Why NewsRadio was the best sitcom of the '90s

[TMC]

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/22/8272007...best-sitcom-20

Even better than Seinfeld!?

[clytie]

I like it better than Seinfeld, but know that I'm in the minority there.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by clytie

I like it better than Seinfeld, but know that I'm in the minority there.

I'm with you on that. NewsRadio is my all-time favorite show. So I personally think it's better than Seinfeld and all other sitcoms of the '90s.

However, we live in a world that worships Seinfeld, toting it as the greatest sitcom ever made. Plus the '90s had a lot of other sitcoms that were huge hits (Friends, Frasier, Roseanne, Home Improvement, etc.) but I still think NewsRadio is better than all of them!

It had one of the best assembled ensemble casts in TV history. Unfortunately, for whatever reason (I blame the schedule changes), NewsRadio was never a huge mainstream hit. Which is why articles like this one have to exist to let people know what a great sitcom it really was.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

Seinfeld made up a whole world of relatives and bosses and neighborhood people that Newsradio couldn't dream of matching.

True but it never tried to. It was perfectly content staying within the confines of the office (generally) and focusing on the eight cast members it already had.

[Adamantium]

I also hate it when people compare NewsRadio to WKRP in Cincinnati or call it a rip-off. Just because they're both set in radio stations doesn't mean they are similar sitcoms or have the same comic style. It's like comparing Saved by the Bell with Community just because they're both set in schools.

[Chocolate Moose]

Apples and oranges. Seinfeld was zany. Newsradio wasn't over the top like that - well, except for the billionaire station owner.

[king of comedy]

Newsroom was subtle. Seinfeld was over the top.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

Newsroom was subtle. Seinfeld was over the top.

I assume you mean "NewsRadio"? I only ask since there IS a show called Newsroom, lol.

NewsRadio had its share of both. I tend to love it for its subtle humor but there were also a lot of broad moments. Most of those dealt with Andy Dick doing his pratfalls and physical bits. But it was the smart writing and chemistry of the cast that made it such a wonderful show.

[TMC]

http://www.avclub.com/article/window...rld-199-220290

9. NewsRadio debuts

The ’90s was a good decade for the traditional, multi-camera sitcom, but sitting near top of the pile is NewsRadio. Creator Paul Simms cut his teeth working on the absurdity that was Late Night With David Letterman, later jumping to the backstage antics of The Larry Sanders Show. NewsRadio borrows from both, focusing on a group of people who work at a New York public radio station. While the material the station reported on was staid, that did not stop the writers from treading into the ridiculous. The cast is universally great, including Dave Foley, Maura Tierney, Phil Hartman, Stephen Root, and Khandi Alexander. They were not just a talented cast individually, but an incredible ensemble that fed off of each other’s energy. 30 Rock never shied from poking fun at NBC, but 11 years before NewsRadio had consistently bitten the hand that fed it, like making fun of the network’s theme nights (“Rat Funeral”). NewsRadio is one of the greats, and where other sitcoms of its era have found renewed life on Netflix or Hulu, NewsRadio remains the secret of the devoted. [Molly Eichel]