“The year is 1957. A new program entitled ‘The Lester Guy Show’ is debuting on the Zoblotnick Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). Most of the cast is nuts, the crew is incompetent and everything that could go wrong always does. Of course, this makes the show a hit.” So goes the logline to David Lynch‘s short-lived ABC sitcom “On The Air” and if you need a reminder of what the filmmaker did with his opportunity to be zapped into the homes of mainstream America, here you go.
As LynchNet lets us know, the show was created during the second season of “Twin Peaks,” and utilizing many of the same cast and crew members, ABC actually gave the thumbs up to Lynch’s sudden idea for a half-hour absurdist comedy, with seven episodes filmed. Unfortunately, only three made it to air, and by the time it was ready to go, the network had turned cold on Lynch and “Twin Peaks,” and wound up dumping “On The Air” during the summer months of 1992. But was it really that bad?
As OpenCulture points out, the pilot was once ranked #57 on TV Guide‘s list of the ”100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time” which led to ABC ordering up the show in the first place. And while the show has never had an official home video release stateside, thanks to the power of the interwebs, you can check out all seven episodes below. Give it a look and let us know what you think.