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The personal and professional lives of the staff of fictional Pittsburgh radio station WENN in the early 1940s, before and during World War II.
1996
(Series Premiere) Newly arrived from Elkhart, Indiana, Betty Roberts arrives at radio station WENN in Pittsburgh after winning a writing contest for an internship position. She quickly meets the sarcastic receptionist Gertrude Reece; Jeff Singer, the suave, smooth-talking, handsome actor; his diva wife, *Miss* Hilary Booth, who was famous on Broadway years before in such productions as ""The Rivals"" and ""Razzle Dazzle""; the man of a thousand voices, Mackie Bloom; stern but ingenious station manager Victor Comstock; the sweet but often befuddled Tom Eldridge; and the constantly inebriated writer, Mr. Gianetti. While Betty assumes she'll step into her internship position in a calm manner, bedlam ensues instead, as she quickly discovers she's going to have to think on her feet within hours of her coming through the door. Mr. Gianetti's drinking problem comes to the forefront as the cast on the air ad libs their show, have to invent a rushing river on the spot, and make 45 seconds of sil
Got a problem you want to air on the radio? ""It's Your Nickel""! Along with starting the first call-in advice show, we also get to meet Celia Mellon, the new blonde ingenue. But will ""It's Your Nickel"" be a success? When a young caller makes an urgent request over the airwaves, the cast wonders if maybe they've gotten in over their heads.
Celia Mellon has it all. A great job, a great look, a great...name? Or does she? Does Celia have a big secret in her past? And what does the sponsor of a show from the Pittsburgh Public Library have to do with answering that question? Sometimes, being who you are is the most important lesson anyone can learn.
There is no one like Miss Hilary Booth, on stage or on the radio. But when Hilary discovers that an adversary from her past will be making a stop at WENN, will she rise to the occasion and be a gracious host? Or be the diva that she is reputed to be? However, Grace Cavendish has a relationship with someone else at the station besides Hilary, and will that keep Grace at WENN...for good?
Which is more important: a person's outer beauty, or a person's inner beauty? Such is the question Mackie must deal with when a listener shows up at the station to meet Mackie's radio character ""The Vagabond"", but there's a slight hitch, the listener is blind. Should Mackie try to make himself out to be someone he isn't? Or should he accept who he is revealing his true self to not only his listener, but everyone else?
The main cast is away at a radio convention and the ""bare bones"" staff is left to continue the day's programming. What could possibly go wrong? Try just about everything! When the day's recordings get destroyed, and the biggest sponsor shows up at the station unannounced, it's up to Betty, Eugenia, Mr. Foley, Mr. Eldridge, and Gertie to keep the station afloat. Enter the new shows ""Amateurs on Parade"", ""Lost Is My Valley"" (at twice the volume for listeners with poor reception), radio shadow puppets, and a very familiar sounding version of ""Tales From The Good Book"". By the way, if you've ever taken Ukranian language lessons, they'll come in handy.
A stormy night, flickering lights, and a mysterious telephone call would normally be the stuff only found on one of WENN's radio dramas. But when an escaped convict shows up at the station, demanding that ""Armchair Detectives"" reopen his case to find out who killed his boss, the situation becomes all too real. Can Jeff, as Sherlock Holmes, solve the case? Or will the staff be the subject of someone else's radio ""solve-it-yourself"" drama?
Adrian Carr, famed producer, wants to take Hilary Booth's radio show ""Valient Journey"" nationwide. However, due to an unfortunate accident with a mic stand and Hilary's head, Hilary suddenly believes she's really the main character in another of her shows, ""Jane Timmons, Registered Nurse""! Can everyone get Hilary to remember who she really is in time for the national broadcast? And will it take a miracle only Peter Pan could bring?
The cast is recruited by Ted E. Peck, director of medical films for the military (his most famous film: ""Sailor Beware; That Dame's Got The Initials V D"") to voice over a newly discovered film from Rudolph Valentino. During the recording, though, Ted decides that a simple voice over won't work, and he wants to turn Jeff Singer into the next Hollywood star! Will Hilary Booth step aside to let Jeff follow his dreams? And will Jeff become the next Valentino?
""Oh, would you look at the time?"" With this dodging catchphrase, the audience is introduced to new station manager Scott Sherwood, and also to his questionable tactics in regards to gaining revenue for WENN. While the cast enthusiastically agrees with his ideas at first, they quickly realize that in order to slow him down, they're going to have to one-up him.
Scott puts Betty in an awkward position when he asks her to help rig a radio quiz show.
Jeffrey gets a job offer from Victor to work in war-torn London, leaving the station short-handed.
1998
With Victor losing his memory, Betty must find his contact person to assist him with getting it back; Hilary learns the truth about Jeffrey's overseas marriage.
After Mr. Eldridge reveals a winning lottery ticket, he must decide what to use it for; Betty is tasked with cutting costs at WENN, with Mr. Eldridge's position on the cutting block; Hilary continues to give Jeffrey the cold shoulder.
When the station runs a dating contest where the staff members are randomly paired, Hilary schemes to rig the contest so that she does not get paired with Jeffrey.
Can WENN beat radio station WTN in Philadelphia's record by staying on the air nonstop for three days? And with no sleep? You can certainly bet they're going to try! Witness the breakdown of coherent speech, the ability to sleep sideways on a stool, the genius of ping pong balls and india ink, and why Eugenia Bremer needs her morning cup of coffee.
Antony and Cleopatra have found their way to Pittsburgh and Hilary wants the title role! Unfortunately, her agent Wilbur (although he calls himself Brian), has neglected to see to Hilary's best interests in securing the part for her. So she decides to take matters into her own hands. Enter the creation of Doris Snithing (Snively). Will Hilary manage to not only get back to Broadway but get herself a spectacular new agent? Or will her sudden case of multiple personalities backfire?
Proof once again that if you're waitressing in a roadhouse, never fall for the man who delivers oranges and grapefruits. When Pittsburgh is shut down due to a strike, the WENN crew gets a real emergency on their hands with a woman arriving to see Dr. Talbot. Which would be great except that Dr. Talbot is a character on one of their shows and Cora is about to have a baby. Will the ambulance get there on time? Or will all of Pittsburgh share in welcoming a new little miracle?
As if the Winthrop brothers haven't had enough of WENN. Luke Winthrop pleads his case before Betty and Scott that his school is in dire need of one thousand dollars or it will be forced to close. What to do? Put on a burlesque show, of course. Maple, Eugenia, and Betty get their own solo numbers, Hilary gets to hold an audience in the palm of her hand...or glove, and Scott and Jeff do a comedy routine. Unfortunately, all this is taking place while certain residents of the Barbican Hotel for Women (Betty and Maple) are under scrutiny and if they're caught, they might lose their rooms. The surprise twist at the end is worth being raided for.
With the Golden Lobe Awards approaching, Jeffrey and Scott are competing against each other while Hilary must find the staff member who will cast the deciding vote for her award.
With the offer of a possible reward from a wealthy philosopher and author, the staff decide to switch positions for a day.
With her relationship with Victor now fleeting, Betty sits down with Maple and recalls her first days at the station.
With the advent of television, Gertie pitches a script to Betty. However, the rest of the staff chimes in and has different ideas about how the plot should unfold.
With a process server in the building, members of the staff cross dress in order to avoid detection and protect Jeffrey from being served a summons for abandoning his overseas wife.
Following the Pearl Harbor bombing, the male staff members consider enlisting. Hilary objects to Jeffrey's enlistment while Scott uses enlistment as an attempt to seduce Betty.
1996
The staff reacts to the news of Victor's death which has a residual effect on sponsorship. Jeffrey returns home from London.
Hilary and Jeffrey reignite their love affair which causes issues on the airwaves.
The staff at the station decide to report the news but have trouble trying to find anything that is newsworthy; a new organist is hired.
They're decking the halls and anticipating a very merry Christmas, but will the WENN crew actually get the chance? A very special guest could eliminate Christmas at WENN forever! As the staff prepares for "Tell It To Santa" and a medley of holiday favorite songs, someone else's unhappy memories could keep the staff from celebrating at all, and bring the downfall of the station while they're at it. An exceptional one hour special with original songs from Rupert Holmes will keep you glued to your screen.
After Hilary is unable to sing live on the air, she comes up with a traumatic childhood story so that Betty will sing for her without the listeners knowing the difference.
With both Jeffrey and Hilary running for Pittsburgh City Council, the staff airs a live debate on air.
Tension starts to build among the staff when they are forced to quarantine at the station following Mr. Foley being stricken ill.
Wanting his visiting aunt to believe that he is part of a more noble profession, Scott gets the staff to pretend that he is an FBI agent and the station is FBI Headquarters.
With Mackie's former jilted bride visiting the station, Hilary comes up with a scheme to have him "marry" Betty live on the air in order to make her jealous.
Mackie tries to enhance his comedy routine with a fake laugh track machine; Mr. Foley's crude, loud mouth brother, who works for a show sponsor, visits the station.
Jeffrey and Hilary reveal they use cues and code words to communicate; Scott and Betty investigate the use of secret codes on the "Amazon Andy" show that go beyond simple messages.
Tom Beckett
Mr. Foley
Carolee Carmello
Maple LaMarsh
George Hall
Tom Eldridge
Margaret Hall
Gertie Reece
Melinda Mullins
Hilary Booth
Christopher Murney
Mackie Bloom
Amanda Naughton
Betty Roberts
Hugh O'Gorman
Jeff Singer
Kevin O'Rourke
Scott Sherwood
Mary Stout
Eugenia Bremer
1997
After seeing Victor still alive at the station, Betty goes to great lengths to hide him from the staff.
When Hilary is slated to star in a Broadway play, she clashes with Jeffrey and the writer over whether it should be a comedy or drama; Betty starts to investigate Scott after Victor's revelation.
After an internal audit shows that Scott embezzled money, he is fired by Rollie Pruitt. While most of the staff is willing to stand behind him and walk out with him, Betty is conflicted.
Scott Sherwood is out as station manager, Rollie Pruitt is in, and the search for a new actor begins as Jeff decides to go back to London to do more broadcasting for the BBC, much to Hilary's chagrin. (""Pumpkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnn!!!"") But how much longer does Mackie have before all of his 1000 voices melt into one? A last minute audition brings back a familiar face, one actor everyone can agree on, and someone that is a part of the WENN family.
Scott's startling introduction of Simmons the Gardner is a hit with fans, albeit not so much with Hilary Booth. And Maple inadvertantly gets Scott to reveal where he'd been in the two weeks he was away from WENN. In the meantime, Miss Cosgrave signs a contract with the station manager of radio station WEEP giving him the rights to most of WENN's best radio programs. Hilarity ensues as ""Gardening With Gertie"" and ""Young Doctor Talbot"" collide, and Mr. Crowley discovers that the WENN crew won't let go of their hard work quite so easily.
What would WENN do without Betty Roberts? Aside from being the head writer, she's also the interim station manager when Pruitt is away, the station accountant, promotions director, sales executive, and she knows where everything is! But when the New Yorker Magazine offers Betty an assistant editor position, the staff does what they can to encourage her, but everything gets completely turned around. Will she stay, or will she go? Don't forget to not ever be...not prepared.
A bone chilling episode that starts riotously funny, and ends heartbreaking. Scott does his best to pester Hilary yet again, resulting in one of the best verbal sparring matches of the whole 3rd season. But the mood turns a complete 180 when a woman arrives at the station for some of Jeff's things, claiming to be the new Mrs. Singer. What will Hilary do as a result? The finale of Pavla Nemkova only proves that you have to go very far to trump *Miss* Hilary Booth.
The mysterious mentalist Alan Ballinger seems to have won the affections of one Miss Hilary Booth, but not if his past catches up with him, and it might if he tries to reveal Hilary's deepest secret live on the air during ""Magic Time"". Mackie jumps on the magical bandwagon by inflicting his ""World's Hardest Card Trick"" on the entire station. One note while watching this episode: Be sure to have a pen and a piece of paper handy. You'll need it at the beginning.
Betty's out of town and Mackie's in charge...or is he? Maybe you should ask his alter-ego, Warren. A visitor from the not-so-pleasant past definitely isn't fooled by his temporary name change, and even though Mackie certainly seems like a swell kind of guy, is he really? It will take his friends at the station to help him out of this new tight spot. Won't you join host Eugenia Bremer as we "Listen To Your Life"?
Maple has always been known as THAT kind of girl, but has always managed to make friends and influence people, no matter where she went. And on the radio, she could become whomever she wanted to be. So when one of her character personas gets in the way of a possible romance, will she let the Congressman know about her very risque past? Only a girl like Maple could rise above and shine like the true lady we all know her to be.
If ever a television episode could be called brilliant from start to finish, this one would fit the bill. A parody of the film ""Casablanca"", there were simply too many parallels between the show and the movie NOT to do one. Receptionist Gertrude Reece has written a script that sounds vaguely familiar to the audience...could she have been the original author? Wanting the critique of the only writer she knows, Gertie takes her script to Betty and in the process carries the viewer on a trip to the wind-swept desert of Rabat in French North Africa. Enter the colorful cast of characters to Scot's Cafe Mirage, where the freedom fighters of the Allies and the Nazi's of the Axis mingle, and conspire to find their way out of the country. The rumor starts to spread like wildfire, Scot has in his possession two ""letters of transmit"" that will let the bearer out of the country safely. Who will use those two letters? Will it be the lounge singer Lily and Major Peugeot? Will it be Franz Eldridg
During an experiment used to scope out hidden messages on the air, Eugenia is suspected of being a German spy.
WENN's version of 'The People's Court' presents litigation involving Hillary Booth and Jeffrey Singer. Maple serves as a character witness, and Mr. Eldridge presides as the judge.
Eugenia discovers pizza and teaches the WENN staff how to eat it. Meanwhile, the cast rallies around a Native American guest voice actor (Russell Means) who makes a special performance on the station.
The WENN staff is spooked by a mysterious ghost story on Friday the 13th. Hillary holds a séance.
After a woman calls in to the station in the early morning hours threatening to jump from a building ledge, the staff must pull out all of the stops to keep her from jumping.
After noticing that Victor is no longer voicing Jonathan Arnold overseas, Betty fears that he was killed by Nazis and sneaks around Rollie's office trying to find his secret contact; Hilary forces Betty to choose between her or Jeffrey.
