NewsRadio Season 5 DVD

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6788

Culver City, Calif. (January 8, 2007) - Dave Foley, Jon Lovitz, Andy Dick, Maura Tierney and the crew from radio station WNYX are back for their last season of madcap office politics and crazy co-worker hijinks when NewsRadio: The Complete Fifth Season debuts on DVD March 20 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The three-disc set consists of all 22 episodes and bonus features including commentaries on select episodes with filmmakers, bloopers, and a new featurette. The series will be priced at $39.95 SRP. The brilliant ensemble cast of comedians features Dave Foley (TV's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," "Kids in the Hall"), Jon Lovitz (TV's "Saturday Night Live," A League of Their Own), Joe Rogan (TV's "Fear Factor"), Andy Dick (TV's "Less Than Perfect"), Maura Tierney (TV's "ER"), and Vicki Lewis (Finding Nemo). Guest appearances during the show's fifth season include Adam West (TV's "Batman"), Tiffani Thiessen (TV's "Beverly Hills, 90210"), and Patrick Warburton (Puddy from TV's "Seinfeld"). Following its debut on NBC on March 21, 1995, NewsRadio was considered one of the wittiest sitcoms of the '90s, and was nominated for three Emmy® Awards (winning one) over the course of its 5-season, 97-episode run. Created and written by Paul Simms (TV's "The Larry Sanders Show") and executive-produced by Bernie Brillstein (The Replacement Killers, TV's "Just Shoot Me") and Brad Grey (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, TV's "Just Shoot Me"), NewsRadio's top-notch writing lampooned the often ridiculous situations inherent in office politics and the media's corporate world. NewsRadio: The Complete Fifth Season episodes include:

 

1. Bill Moves On

2. Meet The Max Louis

3. Lucky Burger

4. Noise

5. Flowers for Mathew

6. Jail

7. The Lam

8. Clash of the Titans

9. Boston

10. Spooking Rapping Crypt

11. Stinkbutt

12. Apartment

13. Towers

14. Hair

15. Assistant

16. Wino

17. Wedding

18. Ploy

19. Padded Suit

20. Freaky Friday

21. Retirement

22. New Hampshire

 

DVD Special Features Include:

 

* Bloopers

* "The Lost Episode" Featurette

* Filmmaker Commentaries on Select Episodes

 

Obviously, this is the weakest season, but still worth the buy if you're a fan of the show. "Bill Moves On" itself is worth the buy.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

What's the story with this so-called "The Lost Episode" Featurette?

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

"Bill Moves On" is the only time a sitcom made me teary-eyed. Still, this was a shitty season. I'll pass.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I don't mind it and need it to complete the set. I like the Patrick Warburton episodes, too.

[Vampiro69 0]

Looking forward to completing my set of the series. Plus, I have only seen like 2 of the season five episodes on TV so it will be new to me.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Got my copy from Amazon.com today. Hopefully, I'll get to crack into it tonight.

[bob_barron 0]

I'll check it out to complete the set although I'm not looking forward to it.

 

I did hear that they acknowledge how bad Lovitz was

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I actually got in the mail yesterday and watched a few episodes. They mention hoping Lovitz does commentary but in checking all the discs, his name didn't appear. The Lucky Burger commentary (I believe) has Stephen Root and co. saying something along the lines of Lovitz is funny, but 'da da DA DAAA da da' did not mesh will with the "da da da da da da da da" rythym. Andy Dick is on some commentaries I haven't listened to yet and in the two I did hear, they were feilding e-mail questions.

 

I mentioned this somewhere before, but some of the season 5 episodes I watched on TBS a month or so ago were pretty good, better than I recalled. Joe's delivery of the word 'four' (after Joe says a smaller white noise machine would only have 3 settings) is something I found incredibly funny, same goes for his lines/delivery when doing "Max's Lewis' This Day in History".

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Oh, so they did answer e-mail questions? They asked people to send them in during the S4 commentaries, and I was wondering if they'd actually follow through.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Did people think Lovitz was bad on this show? I thought he did well enough, given how underwritten his character was. They never figured out what to do with him; the most he was involved in storywise was a futile attempt at romantic tension between him and Beth. It failed, but I blame that on the writers and not either of the actors.

[BorneAgain 0]

Lovitz really wasn't the issue as much as Phil Hartman's presence and the Bill character couldn't be replaced by anybody. Much of the best of interaction on the show as the likes of Dave, Matthew, Beth, etc going back and forth with Bill, and trying to replace such a tremendous dynamic couldn't be done, even with a comic actor as good as Lovitz was.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Replacing Hartman was a challenge, sure, but it wasn't an impossible one. Lovitz's character could've worked, but it goes back to the people behind the scenes not giving him anything to do. That sort of misdirection plagued much of the season and not just for his character.

[BorneAgain 0]

I wonder how many people's hearts (both actors and writers) were really in the show after Hartman's death? I heard that Andy Dick basically believed the show didn't work without Bill, but went on regardless.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

The Max Lewis character came off (at least to me) as too much like Matthew, insofar that they wrote him as a "weirdo". He wasn't as inept as Matthew, but they overlapped in being the "office weird guy".

 

I know I've said it before, but I would've liked to see how the show would've done by bringing in John Larroquette. Maybe it would've come off as trying to recreate the Bill character (or his Dan Fielding), I dunno, but they definitely needed another strong presence in the office. Looking back in hindsight, maybe ditch the Johhny Johnson character, and incorporate some of his characteristics into the prospective Larroquette character?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

"All dogs are boys and all cats are girls" dialogue:

 

Max: We're not disputing their sex, just the gender.

Lisa: They're the same thing!

Max: Not so! I would much rather have sex than have gender!

Lisa: Well seeing as how you have neither, that must be very sad for you.

 

Season 5... not that bad.

 

One of the commentaries (for whatever the name of the episode Matthew thinks Lisa put him through a satanic ritual) has a running list of censor notes from throughout the series. It's neat hearing them answer the e-mail questions too.

[Special K 0]

Yeah, what everyone's said, basically.

 

Lovitz was fine, funny. He could even have maybe taken on the role of Bill's insane arrogance. He Could have Been Bill in the very first episode. He would have been funny, not as funny as Phil, but funny nonetheless.

 

Newsradio couldn't go on without Phil, though. He's one of the funniest characters and actors ever.

It's not like coach from Cheers. That was sad as fuck, but he wasn't suddenly murdered. Phil Hartman was the fucking MAN. Funniest man on SNL at the time he was left, seemed to be the most unpretentious, and then just dead. And every time I see Bill passes on, I cry. Every time. I imagine the comentary on the episode is fucking heartbreaking. It just makes me feel sad and downtrodden. I'm so glad Khandi Laexander showed up for the episode. It's the best 'Very special' episode ever, ever.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

There's no commentary on "Bill Moves On".

 

I love the email name of "MaximumAwesome".

[bob_barron 0]

I wonder how many people's hearts (both actors and writers) were really in the show after Hartman's death? I heard that Andy Dick basically believed the show didn't work without Bill, but went on regardless.

 

I don't think any of their hearts were in it. They only did Season 5 b/c they were under contract and so they could get into sydnication.

 

I'm not surprised there's no commentary on Bill Moves On- it'd be too sad.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

There's commentary on only 10 episodes overall.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

That's par for the course, is it not?

 

It's unfortunate they didn't have an answer for "why is the only subtitle option Portugese?" (unless "the show is big in Brazil" wasn't a joke).

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

The blooper real is very good and Joe Furey's "One Man NewsRadio" for Season 5 & hypothetical 6 is kinda funny (the funniest part being his impressions of Mr. James saying "Uncle Jimmy").

 

"Uncle Jimmy" always cracks me up based on the first Walt episode where Bill misunderstands why Walt says Uncle Jimmy.

 

"UNCLE Jimmy? We're hiring Jimmy's boytoys now?"