Not Necessarily the News (1982–1990)

About

Not Necessarily the News is an early HBO program combining skits performed by an SNL-like repertory company of players, with real-life news footage that was frequently altered for comedic effect. Inspired by the British series "Not the Nine O'Clock News," the show was a staple of HBO programming, with each new episode airing numerous times throughout the month.

The Writers Guild of America strike took its toll on the 1988 season, and with ratings in decline, they attempted to overhaul the show in 1989, turning it into a weekly series which was a blatant copycat of Dennis Miller's "Weekend Update" schtick on Saturday Night Live. Suffice it to say that this format was not successful, and the show only returned for a series of specials throughout 1990 (one of which featured a reunion of original cast members).

The show was not actually produced by HBO, it came from Moffitt-Lee Productions, which was run by John Moffitt and Pat Tourk Lee, who'd previously produced the cult series Fridays, and went on to produce countless stand-up comedy specials.

At least, that's the best history I've been able to discern. Because it aired on cable at a time when the focus was on the big three networks, there's simply not a lot of information available about this show.

Most of these episodes came from a set of DVDs that have been torrented online; others were snagged from YouTube. Thanks to everyone who unknowingly contributed! The collection isn't quite complete, and I'm not 100% sure that all of the dates are accurate, but it was an arduous task to try to rip and organize 60-some episodes (cross-referencing old newspapers and episode guides to try to get the dates right!)!

Nearly 20 additional episodes have gradually been added that aren't in the individual season sets that someone's reposted, including several rips from James E. Wood's staggering video collection.

Archive

Internet Archive, in The VHS Vault

Licence or status

The Internet Archive states none for this item.

Credit

Moffitt-Lee Productions

Language

English

Subtitles

English (automatic)

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed