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UHF

George Newman, a daydreaming slacker who bounces between jobs, is put in charge of Channel 62, a UHF television station, after his uncle Harvey Bilchik wins ownership of it in a poker game. George and his friend Bob Steckler realize the station is nearly bankrupt, subsisting on reruns of old shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and Mister Ed. When a package meant for its competitor, VHF station Channel 8, is misdelivered to Channel 62, George decides to deliver it himself, only to be rudely dismissed by RJ Fletcher, owner and CEO of Channel 8. Outside, George meets a janitor, Stanley Spadowski (whom RJ had recently and unfairly fired after falsely accusing him of discarding a missing report), and hires him at Channel 62.

Bob and George create new programs, including the live children's show Uncle Nutzy's Clubhouse (hosted by George), but all of them unfortunately fail to increase viewership. While fretting over their finances, George neglects his girlfriend Teri's birthday dinner and she breaks up with him. The next day, during the Uncle Nutzy broadcast, a depressed George abandons the set, hands over hosting responsibilities to Stanley, and visits a bar with Bob to drown their sorrows, but discovers the patrons enjoying Stanley's slapstick antics on Channel 62. Inspired, the pair create various bizarre shows to fill the schedule, headlined by the re-titled Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse.

Infuriated that Channel 62's ratings now rival those of Channel 8, including a majority of Top Five shows, RJ discovers Harvey owes his bookie Big Louie $75,000 by the end of the week, and offers to pay the debt in exchange for the deed to Channel 62. George launches a telethon to sell stock in the station, which would not only save it from RJ but also make it publicly owned. RJ's henchmen stall the telethon by kidnapping Stanley, whom George and several staff-members eventually rescue. RJ again attempts to stall the telethon with a televised public statement, but Channel 62 engineer Philo hijacks it with secretly recorded footage of RJ insulting the town's population to Teri's face during her visit to his Channel 8 headquarters.

The telethon ends about $2,000 short of its goal. Harvey concedes victory to RJ who, instead of immediately taking ownership, gloats to the crowd. Meanwhile, a homeless man approaches George, asking to buy the remaining stock with money obtained by selling a rare 1955 doubled die cent that RJ, unaware of its true value, gave him when he was begging for change. George pays off Big Louie, Harvey signs the ownership transfer, and the station officially becomes publicly owned. Due to both its tardiness in filing its broadcast license renewal and the tirade that Philo broadcast, Channel 8 has its license revoked by the FCC, which subsequently shuts it down. After the Channel 62 staff and audience celebrate, George and Teri reconcile.