Liberty City Free Radio

Revision as of 23:59, 8 December 2008 by gtw>Deathsoul4
File:Lcfr.jpg

Liberty City Free Radio, abbreviated as LCFR, is a talk radio station on Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories. It is similar to WCTR from GTA San Andreas in that it is comprised of several programs. All LCFR programs except Chatterbox are assumed to have not survived to reappear in Grand Theft Auto III.

Electron Zone Radio

A talk show discussing technology related topics. Hosted by Bill (Michael Urichek) and Steve (Ptolemy Slocum). Bill represents the "Fruit OS" users, an obvious parody of Apple's Mac OS. Steve represents "TOS" users which stands for Technical Operating System and is a parody of Microsoft's DOS. The talk show hosts are also apparently caricatures of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The show's callers are largely a pack of internet nerds or internet haters - a sly reference to the Matrix films is also made when a woman calls in asking about a virtual reality movie called The Mainframe.

In one segment, Richard Burns from WCTR in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas calls in, mentioning that he was fired shortly after the 1992 Los Santos riots. In another segment, a caller calls from Carcer city and says that the FBI tries to arrest him whenever he downloads some pictures from the internet. As he introduces himself, the caller pronounces his name that sounds similar to Ken. Some people insist that this caller is known to be Ken Rosenberg.

Its disappearance from Liberty City's airwaves by 2001 is likely a reference to the dot com boom of the late 1990s.

Chatterbox

The radio program made famous in GTA III returns with Lazlow as host. By 2001, the show will be given its own full-time frequency. An announcer on the radio station says that he was kicked out of both Vice City and San Andreas, since he was a disc jockey at both places. Lazlow's callers are diverse but generally offensive, including an internet freak who wants to knock down the Liberty City cathedral, a foul-mouthed cannibal, a man obsessed with shaving and an innocent-sounding 7-year-old girl who knows an awful lot of swearwords for someone so young. The mother of the game's main character (Toni Cipriani) also calls in, but gets angry with Lazlow, calling him Lazarus and threatening him with a Mafia assassination. This is likely a homage to Grand Theft Auto III when Toni calls Lazlow explaining how much his mother controls his life.

Heartland Values with Nurse Bob

This program is a talk show parodying The Dr. Phil Show (though Dr. Phil's show started in 2003, five years after the year LCS takes place). It has a live in-studio audience and is hosted by a southern hillbilly named Nurse Bob (Chuck Montgomery). The name "Nurse Bob" is itself a reference to talk show host Dr. Phil, as evidenced by similar or near-direct Dr. Phil quotes made by Nurse Bob. (e.g. "My definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting different results." which can be heard a number of times on The Dr. Phil Show). The show's cancellation by 2001 could be seen as a sign o the times, as talk shows lost popularity by this point. Nurse Bob also appears to be a devout Christian--as many stereotypical hillbillies are--and threatens many of his callers that if they don't shape up, they will be burning for eternity in the fiery pits of Hell. He also hints at having been molested by his father when he was young.

Breathing World

A spiritual enlightment talk show hosted by a new wave hippie by the name of Melissa Chowder (Ashley Albert). Throughout the show, Melissa interviews Crow (Gregg Martin), formerly of a band he doesn't name. Crow is on the show to promote Crowfest '98, a concert tour. The name Crowfest '98 may have been taken from Ozzfest '98. Crow talks on the show and says that after quitting the band, he has since seen spiritual enlightenment through the fact that he has joined a religious cult. Crow was previously referenced in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Crow is an immense egomaniac who offends Melissa greatly with his constant talk of Amazonian drugs, fleecing native tribes and "having five hours worth of Tantric Sex", a possible reference to the rock star Sting.

Coq O Vin

French chef Richard Goblin (Mike Shapiro), referenced in San Andreas during Entertaining America,hosts this show where he mutilates live animals and insults the American values when it comes to cooking. He also takes calls from fans of the show, most of whom he alienates by slaughtering animals in their general direction, viciously insulting them or actually attacking them. Over the course of the show, Richard forces a cow to give birth directly into his soup and then butchers her, stuffs a live goose and chops up the eyeballs and perineum of a large mammal and makes them into a calzone. At the end of the show, the LCFR announcer makes a sarcastic comment about animal rights, which may show that the program is a sly reference to the controversy surrounding the airing of the cooking show "Out of the Frying Pan" in 1977, when animal rights campaigners protested against the butchering of a pig live on air.