The idea behind this movie was great. But, the writers missed so many opportunities for jokes. The characters in the movie jumped into probably 25 different movie or TV types. Each one was a ripe setup for several hilarious jokes. But, most of the time, the writers punted and just played it straight or relied on sight gags (which Ritter is known for).

So, they get dropped in the Arctic and wolves attack them. Not funny. They get dropped into a cat-and-mouse cartoon and the cat chases the mouse for ten minutes. Less funny than a real cat-and-mouse cartoon.They get dropped into a "professional" wrestling match and get thrown around the ring for a bit. Not funny.

Each scene was just bursting with comic potential, but the writers never went for the home run and always played it safe and bunted for the single. By the end, I was writing the big jokes in my head.

This movie is just begging to be remade with a team of actual comedians writing the script and, bonus, playing all the bit parts.

The concept story where heaven and hell have their war over souls displayed in a positive light involving Hell to lure people who watch too much TV be apart of its programming. It's a charming film with a good cast, John Ritters character becomes the encouraging Underdog.

This film is easily hidden away and should be apart of any families library. The story may seem light but it executes its purpose.

Character wise their wholesome and an homage to popular films and TV shows the characters ventures through.

Even displaying the TV shows that Roy watches on Hell TV is clever including Salt N Peppa making an appearance. It is an underrated film its charm and innocent.

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.