There's so much potential in lampooning television. The medium, famously described by Newton Minow as a "vast wasteland" has always been known for being the cozy home of B-grade films, stale sitcoms, and endless advertisements. The landscape may look slightly different today, with the rise of both prestige television and reality trash pulling the medium in divergent avenues, but it was certainly ripe for ribbing in 1992, when Stay Tuned was released. The majority of this light comedy takes place in the tube but fundamentally ignores the opportunities inherent in its concept.

The film follows Roy and Helen Knable as they're sucked into their television set through a sinister dish offered by Spike, played by Jeffery Jones. Spike is the devil's minion, playing a betting game with God to see who can capture the most souls. If the Knables die while inside their television set, it's point Devil, but if they escape, they're free to continue living just as before. Helping them through their journey is outcast Crowley, played by Eugene Levy, and their kids, played by Heather McComb and David Tom.

The film is an action comedy, with slight action and little comedy. The funniest bits by far have nothing to do with the central plot. These are satirical asides, self-contained skits about popular television and film properties (The Exorcisist, which is a demonic fitness channel; Driving OVER Miss Daisy, which is exactly what it sounds like) that are quick and snappy. They're infrequent but usually provide some focused humor, a counter to the blandness surrounding them. Instead of deeply layered parody or satire about television or film, Stay Tuned offers up endless Hell-based puns; see "The Exorcisist," above.

The film's comedy is broad enough to please very few people, though the situations and channels The Knables find themselves trapped in are sometimes clever. The two best "channels" are a gameshow entitled "You Can't Win," which the Knables escape by trusting their own fidelity, and a Tom and Jerry rip off that's at least somewhat in the spirit of that classic show.

The writing is uninspired, but the set pieces are not. Each location The Knables are warped to seems plausible as both a real place in the world and a set for television filming. A combination of the Knable's random locations, Spike's attempts to cheat the game in his favor, the goofy one-off ads, and Eugene Levy popping up every so often is, in totality, enough to keep interest piqued throughout. The element of danger and death are needed, and deliver enough suspense when tasked to.

The performances are pleasant all around. As always, it's impossible not to like Ritter and Levy. They play off each other well and Levy is especially funny and charismatic as one of the devil's slimeball ex-minions. Jones plays a corrupted, smug executive well and Pam Dawber gives a sweet, restrained performance in the midst of the madness. Even McComb and Tom, their children, are charming, lively, and convincing. The material mostly fails the cast, but they trudge through it with heads held high.

Stay Tuned is a small film which has been forgotten to time, which is not really a shame. It makes little use of its evergreen premise, but works well enough as a vehicle for Ritten's charm. It's never easy to live up to the promise of a great premise and, like clockwork, the longer Stay Tuned plays, the greater it sags, until patience wanes entirely and the ending becomes a sweet release.

I have always liked this film, since I was younger. It's an expensive flop but at the same time I think it has plenty of laughs and is entertaining. The late great John Ritter is always good value and likeable as is Pam Dawber, the ultimate fanciable former sitcom star. She is differently attractive and I have always fancied her like many others, particularly from the Mork And Mindy days, you know that sitcom with Robin Williams that you used to find funny but when you look back now it kinda sucks!

This is good family entertainment. It's inconsistent and some of the references aren't that funny but on the most part the referencing of old movies and TV shows is where most of the humour lies. Good fun. ***

Stay Tuned is the kind of movie you stumble on as a kid, that fades into your memory like some weird dream you mighta once had. If you had asked me to rate it at the time, I probably would have given it two big thumbs up, then went back to my Ninja Turtles toys or whatever. Revisiting it as an adult, I'm prepared to meet my youthful enthusiasm halfway.

It's zany and fast paced, just simple, fun entertainment that will hold your attention without asking anything of your intellect. It plays to that family film formula that may be a bit schmaltzy, but is a little endearing at the same time.

The sense of humour gets pretty suspect though, as it's essentially a long string of bad puns and dated pop culture references. They range from moderately clever (David Dukes of Hazard) to unbelievably inane (Unmarried With Children). The appeal of the goofy gags is certainly best suited for a younger crowd, though the nods to 90s media are all so tied to the time period that I'd expect the bulk of the film would fly over the heads of anyone born after it's release. This makes it hard to recommend to literally anyone who hasn't already seen it and is deeply hurting for a nostalgia trip.