Live Shot – Nostalgia Central

1 9 9 5 (USA)
13 x 60 minute episodes

This drama-cum-soap from UPN was set behind the scenes on Pie-Action News at KXZX Channel 3 in Los Angeles.

News director Alex Rydell (Jeff Yagher) had just moved from Boston to LA with his precocious young son, Sean (Spencer Klein) and discovered that his wife (who had been having an affair) was filing for divorce.

Pushy and bright Sherry Beck (Rebecca Staab) and egocentric Harry Chandler Moore (David Birney) – the station’s “Beacon of Truth” – were the feuding co-anchors who ended up having a steamy affair until she broke it off when she found out she had cervical cancer.

Nancy Lockridge (Cheryl Pollak) was a dedicated young news producer looking for her next big break. She was immediately given just the opportunity she’d been working for when Alex came on board.

She and Alex eventually became involved when he realised he and his wife wouldn’t be able to work things out.

Macho reporter Ricardo Sandoval (Eddie Vélez) focused more attention on the creases in his expensive trousers than the story he had been assigned to cover, while his colleague Liz Vega (Wanda De Jesús) was an investigative reporter with a nose for real news and the determination to dig until she uncovered it.

“Fast” Eddie Santini (Michael Watson) and Tommy Greer (Hill Harper) were the hot dog, footage-at-any-cost news crew. Christened the “news brothers,” the two were best friends who shared an appetite for a great camera angle and prided themselves on their ability to occasionally con rival news crews into missing the shot.

Lou Waller (Tom Byrd), the sports anchor, came out of the closet in November

Marvin Seabom (Sam Anderson) – a self-righteous commentator with views just slightly to the right of Rush Limbaugh – was anxious to elevate his profile in the public eye.

Marvin had a brief affair with new GM Helen Forbes (Karen Austin), who didn’t take it or him seriously – until he publicly sued her for sexual harassment and she was suspended.

Executive Producer Joe Vitale (Bruce McGill) had been the acting news director until Alex’s arrival, and had a yen to sit in the big chair.

Rick Evers (David Coburn) was the straight-arrow assignment editor, and Peggy Traynor (Antonia Jones) was the newsroom desk assistant.

Together, this group covered the worst the city had to offer on any given day, shoving their microphones into the faces of the grieving and the publicly humiliated, and then going in for the tight shot.

But they also struggled with the price of the “people’s right to know.” Off-camera, their lives mixed, mingled, and intertwined as the demands of their shared career affected their ability to maintain marriages, friendships, and families.

Marvin Seaborne
Sam Anderson
Harry Chandler Moore
David Birney
Liz Vega
Wanda De Jesus
Tommy Greer
Hill Harper
Sean Rydell
Spencer Klein
Joe Vitale
Bruce McGill
Nancy Lockridge
Cheryl Pollak
Sherry Beck
Rebecca Staab
Ricardo Sandoval
Eddie Velez
‘Fast’ Eddie Santini
Michael Watson
Alex Rydell
Jeff Yagher
Peggy Traynor
Antonia Jones
Helen Forbes
Karen Austin