The Fifth and Final Season

NewsRadio is a television sitcom about a group of people who work at the WNYX radio station. The series ran for five seasons with a total of ninety-seven episodes. The show was very popular in the earlier seasons, which was due to the cast's great dynamic, strong writing, and all-around enjoyable comedy. For a hearty laugh, NewsRadio is a surefire selection. For additional details about the show, please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of seasons one & two, season three, and season four.

Season five was NewsRadio's last. Personally, it was my least favorite season. Season five had a major shift in the cast dynamic. In the spring of 1998, actor Phil Hartman was murdered. He was one of the reasons I loved the show. His character was a diamond that made everyone else look rich. His death was a tremendous loss to the show. Still, without Hartman season five still fairs decently. The chemistry is not the same, but there are still a few hearty laughs.

The fifth season begins with a farewell to Hartman's character Bill McNeal. The episode is a nice farewell to him. Khandi Alexander makes a guest appearance. They read off final farewells from Bill, which he had written in preparation for an untimely death. In the following episode "Meet the Max Louis", the spirit of the news crew is at its lowest. While looking for a news anchor, they stumble upon the resume of Max Louis (Jon Lovitz), who is a horrible applicant and a man who has had 37 jobs in his career. Despite, he was an old friend of Bill McNeal's, and that association gets him the job. Afterwards, the cast rebuilds its kooky dynamic and once again (slightly) resembles its former glory. Lovitz is a funny guy and I enjoyed seeing him on NewsRadio. He fit in well with the rather kooky cast, which was apparent from his guest appearances in the show's third and fourth seasons.

For the remainder of the season, there are some fun episodes. The episodes "Jail", "The Lam", and "Clash of the Titans" introduce Johnny Johnson (Patrick Warburton) as a reoccurring character. Johnny comes to the station when Jimmy is arrested by the FBI for a crime he didn't commit. While in jail, Johnny hopes to take over Jimmy's empire. It is a silly storyline, but the cast handles it well. Johnny makes additional appearances as Lisa's love interest in "Wino" and "Wedding". Another fun episode is "Apartments". What is so great about it is how goofy and crazy the cast gets. Joe tries to promote the station's website by putting in a live webcam in the break room. The gang put on a bizarre show to keep it interest with a mix of aliens and soap operas. It is the side story to Dave, Lisa, and Max competing for an apartment, but clearly the strongest part of the episode.

Despite the fun episodes, there are several ones that lack any punch. For instance, the episode "Hair" is as dry as they get. In it, the gang finds out Jimmy has a fear of hippies. Years ago, while working as a park ranger he was beat up. Now, he is scared of them. Joe hypnotizes him and puts in hippie-land to deal with his fears. Meanwhile, Lisa deals with Beth and Max, who took her puppy from her. The episode has a couple laughs to offer, but far from enough. There are other episodes that are just as lackluster.

Overall, NewsRadio's fifth and final season lacks the same fun chemistry found in earlier seasons. Without Phil Hartman, there is something missing. The cast replacement, Jon Lovitz, offers a strong character who delivers, just not quite the same as Hartman. In the end, fans of the show will appreciate the comedy this season has to offer, but at the same time miss Hartman's great performance and strong dynamic with the remainder of the cast.

Episode Guide

1. Bill Moves On: The WNYX staff mourns the passing of beloved anchor Bill McNeal.
2. Meet the Max Louis: Dave is persuaded to hire an oft-fired radio jock to replace Bill.
3. Lucky Burger: Lisa goes "undercover" to uncover awful conditions at a fast food restaurant.
4. Noise: Joe builds a white noise machine to help lower Dave's high blood pressure.
5. Flowers For Matthew: Joe's new "smart drink" has a startling effect on Matthew's I.Q.
6. Jail: The F.B.I. accuses Jimmy of being elusive legendary hijacker D.B. Cooper.
7. The Lam: Jimmy escapes from jail and goes to hide out at Dave's parents' house.
8. Clash of the Titans: Freed from jail, Jimmy discovers Johnny, his VP, has taken control of Jimmy's business empire.
9. Boston: The staff helps Dave create an inspirational video for his old high school.
10. Spooky Rapping Crypt: Beth battles Jimmy over an employee profit-sharing plan.
11. Stinkbutt: Dave defends Beth and Joe when their lobby mural comes under fire.
12. Apartment: Jimmy asks the staff to choose who deserves a new apartment - Lisa, Dave or Max.
13. Towers: Upset at turning thirty, Matthew rebels by becoming a punk rocker.
14. Hair: Joe uses hypnosis to help cure Jimmy of his decades-old fear of hippies.
15. Assistant: Joe falls for Lisa's foxy new assistant - who has the hots for Dave.
16. Wino: Johnny, now a homeless drunk, returns to ask Lisa to marry him.
17. Wedding: Lisa's and Johnny's marriage is delayed when he's arrested for stealing her wedding ring.
18. Ploy: Max pretends to quit the station in order to get Beth's attention - and a date.
19. Padded Suit: Upset by the staff's lazy ways, Dave threatens to fire someone.
20. Freaky Friday: Jimmy nearly loses a fortune when he and Matthew swap jobs for a day.
21. Retirement: Jimmy stuns the entire staff by announcing his retirement.
22. New Hampshire: Lonesome after moving to New Hampshire, Jimmy begs the staff to join him.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is generally good. There are occasional compression artifacts and traces of edge enhancement. But overall it is a solid picture.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is given in English Dolby digital stereo sound. The audio sounds pretty clean and is very flat. It is as basic as TV on DVD releases get. This release also supports closed captioning and has Portuguese subtitles.

Extras:
The DVD packaging does not do this season set justice. It is a misrepresentation of the extras... and for once, it is (sort of) in the consumer's favor! The DVD box cover says there is a gag reel and deleted scenes. It turns out there is more included. The cover does not mention it, but there are seven audio commentaries. At the same time, the "deleted scenes" aren't really deleted scenes. They are rather dull production skits.

• Commentary: The commentaries include episodes "Lucky Burger" with Paul Simms, Stephen Root, Josh Lieb, and Robert Spina, "Flowers for Matthew" with Paul Simms, Stephen Root, Josh Lieb, and Robert Spina, "Jail" with Paul Simms, Stephen Root, Todd Chambers, Josh Lieb, and Robert Spina, "Towers" with Paul Simms, Andy Dick, and Robert Spina, "Wedding" with Paul Simms, Andy Dick, Stephen Root, Sam Johnson, and Chris Marcil, "Padded Suit" with Paul Simms and Andy Dick, and "Freaky Friday" with Paul Simms, Stephen Root, Todd Chambers, Sam Johnson, and Chris Marcil.
• Fifth Season Gag Reel (22:47) is a long running gag reel. It features the cast many lots of goofs that will surely leave you laughing.
• Fifth Season One Man NewsRadio (3:58) is a short skirt with producer Joe Furey acting in various NewsRadio roles. It is not very funny.
• "The Lost Episode" One Man NewsRadio (1:41) is another short skit with Joe Furey. However, this one comes with an optional commentary, where Joe explains the purpose behind the clip/skit.
• Trailers: Lastly there are trailers for Seinfeld Season 7, Dynamic Duos (TV), and The King of Queens.

Final Thoughts:
The fifth and final season of NewsRadio continues to offer a lot of hilarity. However, this last season is not the show's best. With the loss of shining star Phil Hartman, the cast's dynamic was never the same. The new addition of Jon Lovitz helped to rekindled some of that lost magic, but, again, it was not quite the same. In the end, this season will make a nice for a nice watch and will put a smile on your face. While the laughs aren't nearly as strong as earlier seasons, it is still quite fun. It comes recommended.