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Egotistical Buffalo TV host Bill Bittinger bullies crew and guests, driving station manager Karl Shub mad with lawsuits. Only director Jo Jo White stands up to Bill's tantrums as he fails to break into bigger markets.
“Be Good To Your Buffalo.”
Dabney Coleman
Bill Bittinger
Joanna Cassidy
Jo Jo White
John Fiedler
Woody Deschler
Geena Davis
Wendy Killian
Max Wright
Karl Shub
Meshach Taylor
Tony
1983
When Newdell pans a recent segment, Bill pulls rank and wants him fired, so he quits. But there's concern that he might sue, in which case Bill needs to pay him big money to settle the possible lawsuit.
While Jerry Lewis impersonators overrun the studio, Karl is depressed at not being able to stand up to Bill, at least until he discovers and implements a method of exacting revenge.
News reporter LeeAnne Cook spurs the staffers into sharing their true feelings about Bill, who fumes that she is late interviewing him. Bill then invites the staff over to watch the completed interview.
Karl has news: Wilkinson has sold the station to Hayden Stone, Bill's former boss, who fired him from a previous job after catching him sleeping with Mrs. Stone. Hayden has neither forgiven nor forgotten.
Wendy's collecting money for a long-time boom man retiring due to ill health. Newdell takes steps to move up at WBFL. Meanwhile, Jo Jo's suddenly lashing out for a reason involving her future with Bill.
Finding out that the staff knows about Jo Jo's problem only adds to her frustration. Bill seems happy about the news, then goes on the air and delivers a preachy lecture about the dangers of promiscuity.
Competitors for the Miss WBFL beauty contest include Wendy, Melanie, and local baton twirling champ Sherry Posnick. Tony steps up when Jo Jo refuses to direct the segment and even circulates a petition against it.
Despite strenuous objections from Bill, Karl and Jo Jo, Wendy prepares an hour-long segment on the nuclear-freeze initiative, and Newdell encourages her to use her feminine wiles to make the planned segment come to fruition.
During a cold winter, Karl's wife kicks him out for bringing his work problems home. Compasssionate Jo Jo consoles him by fixing him a fancy home-cooked meal. Romantic sparks fly. Then Bill finds out.
During an on-air chat with computer gurus, Bill callously accuses his guests of smuggling American computer technology into Communist countries. During a commercial break, they threaten Bill, and his paranoia skyrockets.
Karl is powerless to deal with his rebellious teenage son, who idolizes Bill. So Junior gets a job at the station. Meanwhile, Bill publicly derides a local businessman for selling defective products, and the vendor seeks revenge.
Bill wants to book the Alexandria Brothers Tap Dancers on the show, but two of them have died. Lone survivor Tom appears, performs, and expires during his big finish. Bill is upset enough to rant about the evils of television.
Bill refuses to wear a Santa Claus outfit on the Christmas Day segment, until the guesting Brazilian actress changes his mind by offering him a one-night stand if he wears it. Is this Bill's lucky day?
After injuring his hand during an on-air martial-arts stunt, Bill accuses his next guest, a Roman Catholic priest raising funds for a youth center, of sexual misconduct, and the audience finally sees Bill's true colors.
1983
Obnoxious WBFL host Bill Bittinger's best friend Pete Killian, an Emmy-winning anchorman on 60 MINUTES, has died, so Bill applies for Pete's job while network personnel look for ways to keep him.
Bill isn't happy when the scheduled guests are excruciating dull, or when the station manager hires Tamara Brooks to co-host his show.
Bill goes too far in upbraiding Woody to the point of hurting his feelings and prompting him to quit, so makeup man Newdell jumps in and takes the job with no training.
Actress Lauren Stockton guests on Bill's show and plugs her latest movie, in which Bill wants a part. He not only wangles an audition, but even suggests a few changes to the script.
Bill suggests to Jo Jo that they take another stab at a relationship, then sleeps with her and changes his mind.
Unseen station manager Wilkinson devastates Bill and the crew by suddenly announcing, through Karl Shub, that he's canceling the show and replacing it with reruns of "M*A*S*H."
Bill complains of dull guests on his show while Jo Jo tries to get him to commit to her in their personal life. His estranged, divorced daughter Melanie visits and makes his world even more uncomfortable.
When a famous psychologist guests on Bill's show, Melanie goads the doctor into analyzing her and Bill's relationship during a taping.
Everyone is pleased with the current shows. But when ratings drop, Bill thinks the show is going under, so he calls a late-afternoon meeting for the staffers to berate themselves publicly.
Bill sees a picture of an attractive young flautist named Angela, falls in love with her instantly, and fanatically prods the staff to help him locate her. Meanwhile, Karl is annoyed that Bill doesn't respect his authority.
The staffers plan a surprise birthday party for Bill, who is targeted by Clara, an obsessed fan who telephones him repeatedly claiming to be the mother of his unborn child and wanting to kill him. Karl notices Bill's erratic behavior.
Author Dr. Solomon Sigourney appears on the show to discuss his book on toxic waste, but Bill ridicules him, which crushes Wendy, who booked the doctor on the show. When she confides in Carl, he encourages her to reprimand Bill.
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