Funny that I don't think of 1983 as ancient times, but I guess in some ways it was. I would catch this show when it was on, but wouldn't really care if I missed an episode either. I guess that's why it only lasted a year.
This episode has TV talk show host Bill (Dabney Coleman) annoyed with his dull guests and even more annoyed when he is told that the station owner has insisted that he adopt a co-host that he had no say in hiring. But what is really interesting is how he treats his research assistant played by Geena Davis. At 26 the script already has her lying about her age - She tells Bill she is 22. Was 26 considered old age in 1983? When she introduces herself he is calling her "sweety", "honey", "baby". Then he asks her to get him a tie AND to tie that tie for him! Today THAT would get him pulled off the air, not the dull guests.
Later he is apparently dating her, as he is taking her out to dinner. That is discovered by the show's director Jo Jo White (Joanna Cassidy), and even though she has some kind of relationship with Bill it doesn't seem to bother her or surprise her that Bill is seeing another woman.
A big surprise in watching this was seeing Charles Robinson as an irrascible makeup man who gets confrontational when he feels disrespected. That is especially strange after seeing him play Mac, the affable layback bailiff on Night Court for so many years.
This episode and the rest of the series is on youtube, which is getting to be like what late night TV used to be before it got taken over by conmen selling supplements of dubious value - a place of never ending discovery.
This episode has TV talk show host Bill (Dabney Coleman) annoyed with his dull guests and even more annoyed when he is told that the station owner has insisted that he adopt a co-host that he had no say in hiring. But what is really interesting is how he treats his research assistant played by Geena Davis. At 26 the script already has her lying about her age - She tells Bill she is 22. Was 26 considered old age in 1983? When she introduces herself he is calling her "sweety", "honey", "baby". Then he asks her to get him a tie AND to tie that tie for him! Today THAT would get him pulled off the air, not the dull guests.
Later he is apparently dating her, as he is taking her out to dinner. That is discovered by the show's director Jo Jo White (Joanna Cassidy), and even though she has some kind of relationship with Bill it doesn't seem to bother her or surprise her that Bill is seeing another woman.
A big surprise in watching this was seeing Charles Robinson as an irrascible makeup man who gets confrontational when he feels disrespected. That is especially strange after seeing him play Mac, the affable layback bailiff on Night Court for so many years.
This episode and the rest of the series is on youtube, which is getting to be like what late night TV used to be before it got taken over by conmen selling supplements of dubious value - a place of never ending discovery.
