WKRP in Cin-ci-naaat-tiiiii....

Totally pivotal show for prepubescent me, along with One Day At A Time, Alice, Diff'r'n't Str'kes and Taxi.

As far as I could tell at the time Howard Hesseman was the epitome of cool.

Fond memories:

Carlson mistaking cocaine for foot powder.
Venus vs. Johnnie, drinking vs. reflexes.

CHI CHI RODRIGUEZ

Carp vs. pig FITE!

CANT WAIT TIL THEY REMAKE THIS SHOW AS A MOVIE

I feel it's my duty to at least make an appearance in this thread.

Whoa dude sorry I misspelled yr name there.

Put the devil in a bulgarian headlock.

CANT WAIT TIL THEY REMAKE THIS SHOW AS A MOVIE

Great, now I'm paranoid.

sorry i just kind of freaked out the other day when I saw an Underdog ad. Can't wait for the Magilla Gorilla remake!!!

(i.e. can't wait until they ruin everything!!!)

JABBERJAW: THE MOVIE

WKRP and Barney Miller were the two shows my Dad *always* watched in the era before Cheers. I often watched with him.

I don't have specific favorite memories of the show, but I do remember driving past Cincinnati on a huge group trip to Washington DC in 1992 for a pro-choice march. The entire van full of people sang the theme song from this show as we passed the city.

SILVER SPOONS: THE MOVIE

MANIMAL: THE MOVIE

SMALL WONDER: THE MOVIE

Even though I've been using the name Johnny Fever for a long ass time now, I barely have any memories at all of WKRP. I wish one of the cable networks had it on in reruns.

You have to call us "fellow babies," for a start.

MWAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAH

AAAHAHAHAHAAAAH

(I saw the sneak trailer for Get Smart...looks hilarious)

(sorry Ned for derailing yr thread)

love this show. they are in my top 8.

WHERE IS THE LOVE FOR SCUM OF THE EARTH?

Two best things about this wonderful show:

1. Bailey Quarters
2. Theme song

PHONE COPS!

Two best things about this wonderful show:

1. Bailey Quarters
2. Bailey Quarters

Steve Carell is a perfect choice for Maxwell Smart, despite his recent Noah debacle.

How would you make a WKRP movie? Radio stations don't work like that anymore. And we already have FM and Private Parts if you want movies about radio people.

Two best things about FM:

1. Martin Mull
2. the theme song

How would you make a WKRP movie? Radio stations don't work like that anymore

WKRP at the University of Cincinatti

How would you make a WKRP movie?

duuuuuuuude you'd set it in the 70's duuuuude

Fuckin' great, Will Ferrell as Johnny Fever.

yesssssssssssssss Jessica Simpson as Jennifer Marlowe

Jamie Foxx as Venus Flytrap

Howard Hessman as Mr. Carlson

the episode with WREQ "Ramblin Wreck radio" is a reference to the station I work for!

Who is perfect enough to be Bailey?

Wait, I got it: Hope Davis.

I would prefer Anne Hathaway.

I think this must have been one of the first US comedies I saw (aprt from possibly Soap). Totally great. I assumed completely that this was what America was like.

The Thanksgiving Day turkey drop -- "Oh the humanity!"

I also remember that after the Who concert in Cincinatti where 11 people were killed in the crush at the doors, they did an episode that had that event as the main focus. Starts with someone mentioning it after getting a phone call and others in the office not believing it. It was done fairly soon after the real event. I was pretty impressed with a sitcom gettin' real like that.

Errmmm, and Bailey Quarters.

I wish one of the cable networks had it on in reruns.

Wild guess: a problem with getting all the rights to all the music.

Yeah, that's why it wasn't on DVD for the longest time. A problem since rectified.

Same problem for the best show ever, China Beach.

Some say it will never come out.

This thread needs more pictures.

Yeah, that's why it wasn't on DVD for the longest time. A problem since rectified.

yeah, well, I still can't buy that set if there's no "Do you hear dogs barking?" "I do." scene.

xpost of Bailey

My random favorite song drop-in:

"We've only just begunnnnnnnnnn..."

Maura Tierney could be Bailey.

Favorite moment:
Venus Flytrap: On the air? I AM the air!

I think Maura's too old now (she's married to Luka! And has a baby!), but she is the right type.

I remember one guy's sunglasses but not much else.

....oh yeah, BOOOOOGERRRRRR!!!!!

the one where they fool the consultant that mother carlson hires slays me every time. the big guy is over worked, jennifer's a ditz, and the scene where venus pulls a switchblade on johnny fucking kills me.

who is smarmy enough to play herb? i can totally see dwight from the office as les nesman.

"Hoodlum rock. Two steps below punk rock."

Yeah, that's why it wasn't on DVD for the longest time. A problem since rectified.

I thought I read somewhere that the DVD sets have replaced original songs with "soundalikes."

Sadly the case, it seems. Fuller details down towards the bottom:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKRP

"hit the road... DUNGAREE."

I thought this was interesting (http://members.allstream.net/~jacjud/wkrpmusic.html):

"WKRP was produced by MTM Enterprises, but in the mid-'90s MTM was bought out by Pat Robertson's International Family Entertainment (which also owned the Family Channel in the U.S.), and then in 1997 International Family Entertainment was bought by 20th Century-Fox. Fox soon shut down the struggling MTM Enterprises. So currently Fox owns the rights to WKRP, and since the "redubbed" versions did not start to appear until the videotape set in 1998, a year after Fox bought MTM, I think it's quite possible that the music changes were made by Fox (other MTM shows, like "St. Elsewhere," also had some music changed around this time). But on the other hand, it's equally possible that the changes were made while MTM was the nominally independent but financially-strapped property of International Family Entertainment."

PAT ROBERTSON IS BEHIND THIS!

i loved this show when i was a kid
i don't remember why or much about it though, which is weird

I've listened to two very different versions of the theme song. I'm wondering if it too was replaced (or perhaps re-recorded during the shows actual run).

I like this bit about the closing theme:

The closing theme, "WKRP In Cincinnati End Credits", was a hard rock number composed and performed by Jim Ellis, an Atlanta musician who recorded some of the incidental music for the show. According to people who attended the recording sessions, Ellis didn't yet have lyrics for the closing theme, so he sang nonsense words to give an idea of how it would sound. Wilson decided it would be funny to use lyrics that were deliberately gibberish, as a satire on the incomprehensibility of many rock songs.[3] Also, since CBS always had an announcer talking over the closing credits, Wilson knew that no one would actually hear the closing theme lyrics anyway. In one pop-cultural nod to the closing theme, a character performs the song in the film Ready to Rumble.

Wow, that's really interesting. This was a fantastic show.

i love this show and if it ever gets on cable again with the original music i'm taping every episode.

did "spap oop" from from WKRP?

WGN is now airing WKRP on Sundays (7pm eastern, 4 pacific)!

dammit, wgn america has a different broadcast schedule than local wgn.

If you get the "American Life" network, they show it sometimes, including tonight at 10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8uH76COzk8

^^^ USEFUL

holy shit thats amazing

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

"Oh, the humanity!"

season one on hulu

dude who wrote closing theme is the dad of girl i work with

the lyrics to that are great

The closing theme, "WKRP In Cincinnati End Credits", was a hard rock number composed and performed by Jim Ellis, an Atlanta musician who recorded some of the incidental music for the show. According to people who attended the recording sessions, Ellis didn't yet have lyrics for the closing theme, so he sang nonsense words to give an idea of how it would sound. Wilson decided it would be funny to use lyrics that were deliberately gibberish, as a satire on the incomprehensibility of many rock songs.[8] Also, since CBS always had an announcer talking over the closing credits, Wilson knew that no one would actually hear the closing theme lyrics anyway. In one pop-cultural nod to the closing theme, a character performs the song in the film Ready to Rumble.

FM is about to come on VH1 Classic.

xpost
yeah, whatever. These are the lyrics:

Gotta foot Saturday and a little lack-of-silence affair
Going to this party got some gin and it'll be aw-haw
Gotta pull the socket me and peter pack some gin aw-haw
Said i'm good, good, and i'll do a lot of better aw-haw

season one on hulu

does it have the original music or did they have to replace the songs like on the dvd?

I haven't actually watched any episodes, so I'm not sure!

One of my favorites was the two parter where Venus and Johnny Fever end up at the transmitter where a bomb is located. The part where Fever comes running into the station office all druggy paranoid going off on how the phone cops are after him is fantastic.

There is also a hilarious scene where Les Nessman puts on a big curly toupee while the station is playing something like Foreigner's Hot Blooded.

I'm watching The Insider, and just spotted Gary Sandy in a small role. Checking online for confirmation, I was reminded of this 1966 Newsweek cover with Jan Smithers:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_isUvlzkZPIQ/R0W0y4UcfEI/AAAAAAAABH8/zrmIhmmnQRk/s200/175px-Newsweek_March_21_1966.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6hDZt1e0ofY/SqLjY8NMnWI/AAAAAAAAG-0/KMxGL8f4L7k/s400/jan+smithers.jpg

She kind of looks like the young Susan Dey in that photo.

Wanna Mr. Burns that Smithers.

I also remember that after the Who concert in Cincinatti where 11 people were killed in the crush at the doors, they did an episode that had that event as the main focus. Starts with someone mentioning it after getting a phone call and others in the office not believing it. It was done fairly soon after the real event. I was pretty impressed with a sitcom gettin' real like that.

Errmmm, and Bailey Quarters.

― nickn, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 8:30 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark

iirc, the plot revolved around the fact that the station had given away tickets to that show. But they never mentioned the Who by name, instead calling it "the big concert," and playing a lot of Who songs in the episode.

Wow, you're right.

And here's the entire episode rightcheer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch92FIHx-Hs

12 year old me found loni anderson super repulsive,which in retrospect is really weird

xp Cool, thanks for posting that. Interesting, they did mention the Who a couple of times, but didn't play any of their songs. Looks like they have Herb taking the Walter Cronkite ("drug-crazed mob of kids") / Mike Royko ("barbarians") role.

found loni anderson super repulsive,which in retrospect is really weird

i dunno. Her helmet hair never really did much for me, either.

i'm sure that was it but odd to be so discerning at the outset of puberty

I feel it's my duty to at least make an appearance in this thread.

bailey quarters

So many misspellings of Cincinnati ;_;

As God is my witness

Oh, the humanity.

Antenna TV is showing that ep 4 times tomorrow.

I love Antenna. Mainly because they show WKRP.

http://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/turkeys-away-an-oral-history/

...wait. This existed?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_WKRP_in_Cincinnati

Shh, we all agreed to never speak of it again.

Apparently in the reunion episode, they explained Bailey's absence by saying she couldn't get away from her duties as the mayor of Ann Arbor.

Also her dignity.

I watched New WKRP for a while. It was not good. French Stewart.

looking for the parody of the video for u2's 'numb' the NEW wkrp in cincinatti did when it was on vh1 i came across this which may be of interest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg-2D4UPkug

commentary by howard cosell and billy crystal

that was fucking excruciating

70s were some dark shit

this is a very serious girl, in point of fact

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/1-29-2014/7GxFYQ.gif

Every time I roll through or to Cincy going north on I-75 I hear the theme song come into my head. I actually stayed at the Radison right on the river in Covington last year when I went up for a Reds game and was probably a pretty new hotel when you see it on the opening credits for WKRP. It's a pretty swanky hotel, definitely a very 1970s building.

idgi is that nicklaus? i thought he was from columbus.

That's Dick Van Patten. He's from "Eight is Enough".

famed dog food vendor dick van patten

Oh wow, on the related videos list for that Smithers' dunk tank thing, there's one of those w/Robert Urich dunking Catherine "Cathy" Bach.

Van Patten OTM, if somewhat unsubtle about it.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/WKRP-Cincinnati-The-Complete-Series/19780

please, please, please, let me get what i want, with the original music cues.

http://www.avclub.com/article/10-episodes-screwball-hilarity-and-social-commenta-205282

Herb, seeing an opportunity to get the station’s counterculture element out of the way, makes a rousing, delusional speech to Les about “the dungarees versus the suits,” hoping that for once his fellow suits would end up on top.

I don't think I ever saw this one.

Amazing the turkey episode was seven episodes into the whole series.

That was the one where they had the $5000 contest to identify a sequence of drops from songs including "The Spar-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key."

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/tvandmediablog/2014/06/06/wkrp-in-cincinnati-howard-hesseman-loni-anderson-tim-reid-shout-factory-vietnam-war/10019209/

^^ Great link, just for the 1978/2007 parallel video alone.

"In Concert" was a more accurate reporting of that tragedy, and what caused it, than most contemporary mainstream news stories.

^^ Great link, parallel video gave me an idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfSTF1Z9i7Y

Forget that last one, here's a final version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfQdvXkTZd8

Okay, looks like they've released info on what music made the cut and what didn't:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/09/wkrp-in-cincinnati-to-be-reissued-with-most-of-its-original-soundtrack/

Scroll down for the full list. Here's what didn't make it, sadly:

A notable absence is Pink Floyd’s “Dogs”, which was heavily featured in the show’s most popular episode “Turkeys Away”. Other choice songs missing include The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA”, The Beatles’ “Come Together”, Devo’s “Whip It!”, The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me”, and U2’s “I Will Follow”.

But on the bright side Foreigner did make it, meaning we get the Les Nessman "Hot Blooded" moment.

Roger Waters, why you wanna break heart?

Related:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udDCBsutHzA

I wonder what they'll use in that scene instead.

Strange that AC/DC of all acts were all, sure go ahead, while something like "You Really Got Me" - a song that I could've sworn was played in the ad for Problem Child IV - is snipped.

I was wondering about the Kinks, too; I assume it has something to do with the parts of the Kinks catalog that are controlled by Allen Klein('s estate).

It's funny, I went on a quest last night to find any classic rock songs with dogs barking (that could replace FLOYD).

It was all Beach Boys and Beatles.

I was wondering about that too, and I'm hoping they went with this:
http://youtu.be/8U9uGSGUliM

"I hear them."

http://i.imgur.com/6e2bCDJ.jpg

I have been watching WKRP for the first time, thanks to Mr Veg being a longtime fan & I have to say I loved it from the first ep. I’m partway into S2 and we watch 2 episodes every night at dinner.

I love Les Nessman SO much, especially his SSSS SSSS SSS laugh. All the characters are great - it’s impressive how well-defined the characters were right from the pilot.And sometimes the episodes really get to me! I loved the episode with Venus’s backstory about being a Vietnam deserter - it was so heavy & it was handled well I thought. And shit, they can even get me misty-eyed over corny old Herb watching slideshows of his kids. Or Johnny Fever playing James Taylor for the teenage mom who abandoned her baby - that made me BAWL and I pretty much hate James Taylor lol

And Gordon Jump’s mannerisms, his physical comedy, everything about the way he plays Mr Carlson is just so damn great.

But: The invisible door to Les’s “office” is my favorite gag.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Br0u0zSCIAE0g-s.jpg

Haven't watched it in a long time; I expect I'd still find it very funny. The one thing where I think the series would benefit if it had been done today would be a greater attention to music. Obviously, they could have done a lot with that, but shows just didn't do that sort of thing then, not even one set at a radio station. (I recall that they'd occasionally mix in a song, but I don't remember anything specific, and not anything particularly good.)

(And would still be madly in love with Jan Smithers.)

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1449/0596/products/Turkey_Drop.jpg?v=1518461572

idk, i think this bit from the turkey drop episode is pretty specific about a particular piece of music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQ-g99V_cQ

Not a whole lot there, though. I was thinking of something more expressive...I don't remember the James Taylor scene VG describes, but that would be more what I had in mind. (That clip's funny, though.)

(And would still be madly in love with Jan Smithers.)

Same, same. I was given the box set for Christmas 2017 and the show has held up really well, I think, especially for something from that era.

they do some nice stuff here & there music-wise but always necessarily brief which is kind of a bummer

mr veg found a weird .xls someone on discogs made of all the songs in the original aired episodes. we joked that we should put them all in a playlist and cue them whenever the replacement “placeholder” music plays while muting the tv sound to recreate the scenes #nerds

i want to poll Herb’s suits

do the dvds or streaming versions have the same music as the original show? that's usually an issue (I know it was/is iwht northern exposure)

Shout Factory put out a dvd box with most of the music restored, I want to say 80-85% of it?

From upthread: https://consequenceofsound.net/2014/09/wkrp-in-cincinnati-to-be-reissued-with-most-of-its-original-soundtrack/

Erlewine's WKRPlaylist: https://open.spotify.com/user/sterlewine/playlist/33epN9A9NPYVE5RVVInrlL?si=StQOkdt4QeKwueABJ5yf8g

Just got the full series box as a closeout on eBay. Only intended to watch the full pilot tonight, but then blasted through the next two eps as well. Talk about hitting their stride early! The third ep (pilot was a two-parter) is "Les On The Ledge", the one where he attempts suicide after getting banned from a locker room due to a misunderstanding about his sexuality, and the fourth is the Scum ep! And of course in that one they managed to slide a quick shot of Les' head blocking out the "S" in the banner past the censors.

I am into S3... a lot more out of the station eps which feels like a bad idea.

and les in blackface ugh

I ended up going back and watching the next three eps last night, stopping with "Turkeys Away", and I feel I should mention what they did on the DVD box re:"Dogs"--It's been replaced with a soundalike recording, and they snipped out the exchange where Carlson asks "What orchestra is this?" and Johnny tells him "Pink Floyd". The rest of the dialogue remains (including the reference to "Pigs On The Wing") and it's still very clear that they are handling a vinyl copy of Animals.

People Who've Figured Out How To Live...

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/10700000/jan-smithers-bailey-wkrp-in-cincinatti-10700085-572-715.jpg

<3

Still on my voyage of discovery through s3
Mr & Mrs Arthur Carlson are the loveliest couple, I love whenever she is in an episode (though kinda rare). Their wedding do-over ep was great.

and his Mom ie Carol Bruce is incredible
ugh i can’t get enough of her

the episode where it was the anniversary of her husband’s death & she got drunk with Jennifer & then sang Gershwin to the bullpen...my jaw was on the floor

What a dame

Cosign on the Carlson's: I just saw the one where they find out she's pregnant and it's striking just how nimble the writing/acting were on the show--You have the whole cuteness of the opening revelation and them looking back through his calendar to see about conception dates ("Oh no, Friday--after we saw Superman!") segueing into the meeting with Mother and her insisting they get an abortion and then the awkwardness of Carlson trying to get advice from Venus (who thinks he's looking for partners for swinging) and the dance at the end--all with the added bonus of everybody clowning Herb on his concept of marital sex.

Carol Bruce was so good as Mother Carlson, and she had to replace Sylvia Sidney who played her in the pilot.

And young Carol Bruce...

https://i2.wp.com/www.oicvintage.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-easycart-data/products/pics1/50840a_02c6f0f2dcfda4de492daab2b79b01f4.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1

yeah god, so stunning

I mean my god

https://youtu.be/7t0vuUJA6SQ

I am into S3... a lot more out of the station eps which feels like a bad idea.

and les in blackface ugh

I've gone through the first six eps and it's kind of crazy how many left turns they take, with only two eps erring even close to the usual 'What's happening at the station' stories, and even those have a lot of action outside the studio.

Also Les has really become a proto-Dwight. I mean he always was, but now they've got him spouting off about ghosts and serial killers.

I do have to say that the "Real Families" ep (the one were Herb's family goes on the reality show) is quite brutal. Love the detail that he owns an '80 Corboba, which is basically Herb in car form:

http://momentcar.com/images/chrysler-cordoba-1980-3.jpg

Yeah that ep was wild! & pretty dark, you’re right

Awesome car. Cordoba with the Corinthian leather. Pretty much a cheap alternative to an 88', Continental or Caddy.

A thing that's funny in retrospect is Andy riding Johnny hard about playing 'hits' and, yeah, he plays badass oldies, but when he's not doing that we're getting The Pretenders (on import!), Flying Lizards, and the B-52's (whom we don't actually hear, but we see him cue up).

...and then when he plays 'a hit', it's the Eagles--except now on the DVD it's a soundalike of "The Long Run".

"Turkeys Away" first aired on this date 40 years ago.

Here's Andy Travis introducing the official rerun in 1980:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lci20k1nHtc

awww happy birthday turkeys away

i knew about the ep for years before i saw it. i had heard about the punchline from coworkers out of context every thanksgiving almost & they would fall about laughing. tbh i was kinda prepared for it not to be as funny as they made it out to be, even tho i didnt know the whole story.

turned out it was FUNNIER than i was prepared for. i literally laughed til i cried. it’s put together so brilliantly & the acting is hysterical.

I love the callback in the "Real Families" ep when the PETA rep condemns them for both the turkey drop and Herb's unseen later "Dancing Ducks" promotion.

yes that was great!

the dancing ducks promo description was so vivid i feel like we DID see it

confession: years of hearing about the turkey episode & always led me to picture the turkeys being frozen (no idea why)

imagine the carnage from THAT 😂

Highly recommend the podcast Hold My Order, Terrible Dresser, which does WKRP episode recaps as a springing board for chat about 70's culture, politics, conspiracy theories, all sorts of esoteric sociological stuff - it feels very ILX.

Might have to check that out.

Years later, Richard Sanders tossing stuffed turkeys...

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/c9b5854dfa281f05afd3a5ca1daefea4c5c12d00/c=0-2-868-1160/local/-/media/2016/11/24/Cincinnati/Cincinnati/636155811592018787-cindc5bk-5ibqjgfbyn8ax4h0d96-original.jpg?width=534&height=712&fit=crop

lol <3

it was weird when Sanders showed up on Loni Anderson's late-'80s series Easy Street playing the BTK Killer

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0257/3165/products/MVA50863.jpeg?v=1497362340

Les Nessman: Motherfucker With Dark Secrets.

O_O

https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/46734865_10155905029473225_2887246817903247360_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=1e3b3d3a28de2ebf8464294c2f6d48dc&oe=5C75A7FA

<3

that ad came up on my FB feed and i was like FINALLY the algorithm gets me

"The turkey's are hitting the ground like bags of wet cement!"

Don't forget the Dancing Ducks...

http://youtu.be/1Tk6NpIncXg?t=1084

rewatched the turkey bombing tonight
still excellent

"As God as my witness..."

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/frank-bonner-dead-wkrp-in-cincinnati-1234999322/

so sad, he was the fucking best. Herb was so iconic!!!

i can still hear his voice when i read old quotes, his timing was so good

Les:
What is an executrix?

Herb:
I don't know. High heels and a whole lot of leather, something like that

never forget the dancing ducks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tk6NpIncXg

BIG SNAKE SALE
SSSSSAAVE
SSSSSAVE
SSSSSAVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGdWnCB5NFM

Great physical comedy from Bonner in this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kalVG4XgIDM

Yeah, I was one of the viewers who laughed HIS ASS off at this episode. But also, I'd like to add, I was six years old when I first saw it.

I'll always remember Herb's dad telling him he had cancer... then telling him it was a joke... then saying he really DID have cancer... then telling him it was a joke again.

lol

Wish I could find the clip but someone telling Herb he didn't know they still made suits like his and Herb replying that there was one pro shop in Kentucky is a great line delivery.

^^That's from "3 Days of The Condo", the one where Johnny wins a lawsuit and buys a...wait for it...condo.

Speaking of Johnny, tonight Decades reran a Dick Cavett from 1969 featuring The Committee with Don Study aka Howard Hesseman.

This bit forecasts some of his scenes w/Reid at the KRP. Hesseman even drops a 'fellow baby' line!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA3YXa_kLqg

And here Cavett and fellow guest Janis Joplin join the troupe for A Symphony of Emotions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qJdNx8veDc

Fast Forward to 1:37 to see Hesseman respond to wiseguy in the audience.

"WKRP - The station with more music... and Les Nessman"

Buckeye News Hawk™️

The Coveted Silver Sow®

The Sneaky Snooper.

Les Nessman, award-winning journalist. pic.twitter.com/Dxomv3ZWLX

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) March 7, 2021

Anyone know an old folks' home with any openings for me? pic.twitter.com/zH3qbMftEk

— becca (@magicjewball) October 5, 2021

It was only minutes ago, after several decades of apparent semi-consciousness, that the joke hidden in WKRP finally dawned on me.

Crap or Karp?

Karp wouldn't all that much of a joke tbh.

Not that much WKRP material but the Tim Reid interview on Marc Maron's podcast has really interesting stuff about his 60s-70s work as part of a travelling interractial comedy duo. (Apparently he ripped off a joke from Howard Hesseman and had to apologize when they met at the beginning of KRP)

Baby, if you've ever wondered, wondered what ever became of Gary Sandy...

https://www.thespec.com/entertainment/stage/2021/10/25/theatre-aquarius-hamilton-wkrp-in-cincinnati-gary-sandy.html

It is funny that the guy is basically in the suburbs of Cincy.

Been thinking a bit about "In Concert" today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSeWECDb3YM

love that episode so much ;_;

Many sad parallels. Like in Cincinnati, the Astroworld cops, security, and organizers -- that is, everyone supposedly trained in crowd management -- are all rushing to put all the blame on the fans. Obviously there were some asshole fans, but the situation was beyond out-of-control before those fans made things worse.

Chet Flippo's RS piece showed how fucked up the situation with cops and security in Cincinnati was, and this reminded me of the Travis Scott fans trying to get security and camerapeople to stop the show:

He couldn’t find his wife. He ran to the first policeman he saw and shouted, “What are you doing? People are getting trampled up there.” The policeman looked him over and asked, “What do you do for a living?” Klopp replied, almost in shock, “Working on a Ph.D. in language.” The policeman said, “Well, you just used a dangling participle.” Klopp, caught up in the absurdity, said, “I think I know more about language than you do.” The policeman smiled: “Well, don’t tell me how to do my job, then.” Klopp lost his temper: “People are getting hurt.” The policeman said, “Well, we can’t do anything.” Klopp finally got inside and found his wife.

A few feet away, Mark Helmkamp was pleading with a policeman to do something. He said to the cop, “Here, take my ID and bust me for false information if you don’t believe me.” He said the policeman told him to move along.

https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/rock-roll-tragedy-why-11-died-at-the-whos-cincinnati-concert-93437/

Today in 1979, Dr. Johnny Fever shows up at WKRP hung over and just does whatever the fuck he wants. pic.twitter.com/wLdo8HXxxZ

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) October 14, 2021

My man would've been around 39 years old in that shot.

He and Richard Sanders are/were basically the same age.

Aaaaand Gordon Jump was 47 in '79. Goodnight everyone!

Hesseman almost six months older than Sanders!

Held his own at the table with Jack and Kathy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bywUe7ZBAtU

RIP Johnny Fever

Only discovered this show in the last year, it’s so great. I kind of don’t want to watch all the episodes too quickly.

savor them like malt liquor

Black Death Malt Liquor!

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzMwM2E4NWQtZTUzMi00YjU2LWJmOTQtNzY1YmE1ZmUxNjA5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjUxMjc1OTM@._V1_UY1200_CR576,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg

With his disdain for MOR, and his refusal to "play the hits", was Dr. Johnny Fever the first rockist character in popular culture?

Probably. Apparently Hesseman and Reid quickly became responsible for whatever their respective characters played on the show, with Dr. Fever hitting with an interesting mix of '50s Oldies (Bo Diddley, Elvis), Hippie Faves (Van Morrison, Grateful Dead, Hendrix), and most surprisingly, a good bit of New Wave (Pretenders, Blondie). He even plays the odd Rock-Disco track, despite being vehemently anti-Disco.

There's a funny moment in one ep where Andy Travis tells Johnny that he'll "shoot him if he plays that song again"; said song is not named, but it's implied that it's something from the first B-52's album, which we saw him cue up in the previous scene.

The Decades HD channel will be showing 24 Fever-centric episodes tommorow starting at 12:00 PM EST.

Here's today's schedule: https://www.decades.com/schedule/

Nicely picked, even though with 24 episodes we don't get the Rip Tide ep, the station bombing two-parter (PHONE COPS!), or the series finale, where Johnny saves the day and the station from a format change.

Also, for some reason the last one they're showing has the wrong title or episode description.

If you care more about musical cues than picture quality, Internet Archive has VHS rips with all the original music—albeit, two episodes per file, which makes it annoying to add to Plex or other home media servers.

was Dr. Johnny Fever the first rockist character in popular culture?

I might go with Paul LeMat/John Milner in American Graffiti, when "Surfin' Safari" comes over the car radio: "I don't like that surfing shit. Rock'n Roll's been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died."

(Which only makes sense in the context of 1962--the Beach Boys, obviously, ended up on the other side of that divide.)

Milner is a good one, and taking it back to TV, I imagine Fonzie or Richie Cunningham was pretty '50s Rockist on Happy Days, which predates WKRP.

Ick, they're using the old syndication versions, and whoo-boy those replacement cues are awful!

One neat thing about this though is that the version of "The Contest Nobody Could Win" has the original, lighter ending with Vincent Schiavelli as the scammer who attempts to steal the prize money before getting found out by Johnny. This version wasn't included in the box set.

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

One last thought on the "first rockist" question. I really don't want to detour the WKRP thread--actually looked for an "origins of rockism" thread, and even though there are five screens of rockism threads, none are on the origins.

Anyway, a drunk David Proval/Tony in Mean Streets, same year as American Graffiti: "Play only old ones tonight...only old ones." I think there's sort of an implied rockism there. (His request is followed by the Chips' "Rubber Biscuit," vintage doo-wop.)

Had no idea there were two endings to The Contest!

I don’t know whose hand she’s holding but I invite you to join me in imagining it’s Herb Tarlek’s. pic.twitter.com/mrkQiVuFFv

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) March 7, 2022

https://i.imgur.com/2Nja7Vb.jpg

Well, it's not Herb Tarlek, but ... one of the Waltons?

(Hi, Lou.)

Good catch--it was Judy Norton Taylor, a/k/a Mary Ellen Walton.

This was from the "Battle of the Network Stars," memorably sent up by SNL as "Battle of the Network Ts and As."

Well, that's not a nice way to refer to Ed Asner!

Don't devalue Asner's tits!

Anyone know what this shirt was about? Looks like it said "Firme" or something, very glittery.

https://i.imgur.com/P5Wvpmj.jpg

This eBay store is selling off Howard Hesseman's record collection: https://www.ebay.com/str/bananalouiestore

Some rad shit in there... hardly any bids, either

wow he really was johnny fever eh?

Got my eye on that August 1979 Trouser Press.

May and September 1979 too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPibSwtZhzw

i die every time

the classic-est

They've started showing it on Decades, but they're the ones with the soundalikes. That episode was on tonight, with <the moment> now soundtracked by a similar riff and an ott cock rock vocal singing on the nose lyrics about how "You got style!"

Terrible, but still funny.

yeah foreigner makes it extra-funny

https://super70ssports.com/arcade/turkey-drop/

Jan Smithers was a singer in a group called Hot Cup of Friends in 1973. She was the girlfriend of the band leader, who was Henry Mancini’s son

This was posted on fb, including a link to a Midnight Special in which this group appears (at about 37:00 if this link doesn't go the correct spot).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR_XNR6QwMg

OK, may have to rewind a bit.

I am drinking a Fentiman’s ginger beer and my brain just went to
Ferryman’s Ferryman’s
he’s the man with the plot
The man with the plan…

Every Johnny Fever intro with the full songs added in, to make a three-hour radio show, which works great because the original song selection was so good:

https://www.awphooey.com/wkrp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K4mK7R9zSA

pure gold

I knew what this would be as soon as I saw the thumbnail. I worked overnights at a radio station years ago. The pain is real.

I did these shifts as well … this one at least has a song to reduce torpor as opposed to the 60 seconds non-musical vocal drone of Alperts Furniture spots