''The Newz'' was a half-hour syndicated

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

that aired in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. It starred Tommy Blaze,

Mystro Clark Mystro Clark (born December 29, 1966, in Dayton, Ohio) is an American entertainer who was the second permanent American host of the syndicated version of the series '' Soul Train'' from 1997 until 1999. He went on to become a film and televisio ...

, Deborah Magdalena, Dan O'Connor, Stan Quash,

Brad Sherwood Bradley Sherwood is an American actor, singer, comedian, game show host and writer. Career His first acting job was a recurring role on ''L.A. Law'' as Ned Barron, which lasted for six episodes from 1991 to 1992. Sherwood was introduced to im ...

, Nancy Sullivan,

Shawn Alex Thompson Shawn Alex Thompson (born January 13, 1958, Berwick, Nova Scotia is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, television producer, and television director, as well as a professional magician. Notably he is one of the producers of ''Puppets Who Kill'', which ...

, and Lou Thornton. In addition to the main cast, regular guest stars included Melissa Savage, Mark Fenlon, Justin Cambridge, and Tim Watters as

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. The series was produced from

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The show was notable for being the first ever nightly scripted sketch comedy show, and was conceived and created by Executive Producer James McNamara. Rather than weekly as are most sketch comedies; the show aired five nights a week, plus a repeat episode on Saturdays. The writers were: Wayne Page (Producer / Head Writer), Jeff McCarthy, Jon Ezrine, Michael Price, David Litt, Andrew Ornstein, Micheal Globerman, JoJo Liblier, Terry Ward, Shang Forbes and Michael Wilson. Recurring segments included: * Tommy Blaze and the Newz, in which Blaze would deliver what was basically a monologue on recent news events. In this piece, Tommy would be seated in a chair modeled after Captain Kirk's command chair from the original Enterprise. Behind him was a wall of televisions. Tagline, "I'm not finished yet!" * Ask Abby and Andy, a relationship advice segment in which Abby (Sullivan) would give caring, insightful advice in response to the mailed-in problems, after which Andy (Blaze) would give his outrageous (and usually

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

) point of view on the subject. * Short humorous films by Thompson. * Quash as someone who was extremely disgruntled because of his job; e.g., as "Bag Boy" who hates bagging groceries, conceived and written by Wayne Page & Jeff McCarthy as a vehicle for Quash. "

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

Boy" who hated working for

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

, or as "

Caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

Boy" who was sick and tired of putting up with bad

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

ers. *

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

in various situations where he would deliver some of his famed speeches. The title of the sketch was always a play on his name (and self-titled

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

), for example "Malcolm FedEx", after the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

. * Tom Slack, segments starring Sherwood as a

narcoleptic Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles. Symptoms often include periods of excessive daytime sleepiness and brief involuntary sleep episodes. About 70% of those affec ...

in high-stress jobs such as Airline Pilot, Heart Surgeon and Zeppelin Pilot on the Hindenburg. conceived and written by Wayne Page & Jeff McCarthy.

References

External links

* 1990s American satirical television series 1990s American sketch comedy television series 1994 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series by Sony Pictures Television {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub