Why I like Max Louis
Ok, you ingrates. I have had enough of this constant Max Louis bashing. First of all, ok, so he is not Bill McNeal. He does not have that lovable charm despite his sometimes sinister behavior. Max was put into an impossible situation, attempting to live up to Bill's legacy.
I like Bill mostly for his relationship with Matthew. Matthew visioned Bill as some sort of God. Bill, in turn, took that power and used it to his advantage. These were some of the greatest comedy moments in the show. Bill tormented Matthew when Matthew got that fake promotion, then played it off and forced Matthew to turn on the rest of the staff. When Matthew was fired, Bill got a faint pleasure at the thought of throwing Matthew into the cruel world with a "kick me" sign taped to his back. In the end, Bill was a true friend to the poor, dimwitted Matthew. He cared for him like a father and a conniving older brother.
Max's character started out as one modeling Bill. On his first day, he could not and would not remember anyone's name. A waste of time since he believed he would not last more than one day. After this, however, we realize that Max becomes isolated from the rest of the staff, a common response in being the "new guy." He yearns for friendship, so he clings to the one who attempts to reach out to him first-Beth. Max lusts for Beth for the remainder of the season. This is something we know Bill felt, but would never attempt. Max's fawning does seem desperate after a while, thus giving the viewers the impression that Max is weak.
This is compounded when we see his relationship between him and Johnny Johnson. This, however, is far more comical. Upon hearing Dave's story that Johnny is evil, Max retorts: "Doesn't that make you want to serve him all the more?" Johnny is the devil, Max is the weak minded minion; mind clouded by the truth, forced to follow for Johnny's evil is too strong. Of course, Johnny's evil entraps Lisa, but no one thinks anything of her character (character in this sense meaning values).
Max is annoying, but this plays off in a cute way. We must remember that this is an ensamble show, Bill McNeal was not the star. Sure, he was arguably the funniest and had a most intriguing history. Still, no one person was more important. This we must remember with Max. Max was not the star; Max was not supposed to carry the show. Max was a supporting player, one that I might add was not showcased in any sense. "Meet Max Louis" and "Ploy" are the only two episodes which Max is focused on. The rest, he plays no bigger role than Catherine played when she was on the show. If anything, Matthew was showcased too much and brings the show down. The leaders of the show: Jimmy, Dave, and Lisa should have been focused on the most. With Matthew running the show, it was endless falling down and computer solitare jokes. Matthew's physical humor brought about the downfall of the show, not Max's socially inept cuteness.
In the end, though, Jon Lovitz's bad luck could have played a part in the demise of Newsradio, if you believe in that sort of thing. Basically, Jon has not had a successful show or movie in his life, from what I have seen. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan. I love his work and am surprised when it gets low response from the public. The Critic was one of the funniest cartoons in the history of Primetime cartoons. I was thrilled to hear that he was joining Newsradio, soured by the news or Phil's death. I remembered how well he played Fred the mental patient (better known as Ulysses S. Grant the Eighteenth President of the United States) and Mike the jumper in the episode aptly titled "Jumper." His skills and talents were well received by me, at least. He joined Billy Crystal for City Slickers 2 and it bombed. That was due to bad writing and a poor, oh so very poor script. Still, he was very funny on Saturday Night Live. He has been in other movies, I just cannot remember at this time, but that is part of the reason. I cannot remember his other movies because they are not particularly memorable.
In closing, don't blame Max Louis for the demise of Newsradio. You might not like him for other reasons, but please do not compare him to Bill and do not compare the fifth season episodes to those of the past just because Bill was absent from the last season. You can blame Matthew; you can most definitely blame NBc for their scheduling ineptitude and utter lack of taste. You can blame the fans of Third Rock from the Sun who would rather see boring aliens do the same things week after week (what is this you call "toaster waffles?"); even though that show had lower ratings and worse writing than Newsradio. I suppose that is what it comes down to, isn't it? There just was not enough fans to keep Newsradio alive. But the mindless drones will always tune into Friends to see tight clothing on aging bodies.
Back, back I say