Not many people remember this short-lived 1992 sit-com by David Lynch and Mark Frost. Even most die-hard fans of their hugely successful first series Twin Peaks somehow missed the three (of seven) episodes that ABC aired before pulling the plug. While I’m a fan of the absurd, and pretty forgiving of the bold risks and missteps taken by cult figures like Lynch and Frost, even I agree the show is a bomb. Yet if you’re in the right mood (and can track down a bootleg of the episodes), On the Air has lots of crazy fun to offer.

The producers get points for trying to be original; instead of simply repeating the moody, mysterious formula of Twin Peaks, On the Air is as slapstick as a comedy can get. The first half of each episode is set up like a complex arrangement of dominoes, which inevitably collapses in the second act in Rube Goldberg fashion, complete with pratfalls and cartoon sound effects. The setting is a small TV studio in 1957, with a cast of bizarre caricatures. Betty, the charming leading lady, is the dimmest bulb of any bunch. Blinky the sound man suffers from Bozeman’s Simplex, an unusual visual disorder that the audience is privy to once per episode. Another running gag is the appearance of the conjoined Hurry-Up Twins, who shuffle briskly through random scenes muttering “hurry up…hurry up.” David Lander (already famous for his wacky character Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley) plays a high-strung German director, in need of an interpreter for the benefit of his staff (and viewers). Each week the station’s employees and stars struggle to put on their live variety show, and each time find themselves in the middle of a hysterical disaster. The proceedings are utterly predictable, kitschy and campy, but stranger than the ingredients could suggest.

There are no comments yet. You could be the first!