Northwest Afternoon 4877371 220037582 2008-06-18T00:08:11Z Bumm13 63286 minor punctuation fix '''''Northwest Afternoon''''' is an [[Emmy award|Emmy-award]]-winning local television talk show in the [[United States]]. It airs weekdays at 3PM in the [[Puget Sound]] area of [[Washington]]. It is produced locally by [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]] TV station [[KOMO-TV]] Channel 4, and debuted in September of 1984. The series will end its run in August 2008. The show's format, unchanged since its debut, starts off with the first 15 minutes being a daily recap of all the [[soap opera]] serials aired that day, and the last 45 minutes being a talk/variety-type show. In the latter portion of the show, subjects can vary from show to show. In one show, a famous TV, movie, or newsmaking celebrity may make an appearance as a special guest (usually discussing their latest work, etc.), while the very next day could focus on a guest who has survived against all odds. The show originated from Studio C of KOMO-TV's old building until it was demolished to make way for Fisher Plaza in [[2000]]. On June 10, 2008 KOMO-TV announced that ''Northwest Afternoon'' has been cancelled because of increased competition against first-run syndicated fare from ''[[Dr. Phil (TV series)|Dr. Phil]]'' on [[KING-TV]], ''[[Rachael Ray (TV series)|Rachael Ray]]'' on [[KIRO-TV]], and ''[[Maury]]'' on [[KCPQ]]. These shows had made inroads into Northwest Afternoon's once-comfortable ratings, making it difficult for station management to continue producing the show. The stunning anouncement came after the series won a local Emmy. A 24-year retrospective send-off is being planned for late August 2008.<ref>[http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/366399_nwafternoon10.html From Seattle PI.com (June 10, 2008)]</ref> The show will be replaced by "[[The Doctors (2008 TV series)|The Doctors]]," a [[syndicated]] show premiering in September 2008. ==Hosts== The original hosts of the show were Dick Foley and Dana Middleton, with the soap-opera recap portion of the show hosted by [[Cindi Rinehart]]. Dana Middleton left Northwest Afternoon in [[1992]] to pursue other interests. Her departure was an emotional moment, and her last show was filled with recaps of previous shows. Dick Foley followed suit in [[1996]]. Both were replaced by the current team, and Cindi Rinehart is the longest-tenured co-host of the show, having co-hosted the show since its debut in [[1984]]. The main portion of the program is currently being hosted by Kent Phillips and Natasha Curry, who replaced former co-host Elisa Jaffe (who returned to KOMO News as an investigative reporter) in January 2007. Elisa Jaffe worked at KOMO as a TV news reporter and had initially worked on the launch of KOMO's weekday morning newscast titled "The Morning Express." Recently, Jaffe was also announced as KOMO 4 Morning News Co-anchor with Mike Dardis, but soon replaced by Natasha Curry, who came to KOMO in January 2007. Meantime, Kent Phillips works for Star 101.5 radio (KPLZ-FM) while not hosting NWA, and has been working in broadcasting since the age of 14. ==''Scope on the Soaps''== ''Scope on the Soaps'' is the opening segment, usually 15-20 minutes in length, in which Cindi Rinehart gives viewers a daily recap of the happenings in the soap opera world. Her awkward style has become legendary, and she has earned a "backstage-pass" into the behind-the-scenes production of all the major dramas on daytime TV. Her ''Scope on the Soaps'' segment has been frequented - either in person or over live telephone calls - by major soap stars and producers, and Cindi herself has even starred in soaps such as ''[[General Hospital]]''. Because of her expertise, she has been dubbed "The Soap Queen." Reinhart also attracts a lot fans beyond the Northwest. Since the show is also seen across [[Canada]] on satellite, its not uncommon for viewers to call as far away as [[Nova Scotia]] and [[Quebec]] just to ask Cindi questions about what will happen on the soaps, a rarity for a locally produced---and American based---afternoon talk show. ==Notable guests== *[[Alex Trebek]] *[[Ray Combs]] *[[Bill Clinton]] *[[George H.W. Bush]] *[[Sylvester Stallone]] *[[Peter Jennings]] *[[Sam Donaldson]] *[[Colin Powell]] *[[Jimmy Carter]] *[[Donny Osmond]] *[[Marie Osmond]] *[[Fred Rosen]] *[[Madeleine Albright]] *[[Robert Duvall]] *[[Tim Allen]] *[[Tom Cruise]] *[[Michael J. Fox]] *[[Steven Spielberg]] *[[Alex Rodriguez]] *[[Tanya Harding]] *[[Kathie Lee Gifford]] *[[Carol Channing]] *[[Pat Sajak]] *[[Vanna White]] *[[Merv Griffin]] *[[Sylvia Brown]] *[[Jane Pauley]] Other notable guests include much of KOMO's own on-air staff. KOMO news anchors Dan Lewis, Kathi Goertzen, and several KOMO TV reporters have made appearances on ''Northwest Afternoon'' over the years. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.komotv.com/nwa/ KOMO TV's Northwest Afternoon official website] [[Category:Media in Seattle, Washington]] [[Category:Television talk shows]] [[Category:Local television programming in the United States]] [[Category:1984 television series debuts]] [[Category:1980s American television series]] [[Category:1990s American television series]] [[Category:2000s American television series]] [[Category:2008 television series endings]]