Newsradio's second Christmas episode is from 1996, and it opens with a magnificent Joe/Matthew scene. In just two minutes, we learn everything we ever need to know about their relationship, and how the rest of the staff react to them.
Matthew's also busy helping Jimmy James pick gifts for all his rich friends (Bruce Springsteen gets mittens, for example). Dave finds himself doing everyone's work, which puts a crimp in his plans to take Lisa home to meet his folks (to her relief).
And while Joe is preempting postholiday depression by ripping down decorations ("Now you can go fire Bob Cratchit and kick Tiny Tim in the leg"), Beth and Bill record a commercial.
Beth is really the star of this episode -- the montage of her botched takes is lightning-fast and hilarious, a real spotlight of her manic childlike energy. It's also great to see Matthew reenacting the old Christmas tradition of the Feast of Fools, as he sits in Dave's chair and pretends to be him.
One final note: Please don't let your dogs eat Polaroids.
As an episode of Newsradio, I rate this one 8/10. Everyone has something funny and in-character to do, and only Catherine gets shorted on screentime (no surprises there, I'm afraid).
As a Christmas episode, I rate this 7/10. Decorations, plenty of holiday talk about gifts and family and food.
As a spotlight for Dave, I rate this 7/10. He gets to hit almost all of Dave Nelson's notes in this one, from bemusement to bone-dry sarcasm, and even a bit of sweet romantic Dave. (The only color missing from the palette hadn't really surfaced yet in the course of the show, the unhinged, frustrated Dave they leaned on too much in Season Five.)
Matthew's also busy helping Jimmy James pick gifts for all his rich friends (Bruce Springsteen gets mittens, for example). Dave finds himself doing everyone's work, which puts a crimp in his plans to take Lisa home to meet his folks (to her relief).
And while Joe is preempting postholiday depression by ripping down decorations ("Now you can go fire Bob Cratchit and kick Tiny Tim in the leg"), Beth and Bill record a commercial.
Sidebar: I'm not entirely sure radio stations mail out Christmas cards to advertisers the week of Christmas, and I'm pretty sure the advertisers don't record their Christmas-themed commercials that week either. But I'll get over it.
Beth is really the star of this episode -- the montage of her botched takes is lightning-fast and hilarious, a real spotlight of her manic childlike energy. It's also great to see Matthew reenacting the old Christmas tradition of the Feast of Fools, as he sits in Dave's chair and pretends to be him.
One final note: Please don't let your dogs eat Polaroids.
Second sidebar: I wonder whose dog that is. It could easily be a stage dog, though it's not credited. I know all the writers brought their dogs to work with them -- did it one belong to one of them?
As an episode of Newsradio, I rate this one 8/10. Everyone has something funny and in-character to do, and only Catherine gets shorted on screentime (no surprises there, I'm afraid).
As a Christmas episode, I rate this 7/10. Decorations, plenty of holiday talk about gifts and family and food.
As a spotlight for Dave, I rate this 7/10. He gets to hit almost all of Dave Nelson's notes in this one, from bemusement to bone-dry sarcasm, and even a bit of sweet romantic Dave. (The only color missing from the palette hadn't really surfaced yet in the course of the show, the unhinged, frustrated Dave they leaned on too much in Season Five.)
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