Channel 97

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Channel 97 (2009 - Present)



30 Minute
Sit-Com

Nerdist Channel
Imaginary Entertainment

When Graham inherited his ecentric Uncle's large farmyard style house just outside Central City he thought the fates had finally shined favorably on him as he had just lost his girlfriend, his job, and his apartment. But when Graham moved in he found (during the first night) it also housed a 24 hour public access television studio that was the love of his Uncle's life, and its reclusive but brilliant manager Larry. That of course was 4 years ago, and Channel 97 is still on the air.

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Cast & Crew

Principal Crew Information;
Al Yankovic as Creator/EP/Writer/DIR
John W Hyde as EP
Jay Levey as EP/Writer

Bill Fishman as DIR
Kelly Makin as DIR
Paul Dano as DIR
Curtis Armstrong as DIR/PROD
Fran Drescher as DIR/PROD
Phil Lord as Writer/PROD
Jorma Taccone as Writer/PROD
Andy Crocker as Writer/PROD

Past Principal Crew Information;
Will Forte as Writer/PROD

Principal Cast Information;
Will Forte as Graham
Diane Farr as Victoria
Paul Dano as Stanley
Curtis Armstrong as Larry
Shawn Prince as Tristan
Weird Al Yankovic as Uncle Al

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episode guide

1.01 - "Inheritance" (2010)

1.02 - "Air Waves" (2010)

1.03 - "Nothing But A Bear" (2010)

1.04 - "Jazzercise" (2010)

1.05 - "Chickens" (2010)

1.06 - "G.E.D." (2010)

1.07 - "Train Wreck" (2010)

1.08 - "First Date" (2010)

1.09 - "Public Action Television" (2010)

1.10 - "Forget the FCC" (2010)


2.01 - "Gingerbread Man" (2010)

2.02 - "Rare Not Well Done" (2010)

2.03 - "Neverending Story" (2010)

2.04 - "Stanley and the Chip 'n Dales" (2010)

2.05 - "Vanity" (2010)

2.06 - "Shadoe Man" (2010)

2.07 - "Digital World (1)" (2010)

2.08 - "Digital World (2)" (2010)

2.09 - "Red and Green Balls" (2010)

2.10 - "Paper Tiger, Crouching Couch" (2011)

2.11 - "With This Ring" (2011)

2.12 - "The Cancellation Bear" (2011)

2.13 - "Clowns" (2011)

2.14 - "Larry the Bar Fly" (2011)

2.15 - "The Cable Guy" (2011)

2.16 - "Brain Freeze" (2011)

2.17 - "Sequel" (2011)

2.18 - "Prequel" (2011)

2.19 - "A Trilogy in 4 parts" (2011)



3.01 - "Zombie Walk" (2011)

3.02 - "Weird Hal" (2011)

3.03 - "White Noize" (2011)

3.04 - "Beer Belly" (2011)

3.05 - "Halitosis Kid" (2011)

3.06 - "Mason Dixon" (2011)

3.07 - "Organ Grinders" (2011)

3.08 - "Stand-Up Guys" (2011)

3.09 - "My Best Friend's Girl" (2011)

3.10 - "The Three Wise Guys" (2011)

3.11 - "I'll Tell You What Kind of Day It's Been" (2012)

3.12 - "Cows with Nuns" (2012) 0.7/2 2.25

3.13 - "Foreign Exchange" (2012) 0.7/2 2.13

3.14 - "The Cook who Ate Central City" (2012) 0.7/2 2.04

3.15 - "Galloping Ghost" (2012)

3.16 - "OMG" (2012)

3.17 - "Take What You Can" (2012)

3.18 - "Everything Must Go" (2012)

3.19 - "TV Can Mend A Heart" (2012)

3.20 - "Central City 90211" (2012)




4.01 - "Young Knight Tristan" (2012) 0.6/2 1.97
Sep 17, 2012
When the long standing tradition of crank calls to public access TV programs gets out of hand Graham traces the calls to a young runaway who is on his own after leaving a neglectful home. As much as he wants to help the boy (Tristan) by doing so he endangers his relationship with Victoria who acts as his reality check. Elsewhere, Stanley believes he has won the lottery and begins to write checks his bank and his mouth can't cash.

4.02 - "Nothing On" (2012) 0.6/2 2.05
Sep 24, 2012
When the station is once again in need of a cash transfusion Graham overrules Larry and allows the "Lady Godiva Hotline" to not only rent the Channel 97 studio to film their adult orientated infomericals but also lets them buy late night spots on the station. Graham soon finds that both Stanley and Tristan are infatuated with the girls.

4.03 - "The Sweet Smell of Victory" (2012) 0.7/2 2.34
Oct 1, 2012
After the High School Football team wins the big rivalry game Graham realizes he has caught the head coach cheating on tape. If he broadcasts the game later on tape delay he must either edit the play out or out the coach and possibly cost the town the victory. To make the decision even more personal the coach was Graham's gym teacher who tormented him, and still ridicules him in public to this day. In the meantime Victoria finds herself suddenly unable to keep her hands off of Stanley much to everyone's bewilderment. When it's discovered its the scent of Stanley's new cologne (Victory), the stuff starts to fly off the shelf much to Victoria's chagrin.

4.04 - "Over Night Sensation" (2012) 0.7/2 2.41
Oct 8, 2012
Victoria finds a stash of old VCR tapes that include Graham doing skits as a child. Larry accidently puts the tapes on air and turns Graham into an embarrased internet sensation. Stanley takes up plate spinning as a hobby much to the annoyance of everyone else.

4.05 - "Not Even Close" (2012) 0.7/2 2.52
Oct 15, 2012
Stanley and his new friend Irving create their own version of "Jackass", but no one has the heart to tell them their stunts are neither funny nor particularly dangerous. Tristan is placed in a foster home which gives Victoria and Graham mixed feelings. Graham confides in Larry that he is thinking of asking Victoria to marry him, but when Stanley hears just the end of the conversation it makes him think Graham is selling the station; a rumor that spreads like a brush fire.

4.06 - "Sunny Daze" (2012) 0.8/2 2.68
Nov 5, 2012
A new attractive lady applies for the position of weather girl despite there being no such position. Her popularity increases until she has her own talk show. Victoria and Stanley work to bring her down while a misguided Graham tries to protect her; and the killer ratings she is bringing the station.

4.07 - "Brew Ha-Ha" (2012) 0.8/2 2.80
Nov 12, 2012
Graham is jealous when Tristan tells him how much he loves his new foster parents. The station decides to get a mascot, but because of a perceived trademark infringement it creates hostilities with a local coffee shop. Stanley dressed as the mascot gets arrested for lewd behavior.

4.08 - "Jan & Mean" (2012) 0.7/2 2.61
Nov 19, 2012
A couple new to the area and immensley talented as a comic duo agree to do a program for the station. However, Stanley develops a crush on the wife, and Graham finds out that the husband is cheating on the wife. Victoria travels to New York city to interview for a spot as a game show girl.

4.09 - "Too Good To Be True" (2012) 0.7/2 2.55
Nov 26, 2012
The station is buzzing when a local travel agency agrees to give away a hot vacation as a prize, but of course Larry figures out it is a scam and tries to save the station from embarrasment. Graham is worried that Victoria will leave Central City so he proposes to her, but she thinks he is just worried about losing a valued friend; not gaining a wife.

4.10 - "Blow Through Town" (2012) 0.7/2 2.48
Dec 3, 2012
When Graham's favorite 80's new wave band (The Tourists) comes to town for a concert he gets the station to sponsor the event. But when he has to cater to the band he finds that they have not aged well and worries the show will be a disaster. A handsome stranger from Chicago passing through town tries to romance Victoria; Stanley and Tristan team up to scare him away only to find out he is a mobster more then able to stand up to them.

4.11 - "Jump the Shark" (2013) 0.7/2 2.56
Jan 14, 2013
When Stanley's house has to be fumagated Graham agrees to take him in despite warnings to the contrary from his friends; Larry agrees to water-ski over a shark cage on a dare.

4.12 - "Heartbreak Television" (2013) 0.8/2 2.74
Jan 21, 2013
A woman buys commerical time just to slag her ex-boyfriend who was cheating on her; Larry falls for her against good judgment. Stanley gets called for jury duty and desperately wants to be selected; Graham wants to cover the jury selection as a story.

4.13 - "Butcher the Bakers" (2013) 0.8/2 2.80
Jan 28, 2013
When a brawl breaks out between the two local co-hosts of "Better Bakers", it turns into an internet sensation, but Graham resists everyone's pleads to cash in on the action. Victoria rear ends a lady in a car accident and feels an unusually high amount of guilt.


4.14 - "The Night the Lights Went Out" (2013) 0.9/2 2.96
Feb 4, 2013
When the lights go out at the station, the staff and some viewers gather to tell ghost stories, some real, some not...oblivious to the fact that they are still transmitting a signal.

4.15 - "Oatmeal" (2013) 0.9/2 3.04
Feb 11, 2013
Larry uncovers a seniors spouse swapping club at the town's rest home and the station chiefs argue over how to handle it; Victoria's weekly visit with her Aunt and Uncle at the rest home becomes awkward because she knows about the swapping and Graham pushes her to find out what they know.

4.16 - "3-D" (2013) 0.9/2 2.86
Feb 18th, 2013
The station attempts to put on a retro 80's 3D movie but it turns into a fiasco when the cheap glasses give everyone a rash. A media mogul comes to town and Graham thinks he wants to buy the station but he is really trying to lure Larry away.

4.17 - "Ye Olde Feast and Famine" (2013) 0.9/2 2.98
Feb 25th, 2013
A townswoman Natty runs a weight loss program on the station, but she is also pushing some dangerous weight loss pills that cause havoc. Graham holds a medieval feast and festival on the station grounds, causing even more havoc.

4.18 - "Dancing with the Common Folk" (2013) 0.9/2 2.88
Apr 15, 2013
Graham organizes a small town version of Dancing with the Stars to raise money for charity, but the lack of starpower threatens to bury the idea. Stanley's former college roomate comes to visit, and he makes Stanley look like the normal one.

4.19 - "Locked-Up" (2013) 1.0/2 3.05
Apr 22, 2013
Stanley gets locked in the station over night with no tapes, and after broadcasting live for help with no repsonse, under the assumption no one is watching he begins to broadcast a bizarre soliliquay of epic proportions. Graham and Victoria discover the problems trying to have a romantic dinner in a small town.

4.20 - "Games Night" (2013) 0.9/2 2.81
Apr 29, 2013
The crew get together for a games night, that turns competitive, and then sappy.

4.21 - "Go Fish" (2013) 0.8/2 2.56
May 6, 2013
Graham takes Tristan on a fishing trip despite his general disdain for nature and all things outdoors. Stanley's most recent t-shirt catches on and begins to sell like hotcakes on the internet. Larry's newest relationship is threatened when he won't dance with her; because he doesn't know how.

4.22 - "Fade to Black?" (2013) 0.9/2 2.74
May 13, 2013
Season Finale
When its biggest advertiser, the local craft store, goes belly-up the station's future is once again threatened which causes another telethon; but an unhappy Graham flirts with selling the station and turning it into a shopping channel.

[managermike99]

June 11, 2013

Channel 97 ; 2013-14 Season Preview

Liberty TV has announced that Channel 97 will return for it’s 5th season on Saturday, October 5th 2013 in its new Saturday night 10:30pm time slot. As has been widely reported in the industry, while ratings have been relatively low for the show it has distribution deals in Europe, Japan, Canada, and Australia which provide enough funding to keep it viable. Liberty has announced that this will be Channel 97’s final season on the network, however it has agreed to carry the show on it’s Gen80 cable network if the producers can find enough other revenue to bring it back for a 6th season.

Looking back at it’s 2012-13 season the introduction of Tristan to the show was panned as a “jump the shark” move and his role was scaled back during the year, and the producers even lampooned themselves by titling one of the episodes 4.11 “Jump the Shark”. Without a lot of other major changes the show continued to take on an episodic feel with the potential romance between Graham and Victoria not coming to completion.

The show’s ratings did a slow climb during the year as viewers fled new shows and returned to Channel 97, and the vote of confidence from the network and producers helped as well. The show opened at a 0.6 demo, and rose to 0.9, and even hit a 1.0/2 3.05 high for episode 4.19 on April 22nd. The 22 episode season finished with an average demo of 0.79 in the Monday 8pm slot.

It’s competition during the Monday 8pm slot was stiff with ABC offering Dancing With The Stars and The Bachelor at mid-season, CBS countering with How I Met Your Mother, CW with 90210 and the Carrie Diaries mid-season, FOX with Bones, and NBC with The Voice and Biggest Loser at mid-season. With every genre represented and tough sit-com competition from HIMYM the low ratings of Channel 97 did not bother network executives.

This season will see Channel 97 move to Saturday nights at 10:30pm. While this is often seen as part of the “dead zone” of network television it actually bodes well strategically for a number of reasons. It takes the show away from formable opposition, it takes it to a spot where comedic sketch shows have often been put, much of the show’s views are through PVR and next day Sunday is better then next day Tuesday, and if the College football games on the other networks turn into routes then it could draw viewers who are flipping the channels. Network executives are hoping to retain 100% of their audience in the new spot. The time slot features college football on ABC and FOX, crimetime repeats on CBS, and repeat programming on NBC.

The biggest show development this year is the departure of the main character no less, as Liberty negotiated the release of Will Forte so he could helm the new dramedy Night Moves. Forte however will star in the first episode, as well as the two final episodes. Taking his place in the show will be none other than the show’s creator “Weird” Al Yankovic. Uncle Al long presumed dead will return to the show and take back his television studio (and farmhouse). Can Uncle Al manage to keep the channel viable?

Even though the show may continue on through cable and syndication the writers are focusing the year on a swan song which will pay tribute to many of the zany moments of TV, pirate radio and TV stations and events, bringing in guest stars with some meaning (Michael Richards “Kramer” from Seinfeld will return as he was in the original UHF; Fran Drescher as a DIR/PROD ), and allowing several cast members to each pen and produce an episode of the show (Curtis Armstrong, Paul Dano, Will Forte). Behind the scenes the void left by Will Forte will be covered by more input from the Saturday Night Live alumni and influenced writer/directors Phil Lord, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Crocker.

Al Yankovic remains the creative force behind the show as creator and executive producer, while John Hyde is the showrunner, and Jay Levey supervises the writers and is also an EP. Bill Fishman and Kelly Makin remain the busiest of the directors while Curtis Armstrong, Paul Dano, Will Forte, Fran Drescher, and Al Yankovic will also take turns behind the camera this season. There has also been hints that more guest directors may be brought in as well. The senior writing staff consists of Al Yankovic, Jay Levey, Phil Lord, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Crocker. It should be interesting to see if the show changes its cadence to appeal more to a SNL / SCTV / sketch comedy audience on Saturday night and less on a traditional sit-com audience.

Some of the episodic storylines that are being worked on are to tribute/lampoon UHF, Rock of Ages/Cop Rock, Geraldo Rivera’s Al Capone vault special, George Michael’s Sports Machine, Solid Gold, Michael Moore, Max Headroom, Tokoyo Rose, Radio Caroline, Hackers, WarGames, Videodrome, The ‘Stans, and many more.