- NewsRadio (season 3)
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NewsRadio Season 3 Country of origin USA No. of episodes 25 Broadcast Original channel NBC Original run September 18, 1996 – June 4, 1997 Season chronology ← Previous
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NewsRadio (season 4)This is a detailed list of NewsRadio episodes from the third season. See List of NewsRadio episodes for a complete list of all NewsRadio episodes.
Episodes
# Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod. code 29 (1) "President" Tom Cherones Paul Simms September 18, 1996 302 Jimmy announces he is running for President of the United States. Matthew grows some facial hair while on vacation. Guest stars Al Roker as Guy. 30 (2) "Review" Tom Cherones Josh Lieb September 25, 1996 301 Matthew discovers the comic strip Dilbert and quits his job when Dave refuses to let him do a story about it. Dave tries to reassure the staff that an underwhelming magazine critique is not as bad as it sounds. Guest stars Scott Adams as coffee shop patron, Michael Adler as man pretending to be Scott Adams, and Mark Fite as coffee shop counterman. 31 (3) "Massage Chair" Drake Sather Lewis Morton October 2, 1996 303 Bill buys a massage chair in defiance of budget cuts at the station. Dave fights Mr. James over the elimination of free snacks from the breakroom. 32 (4) "Arcade" Tom Cherones Brian Kelley October 23, 1996 304 Beth replaces the lobby sandwich machine with the arcade game Stargate Defender, causing Dave's old video game obsession to resurface. Bill is upset because he finds the sandwiches from the old machine to be delicious, and begins hoarding them. After a series of mental lapses, Lisa and Dave retake the SATs to see if they are getting dumber. Guest stars Eugene Jarvis, and Leelee Sobieski. 33 (5) "Halloween" Tom Cherones Sam Johnson & Chris Marcil October 30, 1996 307 The staff is not invited to Mr. James' annual Halloween party because he thinks they're "too cool for school". Dave and Lisa persuade him to let them come. Bill becomes depressed after a psychic tells him the exact date of his death, but then falls in love with an old woman.
Note: Dave Foley appearing in drag, and subsequently looking good in drag, is a nod to his efforts on The Kids in the Hall.34 (6) "Awards Show" Tom Cherones Drake Sather November 6, 1996 305 The staff attends an awards banquet. Matthew frets over his belief that the breakroom is infested with ants. Guest stars Bob Costas as himself, Johnny Crear as elderly man, Steven Gilborn as Marty "The Party" Jackson, and Kevin J. O'Neill as bartender. 35 (7) "Daydream" Tom Cherones Paul Simms November 13, 1996 308 A hot day and a broken air conditioner cause the thoughts of every character to drift. This episode is filled with movie/television parodies, particularly Beth's hallucinations, which are inspired by the horror films she saw with Matthew (Aliens, A Nightmare on Elm Street). At the end of the episode, Mr. James has a hallucination (or does he?) that spoofs the famous ending to St. Elsewhere's series finale.[1] 36 (8) "Movie Star" Tom Cherones Lewis Morton November 20, 1996 309 James Caan visits Bill as part of research for his new movie, but he soon becomes fixated by Matthew's odd behavior. Dave tries to buy a television set for Lisa. Superfan Jimmy James has an extra Knicks ticket, and Joe conducts a trivia contest between Beth and Catherine to determine who gets the seat. Guest stars James Caan as himself. 37 (9) "Stocks" Tom Cherones Alan J. Higgins December 11, 1996 306 Jimmy teaches Beth how to play the stock market, but refuses to help Bill. Matthew pretends to have flown to Japan, bringing back gifts for the office, including a samurai's katana sword for Dave. Lisa is reluctant to ask for a new chair because she doesn't want it to look like Dave is playing favorites. 38 (10) "Christmas" Patrick Maloney Drake Sather December 18, 1996 311 Dave covers for his employees so they can leave early, but still manages to take Lisa to Wisconsin before Christmas is over. 39 (11) "The Trainer" Gregg Heschong Joe Furey December 18, 1996 312 Bill joins a gym; the WNYX staff discover a secret about Dave's past. Guest stars Ben Stiller as Vic, and Patton Oswalt as Guy. 40 (12) "Rap" Tom Cherones Alan J. Higgins, Brian Kelley, Drake Sather & Paul Simms January 8, 1997 310 Bill discovers the evils of rap music. Lisa has a problem with being named "cutest reporter" by a local magazine. Guest stars Chuck D as himself. 41 (13) "Led Zeppelin Boxed Set" Tom Cherones Lewis Morton, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, Joe Furey & Josh Lieb January 15, 1997 313 Matthew finally stands up to Bill's bullying, and proceeds to go on a power trip. Catherine teaches Jimmy how to beat a crooked three card monte dealer. 42 (14) "Complaint Box" Tom Cherones Brian Kelley, Lewis Morton, Joe Furey & Josh Lieb January 29, 1997 314 The new complaint box causes problems for Dave. Jimmy goes fishing, while his satellite hookup goes to the movies. 43 (15) "Rose Bowl" Tom Cherones Alan J. Higgins, Josh Lieb, Lewis Morton & Paul Simms February 5, 1997 315 Dave agrees to let the staff review each other, while Jimmy takes a con artist to court. Joe teaches Jimmy the secret masonic word "Tubalcain" that might automatically win him the court case. Guest stars George Lindsey as himself, David Clennon as the Judge, and Glenn Walker Harris Jr. as the con artist. 44 (16) "Kids" Tom Cherones Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, Joe Furey & Drake Sather February 12, 1997 316 Dave must figure out who is leaving pornography around the office in the midst of an elementary school field trip. Jimmy hits on the kids' teacher over a fancy lunch. 45 (17) "Airport" Tom Cherones Drake Sather February 19, 1997 317 While Bill and Dave are stuck in a St. Louis airport, Lisa runs the office, and Beth and Matthew water Bill's plants. 46 (18) "Twins" Tom Cherones Lewis Morton March 12, 1997 318 Matthew's "identical twin" brother Andrew arrives for a visit. Bill's greed almost bankrupts the station. Guest stars Jon Stewart as Andrew.
Note: Maura Tierney does not appear in this episode because she was busy filming Liar Liar.47 (19) "Office Feud" Leonard R. Garner, Jr. Sam Johnson & Chris Marcil March 19, 1997 319 Joe, Dave, and Beth deal with the noisy environmentalists who've moved in upstairs; Lisa covers the Easter Egg hunt at the White House; Bill and Catherine argue over Bill's sponsorship by Rocket Fuel Malt Liquor. Guest stars Sara Paxton as Sara.
Note: This episode introduced the word "gazizza," later used in Space.48 (20) "Our Fiftieth Episode" Tom Cherones Joe Furey, Paul Simms & Josh Lieb April 2, 1997 321 An argument over a traffic ticket gets Bill committed to a mental hospital. Guest stars Jon Lovitz as Fred.
Note: All of Vicki Lewis's scenes were shot separately because she was away filming Mouse Hunt. She would be completely absent from the following episode, "Sleeping", for the same reason.49 (21) "Sleeping" Judi Elterman Story: Alan J. Higgins & Paul Simms
Teleplay: Brian KelleyMay 7, 1997 322 Matthew hides in the break room fridge to scare anyone who opens it, eventually causing Mr. James to have a heart attack. Mr. James' lawyer shows Dave and Lisa a video tape wherein Mr. James reveals his wish to spend his remaining time with his friends and colleagues at WNYX in the case of a life-threatening illness. Mr. James is moved into the WNYX break room while he recovers from his coma and the staff is asked to talk to him during the day. Lisa decides that she wants to have a baby. Bill recreates his time as a college overnight DJ. Guest stars Scott N. Stevens as Dr. Mandel. 50 (22) "The Real Deal" Tom Cherones Story: Josh Lieb & Lewis Morton
Teleplay: Joe Furey & Paul SimmsMay 7, 1997 320 Desperate to keep "The Real Deal" on the air despite floundering ratings, Bill and Lisa attempt to interview Jerry Seinfeld in a restaurant and record the results. Matthew reveals to everybody that he is still a virgin (at 28½), and subsequently loses his virginity to his gorgeous girlfriend in the breakroom. Guest stars Jerry Seinfeld as himself, Bobbie Brown as Irene, Gregg Daniel as Kevin Sparks, Mark Fite as Waiter. 51 (23) "Mistake" Tom Cherones Story: Joe Furey & Paul Simms
Teleplay: Josh Lieb & Drake SatherMay 14, 1997 323 Dave faces the wrath of the staff when he makes several disparaging comments about them in a magazine article. Matthew feels threatened by the "weird" new temp Brent. Guest stars French Stewart as Brent. 52 (24) "Space" Tom Cherones Story: Brian Kelley & Lewis Morton
Teleplay: Joe Furey, Josh Lieb & Paul SimmsMay 21, 1997 324 WNYX is imagined as a news radio station in space in the future. The crew still have the same jobs, and WNYX is still a radio station. Bill and Catherine read ads ("Soylent Green, made from the best stuff on Earth: people") and news from the future. Meanwhile, Joe is thawed out after more than 80 years of suspended animation to fix the reactor for the station. Jimmy needs to cut the budget, so he needs to have either Bill or Catherine go into suspended animation for 50 years. Dave and Lisa, meanwhile, are still trying to figure out if they should live together, and where. Although Joe tinkers with the reactor, his repairs (hitting it numerous times with a pair of pliers and then pulling out a circuit board) fail to produce the desired effect, and he announces that the whole station will blow up unless everyone (save for two people) goes into suspended animation pods for 50 years so they can shut the station down and wait for help. The crew, with the exception of Bill (who is paranoid that someone else will wind up making just as much money when he wakes up) and Matthew (who tells his android girlfriend to take his place—even though, as she tries to point out, she doesn't need oxygen or food to survive) get into the pods. Matthew trips over a cord, unplugging the pods from their power source, instantly killing everyone except for himself and Bill. Bill then informs Matthew that they'll have to re-start the human race together. (Matthew agrees--"But no gay stuff.") Guest stars Bobbie Brown as Irene. 53 (25) "Injury" Rich Beren Paul Simms June 4, 1997 203 When uninsured Matthew is injured goofing off at work, Dave and Lisa try to pass it off as a workplace accident so that workers' compensation will pay for the hospital costs. Bill objects to a fellow newscaster's use of the word "penis" on the air by giving a series of on-air editorials in which he uses the word a number of times himself. Guest stars Bob Odenkirk as Dr. Smith. Norm Macdonald returns as Roger, Mr. James' lawyer.
Note: This episode was intended to appear in season 2. It was delayed because the script called for Bill (Phil Hartman) to repeatedly use the word "penis" (some of which were ultimately edited out). Because of this, the episode is intentionally featured on both the First (Seasons 1 & 2) and Second (Season 3) NewsRadio DVD boxsets.
Note: Matthew's birthday is given as 12/21/65 in this episode (making him 31 in real time), though his age is stated as 28 in 'Twins' and 'The Real Deal'.References
Paul Simms · Episodes Categories:- 1996 television seasons
- 1997 television seasons
- Lists of sitcom television series episodes
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