Welcome back to Teeny Bopper TV Breakdown! Today we recap Radio Free Roscoe, episode 2, “On The Air.”
After the soft launch of “Radio Free Roscoe” went well at the end of last episode, the radio broadcast is officially being advertised to the Roscoe High student body via flyers around the school, and our foursome can’t wait until 4 pm. But first, they have to get through the rest of the school day, which includes a career aptitude test - results to come.
Before they go on the air, Robbie, Lily, Ray and Travis need nicknames, because being anonymous will allow them to speak freely (producer Travis will be able to disguise their voices). Ray tries to pick a name for himself, but none of them land, and Robbie’s choice of “Pronto” doesn’t quite seem to fit, but they’re going with it. Robbie comes up with “Shady Lane” for Lily, as it’s the song that made her want to learn guitar, and she’ll be using the show as a platform for her music. And when Ray makes fun of Robbie (for asking so many questions) and Travis (for being a “smart dog”), they wind up with “Question Mark” and “Smog” respectively.
The first broadcast isn’t without its hiccups. Ray interrupts Robbie and basically calls him boring, and Lily has the same troubles she did at the open mic - instead of continuing the theme song when she fumbles her fingers a little, she says “Wait, sorry,” and restarts multiple times after just the first word, which only makes everything more awkward than if she’d kept going. She hurriedly transitions into a prerecorded track by The Rocket Summer, which is a band name I haven’t heard in ages. Better luck next time?
Not so much. After being “too real” the first broadcast, they lean too far into their performance alter egos for the second one, and no one buys that schtick either. Time to find a balance, and quick.
Third time may just be the charm as they open their career test results - that they’re all dissatisfied with - live on air (Travis may have turned the mic on before the others realized it, but it actually works out). The foursome reacts like the teenagers they are - sarcastic but reflective, youthful but still wanting to be taken seriously. While at first they’re unsure if anyone else will be interested in that content, they actually do get people calling in to chat. Some don’t want to be locked into an assessment taken at age 14, and others don’t feel they have an aptitude for anything. And unlike school, it’s the RFR voices that reassure the callers it’s okay to feel lost.
Don’t change that channel! We’ll be right back on Teeny Bopper TV Breakdown.
