NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS (TV)
Summary
One in this satirical comedy series based on the British series "Not the Nine O'Clock News" and featuring rapid-fire sketches, news and commercial parodies, and dubbed news clips. This episode begins by showing how the twenty-one-gun salute during President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration affected the world. Other segments include: a "Special Report" in which Vice President George H.W. Bush conducts a briefing; a commercial parody for "Don King Margarine," which turns one's hair puffy and white like the infamous boxing promoter; "Ski News with Pete Kimelman," in which Kimelman reports from the slopes; Anne Bloom's promotion of "Natural Glow" "makeup"; a short-order cook serves a dinner to dignitaries including Reagan and Margaret Thatcher; a news brief details the Soviet Union's new strategy for keeping Politburo members alive, among other briefs; a commercial parody for "The Silly Army"; Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan struggles to respond to allegations that C.I.A.-backed Contras are killing Nicaraguan peasants; "Sharon vs Westmoreland: The Final Battle" in which two generals sue each other; a commercial parody for "Moss," a new magazine for the nouveau riche; world leaders' New Year's resolutions for 1985; a commercial parody for I.H.O.P., the International House of Phrogs; a commercial parody for "Disney on Ice," where the legendary -- and dead -- creator of Mickey Mouse makes an appearance; the "New Guinea Evening News" reports on Pope John II's arrival in Papua; a commercial parody for Diet Pepsi as promoted by former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro; a commercial parody for NBC's upcoming, and highly miscast, biopics; a news bulletin on El Salvador's recent election, won by wrestler Hulk Hogan; "Backtalk," a TV show in which celebrities' hirsute backs are discussed; a commercial parody for Mister Charge credit cards; a news brief reporting on a recent gathering in Red Square to commemorate V.I. Lenin's birth, among other news briefs; a woman has to identify a dead body with alarmingly few characteristics; a news report on a Pennsylvania plumbers' strike, among other stories; a commercial parody trying to raise awareness for people who watch too much TV and end up talking like commercial pitchmen; a home intruder "breaks" into a man's television set; a commercial for a "Dynasty" parody, "Not Necessarily Television"; a commercial parody for "Paper Clips," a fast-paced television series about stationery; Reagan and Bush watch "Uncle Flubby's Fun House," starring a perverse clown; Walter Mondale getting denied Secret Service protection and being forced to carry a gun; a commercial parody for Cynthia products; a commercial parody for a television movie, "Something About Everything"; Michael Landon campaigning for Reagan in "Highway to Hell"; Jimmy Carter's thoughts on Mondale; a man is annoyed by his television set when it speaks Spanish; a surgeon watches television during an operation; a woman is under surveillance in a dressing room, and displayed on the store's TV screens; a man and woman enjoy the Book Channel, among others; dignitaries attend a black-tie dinner at the White House, honoring the "worst" in television; and NBC offers cash to Nielsen families that watch the network. Tape ends abruptly.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: November 30, 1984
- RUNNING TIME: 0:30:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:13630
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 1983-1990
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Anne Bloom … Cast, Frosty Kimelman
- Danny Breen … Cast, Steve Casper
- Mitchell Laurance … Cast, Pete Kimelman
- Stuart Pankin … Cast, Bob Charles
- Lucy Webb … Cast, Helen St. Thomas
- Bush, George, H.W.
- Jimmy Carter
- Walt Disney
- Geraldine Ferraro
- Hulk Hogan
- Don King
- Michael Landon
- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
- Walter Mondale
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
- Pope John Paul II
- Ronald Reagan
- Ariel Sharon
- Margaret Thatcher
- William Westmoreland