No Soap, Radio (TV series)
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| creator = Les Alexander
Ron Richards
Richard Smith
Michael Jacobs
| developer = Merrill Grant
| executive_producer = Mort Lachman
| producer = Les Alexander
Richard Smith
Bill Richmond
| theme_music_composer = Patricia Kerr
| starring = Steve Guttenberg
| company = The Alexander Smith Company
Mort Lachman & Associates
Alan Landsburg Productions
| country = United States
| language = English
| network = ABC
| runtime = 30 minutes
|num_seasons = 1
|num_episodes = 5
| first_aired = {{start date|1982|4|15}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1982|5|13}}
}}
No Soap, Radio is an American sitcom and sketch comedy that aired on ABC on Thursdays from April 15 until May 13, 1982.{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present|year=2003|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=0-345-45542-8|pages=862}} Five episodes were broadcast.{{cite book|author=Richard Irvin|title=Forgotten Laughs: An Episode Guide to 150 TV Sitcoms You Probably Never Saw|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GqRWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT472|year=2016|publisher=BearManor Media|pages=472–|id=GGKEY:Y33N3H4NXN4}}{{cite book|author=Bob Leszczak|title=Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s: A Complete Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70szDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|date=16 May 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2384-9|pages=113–}} The five episodes also appeared on the BBC, where the deletion of commercial breaks gave the show an even more rapid-fire look.
The title is taken from a 1950s prank where "no soap radio" is given as a non-sequitur punchline to a joke.[http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/no-soap-radio/203467 TV Guide: No Soap, Radio episodes]. Accessed 20 April 2013
Plot
Overall, the plots of No Soap, Radio were very loosely wound and often nonsensical, as with one episode's subplot involving a sentient, man-eating chair. Continuity and plausibility were usually cheerfully ignored, and what continuing story there was in any given episode often centered around the staff at Atlantic City, New Jersey's Pelican Hotel, a former "showplace" that was now somewhat faded. Seen most frequently were Roger, the young, optimistic but sometimes overwhelmed owner/manager; Karen, his sunny, capable assistant (replacing Sharon, who only appeared in the pilot); and Tuttle, the villainous house detective who was desperate to have Roger sell the hotel. There were also several residents of the hotel who were featured, including the ebullient Mr. Plitzky, the determinedly perky Marion, and chronic complainer Mrs. Belmont.
Somewhat inspired by Monty Python's Flying Circus, each episode of No Soap, Radio was filled with sight gags, blackouts, and non-sequiturs. The show would frequently cut away to "Special Reports" right in the middle of a scene, with a fictitious news anchor detailing an improbable story. At other times, characters would watch a television commercial that would suddenly become the focus of a scene. Still other times, doors within the hotel might be opened to reveal any sort of environment from a business to a national park, and entire scenes would play out in these "hotel rooms" with no seeming connection to the main plot.
Cast
- Steve Guttenberg as Roger
- Hillary B. Smith as Karen
- Stuart Pankin as Tuttle
- Bill Dana as Mr. Plitzky
- Fran Ryan as Mrs. Belmont
- Edie McClurg as Marion
- Jerry Maren as Morris
- Bruce Glover as Interviewer (Season 1, 1982)
Episodes
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| style="background:#;"| No.
! style="background:#;"| Title ! style="background:#;"| Directed by ! style="background:#;"| Written by ! style="background:#;"| Original air date {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=1 |Title = Pilot |DirectedBy = John Robins |WrittenBy = Les Alexander & Ron Richards & Richard Smith & Michael Jacobs |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|4|15}} |ShortSummary= |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=2 |Title = Carmine the Squealer |DirectedBy = Bill Hobin |WrittenBy = Merrill Grant |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|4|22}} |ShortSummary= |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=3 |Title = Karen Fools Around |DirectedBy = Bill Hobin |WrittenBy = Bill Richmond, Ron Richards, Fred Raker |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|4|29}} |ShortSummary= |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=4 |Title = Miss Pelican |DirectedBy = Bill Hobin |WrittenBy = Merrill Grant |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|5|6}} |ShortSummary= |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=5 |Title = The Bums Rush |DirectedBy = John Robins |WrittenBy = Ron Richards, Michael Jacobs, Richard Smith, Les Alexander |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|5|13}} |ShortSummary= |LineColor= }} |
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0083457|title=No Soap, Radio}}
Category:Television shows set in New Jersey
Category:1982 American television series debuts
Category:1982 American television series endings
Category:1980s American sketch comedy television series
Category:1980s American sitcoms
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television series created by Michael Jacobs (producer)
Category:Television series by Fremantle (company)
Category:American Broadcasting Company sitcoms
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