Series: New Television Workshop
Program: New Television
Episode: 608
Date: 1988-01-01
Subject: Drama; Interpersonal relations
People: Bell, Jeffrey; Berl, Ennals; Cahill, Michael; Erganian, Leslie; Fredrickson, Robert; Horne, Brandon; Madzounian, Ara; Murphy, Merwin; Rommelman, Nancy
Copyright Holder: Jeffrey Bell

Clip Description
"A young man finds himself in a love triangle involving his brother and his brother's girlfriend, so he turns to Jesus, by calling him on a pay phone. An experimental narrative, ‘Radio Inside' explores the struggle between faith and flesh, where black-and-white imagery is contrasted with the protagonist's own thoughts presented in the form of music from various radio channels, from gospel to rock and roll. Contemporary in its style and preoccupations, ‘Radio Inside' expresses a particular kind of faith in the age of popular culture amid considerable religious, sexual, and fraternal conflict, often eliciting humor." -- WGBH press release

Matthew's growing attraction to his brother Michael's girlfriend Natalie is coming to a head during the Easter season. Religious imagery permeates the work. In a formal Easter service, the priest pauses briefly to relay basketball scores. Matthew flashes back to memories of his childhood (attempting to walk on water in the bathtub) and of a river baptism. At one point, the actor who plays Jesus gives a commercial plug for a line of power tools. As Michael's and Natalie's relationship is consummated, the attraction between Matthew and Natalie also comes to a head, although the line between fantasy and reality is not clearly drawn. "Radio Inside," which was written and directed by Jeffrey Bell, is approximately 20 minutes long.

Music includes versions of "Amazing Grace," sung by Robin Miller, Michael Zapanta, and Jonathan Richman; "Gilligan's Island" by the Gilligan's Island Singers; "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis; "Bells and Chimes" by VisionQuest; "Could Be Worse" by Cryptic Slaughter; "Valse Bleue" by the Merle Evans Circus Band; "Peter Cottontail" by Gene Autry; and "Spem in Alium" by the Tallis Scholars.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features Jeffrey Bell's "Radio Inside" and Marina Zurkow's "Funeral."

Jeffrey Bell's "Radio Inside" explores the struggle between faith and flesh, where black-and-white imagery is contrasted with the protagonist's own thoughts presented in the form of music from various radio channels. Copyright: Jeffrey Bell.

Marina Zurkow's "Funeral" is a collage-style work that incorporates images of many different landscapes. Copyright: Marina Zurkow.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/Radio210.HTML