane on Cheers. Actually, I think putting them together right away was a brilliant move, because it's different than what every other show does, it gives a nice base for all the episodes to start from, and it gives a great running subplot for the first half of the season. I also think that Dave telling Beth about the affair is a great move. It gives a secret for them to keep for the first half while also showing that Dave trusts Beth. A nice touch to get some closeness between the characters.

While Dave and Lisa argue about how their relationship shoud progress, Bill annoys Catherine by throwing her a birthday party and Matthew screws up Joey Buttafuoco's name on the air.

Continue reading NewsRadio: Inappropriate

 

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]]>andy dickdave foleyDaveFoleymaura tierneyphil hartmanstephen rootwnyxBob SassoneSat, 17 Jun 2006 19:47:00 ESTNewsRadio: Pilothttp://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/10/newsradio-pilot/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/10/newsradio-pilot/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/10/newsradio-pilot/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

NewsRadio(S01E01) I overheard someone the other day say that they had never seen an episode of NewsRadio. And this wasn't someone who didn't watch much television, it was a big TV fan that had somehow missed this show. He asked what it was like and the answer was "as smart as Arrested Development, but with a more basic sitcom format," and I thought that was a good description.

This first episode focuses on Dave Nelson, a young news industry professional from the Midwest, who comes to NYC to be the new news director of WNYX. When he gets there, he finds out that not only are the other employees an "interesting" bunch, but he also has to fire Ed Harlow, the current news director.

Continue reading NewsRadio: Pilot

 

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]]>andy dickdave foleyDaveFoleyjoe rogankhandi alexandermaura tierneynew york radio stationphil hartmanstephen rootwnyxBob SassoneSat, 10 Jun 2006 19:59:00 ESTThe big finales are over, so now what?http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/05/26/the-big-finales-are-over-so-now-what/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/05/26/the-big-finales-are-over-so-now-what/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/05/26/the-big-finales-are-over-so-now-what/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

retro squadThe big finales are finally over. Though we have a few cool premieres starting in the coming weeks, from Rescue Me (5/30) to Deadwood (6/11), let's face it -- TV isn't the same after May sweeps. The question that's floated around the TV Squad headquarters in the past couple of months has been, "what else can we review for the readers?" Enter "Retro Squad."

Starting this coming Sunday, we're going to take you back in time just a little bit. Remember all of those great shows that are no longer airing, either from being cancelled or ending long runs and taking a bow? Or maybe you remember the first seasons of shows still on the air? Of course you do; it's what makes you one of the millions of fans of these cult-classic shows. Well, we're going to bring them back to you, one episode at a time, every week. Read on for the exciting details.

Continue reading The big finales are over, so now what?

 

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]]>first seasonsFirstSeasonsretroretro squadRetroSquadreviewsseason 1season oneSeason1SeasonOneshowsspecial guestsSpecialGuestsKeith McDuffeeFri, 26 May 2006 12:45:00 EST