View Full Version : NewsRadio Has Been Off the Air for Exactly 10 Years


Adamantium
07-13-2009, 07:09 AM
On July 13th, 1999, NBC aired their final repeat of "NewsRadio" in primetime. It was the episode titled "Apartment." This is the ten year anniversary of the end of NewsRadio. The final new episode aired on May 4th, 1999. It saw the staff, except for Dave and as it turns out Matthew, following Mr. James to New Hampshire to start a new AM radio station there.

In the ten years NewsRadio has been off the air, the cast has continued to work on other projects. Maura Tierney is probably the most successful of the bunch. Following the demise of NewsRadio, Tierney joined the cast of ER as Nurse Abby. She most recently has been cast in a new NBC series Parenthood. Joe Rogan was also popular for a while there doing NBC's Fear Factor. These days, Rogan sticks to his stand up act. Stephen Root continued to lend his voice to the FOX comedy King of the Hill, which ended it's thirteen season run this year. He pops up in films here and there. A personal favorite of mine is 1999's Office Space. Dave Foley has hosted a celebrity poker show on Bravo as well as reuniting with The Kids in the Hall for certain occassions. Vicki Lewis, I don't know too much about. I assume she's on Broadway or something. I'm sure her biggest fan, who's a member of Sitcoms Online, can fill us in on what she's doing. I can say that I've seen her in a couple episodes of 'Til Death as a waitress. And of course, she was part of a short-lived sitcom Three Sisters. Andy Dick continues to work, despite his obvious drug problems. Andy returned to sitcoms in 2002 with Less Than Perfect. It ran for three and a half seasons. He pops up in films, has done a couple shows for MTV and has come close to death. Khandi Alexander, who left NewsRadio prematurely, has done some ER and is probably best known for her role in CSI: Miami, which she just recently departed. Despite his death, Phil Hartman's legacy continues on DVD. His seasons of The Simpsons are available on DVD. His stint on Pee-wee's Playhouse is on DVD. There's a Best of Phil Hartman DVD for Saturday Night Live. If Universal continues releasing the season sets, we'll see Hartman's full SNL run available to own. All the movies he was in are on DVD (I guess), and of course, the entire series of NewsRadio is on DVD. And besides beating up former co-star Andy Dick, I'm not sure of what Jon Lovitz is up to these days. He continues to work, though.

The show itself has not done as well as I hoped in it's afterlife. It aired on A&E for a couple years in the early part of this decade. It had a brief stay on Nick at Nite and TBS. Currently it pops up on WGN occassionally. It's probably most successful run is on DVD. All five seasons (in four sets) are available and has wonderful commentaries by the cast and crew. If you ask me, NewsRadio reruns would be perfect on Comedy Central. As I think it tends to go to that crowd.

whipwarrior
07-13-2009, 09:10 PM
Vicki has appeared in various television roles and, more recently, a feature comedy film called The Ugly Truth (starring Katherine Heigl of Gray's Anatomy fame). But most exciting of all is her upcoming debut album, East of Midnight, due to release on October 1st. You can see the cover at her newly-revamped website: www.vickilewis.com

Marvo301
07-13-2009, 09:19 PM
Jon Lovitz voiced the main character in the animated series "The Critic".

Chocoholic
07-13-2009, 11:33 PM
Nice post, Adam :D

Adamantium
07-14-2009, 09:29 AM
Nice post, Adam :D

Thanks. This is a thread that I typed out ahead of time, as opposed to getting on S.O. and creating my thread while I'm here. However, I didn't proofread it. It wasn't until a minute ago that I realized I wrote "giggest" instead of "biggest". But I've corrected it.

Thanks for the information, Whipwarrior. I knew you'd know what Vicki's doing these days. :)

It's odd that it's been off the air for ten years. I was still in high school when it ended. I remember writing an obituary of sorts when it was over and had a few of my friends (who had never heard of the show) read it.

Scoobiedoo30
07-14-2009, 12:40 PM
Man I cant belive that it has been 10 year's Newsradio has been off the air Where does the time go.

TwoFire
10-22-2012, 07:28 PM
Man I cant belive that it has been 10 year's Newsradio has been off the air Where does the time go.

Moreover, where have the last three years gone?

I find it amusing to return to SO YEARS later, and the same people (albiet renamed) are still here. whipwarrior seemed to get a rather high amount of questions answered on Season 4 as memory serves. I only got one. :lol:

whipwarrior
10-26-2012, 07:00 AM
Yeah, my fifteen minutes of fame. :) I guess it was the luck of the draw that they responded to more than a few of my questions, although I admit that I had mine prepared months in advance of the DVD release because one of the sound engineers at Sony contacted me on the IMDb NewsRadio forum and told me about the fan Q&A that Paul Simms was planning. Then later, he wrote back to me during the week of the actual commentary recording sessions to say that they answered a couple of my questions, so I was totally psyched when I went to the store to buy the DVD set! It's still kinda surreal when I think about it, but I haven't listened to the commentary tracks since 2007 (I've been busy writing a non-NR story).

Good times, good times... :happyface

80s90sFanatic
12-17-2012, 10:33 PM
Dang I can't believe how much time has passed since Newsradio! thank goodness for the DVDs which I've been watching lately. Man I'm still laughing up a storm with the episodes! I'm glad to hear that the cast is still doing things to keep their careers going..Don't know if anyone knows this or wants too but Khandi is now on the HBO show Treme. Their last season is coming up next year sometime. I just love her ♥

whipwarrior
12-23-2012, 04:26 PM
NewsRadio is the epitome of great comedy: the jokes (both visual and verbal) are still as hilarious today as they were in the 90's, thanks to brilliant writing and performances by the cast of incredibly talented actors. The creative team really captured lightning in a bottle, and their legacy is a show that retains its timeless appeal for fans everywhere to enjoy. It's also the perfect medicine when you're having a bad day; just pop in a DVD and laugh your head off. :lol: NR is truly the gift that keeps giving.