UHF (also known as The Vidiot from UHF in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe, and Los Telelocos in Mexico) is a comedy film made in 1989. It starred "Weird Al" Yankovic, Michael Richards, David Bowe, Victoria Jackson, Fran Drescher, Kevin McCarthy, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Anthony Geary and Trinidad Silva. The film was directed by Jay Levey, Yankovic's manager, who also co-wrote the screenplay with him. It was produced by Orion Pictures Corporation.

The film plays on a characteristic of the American television industry of the 1960s through the time that the film was made. During this period, there was a notable division between programming in the American VHF and UHF television bands. Typically, UHF stations were low-budget operations, with corresponding low broadcast and programming quality, and generally poor reputations to match. Most UHF transmitters were actually translators, used to rebroadcast network stations into rural areas. The remainder were generally LPTV or local stations with limited range and viewers, often carrying PBS, religious, or foreign-language programming.

In the film, Yankovic plays George Newman, a daydreaming loser, whose uncle wins a faltering UHF television station (Channel 62) in a poker game. Prompted by his wife, and having nothing better to do with the station, his uncle puts the unemployed George in charge, along with his friend Bob (Bowe). Station employees are a scientist/studio engineer named Philo (Geary), spirited receptionist (and wannabe news reporter) Pamela Finklestein (Drescher), photojournalist/cameraman Noodles MacIntosh (Barty, in one of his final roles), and the eccentric janitor Stanley Spadowski (Richards). George and Bob, in addition to their administrative duties, star in a children's show (complete with unenthusiastic live studio audience).

The station struggles, and one night George works late and forgets the birthday date he set up with his girlfriend Teri (Jackson) and her parents. She dumps him, and in his resulting depression he walks off the set of the kids' show in the middle of a broadcast, leaving Spadowski to host the remainder of the show.

Going to a nearby bar to drown his sorrows, he discovers that other patrons are mesmerized by Stanley's oddball hosting style, and his rather unusual inspirational messages. George and Bob rush back to the station, and Stanley accepts the host's spot permanently, on the condition that he can still be the station janitor.

With Spadowski hosting, the show immediately becomes a massively popular hit among both children and adults. Inspired by the overnight success of Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse George and Bob then give Channel 62 a revamped programming lineup. They premiere shows such as "Wheel of Fish" (hosted by karate-teacher Kuni (Watanabe)) and "Raul's Wild Kingdom," whose host (Silva) announces that poodles can fly. Incredibly, Channel 62 not only appears in the next television ratings list, but is suddenly the most successful station in town.

However, R.J. Fletcher (McCarthy), the villainous, spiteful owner of network affiliate and rival VHF network station Channel 8, is furious at being beaten by a UHF station. He calls George's uncle, who has just been informed that he has a large gambling debt which must be repaid quickly. They make a deal for Fletcher to purchase the station (which he intends to close down), but when George finds out, he phones his aunt, who forces her husband to give George time to match the cash and buy the station. The Channel 62 crew launches a telethon to sell investment shares in the station to local viewers.

Desperate to make the fundraiser fail, Fletcher's goons kidnap Stanley and hold him in the Channel 8 studio. With the help of Kuni and his students, George manages to free Stanley, and they rush back to the last moments of the telethon, to discover that they are still far short of the amount needed, as time runs out. However, a fortuitous circumstance - to which (ironically) Fletcher has inadvertently contributed - raises the needed money at literally the last second, and Channel 62 is saved! Meanwhile, Fletcher is approached by an FCC official, who informs him that Channel 8 has lost its broadcasting license.

George and Teri get back together, and Philo, his work done, leaves for home.

In typical Yankovic fashion, the movie has several comic homages to pop media, including: its intro, a parody of the Indiana Jones series (a parody of the Rambo series is included later in the film); its ending, which spoofs Gone with the Wind; a fake promo for "Town Talk With George Newman" (spoofing Geraldo Rivera and The Jerry Springer Show); a dream about The Beverly Hillbillies (set to "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits and Sting). There are also fake commercials for Gandhi 2, Conan the Librarian, and "Spatula City". In fact, this entire movie could be considered a spoof of both Network and A Face in the Crowd; it even parodies famous lines from Howard Beale ("I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!") and Lonesome Rhodes (his climactic deprecation of his own fans and sponsors).

According to Yankovic's Behind the Music episode, UHF enjoyed one of the most successful test screenings in Orion's history. Orion Pictures released UHF on July 21, 1989 as a hopeful summer blockbuster, hoping that Yankovic would pull them out of the water. But critical response was negative, and UHF was overshadowed in the theaters by much larger films such as Lethal Weapon 2, Batman, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The movie got a very poor rating and was out of the theaters the 1st week. He says that it wasn't a "critic movie". As "Weird Al" states in his commentary of the movie, UHF was thought to be the movie that would "save the studio" for Orion. He was treated very well because of this. He states in the commentary: "Every morning I would wake up to fresh strawberries next to my bed. Then, when the movie bombed, I woke up and...no more strawberries!"

Overcoming theatrical failure, UHF has since become a cult classic, becoming very popular on cable and home video, with out-of-print video cassettes selling on eBay for sizable amounts of money. After much pleading from fans, the movie was rereleased in Europe and North America on DVD in 2002 by MGM, and in its debut week it became a top ten bestseller in Variety. Although not officially marketed as a "special edition", the North American DVD contains numerous extras including a music video of the movie's theme song, a commentary track featuring director Jay Levey and Yankovic himself, and a deleted scenes reel with Yankovic's commentary.

"Weird Al" Yankovic also released a soundtrack for the film in late 1989, entitled UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack And Other Stuff.

The DVD release includes a selection of deleted footage from the film, obtained from a VHS tape Yankovic claims was laying around his house for thirteen years. Some of the unused footage includes:

A very brief scene of Raul being attacked by his poodles during the telethon that was presumably unfinished due to the actor's death.

A Channel 62 show promo for "Those Darn Homos", which featured two men in tight-fitting clothing chasing each other with fly swatters.

A scene from the telethon involving Dr. Leon Zemlich offering medical incentives for buying U-62 stock; a free chest X-ray and a free enema.

Two longer sequences of "Town Talk" with guest Joe Early the shop teacher, after Joe accidentally dismembered his thumb on the table saw, both of which then have him showing off a drill press.

A scene in which Stanley Spadowski grinds his hand in a meat grinder!

A series of scenes depicting a receptionist named Elaine, who worked with Teri. Yankovic mentions on the commentary that the actress was never informed her scenes were removed until after the movie was released, which he still regrets.

A scene in which Richard Fletcher further taunts Noodles Macintosh.

A scene in which R.J. is practicing additional slander to be used against George during his news broadcast.

A scene in which Stanley Spadowski offers whipped cream to his audience.

A longer sequence of Philo's show, "Secrets of the Universe", in which his recipe for homemade plutonium calls for ingredients at hand: an egg beater, a car battery and a bowl of strawberry jell-o...put in a microwave for twelve minutes at 8000 degrees!

A subplot in which the head thug is revealed to have an intense phobia of insects. This culminates in a scene in which the thugs attempt to steal the suitcase filled with the money raised from the Channel 62 telethon, but instead steal a suitcase filled with Philo's live insect collection. The suitcase is opened in the car and the head thug panics so badly that he drives the car over a cliff, which, according to Yankovic, explodes and kills the occupants of the car.

George being turned down for a loan, with the banker being revealed as a stooge for R.J.

A ludicrous romantic scene between George and Teri...George gives her a zirbit!

A longer sequence with George and Teri exploring the station for the first time.

A longer sequence with the performance by the Kipper Kids (the men with the large chins) during the telethon.

Kuni revealing how he and the other martial artists knew where to rescue George in time.

Some of the footage which was mentioned in the commentary but not shown on the DVD (or possibly even filmed) included Kuni being established as George's landlord and a scene in the opening Indiana Jones parody with George answering a payphone and a voice on the other end begging him not to enter (although production stills also on the DVD seem to confirm that the latter scene was in fact filmed). Another scene that got cut out was during the Plots-R-Us scene was where a crane operator was lowering a casket and the body falls out with a thud, then the announcer says, "Has this ever happened to you?"