Not Necessarily the News

A now-forgotten series that was based on a British news parody, "Not the Nine O'Clock News" (1979).

NNTN was a fierce reaction to the goofy Americanism founded by Ronald Reagan and the weird policies and attitudes of that time. When Reagan left office, they even made a "tribute" to him in a special.

NNTN used news clips and warped them into biting satire. When NNTN was on, it was deadly.

It also launched the careers of Rich Hall (who left the show and made "guest appearances" thereafter) and Stuart Pankin.

Maybe someday HBO will re-air the series, or re-release it on video, or perhaps a network like Fox will syndicate it. It's a pity, because NNTN has more perspective on that shameful decade than most real news services.

How can you tell a real fan of the show? They'll know what a Sniglet is.