REVIEW: MR. FROST – Drastic times call for drastic measures…or Mr. Frost.

When a local radio station faces a problem with one of its key hosts missing and its ratings at stake, the general manager is forced to call for reinforcements. In order to keep their sponsors happy and the radio station thriving, the manager makes a pretty risky decision.

MR. FROST was created by Joe Thomas and Dennis Mareno. The series was produced by Joe Thomas and Ed Lamberg. It was written by Dennis Mareno, Emily Steele and Joe Thomas and directed by Joe Thomas. The series premiered December 15th, 2014, but is being rereleased, free to watch, on YouTube today! The series centers around the local radio station, WLBD, facing a huge problem when one of the popular radio personalities, Dr. Martin Tinsdale, goes missing from the airwaves – again. The totally fed up general manager, Gary Brubaker (Brian Feys), is forced on a search to find a replacement suitable for the job in order to keep the sponsors happy and the ratings up.

After many offers and a failed attempt without seeking outside help, Brubaker turns to an unexpected option. He calls upon a friend he knew in his college days, Lazlo Frost (Greg Standifer). Frost has a reputation of being highly unpredictable, but was extremely popular as a host in Detroit until an on-air hoax brought this radio reign to a sudden end. Since those days, Frost has been crashing on couches and feeling utterly miserable without a purpose for his talents. When he’s given the opportunity to host a show on WLBD, things begin to really improve for the radio station as it begins to receive fantastic ratings. Unfortunately, Frost’s newly revived career becomes a giant pain in the rear for the radio station’s staff and the sponsors, particularly popular host Traci Appleton (Chelsey Fuller).

Traci Appleton is the radio station’s love expert and hosts a show to help those with relationship problems. However, Traci hasn’t experienced a successful romantic relationship. She wants desperately out of the small market where she feels she is trapped. She and Lazlo don’t get along at all. In fact, they hate each other with an extreme passion. Lazlo even goes so far as to pull pranks on Traci while she is on the air.

Jimmy or “Masterflash JZ Webio” (Curtis Gordon) works at the radio station as the webmaster. He has always wanted to be a DJ. He became a member of WLBD when Gary brought him on to build the radio station’s website. Jimmy even offers to replace the missing host, Dr. Martin Tinsdale, except his personality limits him to such an opportunity. He also manages to get on Gary and Tracy’s nerves.

Another member of the radio station staff is the witty Sam Fitzpatrick (Gillian Fitzgerald), the station’s receptionist. Sam possesses a strong personality that would make one think she’d get fired pretty quick. Gary surprisingly puts up with her conflicting attitude. Sam’s frustration can be credited to the fact that she is without a computer to do her work. The computer problem isn’t exactly clear. She can’t seem to get it fixed. Will (Michael LaCour) attempts to help with a clear ulterior motive. Some of his dialogue with Sam seemed a bit awkward especially when he describes his nipples being hard upon entering the lobby of the radio station and not being shy at all when checking out her rear. He’s a pretty confident fellow with no filter. Gary’s next line pretty much sums up what all viewers are probably thinking about this, including me. Gary soon remedies Sam’s computer problem when he lets her borrow his laptop.

Sam’s interactions with Will get a little more fierce in the second episode. She comes across as obnoxious and manipulative. She’s pleasant when talking with Will about bringing her some food. When he brings her healthy options for food, she gets ill with him stating she wanted more unhealthy options like a cheeseburger and chili cheese fries. She whines about it before ordering a pizza.

It seems the only somewhat sane member of the staff is Angela (Sarah Turner-Holland). She is pretty shy and has absolutely no interest of being on air. She has other aspirations that involve the music industry, but is satisfied working at WLBD. When Gary pushes her to replace Tinsdale, she refuses. He eventually forces her to take the Tinsdale slot since no one else is available which angers her more. She doesn’t like Gary’s style of managing the radio station, but she tolerates it.

We also meet Marty Martingale (Jeremy Curtis) who is WLBD’s longest serving employee and sportscaster for the station. Viewers will learn more about Marty as it is hinted he has a good amount of gambling debt he’s desperately trying to pay off. He begs Gary for a raise in pay, but Gary refuses. When the debt becomes public knowledge, Lazlo offers his help to save Marty.

There were strong, natural performances from the actors. Some of the characters were quite believable. Lazlo Frost seemed a bit extreme, but then again there are personalities like that in the world. When I say “extreme”, I mean the first time viewers are introduced to the character. We find him in very tight underwear with words such as “diva” and “pin-up” etc printed on it. He also wears a bright pink shirt that says “drama queen” with a rhinestone crown on it. It’s pretty clear that the character is homosexual. It just doesn’t feel necessary for the series to telegraph that fact with over the top costume selections. Still, he proves to be a great comedic source in this series who will definitely have viewers laughing out loud.

The owner of the used car dealership, Duane Peckle (Tom Heydweiller), is upset with how his business is being portrayed by Lazlo Frost on the air. He visits Gary to hopefully solve the problem. He threatens to withdraw his sponsorship from the radio station if Frost isn’t removed from the air. Duane Peckle’s Southern accent wasn’t convincing to me. This made the character seem a little unnatural, something that was strangely common in this series compared to the excellent performances in the other works from LBD.

As I’ve said before when writing about THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT, the LBD shows all share cast members. It’s like one big creative family. The actors change roles from project to project, often playing someone very different. It’s so exciting seeing an actor transform into someone so well you almost don’t recognize them.

The jazz music used for scoring under scenes was a delightful choice. It’s definitely a good fit for the atmosphere of the show. It drives the scenes at a good tempo, keeping the action flowing. The music isn’t present in all of the scenes, but it’s not needed in all of the scenes.

I really liked the appearance of the opening credits. The creative choices with the still photographs of the cast were excellent and appropriate for the series. Again, the jazz music makes an appearance in the opening credits and it is an awesome combination. It really sets up the atmosphere of the series.

If you enjoy entertaining talk-radio and enjoy unpredictable humor, then I recommend MR. FROST. It is a series full of outrageous and unpredictable humor. Viewers can find the first two episodes of Season 1 on their website here . Frost has saved the radio station from plunging toward rock bottom in ratings. Will the radio station keep its sponsors or will they go running for the hills from Lazlo Frost? It will definitely be a sight to see. What kind of shenanigans await the staff at WLBD?

For more information about this series, check out:

WEBSITE: www.leftbraintv.com/mr-frost