Season 5: NewsRadio Episode Guide

Phil Hartman was murdered before the start of the season. The first ep was depressing as hell. Then Jon Lovitz joined the cast and screwed everything up. There are some gems, however. "Flowers for Matthew" is great. "Padded Suit" is solid. The rest are okay. They're better than the crap that typically passes for sitcom entertainment, but they're no where at the level the first four seasons were. Ironically, the Season 5 commentary is among the best in the DVD set. It ranks up there with the Season 1 and 2 commentary. How lame is it that I know this?

On the NewsRadio Season 5 DVD (NewsRadio, by the way, is sometimes referred to as News Radio, confused as Talk Radio, and drunkenly mistaken for WKRP in Cincinnati) Maximum Awesome received a few shout-outs in the commentary. On the Season 4 DVD commentary, series creator Paul Simms asked that questions for the Season 5 commentary be submitted to an email address. I dutifully complied, and Simms was kind enough to read several of my questions on the DVD. There's only one word to describe that, and that word is 'spiffy.'

I originally considered not writing up the season 5 episodes, but I'm committed now, aren't I? Can't just do all the other stuff and leave this one behind like a genetically imperfect red-headed stepchild, now can I? So here we go:

• 5.01 Bill Moves On
• 5.02 Meet the Max Louis
• 5.03 Lucky Burger
• 5.04 Noise
• 5.05 Flowers for Matthew
• 5.06 Jail
• 5.07 The Lam
• 5.08 Clash of the Titans
• 5.09 Boston
• 5.10 Spooky Rapping Crypt
• 5.11 Stinkbutt
• 5.12 Apartment
• 5.13 Towers
• 5.14 Hair
• 5.15 Assistant
• 5.16 Wino
• 5.17 Wedding
• 5.18 Ploy
• 5.19 Padded Suit
• 5.20 Freaky Friday
• 5.21 Retirement
• 5.22 New Hampshire