Talk:NewsRadio

use of "irreverent" is vandalism/soapbox?!

Codem01: While I don't have a strong opinion on if "absurd" or "irreverent" or both terms is best, I don't see how you can call it vandalism/soapbox. I'm finally seeing some reruns in my market and it is extremely irreverant. Were you thinking of "irrelevant," maybe? Rufus Sarsaparilla 01:11, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

No I wasn't thinking of irrelevant. Although I must admit I had to look up the meaning of irreverent. From what I can tell, irreverent means disrespectful. Disrespectful can mean disrespect of authority but I've mostly seen examples of irreverent's usage in the context of disrespect torwards relgion. See [1]. The examples cited in this article are far more controversial than anything on NewsRadio. Also saying something is disrespectful is very subjective. Let me know if you see the definition of irreverent differently. The edit also removed 'absurd' and replaced it with 'irreverent' without explaination. The two words don't have similar meaning. I consider replacing 'absurd' without explaination to be vandalism. I am very careful to not delete someone's work when I'm editing. If he/she didn't agree that absurd is an accurate description, it should have been discussed. If the edit was meant to imply religious disrespect it's soapbox. --Codem01 06:27, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for sharing your line of reasoning. According to my dictionary irreverant means "lacking proper respect or seriousness, also: satiric". Which to me is an accurate description of NewsRadio. It could be very silly and definitely was satiric. Absurd is a good word also. Again, It's not my ox being gored, I just thought your analysis was kind of harsh. Rufus Sarsaparilla 18:54, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

The Cane

What's the one where Bill juggles with the canes'n'stuff? Thanks, Frank W ~@) R, Jan. 5, 18:54 PST.

The episode was merely entitled "The Cane." - Berlyn

Ray Romano

On the recently released DVDs, the commentary track for the first/pilot episode refers to the show's producers firing Ray Romano, basically because his delivery wasn't working out possibly due to nervousness, instead of him choosing to leave. Bitt 02:17, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Are you trying to suggest that not everybody loves Raymond.... ;-) func(talk) 02:27, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I can't believe crap like everybody loved raymond does so well, while shows like this were treated so badly and ended early

NBC sure was brainless

Twin Towers/Dave Nelson

The name "Dave Nelson" came from the Twin Towers. Each tower had a name, one being Dave, the other Nelson. In the opening credits, Dave Foley's name comes across the screen with the towers in the background.

Deleted. Is there a source for this? I can't find any solid references to WTC nicknames, much less that Dave Nelson is related to them.

I found when it was added, with no edit summary, the only edit of an anon; so non-verifiable. func(talk) 02:40, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

This factoid probably originates from the imdb.com entry for NewsRadio, which states this as fact. However, its verified at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/newyork/peopleevents/p_rockefellers.html, citing they were named after two Rockefellers.

I read somewhere that the name Dave Nelson was created by the director, Dave coming from Dave Foley the directors first choice for the part, and Nelson being his mother's maiden name

Offbeat season 'finales'

A note on the edit changing "finales" to simply "episodes" - while "Injury," which aired at the end of Season 3, was not intended to be that season's finale, it did indeed air after "Space." It has been returned to its proper position at the end of Season 2 on the DVD set, but it is debatable to me whether the original intentions of the producers or the network's final airing schedule should dictate whether "Space" and "Sinking Ship" are both finales, or are just episodes - thus, I suggest leaving them as such.

Beth's Last Name

I've seen the entire run too many times to justify, and I don't recall any mention of Beth's last name, much less a "running gag." There was certainly a running gag with Bill regarding Joe's last name -- "your name is Garelli?" -- but Beth? Could someone provide an example or two? - Laszlo Panaflex 19:14, August 5, 2005 (UTC)

No examples, so I'm lifting out the clause. -Laszlo Panaflex 21:53, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

The gag is that she doesn't have a last name. Not just that it's never mentioned, but that she literally doesn't have one. 209.174.140.100 05:57, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

Again, when was this ever mentioned at all? The reference is back up on the page, but I do not recall her last name ever coming up, much less her saying "it's just Beth." Any examples? Laszlo Panaflex 18:12, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

Still no examples cited, so I removed the claim again. Laszlo Panaflex 18:19, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

Her last name was never mentioned on the show, which is reflected in the EpGuide. – ClockworkSoul 05:54, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

In episode 5-20, "Freaky Friday" Beth specifically states that she has no last name. In the episode Beth had been scamming CD-of-the-month clubs out of thousands of CD's and a record company employee eventually tracks her down to the office and offers her a check for $1000 if she promises to desist. When he makes out the check that's when the name issue comes up. --nicolas.b 06:20, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

OK, we have one instance. For it to be a "running gag" we need at least two more. Laszlo Panaflex 17:51, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

If that's your criteria then I think you'll find that it was not a "running gag". BTW, the running gag involving Joe's last name was not exclusive to Bill. I recall seeing both Lisa and Beth make the question/joke, also... but I have no idea in which episodes. --nicolas.b 22:01, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

I believe I added the bit about Beth's name being a running gag. It's referenced at least one more time, in episode "Zoso" when Beth is trying to market "Fat Albert" hats. When introducing herself to the potential buyer, he asks her last name and she says it's "Just Beth". SAMIAM779 June 2006

The Pic

Why won't the pic load? It hasn't been deleted, and the formatting doesn't seem to have changed.  ??? - Laszlo Panaflex 06:07, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

I resized it a bit and now it is loading. Laszlo Panaflex 18:02, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

The pic has been changed slightly to better abide by the fair use agreement. The picture is the same, but now I know the source (tv.yahoo.com). Copyright is believed to be NBC. The clearly posed promotional photo should fall under fair use. -stewunit

The earlier pic, Image:NR-Cast-2.jpg, was a much larger version of the same picture. The copyright isn't different for a thumbnail of a picture than for the original. The better solution here, I propose, is to source the Image:NR-Cast-2.jpg pic to the tv.yahoo link -- it is the same pic, merely resized. Then the nice large pic is still available to readers, instead of this thumbnail. Laszlo Panaflex 20:44, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Jimmy was not D.B. Cooper

"may have been famous skyjacker D.B. Cooper" is incorrect. Episode 5-8, "Clash of the Titans", explicitly established that Adam West was Cooper, not Jimmy. Correction has been made. CaptHayfever 06:10, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Saying that Jimmy "may have been famous skyjacker D.B. Cooper" is not in and of itself incorrect, as the question of Cooper's identity is up in the air (so to speak) within the story arc; West's revelation does not change the existence of the identity question in the infinitive sense. XPeeple 02:41, 5 April 2006 (UTC)XPeeple

Given how Jimmy ordered Adam West around, it was my impression that Jimmy was indeed D. B. Cooper, but that Adam West owed him big and this is how Jimmy collected on the debt, of course that's just speculation Jztinfinity 00:33, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Evelyn "Bill" McNeal

Just watched an episode where Bill's birth certificate is found and it turns out his middle name is Bill (William) and his first name is really Evelyn, or as he protests "pronounced EVE a lyn." I have changed the text to reflect this.

Incredibly unencyclopedic

I love the show too, a lot, but this is pretty much a fan page. I tried to edit some of it but it's pretty much the entire article. Whether it's referring to actors by their first name, giggling along with a joke.. it needs to be a little more serious. Does anyone agree? Oreo man 19:32, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

A lot of the fault is mine, as I started the Careers after NewsRadio section back when I first got going on Wikipedia. I made some adjustments to it that should help a little. Tigermave 22:27, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

Ratings and Syndication

I'm not sure about the accuracy of two portions of this article:

1) I think the ratings for Newsradio were actually healthy through season two. The turn for the worse came starting in season three.

2) I also think the 100 episode measure for syndication was the standard as of when the show was sold but is no longer the standard due to sales of shows like Newsradio.

I don't have sources at the moment to back either of these things up, but I'm casually looking for them and will edit if I find something to back either one up. Erechtheus 17:17, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure about the first point, but as for the second, the 100-episode mark is a loose guideline, not a hard and fast rule. That number is mainly used for determining when to begin syndicating a still-running show. If a show finishes its run slightly short of that mark, it will still be syndicated if the company holding the syndication rights feels there's an audience for it. Generally 65 episodes is considered the bare minimum (since a show can then be shown five times a week for 13 weeks with no repeats) for viability in syndication, though even that one doesn't always hold true.Raymondluxuryacht 17:35, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Now that I'm looking at it, I think the main change that needs to happen with syndication is a link to the television syndication article. Erechtheus 17:55, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

I have verified the ratings information utilizing Google Groups to search the archive of the alt.tv.newsradio Usenet group. Newsradio was a top 40 show even when it was moved to Sundays in season two. It was not until Season 3 debuted and the show moved to Wednesday that the ratings declined. I'm not positive I have worded things perfectly, but that's the best I can do this early in the morning. I'll have another look at it later. If anybody can say it better, please do. Erechtheus 06:40, 23 June 2006 (UTC)