On the Air (TV series)

On the Air
Genre Sitcom
Created by
Starring
Theme music composer Angelo Badalamenti
Composer(s) Angelo Badalamenti
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 7 (4 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Lynch/Frost Productions
Distributor Worldvision
Release
Original network ABC
Audio format Stereo
Original release June 20 – July 4, 1992

On the Air is an American television sitcom created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It was broadcast from June 20 to July 4, 1992 on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The series follows the staff of a fictional 1950s television network, Zoblotnick Broadcasting Company (ZBC), as they produce a live variety program called The Lester Guy Show—often with disastrous results. On the Air was produced by Lynch/Frost Productions and followed Lynch and Frost's previous series, Twin Peaks. In the United States only three of the seven filmed episodes were aired,[1] however the first-and-only season was broadcast in its entirety in the United Kingdom and several other European countries.

The series stars Ian Buchanan, Marla Rubinoff, Nancye Ferguson, Miguel Ferrer, Gary Grossman, Mel Johnson, Jr., Marvin Kaplan, David L. Lander, Kim McGuire and Tracey Walter. On the Air featured several directors, including co-creator David Lynch, Lesli Linka Glatter, Jonathan Sanger, Jack Fisk and Betty Thomas; Lynch, Glatter and Sanger had previously directed episodes of Twin Peaks.

Characters

Episodes

Title Directed by: Written by: Produced by: U.S. air date
1"The Lester Guy Show"David LynchMark Frost,
David Lynch
Gregg FienbergJune 20, 1992 (1992-06-20)

"The Lester Guy Show" is about to premiere live, with a dramatic Kitchen Scene planned as the show's climactic moment. A mishap with the sound effects board and a comical head injury reduces the Kitchen Scene to farce, redeemed by starlet Betty Hudson's tender rendition of a song "The Bird in the Tree".

Note - In 1997 TV Guide ranked this episode number 57 on its '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list.[2]
2"Episode 1.2"Lesli Linka GlatterMark FrostDeepak Nayar,
Robert Engels
N/A
Betty's popularity soars, she receives fan mail, galore, and she's invited to dinner by network owner Mister Zoblotnick. Budwaller, Guy and Nicole plot to ruin her dinner and humiliate her but their plan backfires.
3"Episode 1.3"Jack FiskRobert EngelsDeepak Nayar,
Robert Engels
June 27, 1992 (1992-06-27)
Lester plots to destroy Betty by hosting a rigged quiz show, pitting her and her 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Thissle, against Professor R. Answer, the man with the highest I.Q. ever recorded. Betty and Mrs. Thissle prevail until Mrs. Thissle realizing she's on live TV, has a panic attack. Mr. McGonigle, dazed on allergy medicine, substitutes as Betty's partner, and they manage to coincidentally answer the final question to win the game.
4"Episode 1.4"Jonathan SangerScott FrostDeepak Nayar,
Robert Engels
N/A
Guest stars this week are Doodles the Duck and, star of stage and screen, Stan Tailings. Lester hopes that his and Tailings's superior acting will help him derail Betty's ever-growing popularity but Tailings has voice issues and suffers from coughing fits. Doodles is accidentally fried by technicians, who go on to eat him. Tailings's continual voice problems and Lester's run-in with a prop electric chair once again dash Lester's plans and reduce the dramatic show to farce.
5"Episode 1.5"Lesli Linka GlatterMark FrostDeepak Nayar,
Robert Engels
July 4, 1992 (1992-07-04)
Betty is nervous over the appearance on the show of her famous sister Sylvia Hudson, an early television pioneer. Also on the show is the popular children's show host, a puppet named Mr. Peanuts. After Sylvia humiliates Mr. Peanuts on the air, Betty and the cast cheer him by singing his theme, "The Mr. Peanuts Song." Even the hard-hearted Buddy Budwaller is moved.
6"Episode 1.6"Betty ThomasRobert EngelsDeepak Nayar,
Robert Engels
N/A
This week's guest is Mr. Zoblotnick's favorite gypsy magician, The Great Presidio, who is scheduled to perform his most famous trick, The Gypsy Traveler. Presidio, however, thinks he is an auto mechanic and is unable to perform. He fears "the dog of transformation." Lester and Nicole plot to steal the show by sabotaging the Gypsy Traveler and having Lester learn and perform his own magic tricks. On the air, while Lester is trying to perform a trick and Nicole is trapped in a magic box, Presidio spies Snaps the Dog who Nicole has dressed as the Great Presidio's description of, "the dog of transformation." The magician regains his powers; he transforms Nicole into a lizard and uses the Gypsy Traveler trick to teleport Lester to Akron, Ohio.
7"Episode 1.7"Jack FiskDavid Lynch,
Robert Engels
Deepak Nayar,
Robert Engels
N/A
Lester is amazed by The Woman With No Name, a beatnik he's seen perform "down town." He invites her and her crew, the Voids, to appear on the Special "Salute to Summer" episode of "The Lester Guy Show", and demands that Budwaller allow her to perform. Meanwhile, Betty is upset because she can't remember her mother's first name. Lester and Nicole, once again, plot to destroy Betty, this time using a "voice disintegrator." During the show, however, the device ends up disintegrating Lester's voice instead of Betty's. As The Woman With No Name performs an avant-garde dance, Betty sings a song that features the name Mary, and joyously remembers that this is her mother's name. Because Mr. Zoblotnick and Valdja, because "beatnik" means "bootmaker" in their language, present The Woman With No Name with many pairs of boots and shoes. The show ends with Budwaller admitting that he understands nothing about his audience, and joins The Woman with No Name, and the entire cast and crew of "The Lester Guy Show", in a dance routine involving bare feet and shoes on hands. At the end of the show, Betty Hudson is nowhere to be found.

Reception

The A.V. Club wrote: "On the Air is filled with endearing characters and memorably odd touches."[3]

International broadcasts

All seven episodes were aired in the United Kingdom by BBC2, in the Netherlands by VPRO, in Sweden by SVT, in Finland by MTV3, in Poland by TVP2 and in France by Canal Jimmy. At least four episodes were aired in Canada. The entire run was aired in Australia on The Comedy Channel through the Foxtel cable TV provider. Some episodes have been aired by the Bulgarian Nova Television.

References

  1. Lewisohn, Mark (2003). "Comedy Guide – On the Air". BBC. Archived from the original on June 1, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
  2. Various, eds. (2007). The TV Guide Book of Lists (1st ed.). Running Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-7624-3007-9.
  3. Phipps, Keith (April 16, 2008). "TV Review – After Twin Peaks: On the Air · TV Club". The A.V. Club. Onion. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
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