Season 5

[Skywalker]

I just finished watching the complete fifth season and I have to say that season 5 is underrated. Before the fifth season came out, I hadn't really seen any season 5 episodes since 2001 or 2002 and I usually skipped over them when they aired in syndication. I mean I had seen them all before, when the show was still on the air and I did watch season 5 eps when they first went into syndication, but that was about it, not like episodes from the first 4 seasons which I could watch over and over and over again. I never hated the 5th season, just didn't think it was as great as the other seasons. I guess I was turned off by them cause there was no Phil Hartman and I didn't care for Max Lewis all that much. Watching them now though, I don't think Max is a bad character at all, just as long as I don't try to compare him to Bill. He had some hilarious moments like in "Padded Suit" when Joe is teaching him and Matthew "Joejitsu" and Max is doing the hammermill and chasing Matthew, that was one of the funniest moments from the 5th season. Another great Max moment is when he notices that Beth is coming so he kisses Lisa and makes it look like she's all over him and he says to her "I am not your play thing".

I was listening to the season 5 commentaries and I was surprised to learn they brought in some new writers during the fifth season and that Paul was working on a pilot at the time. I always thought that the death of Phil Hartman was the reason why season 5 seemed a little "off" and it was definitely the main reason, but now that I think about it, the new writers and Paul not being around all the time affected the show too IMO. The episodes "Wedding" and "Hair" come to mind. I like every episode of Newsradio, but those are two episodes that make me think "What's going on here?". It's just hard for me to believe that Lisa would ever marry Johnny and that whole thing about Jimmy being afraid of hippies seemed a little too strange. However, the actors always rose above the material and made the episodes good.

The best thing about season 5 though was Matthew. He's always been one of my favorite characters, but he really stood out in season 5. He really cracked me up in "Towers" and "Freaky Friday". Those are my favorite episodes from the 5th season and I'd put both of them on my list of all-time favorite episodes.

I always used to think of season 5 as my least favorite season, but after watching the dvds, I don't really have a least favorite season, the show was great until the very end. Anyone else feel that season 5 is underrated?

[TwoFire]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

I always used to think of season 5 as my least favorite season, but after watching the dvds, I don't really have a least favorite season, the show was great until the very end. Anyone else feel that season 5 is underrated?

I will agree that Season 5 is underrated, but it really did have quite a bit of what I'd consider 'Not My NewsRadio' content. The whole "Johnny Johnson" issue, not just the marriage. They brought in an unfamiliar who not only turned the whole thing upside down, but broke the whole internal stride.

Patrick Warburton was just too slow for the show. He was quite laid back and suave, in a show that parodied a children's show in one episode (You can't do that on Television).

Jon Lovitz was also incredibly slow to develop. He was always two or three steps behind. He did what he does best - an obnoxious character. We already had Andy, though. We didn't really need two.

I will admit, though, that "Flowers for Matthew" will always be one of my favorites.

[Adamantium]

Back in 1998 as the fifth season was just beginning to air on NBC, I watched up until the conclusion of the Johnny Johnson episodes. I thought the show was good, but I missed Bill too much. I watched an episode here and there (mostly sticking to the reruns on my local syndication channel for the Phil Hartman years). Once it moved back to Tuesdays, I watched the show all the way to the end. And while I thought it was good then, it was the weakest season. There would be some lines that would make me cringe, thinking how that line wouldn't have made it in the early years of this show. Then the series finale aired. I knew it was the end, even though they called it the Season Finale at the time it aired. I loved the final episode. It seemed in many ways like the reversal of the pilot to me. Dave was back to his nervous self (instead of meeting the gang one by one, he's trying to keep them at WNYX). And that final twist had me laughing.

Throughout the years, I thought that Jon Lovitz was a poor "replacement" for Phil Hartman. However, since I bought the DVDs, I've had a complete turnaround. While I still like the Bill McNeal episodes more, I think Lovitz did a good job. The show seems funnier now than it did when it first aired. The cast and crew feel the same way. Now that they look back after ten years or so, all the stress of making the episodes is gone and they can just enjoy them. Or in our case, that's just the way the show is, we can't change it, so enjoy it for what it is. Phil was gone, sadly, and they had to bring in someone.

I've come to like season five more than season three. Which, I know, most NewsRadio fans would consider blasphemy. But that's how it is for me.

I still love the finale. Even if it wasn't meant to be the finale, it ended what we have been seeing for five seasons. WNYX is now being run by Dave and Matthew (and those extras), while Jimmy, Lisa, Beth, Joe and Max work in New Hampshire.

So to sum it up, with the passing of time, comes acceptance of the fifth season of "NewsRadio."

[TwoFire]

Originally Posted by Adamantium

I still love the finale. Even if it wasn't meant to be the finale, it ended what we have been seeing for five seasons. WNYX is now being run by Dave and Matthew (and those extras), while Jimmy, Lisa, Beth, Joe and Max work in New Hampshire.

Which was only because Phil wasn't there to re-establish the show with Matthew, after Dave blew meeting the budget for the last time, so Jimmy took them to his compound to (re)-teach Dave and Lisa the rules of management, with Beth as morale support, and Joe as referee.

At least, that seems a fitting end in my addled (drunken) mind.

[whipwarrior]

That sounds like a good fanfic idea! You should write it.

[masterdkd]

I remember watching Season 5 when it first aired. When Phil Hartman died, Newsradio took a big dive. I still watched it because I'm a fan of the show and wanted to see if it's still good enough even without Phil Hartman. I knew it was going to be tough to be as funny or almost as good as the other four seasons but I kept my fingers crossed every week until the very end, hoping at least there could be a positive thing coming out of Season 5. But wow was I surprised that how atrocious, let me rephrase that, BEYOND ATROCIOUS, it was. It was boring, stale, disappointing and disrespectful. It became like any other boring sitcoms that I've seen.

The problem was WHOEVER was in charge of the 5th season did a lousy job. Writing was terrible and the chemistry between characters that I liked was no longer there. It became CRAP!

The actors did a good job for the crap they were given.

Recently, after almost 10 years of not watching Newsradio or remembering about it, I took another chance at it just to be open-minded. Nothing's changed, I still say the same thing, season 5 is still BEYOND ATROCIOUS.

Dave Foley, Maura Tierney, Stephen Root, Joe Rogan, Vicki Lewis did a great job. I'm not a big fan of Andy Dick but he did okay. And the last one is Jon Lovitz, who also did okay job on it but it was hard for him to... I don't know if you can say... replace Phil Hartman or not. I don't think anybody could of replace Phil Hartman, not for this show.

Except for the first episode (Bill Moves On) of Season 5, the rest of the episodes were weak.

Adding Johnny Johnson, Foxy, etc. etc, to the mix didn't do it for me either. Too me there was no chemistry between them and the main actor(s). It was stale and boring. It happened before with another character that was added in the late Season 4... and that didn't work either for me.

I'm not really into the whole sitcom relationship. Could care less. But with Lisa and Dave's chemistry, I actually liked them. The earlier seasons with Dave and Lisa being an item was great. Whoever was in charge of that did a great job. They didn't shove their relationship right in front of your face every episode. Even today's sitcom, I don't see any characters that has a good chemistry that Lisa and Dave had which I enjoyed.

And now it brings me to this, what kind of crap is this? The whole Lisa Miller and Johnny Johnson relationship/marriage(whatever you want to call it) was atrocious and the stupidest thing I have ever seen. There was no chemistry between them two in the first place. Whoever approved of this so called relationship/marriage....story line is an idiot.

Even with the terrible writing/episodes, the thing they could had going for them was Lisa going out with Dave again or maybe a sexual relationship throughout the season or... even married him would of have been cool. That would have been positive to the season. But noooooo. They even screw the loyal fans of DAVE/LISA relationship and disrespected them on that one too.

The whole season 5 disrespected not only the loyal fan(s) to a certain degree... but also the character(s) and the late ACTOR/CHARACTER.

If in fact, this could be the last season, why not make it great, no holds barred, why wait until the (last few episodes and try to make it funny) if you could call it that, and say "hey, there's always next year-possible 6th season". But it's too late, you've already lost fans because of the loss of Phil Hartman/Bill McNeal earlier on, which was a double blow to the show. And also started to lose fans because of terrible episodes which was shown and losing more fans making the character(s) do a 180 degree turn and make the fans questioning themselves "what just happened here? Am I seeing this right? Am I hearing this right?" At one of the latest episode, I pretty much stopped caring for this show. Everything went downhill big time. And they never fixed the biggest problem of Season 5.

So, my review on the 5th season, it was atrocious comparing to the other 4 seasons. I'm disregarding this season as if it doesn't exist at all. I'm also not going to compare this season to other shows like other people do because it's totally different: different actors, different characters, etc. etc.

But I am still a fan of the show and I like the characters and still enjoy seasons 1-4.

I'm still hopeful that the creator of the show will come out and do a reunion and give the fans what they wanted and have closure and fix the awful problem that was done in Season 5.

[TMC]

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.arts.tv/mnCTjrIr0HQ

So I've been watching NewsRadio straight through from the pilot episode.
Finished season 4 last night, started season 5 today. Man, did the show take
an abrupt downturn as soon as they killed off the Bill McNeal character.

The first episode of season 5 has no funny in it at all, just the typical
mourning for a "dead" character that all sitcoms serve up whenever a
character is written out. "8 Simple Rules" did the same thing when they
wrote out the dad, just a damn boring episode, no jokes at all.

The next episode introduces Jon Lovitz, and now all of a sudden NewsRadio
becomes "The Jon Lovitz Show, featuring Jon Lovitz doing All the Weird and
Wacky Things Jon Lovitz Loves To Do".

I can't say that Bill McNeal was my favorite NewsRadio character. That would
have to be Joe "your last name is Garelli?. Joe Rogan always cracks me up
no matter what he's in. But McNeal was a solid character, well played by
that guy, I forget his name. Lovitz, on the other hand, is not so much a
character as a caricature, chewing the scenery and being wacky for the sake
of wacky, forcing everyone else in the cast into the background.