* City Limits took almost 2 whole years to write, starting on January 1, 2002 and concluding on December 17, 2003. It was originally supposed to be no longer than its predecessor, which it eventually surpassed. I estimate that the complete text, if pasted into Microsoft Wordpad, would exceed 100 pages.
* The very first scenes outlined for the story were written in 2001, during the making of Rhapsody in Red. They include the scene where Matthew is attacked by the weasel, the news reports detailing Johnny Johnson’s prison escape, and the ending of the story.
* The story opens in the middle of the episode ‘New Hampshire’, when Lisa goes into the broadcast booth to read the news. This is the traffic report that Tracy hears in her car. The scene then cuts to a point just after the end of that episode, with Dave anguishing at his desk. I watched ‘New Hampshire’ numerous times throughout the writing of City Limits for continuity and inspiration.
* Beth shares a prescient connection with Princess Leia, from The Empire Strikes Back, when she proclaims that she “knows where Dave is.”
* Dave’s vivid nightmare about finding and losing Beth is one that I had several years ago.
* While Haverhill is an actual New Hampshire township, I had to locate it ‘between two counties’ because Mr. James mentioned in the final episode of NewsRadio that his retirement house was in a fictional Collins County, which doesn’t exist.
* 105.3 A.M. belongs to a real radio station in New Hampshire, while WNHX is the popular designation for the radio station that Jimmy bought in the never-produced sixth season.
* The first letters in the VL-3500 automated coffee machine stand for Vicki Lewis.
* The punchline to Tracy’s joke, What does a redhead and McDonald’s have in common? is: You’ve never had it so good, so fast.
* When the group returns to New York City in the middle of the rainstorm, Beth alludes to the 1998 movie Godzilla, starring herself- Vicki Lewis! She also puts on a green plastic rain hat identical to the one that her character wears in the movie.
* Missy's teacher is named after Richard Edlund, the special effects supervisor on many Lucasfilm movies, including Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
* Beth is a fervent believer in the power of redheads. To inspire Missy to not be afraid of the weasel, she refers to the scene in The Lost World: Jurassic Park in which Julianne Moore’s character tranquilizes the rampaging T-Rex.
* When Beth tells Missy, "Cut the chatter, red two!", her words are from the end of Star Wars: A New Hope, when the Rebels are approaching the Death Star.
* The waitress at Petey the Pirate’s (played by Mary Lynn Rajskub in 'The Secret of Management') asks Beth if she wants to join the Girl’s Guitar Club- the actual band that Rajskub plays in.
* The address of Missy’s house is 2701 Harbor Hill Road, East Hills, New York. The street and town actually exist, while the number 2701 is part of the Geocities address for the NewsRadio Fanfic Archive. The description of the house is identical to that of a large mansion in the city where I live.
* If you were to alphanumerically translate the membership code on Missy’s Rockin’ Ranger certificate, the result would spell out Beth (25208: 2 = B, 5 = E, 20 = T, and 8 = H).
* The line, "So... you have a twin sister?" is what Darth Vader said to provoke Luke into fighting him in Return of the Jedi.
* Copro the Clown is named after coprolalia, the specific neurological disorder of Tourette Syndrome that causes people to swear uncontrollably.
* The girl who has a crush on Dave is based on Toni, a close friend of mine who was one of the very first writers on the NewsRadio Fanfic Archive. She wears a Kids in the Hall shirt because the real Toni is a huge fan of the show. Her all-knowing behavior, however, is based upon ALICE (Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity), a chatbot that never forgets anything it is told.
* Some of Missy’s other birthday presents included a custom-tailored English leather jacket, and a puppy. I wrote the original scene to feature all of this, but it seemed to be pointless and overly long, so I dropped it.
* As most NewsRadio fans know, Beth is the only character on the show that doesn’t have a last name. This quirk might be considered part of her appeal, but I felt it was necessary to bring closure to the matter. I entertained several possible choices for a surname before settling on Randall, after the stunt coordinator of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
*Finally, Beth’s question about the policies contained in the Workplace Ethics Manual is a call-back to the opening line in Bethie’s Day Out, in which Dave is reading that same book. By doing this, I wanted to bring the story full circle back to the very beginning, suggesting a cycle.
Beth is the heroine of our saga. This is her world, and we're just in it. Don't be so quick to write her off as a secretary though, for she has been many things in her time: babysitter, princess, best friend, terrorist, sister, lover, goddess… She is the ultimate redheaded woman, and one that all others will be measured against. However, credit must be given where credit is due. We would not be able to enjoy the adventures of Beth if not for the talents of the lovely actress Vicki Lewis, who inspired me to pen a sensational trilogy of NewsRadio fanfics. It is because of her that you have these fine stories to read. Of course, I had just a little something to do with it.
Missy is the adorable red-haired girl who Beth takes care of in her spare time. Played by Sydney Berry, she was first seen in the NewsRadio episode 'Kids' (ep. 3.16/ Feb 12, 1997) as one of the third graders that Jimmy brings to WNYX to learn about the radio business. Sharp-eyed viewers might also recognize her as Julia from the Sandra Bullock film, Hope Floats. I watched her part in that movie and NewsRadio many times in order to learn how she behaved. There wasn’t much to go on, as it turned out, so I was free to write Missy as I pleased. Consequently, I had fun developing her into a character that would appeal to readers with her cuteness, mischief, and spunk. I like to think of her as the daughter that every redhead hopes to have.
Tianne Miller is a busy woman. She is both the single mother of young Missy, and chief nurse at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. While she is a very kind and loving parent, the demands of her career leave little time to watch her daughter, and for that reason she hires Beth to take care of Missy whenever possible. Aside from her name and the color of her hair, I didn’t have anyone particular in mind when I first wrote the character. Tianne's role was that of a woman who combined all the qualities of a good mother with the grace and smile of an angel. For that reason, I later thought of Vanessa Branch, who is probably more familiar to TV viewers as the spokesperson for the Orbit Gum Institute of commercial fame. Tianne is not related to Lisa.
Throwdini (Kids in the Hall alum Kevin McDonald, a.k.a. the king of empty promises) was introduced to NewsRadio fans in 'Stupid Holiday Charity Talent Show' (ep. 4.8/ Dec 16, 1997). According to the history alluded to in that episode, it seems that he and Dave share a longtime rivalry in the field of amateur knife throwing. I found him to be one of the most hilarious guest stars on NewsRadio, and I couldn’t resist putting him in my story. It didn’t require a great leap of the imagination to picture Throwdini as a desperate, albeit inept stalker because he just struck me as the type of person who would zealously pursue Beth even though she didn't like him. Plus, I thought fans would get a kick out of seeing him again. “To the sharp art!”
Tracy Adams is a female bodybuilder, a strict vegan, and sometimes gypsy, with a talent for Tarot. She is Beth's closest friend, acting as both a counselor and an emotional sounding board in times of need. In addition to being physically strong, Tracy is a determined individual who motivates others to go the extra mile when they feel like giving up. Dave and Beth owe quite a lot to her. I found creating Tracy to be an unconventional challenge, in that I had a well-developed character who lacked a solid physical description. For awhile, she was merely a vibrant personality without a face. Then I happened to spot fitness expert Mia Finnegan on the November 2001 cover of Oxygen Magazine, and finally realized Tracy in the flesh.
Roger is Jimmy James' personal lawyer. He is a recurring character who starred in several episodes of NewsRadio, making his first appearance in the 3rd season finale, 'Injury' (ep. 3.25/ June 5, 1997). I’ve been a fan of Norm MacDonald ever since he was on Saturday Night Live, and I think he’s one of the funniest guys in the world. He is one of those rare comedians who is honest enough to admit when his jokes are not funny, and shrug it off with a wry smile. Since I’m very in-tune with his sense of humor, I can appreciate his efforts in movies like Dirty Work. Needless to say, I couldn’t write a NewsRadio story without Roger making an appearance, so I gave him a cameo in City Limits as a tribute to Norm.
Moxy “Terrain” Lindgate is a British intern who landed her job at WNYX after Beth skipped town for New Hampshire with Mr. James. If you notice more than a few similarities between Moxy and her predecessor, there’s a reason for it. I created her after watching Jane Horrocks on the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. Her depiction of Bubble was the quirkiest TV secretary I’d seen since Beth, right down to her lackluster work ethic and bizarre fashion style. Having a weakness for wacky girls, I found her simply irresistible, and I reasoned that if there was anyone zany enough replace Beth, it would have to be Bubble. Thus occurred a unique situation in which an author writes a character that serves no purpose in the story other than gracing the page with her presence.
The weasel is a small North American carnivore. These solitary animals have a strong sense of curiosity and are apparently unafraid of man. Although they may appear cute and playful, weasels are vicious and aggressive when cornered, and a bundle of fury in hand. For this reason, people are highly discouraged from keeping them as pets. Unfortunately, Matthew finds this out the hard way after one is given to him by Dave as a gift from Mr. James, who mistook it for some type of wild cat. The idea for the weasel attack came from a line in the computer game Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, and was actually one of the first scenes written when I was developing the story outline for City Limits.