No Soap, Radio

For reasons unknown, vague memories of this show of which I watched perhaps 2 episodes when I was a pre-teen bubbled up to my conscious thoughts today. All I could recall was that it was a sitcom from around 1980, it was set in a hotel, and it included many weird non sequiturs. Luckily that was enough to pin down this title in the IMDb advanced search. Until I can find some episodes to watch I can't say if it was good or bad but the memory of it is still with me 35 years later which is saying something.

Maybe when you're 14 you laugh at anything but I thought this was a brilliant programme. In particular the skit on "Yukon Dan" (or whatever his name was) sticks in my memory ... the twee tune , the perfect lyrics: "his breath would make a grizzly cryyyyyyyyyy .... and he wore a stupid hat ! "

Class.

When this show aired on ABC in 1982, I couldn't figure it out. This was crazy stuff. I liked the gags more than I did the storyline. If this aired today, it would have been a smash hit. But in 1982, the public wasn't ready for this. This, mind you, was the era of "Dallas" and "Magnum P.I.". I didn't know who starred in this show until I read later that it was Steve Guttenberg, who you all know starred in those god awful "Police Academy" movies. I didn't care for his character on this show. I remember the view from a roller-coaster during the opening credits. I would have expected Comedy Central, TV Land, or Comedy Central's predecessor HA! to rerun the episodes, but none of them did. Though it didn't receive the cult status of another short-lived groundbreaking show, "Police Squad", this show stills stands in my memory as one of the craziest shows I have ever watched.

Although this comedy only lasted a season it was probably one of American television's best attempts in creating a Monty Python type sketch comedy program.

The show was led by a young Steve Guttenberg (YES, the Steve Guttenberg who later starred in all those dreary police academy films) and a small band of Hollywood character actors. The basis of each show revolved VERY loosely on the events at a hotel in which Guttenberg worked.

NSR was not afraid to completely wander from the show's premise as with Monty Python's Flying Circus. This show would go into movie parodies or other skits completely unrelated to the main story. Like some of the best Python episodes, NSR would eventually find its way back to close its story before the episode was over.

One of the unrelated events would be a stunt by Bob "Super Dave Osborne" Einstien. The NSR skits were probably some of his best stuff (when Super Dave is limited to a few minutes, is can be quite funny), especially his most dangerous stunt of cursing at the late New York Yankees hotheaded manager, Billy Martin.

The show had some great continuing gags. One involved a reoccurring sight gag in a "Break in Case of Fire" box (more like a booth). Each week one would see everything from a live fireman to a boy scout (rubbing two sticks together) encaged in the glass booth.

NSR was a part of ABC's "Two Hours of Comedy Power' for the 1982 year. In the Tuesday night line up started with the show "Bossom Buddies" with the talented Peter Scolari and some guy named Tom Hanks (whatever happened to this guy?), No Soap Radio, and the series "Police Squad" with Leslie Nelson (which spawned three movies of the same name). The evening would end with "Mork and Mindy" in which the great Jonathan Winters joined the series in the 1981-1982 year as Mork's (Robin Williams) son, Mearth.

Considering what became of the shows and its stars, I would love to see ABC or even Comedy Central show these two hours as they originally appeared 20 years ago. All have pretty much appeared in syndication except NSR. It is about time that the most daring show of the series gets credit for attempting to be creative.

• that is, if it is the right show. The show I laughed at back then had inserted skits that were completely unrelated to the main story about Guttenberg running a hotel, such as a spoof on the trailer for a 50s sci-fi, called "The Day Everybody's Name was Al". The captions read for instance "The Most Terrifying Film", and, true to 50s film clichées, one of the words would be blown up on the screen - but in this skit, they would send totally irrelevant adverbs flying into our faces, such as "MOST" in the caption mentioned above. I was sick with laughter. I also recall another skit about a guy applying for a job in a hat firm where the manager was just a head. The interview contained remarks such as "I think the hat is the most important piece of clothing, don't you?" His secretary, too, was only a head (she typed with her nose), and at the end of the skit, the manager sneezed and was catapulted back into the waste paper basket. I'm sorry, but I was in stitches. I also recall something about a man-eating armchair.

I'd love to find that series somewhere again... hm. I think I shall try e-bay...