(This episode guide is a modified version of the episode guide from The NewsRadio Station located at
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/8183.)

Episode commentaries are by Jennifer and Adrian Foo.

The First Season

Dave Nelson, a young man from Wisconsin moves to New York City to become the News Director of a radio station. Quickly, his first day turns chaotic. The first of his obstacles of the day is to deal with his eccentric boss Jimmy James, whose first assignment for Dave is to fire his predecessor. In the meantime Dave meets the other employees of the office. While meeting his new co-workers he must: settle arguments between the on-air talents Bill McNeal and Catherine Duke, gain the respect of his quirky secretary Beth and street reporter Matthew and confront a loyal and longtime station employee Lisa Miller, who thinks she is to be the next News Director.

Jennifer: The breathless pace of NewsRadio's debut episode is encapsulated by the character of Dave Nelson as we follow him on his hectic first day on the job. In fact, the success of the episode hinges on Dave Foley's harried performance, as he not only appears in every single scene, but is consistently followed by the camera as he travels from situation to situation. Foley rises to the occasion beautifully, showing off his impeccable comic delivery and heightening the energy of the show even when standing still. The whole exercise is so furiously fast and funny that you hardly have time to notice how effectively the rest of the cast manages to form their characters with only spare minutes of screen time. Of the core characters, Beth leaves the weakest impression, and Catherine and Rick's noticeable lack of screen time foreshadows their replacement. (Catherine was recast with Khandi Alexander and Rick eventually became the character of Joe with Joe Rogan in the part.)

Adrian: Funny as it is, this is really more of a prologue than an opening chapter. If you haven't worked it out by now, NewsRadio expressed everything through the relationships between the characters, and these were only schematically established in "Pilot." Not having Khandi Alexander and Joe Rogan was another limitation.

A bickering Dave and Lisa set out for a dinner after work that inadvertently turns romantic. Returning to work the next day they confront each other. Realizing that they've made a mistake and feeling very awkward, they decide to keep their relationship secret from the WNYX staff. Meanwhile, during an on-air broadcast, Matthew badly mispronounces a name and worries that Dave will fire him.

Jennifer: Bucking the traditional sitcom strategy of teasing potential romantic pairings, Dave and Lisa's initial flirtation kicks into high gear as their heated arguments manifest into another type of passion. The plot is uniquely handled and deftly sets up the Dave/Lisa dynamic that is a significant element of the entire series. However, the biggest laughs come from Matthew's on-air Freudian slip. This episode perhaps assured everybody that the pilot was no fluke. The characters quickly begin their evolution and the laughs are consistent and solid.

Adrian: Unlike "Pilot," the second episode did a stunning job of establishing all the relationships of the show, and this episode is really the first NewsRadio masterpiece. What other network television comedy would dare give us a passionate romance in its very second episode? The elegance of many of the gags suggests to me that most of the planning for the show went into this episode (which is why "Pilot" seemed more like a prologue or set-up episode). The way we find out about Dave and Lisa "doing it" in the office is simply one of the most surprising and elegant gags in cinematic history. Also, with the possible exception of late-period Matthew, I find that the Matthew Brock of this episode a more multidimensional and interesting creation. Nevertheless, there is still a little rawness to the characterizations of Beth, Matthew and Joe, a rawness that would evaporate over the next two episodes.

After Dave tries to enforce a "no smoking" ban at WNYX, Bill chooses not to acknowledge the new rules. To satisfy Bill, Dave agrees to give up his coffee if Bill will give up his cigarettes, thus sending them both to the edge. Meanwhile, Lisa thinks Joe may have seen her and Dave out on a date, and she thinks that Joe is a threat to expose their secret romance.

Jennifer: This episode frequently comes up as a favorite of NewsRadio fans. Dave and Bill dominate the proceedings as the two of them try to quit their respective vices, coffee and cigarettes. Their performances (especially their interactions with each other) and the writing are spot-on, and there are more than a few particularly memorable moments, from Bill and Dave losing their tempers at Matthew, to Mr. James remarking "I thank God every day this isn't a TV station" off a glance at Bill. The B-story, regarding Joe's possible spotting of Dave and Lisa at the movies together, isn't quite as interesting, but plays well with Lisa and Joe's characters.

Adrian: The third episode is devoted to the Dave-Bill relationship, one of the three cardinal relationships of the show. Bill, as the fire-starter, and Dave, as the one who reacts to the fires, form a potent comedic combination. It is because of the vitality of the Dave-Bill relationship that many people love this episode (and some even list it as their all time favorite). Knowing this, I am going to render a perhaps-unpopular opinion here. "Smoking" is very funny, and it is a very good episode, but it is also highly overrated. The problem with "Smoking" is that it is Dave-Bill and little else besides Dave-Bill (the Lisa-Joe plot is given only marginal attention). To put dimensions on this episode, "Smoking" scales the heights of comedy, but its more limited breadth (and breadth of human expression is the key to NewsRadio's art) limits its ultimate depth.

A subway train derailment has occurred, and Dave wants to show his abilities as News Director and jump on this breaking story. Dave tries to quickly bring the troops together to report the story. Unfortunately there is an issue much more pressing to the News Department: Matthew's new desk.

Jennifer: The magic of this episode is the way the entire staff is integrated into one unified plot, that of the station trying to get an exclusive on a subway car breakdown, while the real crisis rages on within the walls of WNYX, with the staff experiencing jealousy and resentment towards Matthew and his new desk. Everybody plays their roles perfectly, and the whole thing runs like a well-oiled machine.

Adrian: It may be controversial, but I am going to nominate "The Crisis" as the very first episode where everything worked. All of the relationships are in full flight and played upon in this episode. The show was also pushed to a frantic pace here, far faster than network television had ever seen before. Standout gags: Dave persistently believing that the staff's revolt is about more than the new desk while Bill keeps quietly insisting otherwise; Lisa admitting to two dinners (with reactions by Matthew and Bill); Lisa getting caught feeding Dave; Matthew trying to get Dave to fake an argument with him. I find the Dave-Bill desk interaction much more subtle and elegant in construction than the gags in "Smoking."

It's the "big day." Everyone is excitedly awaiting the delivery of his or her individual bonus checks that Jimmy James gives every year. Jimmy has other ideas though. He has decided to let Dave give out the bonuses this year. Dave is then faced with deciding who should get "The Big Bonus" and who should get "The Shaft."

Jennifer: Much like "The Crisis," this episode involves friction among the entire staff as they lobby for the prized "Big Bonus" and avoid the dreaded "Shaft" (a 0$ bonus). Everybody is, once again, gloriously in character, and Khandi Alexander has a great moment that reminds us how underused she was. However, the eventual conclusion to the episode still puzzles me; it either diminishes the impact of the climax or shows us just how eccentric Mr. James can be.

Adrian: The fifth episode confirms that even this early in its history, the show was already in full swing. All the relationships are played upon, and it does everything "The Crisis" does but even more smoothly. It is greed that best shows off these characters by showing them at their worst. Also, the gag where Lisa's perfume gets on Dave's jacket, with its three variations, is one of my all time favorites. And how can any NewsRadio fan overlook the comedy of "The Big Bonus" and "The Shaft"?  Finally:

Beth: "Why don't you just give me The Big Bonus, Dave? I'll get you a cup of coffee."
Dave: "Okay, you've got a deal."
Beth: "You called my bluff."

Regarding Jennifer's concern about the Jimmy-Dave conclusion, I think that in early episodes they were using Jimmy James's eccentricity to make him a scary authority figure, the instigator of Dave's discombobulation. Somewhere between "Big Day" and "No, This is Not..." Jimmy became more of an eccentric father figure, and would forever remain so. This Jimmy-Dave gag is funny in "Big Day" but would not have been used later as it would be out of character.

Bill gets the office talking after asking Beth to a formal luncheon. At the same time, Dave looks into personal expenses at the station for Jimmy, eventually finding many curious expenses that everyone seems to be writing off.

Jennifer: Beth is particularly prominent here as she agrees to go to a formal luncheon with Bill while the others worry that he might make advances on her. The jokes are funny and the story cleverly reverses Beth and Bill's roles, but the ending- Bill plays wounded and Beth goes home ashamed -is a downer and hardly qualifies as a resolution.

Adrian: Surprisingly, season one was the most daring in terms of sexual innuendo. In later seasons they found a rhythm that allowed them to be more selective (but just as devastating) about hitting us with that innuendo. Two variations on one gag really highlight how well this could work.
(1) Lisa frets about Bill and Beth going out to lunch. Dave reassures her, "Ah, come on Lisa. They're just going to lunch, you know. Everybody goes to lunch. You and I go to lunch." She replies, "Yeah, at my apartment... and we don't eat."
(2) Dave: "So, you want to go for lunch?"
      Lisa: "No, I'm not in the mood today."
      Dave: "OK, do you want to get something to eat then?"
      Lisa: "Sure."

This and the following episode ("Goofy Ball") were written by Paul Simms, who, along with being the show’s creator and visionary, really was the show’s best writer. It was Simms’ habit to write the first one or two episodes of each season, and this really set the tone for the other writers for the rest of the season. The standard he set included a stunning array of elegantly original and inventive gags, many of them visual. Simms’ episodes also seemed to consistently ride closest to the edge, and yet they were still the most balanced. NewsRadio fans tend to nominate other episodes as their favorites, but I suspect that in the long run (i.e., years from now when we are watching NewsRadio episodes for the hundredth time) it will be Simms’ episodes such as "Pilot," "Inappropriate," "No, This is Not…", "Goofy Ball," "The Breakup," "Injury," "President," "Daydream," "Jumper," "Pure Evil," "4:20" and "Bill Moves On" that hold up as the most fascinating.

Dave becomes jealous of Lisa's continual phone calls with her ex-boyfriend. In return Dave decides to give his ex-girlfriend a call. Unexpectedly, his ex-girlfriend, Nancy from Wisconsin (guest star Janeane Garofolo), comes to visit. Also, Dave meets "business visionary" Tom P. Baxter (guest star Bill Geisslinger) whom Jimmy thinks will make a great on-air guest to interview.

Jennifer: Janeane Garofalo was an inspired choice for the guest role of Dave's perky Wisconsin girlfriend Nancy, playing against her sardonic persona. The Dave/Lisa focus, while not a problem in principle, results in a bit too much screen time devoted to the same sorts of ex-partner conflict between them. That's more of a minor complaint, although the episode could definitely have used some more big laughs.

Adrian: This is essentially a Dave-Lisa episode, with a wonderful performance in a supporting role by Janeane Garofalo. There are episodes with even funnier lines, but great comedic impetus is generated here through moral turns such as Nancy threatening to kill Lisa (and Beth) if they move in on Dave and that moment of supreme embarrassment and suspense when Nancy unexpectedly blows the whistle on Dave and Lisa's secret affair.