History Series / NoSoapRadio

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: The House of Lies sells perjuries, alibis, innuendos, tall tales, short tales, fibs, fabrications, contradictions, vicious rumors, and ladies' luggage.

''No Soap, Radio'' was a [[RapidFireComedy rapid-fire]] {{Sitcom}} SketchComedy ShortRunner that aired on Creator/{{ABC}} in April 1982. It was a brazen attempt to bring {{Absurdism}} and SurrealHumor to American audiences, and is often compared to ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' and ''Series/FawltyTowers''.

* ViewersLikeYou: Spoofed in the opening of the first episode, which credits the show to Trans National Petroleum, The Updyke Foundation, and [[TotallyNotACriminalFront Rico's Boom-Boom Room.]]

* ViewersLikeYou: Spoofed in the opening of the first episode, which credits the show to Trans National Petroleum, The Updyke Foundation, and [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub Rico's Boom-Boom Room.]]

** A man-eating chair originally from an in-universe movie ends up in a police shootout in the hotel hallway.

'''Doctor:''' "Yes, but the mouse died."\\

* SkewedPriorities: When the man-eating chair attacks and the housewife cries for help, a neighbor angrily demands to know what ''type'' of chair is on the rampage.

In reality, this was all a FramingDevice to feature a [[RapidFireComedy nonstop barrage]] of sketches, gags, and skits. Transitions included [[PortalDoor hotel doors opening to improbable locales]], [[ExtremeCloseUp cameras zooming into background props]], or the show itself being [[WeInterruptThisProgram interrupted for a "Special Report"]]. The stories actually involving the Pelican Hotel could also veer into the nonsensical, such as one subplot involving a sentient, man-eating chair.

Superficially, the show revolves around the Pelican Hotel, a once-glamorous lodge in Atlantic City, New Jersey that's now in its fading years. It is owned and managed by the youthfully optimistic Roger (Creator/SteveGuttenberg), who tries to please his visitors with the help of his assistant Karen (Creator/HillaryKaren). Other characters include Morris (Creator/JerryMaren) the bellboy; Al Tuttle (Creator/StuartPankin), a local tough who is trying to get Roger to sell the hotel; and longtime residents Mrs. Belmont (Creator/FranRyan), Mr. Plitzky (Creator/BillDana), and Marion (Creator/EdieMcClurg).

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Roger's assistant Sharon (Creator/BrianneLeary) appears only in the first episode. She is replaced with Karen (Creator/HillaryKaren) in later episodes without any explanation.

* PaintingTheMedium: After [[Series/LooneyTunes Elmer Fudd]] confesses on national television that "cartoons aren't weal", he starts crying out of fear that "they" are going to retaliate. Sure enough, a hand reaches from the top of the frame, then ''grabs and crumples'' the page that Elmer is drawn on...

** "Basketball Head" begins with a giant foot falling out of the sky.

* WarpZone: Invoked in one sketch, where a man enters a steam room and ends up [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext in the middle of the Baltic Sea with a British police officer.]]

* SleepingDummy: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P9ti2xJbmI "Basketball Head",]] Junior builds one of these so he can sneak out of the house. His parents are horrified when they find it and immediately call the paramedics to save him.

* TheMafia: The Tarantula Brothers, who want Roger to sell the hotel so they could build a parking lot in its place.

* ModelScam: The episode "Miss Pelican" has Roger fall victim to a false beauty contest at the hotel.

* PortalDoor: The Pelican Hotel is full of these, which open to whatever locale was convenient for the next routine.

* SketchComedy: When the show is not focusing on [[{{Sitcom}} the hotel or its people,]] then it's this.
* SleepingDummy: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P9ti2xJbmI "Basketball Head",]] Junior builds one of these so he can sneak out of the house. His parents are horrified when they find it and immediately call the paramedics.

* SurrealHumor: If the comedy isn't coming from a routine, then it's coming from being inexplicable and bizarre.

* BehindTheBlack: Used in one skit; a homeless bum wanders into a closed building and finds a piano. He proceeds to play Mozart flawlessly, then turns to his right and sees a theater packed with enthusiastically applauding patrons.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Roger's assistant Sharon (Creator/BrianneLeary) appears only in the first episode. She is replaced with Karen (Creator/HillaryKaren) without any explanation.

* NoTellMotel: Discussed when Roger is trying to convince a telephone caller that the Hotel Pelican is a suitable venue for a Shriners' Convention:

Superficially, the show revolves around the Pelican Hotel, a once-glamorous lodge in Atlantic City, New Jersey now in its fading years. It is owned and managed by the youthfully optimistic Roger (Creator/SteveGuttenberg), who tries to please his visitors with the help of his assistant Karen (Creator/HillaryKaren). Other characters include Morris (Creator/JerryMaren) the bellboy; Al Tuttle (Creator/StuartPankin), a house detective who is trying to get Roger to sell the hotel; and longtime residents Mrs. Belmont (Creator/FranRyan), Mr. Plitzky (Creator/BillDana), and Marion (Creator/EdieMcClurg).