NewsRadio

Character & Episode Info

• An occasional joke about Canada was inserted into the show, ostensibly as an in-joke concerning Canadian born Foley and Hartman.
• The name "Jimmy James" came from a Beastie Boys song with the same title.
• The name "Beth" came from a KISS song with the same title.
• Maura Tierney and Joe Rogan's characters (Lisa and Joe) are modeled closely on their real life personalities.
• The character of Joe was originally named Rick, and was played by another actor, Greg Lee, in the pilot episode.
• Ray Romano was originally cast to play Joe, but was fired prior to getting Everybody Loves Raymond. It was revealed in the Seasons 1 and 2 DVD commentary that his particular brand of verbal comedy did not mix well with the fast-paced repartee of the rest of the cast.
• There was a rumor that Dave Foley's character, Dave Nelson, was named after the Twin Towers. The towers were once called "David" and "Nelson" in reference to the Rockefeller brothers who initially championed the project http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/wtc.htm, and Dave was sometimes seen in the opening credits with the towers in the background. However, the story is entirely false and coincidental. Paul Simms says "I named this character Dave because I wrote it with no one else but Dave Foley in mind. Nelson is my mother's maiden name." http://epguides.com/NewsRadio/guide.shtml
• Each episode starting with the 2nd season begins with a short comic situation ending with Andy Dick falling over or knocking something over just before the NewsRadio title sequence.
• The last nine episodes of season two (2.13-2.21) are named after Led Zeppelin albums, though not in order of their release. All of the albums except for Led Zeppelin III have an episode named after them. In addition, episode 3.13 is named "Led Zeppelin Boxed Set."