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Ten best shows about broadcasting

O

Oscar Madison

01. Lateline
02. 30 rock
03. Wkrp in cincinnati
04. Frasier
05. Mary tyler moore
06. The new wkrp in cincinnati
07. The larry sanders show
08. Newsradio
09. The newsroom (cbc/pbs)
10. Murphy brown
 
How about the '90s AMC series "Remember WENN," about a fictitious Pittsburgh radio station of the late '30s/early '40s? And how could you forget "The Dick Van Dyke Show"?
 
I think you mean "Good Morning, World" (from a catch phrase used by William B. Williams on the real WNEW radio). You're right. It wasn't very good. "Good Morning, America" was and is ABC's morning show.

I do remember "Remember WENN." It started out OK and quickly went downhill. Apparently the writers had worked in motion picture studios which produced programs for television, and assumed (wrongly) old time radio was pretty much the same thing. And they got sidetracked into outlandish plots, like the PD doing propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis as a double agent.

I wrestled with whether to include Dick Van Dyke. Yes, Carl Reiner did work on "Your Show of Shows" at NBC during the golden age but I never got a sense of "inside broadcasting" that I did from "My Favorite Year" (from Mel Brooks' experiences on the same show) or from 30 Rock. Van Dyke could have been about any office in any kind of business.

Basically, I went for shows that were funny and real (more or less, at least some basis in reality even with comedic license).
 
mississippi fan said:
Would ' Buffalo Bill' (1983) qualify?
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It is a show about broadcasting. But is it in the "top 10 list?"
I considered and left out Sportsnight, The Newsroom (HBO), FM, Hello Larry, Good Night Beantown, Dog Bites Man, A Whole New Ballgame, Mobile One and WIOU (among others). But anyone so inclined is free to build their own top 10 list using their own criteria.
 
Oscar Madison said:
I think you mean "Good Morning, World" (from a catch phrase used by William B. Williams on the real WNEW radio). You're right. It wasn't very good. "Good Morning, America" was and is ABC's morning show.

I do remember "Remember WENN." It started out OK and quickly went downhill. Apparently the writers had worked in motion picture studios which produced programs for television, and assumed (wrongly) old time radio was pretty much the same thing. And they got sidetracked into outlandish plots, like the PD doing propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis as a double agent.

I wrestled with whether to include Dick Van Dyke. Yes, Carl Reiner did work on "Your Show of Shows" at NBC during the golden age but I never got a sense of "inside broadcasting" that I did from "My Favorite Year" (from Mel Brooks' experiences on the same show) or from 30 Rock. Van Dyke could have been about any office in any kind of business.

Basically, I went for shows that were funny and real (more or less, at least some basis in reality even with comedic license).
Click to expand...

I was in a hurry and my brain thought "Good Morning World" but I went on autopilot and ended up with "America". I didn't even notice it. Thank you for awakening me. That's where I first saw Goldie Hawn! I knew that show was good for something.
 
semoochie said:
I was in a hurry and my brain thought "Good Morning World" but I went on autopilot and ended up with "America". I didn't even notice it. Thank you for awakening me. That's where I first saw Goldie Hawn! I knew that show was good for something.
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In a way, maybe a good thing the show died quickly so Goldie could go do "Laugh-In."
 
Three others worth mentioning, with MAYBE only one them worth putting in the Top 10:

Sports Night: ABC/Disney's chance to hype ESPN through a dramedy
Good Sports: the early 90's vehicle for Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett
Goodnight, Beantown: the lame CBS show in 1983-84 that starred Bill Bixby and Mariette Hartley
 
Remember WENN - pretty much the brainchild of Rupert Holmes (yeah, the "Pina Colada Song" guy) - also suffered from a low budget, and it's very hard to do a period show that way, having to make or rent costumes, props, etc. The show had little or no outdoor scenes, to avoid renting vintage vehicles. And this was back in AMC's commercial-free days. Later, after it accepted advertising, AMC could afford to do a proper period drama like Mad Men.
 
rnigma1 said:
Remember WENN - pretty much the brainchild of Rupert Holmes (yeah, the "Pina Colada Song" guy) - also suffered from a low budget, and it's very hard to do a period show that way, having to make or rent costumes, props, etc. The show had little or no outdoor scenes, to avoid renting vintage vehicles. And this was back in AMC's commercial-free days. Later, after it accepted advertising, AMC could afford to do a proper period drama like Mad Men.
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The old saying advises would be writers to "write what you know." Carl Reiner knew about the backstage live of a live television variety show and wrote The Dick Van Dyke Show. Tina Fey did the same. Hugh Wilson used his experiences at WQXI, Atlanta in WKRP. James L. Brooks used his experiences as a news writer for CBS.

Rupert should have stuck to what he knew. He might have done a good backstage show about a Broadway musical.
 
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