NewsRadio 5.22

New Hampshire

Jimmy returns to announce that he has sold WNYX. He wants Dave to move to New Hampshire and run the local radio station which he just bought. Dave turns down Jimmy's offer but recommends that Jimmy hire Matthew in his place. One by one, Jimmy convinces everyone at WNYX (except Dave) to leave New York and move to New Hampshire.

Thoughts

This was a decent end to the show. It actually wrapped things up. There were some unresolved issues and things that were left a little ambiguous but it could have been much worse. I like a little ambiguity.

This episode was also funnier than the previous one.

NewsRadio 5.21

Retirement

Jimmy announces that he is going to sell WNYX, retire, and move to New Hampshire. Matthew fears that Dave will fire him once Mr. James has left. Beth and Joe help Matthew prepare for future job interviews. Lisa plans a farewell get together for Mr. James.

Thoughts

The only actors with speaking parts in this episode are the regular cast of the show.

I don't recall seeing this episode before. It had some moments that made me smile but nothing that made me laugh out loud. It felt very meta considering that there is just one more episode left to watch from this show.

NewsRadio 5.20

Freaky Friday

Dave revokes Max's breakroom privildges after he is caught taking his coworkers food. Mr. James and Matthew change jobs for a day. Beth freaks out and turns to Lisa for help when she finds out that the CD and Record Club is coming after her for the 300 times she got 19 CDs for 1 penny.

Thoughts

This was a good one, better than average. All three stories made me laugh.

NewsRadio 5.19

Padded Suit

Dave is in a bad mood and wants to fire one of the staff. Lisa tries to talk him out of it. Matthew and Max ask Joe to teach them the art of self-defense. Mr. James decides to declare war on Mother's Day.

Thoughts

There are some extras in this background in this episode but the only people who play roles are the regular cast.

I could be cynical and say this one was lame but it was also funny and made me laugh.

NewsRadio 5.18

Ploy

Max quits. He makes a big show of it. Beth is convinced that it is all a ploy to get her to "go out" with him. Dave accepts Max's resignation and doesn't make any effort to stop him from leaving, until Mr. James finds out about it and orders him to beg Max to stay.

Lisa changes her name to Lisa Miller Johnson. Joe tries to talk her out of changing her name. Matthew tries to talk her into changing her name to Svetlana Monsoon. Matthew never liked her old name.

NewsRadio 5.17

The Wedding

Lisa and Johnny move forward with their plan to get married. Dave tries to talk Lisa out of it. Johnny asks Dave to be his best man. Max is jealous. Lisa asks Mr. James to give her away. Beth sings at the wedding. Johnny gets arrested after the ceremony is over because he stole Lisa's wedding ring.

Thoughts

I wish I liked this episode more. There were a few good chuckles but on the whole it felt a bit forced. Matthew and Joe were given very little to do in this episode. I didn't care for Mr. James role in this one. I don't recall if this storyline is continued in the next or any of the other remaining episodes in this series.

NewsRadio 5.16

Wino

Johnny Johnson returns to WNYX. He has been living on the streets. He's still in love with Lisa, who has trouble resisting him. Everyone is ready to kick Johnny out, except Lisa.

Thoughts

There is no b-plot in this episode.

I really enjoyed this episode. This was a lot of fun. I don't recall seeing it before but I might have. This is definitely a highlight from this season and in part makes up for the abrupt and unsatisfying end to the last episode in which Johnny appeared.

NewsRadio 5.15

Assistant

Lisa hires an assistant, Foxy Jackson. Joe and Dave are smitten with Lisa's new assistant. Foxy reciprocates their interest but she creates a problem when she doesn't express a preference between them.

Max wants a couch for the men's room. Beth objects but when she sees how Mr. James decorates the Men's room she changes her tune and instead wants in to the men's room club.

NewsRadio 5.14

Hair

Joe attempts to cure Mr. James of his fear of hippies by using hypnosis. Lisa asks Max and Beth to look after Daisy, her puppy, but quickly regrets entrusting Daisy to her coworkers.

Thoughts

Dave "Gruber" Allen plays the part of a tech millionaire who has come to talk to Mr. James. This is his second and final appearance on NewsRadio. His previous appearance was in 4.04 (Super Karate Monkey Death Car) where he played a different character.

This isn't a great episode. I've seen worse but this wasn't a noteworthy episode.

NewsRadio 5.13

Towers

Matthew turns 30 and gets distressed. He changes his look and starts acting very different. Mr. James decides that he wants to build his own twin towers that will look like his initials JJ.

Thoughts

I've seen worse from this show but this wasn't a great episode.

NewsRadio 5.12

Apartment

Dave and Lisa both have applications in for the same apartment. They ask Jimmy to decide for them which one should get it. Max gets into the the race for the apartment once he sees it. Mr. James can't decide between his three employees so he puts the contest on the internet and lets other people decide.

Thoughts

I like it. I don't have a clear memory of this episode but I've probably seen it before. I like how the b-story gets connected to the a-story.

Alaina Reed-Hall played the landlady. She is probably best known for playing Rose Lee Holloway on 227 (115 episodes). She also played Olivia on Sesame Street (1976-1992, 165 episodes), which is probably where I saw her first.

NewsRadio 5.11

Stinkbutt

Lisa gets annoyed when Matthew comes in wearing an identical sweater to the one she is wearing. Max is convinced that Jack Frost, the security consultant that Mr. James hired, is a phony. Beth and Joe paint a blank canvas in the building's lobby.

Thoughts

Toby Huss played the part of Jack Frost. He has been in a number of things I have seen including Halt and Catch Fire, Sword of Trust, GLOW (4 episodes), and Seinfeld (1 epiosde). He was also in two episodes from the second season of NewsRadio but in those episodes he was playing a security guard who worked in the lobby of the building.

NewsRadio 5.10

Spooking Rapping Crypt

Mr. James and Beth get into an argument over profit sharing. Dave gets caught in the middle because Mr. James confided something to him before the argument began. 

Matthew gets it into his head that Lisa is the leader of a Satanic cult who abused him weeks ago. Joe tries to convince him otherwise but when that doesn't work he encourages Matthew to retaliate.

NewsRadio 5.09

Boston

Dave has to record an inspirational speech for a group of high school students. Everyone in the office has advice for him on what to say.

Max convinces Lisa that she has a speach impediment. He cures her of it but there is an unfortunate side effect.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode. It wasn't great buy I enjoyed it.

NewsRadio 5.08

Clash of the Titans

Jimmy is put on trial. He is released after Adam West steps forth and confesses to being D.B. Cooper. Jimmy returns to the office only to discover that Johnny has been made CEO of Jimmy James Incorporated.

Thoughts

This is not a good ending to this 3-episode arc. It felt flat. I was surprised when Adam West showed up but even he couldn't do anything to make this episode better.

This episode did nothing in my eyes to live up to the title they gave it.

NewsRadio 5.07

The Lam

Lisa acknowledges that Johnny is evil but also admits that he is a fun date. Johnny proposes to Lisa. Max also owns up to the fact that Johnny is evil, but also finds him irresistible. Mr. James calls Dave from his parents' home in Wisconsin. Joe and Beth take Dave to task for not liking Johnny.

The episode ends with the FBI getting their hands on Mr. James, his green duffle bag, and Matthew.

NewsRadio 5.06

Jail

The FBI arrests Mr. James after accusing him of being D.B. Cooper. Dave takes Lisa off the D.B. Cooper story after she finds evidence that incriminates Mr. James. Dave puts Matthew on the story in Lisa's place. Joe and Beth come up with a plan to break Mr. James out of prison. Max is afraid that the FBI is going to come after him next until Johnny Johnson, an executive from Jimmy's company, flies in to take charge of the situation. Everything is better until Jimmy finds out about Johnny and warns Dave that Johnny is up to no good.

NewsRadio 5.05

Flowers for Matthew

Joe tests a drink on Matthew that is supposed to make him smart. Matthew gets smarter, for a while.

Max tells Lisa about the crush he has on Beth. He panics when Beth finds out, after Lisa tells her, and makes up a story about Lisa having a crush on him.

Thoughts

This was an okay episode. It wasn't awful but it wasn't great. It ended with a bit of whimper. 

NewsRadio 5.04

Noise

Joe buids Dave a white noise machine because everyone at WNYX thinks he is stressed out. The machine relaxes Dave so much that everyone gets worried that he is too relaxed.

Max feuds with Lisa over a new segment that she added, This Day in History. Matthew has a chat with Beth which leads him to believe that Max needs mothering.

Thoughts

This was not a great episode. It wasn't awful, I've seen worse but I found it to be lacking. A few of the jokes were funny but none of the storylines pulled me in or felt like anything more than a framework for jokes.

NewsRadio 5.03

Lucky Burger

Lisa goes undercover at Lucky Burger. She plans to expose all the health code violations that take place in the fast food restaurant. The manager is so impressed with her work ethic that he promotes her to Assistant Manager. She decides that Lucky Burger is her new calling but then a health inspector shows up.

Matthew wants Dave to fire Max. Dave wants Max to use his real voice.

Thoughts

I liked the second half of this episode better than the first half. The best moments were those that involved Max and Dave. I liked Lisa's subplot but I wasn't crazy about it. There wasn't really enough to it. This wasn't a great episode but it was a decent one.