On May 28, 2008, it's been ten years since Phil Hartman was taken from us. This is a schedule I've come up with as a tribute to him in what I call "The Bill-A-Thon." A day long marathon featuring the best Bill McNeal episodes.

8pm to 12am is the absolute best of Bill.

6:00am - "Inappropriate"
6:30am - "The Crisis"
7:00am - "Big Day"
7:30am - "Sweeps Week"
8:00am - "Goofy Ball"
8:30am - "Rat Funeral"
9:00am - "The Breakup"
9:30am - "Injury" (unedited)
10:00am - "The Shrink"
10:30am - "Xmas Story"
11:00am - "Bitch Session"
11:30am - "In Through the Out Door"
12:00pm - "Led Zeppelin"
12:30pm - "Presence"
1:00pm - "Led Zeppelin II"
1:30pm - "Massage Chair"
2:00pm - "Arcade"
2:30pm - "Halloween"
3:00pm - "Movie Star"
3:30pm - "Rap"
4:00pm - "Led Zeppelin Boxed Set"
4:30pm - "Rose Bowl"
5:00pm - "Airport"
5:30pm - "Twins"
6:00pm - "Office Feud"
6:30pm - "The Real Deal"
7:00pm - "Jumper"
7:30pm - "Plan Bee"
8:00pm - "Smoking"
8:30pm - "Luncheon at the Waldorf"
9:00pm - "The Cane"
9:30pm - "Bill's Autobiography"
10:00pm - "Review"
10:30pm - "Our Fiftieth Episode"
11:00pm - "Who's the Boss? - Part 1
11:30pm - "Bill Moves On"
12:00am - "The Public Domain"
12:30am - "French Diplomacy"
1:00am - "Pure Evil"
1:30am - "The Secret of Management"
2:00am - "Look Who's Talking"
2:30am - "Security Door"
3:00am - "Beep, Beep"
3:30am - "Balloon"
4:00am - "Monster Rancher"
4:30am - "4:20"
5:00am - "Jackass Junior High"
5:30am - "Sinking Ship"

We still miss you, Phil.

It seems like it's been 20 years to me since he died.

Worst 10 years of my life.

I remember where I was when I heard that. It was the week before my high-school graduation. I was waiting with my mom in the car to pick up my sister from an after-school activity when the news came over the radio. We couldn't believe it. An amazing talent gone way too soon. :rip:

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since Phil Hartman died. :( Sadly, it was Phil's death that got me to start watching Newsradio. Back then, I only knew him as the voice of Troy McClure and several other characters on the Simpsons and as a former cast member on SNL. When I found out he was on a sitcom called Newsradio, I decided to check it out and watched most of the reruns NBC aired that summer. I remember the first episode I saw was the Public Domain, the first one to air after Phil's death, I believe. The part where Bill punched Steve in the nose had me laughing so hard. That scene still cracks me up everytime I see it and that episode is still one of my all time favorites. :)

It really doesn't seem like 10 years have passed. I remember that day vividly. I was riding with my grandpa, when the news came on the radio. Time literally froze when I heard what had happened, and I spent the next week or so just glued to the TV set as the aftermath played out. It was just surreal. But it's nice to know that people everywhere still miss Phil, and think fondly of him. True, many of the Phil tribute websites have gone, but several are still around. The NewsRadio FanFic Archive (http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Lot/2701/) has been updated, in addition to the Hartmania! page: http://members.tripod.com/~MNL_1221/hartmania.html.

Phil may be gone, but he still lives on.

Rest in peace, friend. We will never forget you.

-Dale

It seems like it's been 20 years to me since he died.

Me too. That was really sad when he died so tragically like that. I've watched "News Radio" several times and it's pretty funny. Haven't seen it in a long time, though. I don't even know if it's airing on any stations in the Seattle area.

Andrea

Me too. That was really sad when he died so tragically like that. I've watched "News Radio" several times and it's pretty funny. Haven't seen it in a long time, though. I don't even know if it's airing on any stations in the Seattle area.

Andrea

I'm probably about to say what most people are already thinking, but what the hell did Phil see in Brynn? Brynn just struck me as a floozy, insane social climbing fame whore, who tried to piggyback off of Phil's fame (when in reality, she was just a trophy wife/a women who looked like a high-priced L.A. call girl, whereas Phil's other wives were more the hippie type), despite not having any real describable talent of her own. According to Phil's biography, You Might Remember Me (https://books.google.com/books?id=zhg_BAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=You+Might+Remember+Me&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsnuOu7KbMAhVG82MKHWAnDKcQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=You%20Might%20Remember%20Me&f=false), everyone except Phil hated Brynn Hartman from the get-go, thought she was bad news, couldn't figure out why Phil had fallen for this different kind of woman, and expected they would split up. Instead they embarked on a sick relationship full of fights and make-up sessions, and his friends didn't know what to say or do.

The only explanation I can think of for Brynn was that he was crazy in love for her at some point, and the love eventually transformed into the feeling that he could heal her drug problem or her insanity. At the time she killed him, I think he had accepted she couldn't change and he was ready to move on.

According to Phil's biography, You Might Remember Me (https://books.google.com/books?id=zhg_BAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=You+Might+Remember+Me&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsnuOu7KbMAhVG82MKHWAnDKcQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=You%20Might%20Remember%20Me&f=false), everyone except Phil hated Brynn Hartman from the get-go, thought she was bad news, couldn't figure out why Phil had fallen for this different kind of woman, and expected they would split up. Instead they embarked on a sick relationship full of fights and make-up sessions, and his friends didn't know what to say or do.

I own that book and it was a great read.

Adam, is it true that whether or not Phil Hartman had been killed, his show would have been cancelled after season 5 anyways? I mean, it was never a top 30 hit during any of its 5 seasons. Its highest ratings were in season 1.

I'm probably about to say what most people are already thinking, but what the hell did Phil see in Brynn? Brynn just struck me as a floozy, insane social climbing fame whore, who tried to piggyback off of Phil's fame (when in reality, she was just a trophy wife/a women who looked like a high-priced L.A. call girl), despite not having any real describable talent of her own.


That describes many if not most wives of famous men.

Adam, is it true that whether or not Phil Hartman had been killed, his show would have been cancelled after season 5 anyways? I mean, it was never a top 30 hit during any of its 5 seasons. Its highest ratings were in season 1.

I still believe NewsRadio would have been cancelled when it was anyways. They may have just wanted five seasons to have almost 100 episodes for syndication (it ended up having 97). I know Sony made deals with FOX and NBC to keep ’til Death and Community on the air as long as possible so maybe they were the same with this show.

At the time NewsRadio just barely beat out 3rd Rock from the Sun and that show returned for two more seasons. It also beat out Suddenly Susan in the ratings and that show returned for another season. Yet NBC still cancelled it. I think they were just done with the show. Plus, there was a change in staff at NBC. The guy who cancelled NewsRadio was new to the network. Paul Simms (the creator) got a phone call with the news and it was from a guy he had never even met before. So maybe the new guy just saw it as this low-rated show and “what the heck is it still doing on?” kind of thing.

As for the ratings, it’s no secret that the show was moved around a lot. It debuted on Tuesday night at 8:30 (following ‘Wings’ and leading into ‘Frasier’). It did pretty good coming in 26th place. NBC felt it was strong enough to anchor their new Sunday night Must-See TV. It was. So NBC thought it was strong enough to anchor their new Wednesday night Must-See TV (because EVERY night had to be “Must-See TV” for NBC, lol) and it wasn’t. It was destroyed on Wednesdays. I believe it was up against The Drew Carey Show. It shook off a lot of ratings before ending right back on Tuesdays at 8:30.

On the DVD commentary, then President of NBC Warren Littlefield said he felt bad about all the time-slot changes and looking back, he should have just left it on Tuesdays at 8:30, where it probably would have been a higher rated show.