What happens when you take a group of ragtag misfits and bring them together at a radio station? In the case of the classic television show “WKRP in Cincinnati,” you get a hilarious sitcom. “WKRP in Cincinnati” ran from 1978 to 1982 and was based on creator Hugh Wilson’s time spent at a album-oriented rock station.
What makes a show great is a combination of the writing as well as the acting and “WKRP in Cincinnati” had an abundance of both. Over its brief run, the show garnered 10 Emmy nominations. Three of the characters did a spin off called “The New WKRP in Cincinnati” but without the original cast, its run was short-lived (1991-1993).
The plot of the show was that a struggling radio station, which played easy listening, would be turned around by switching to rock and employing a mostly new staff. Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) was brought in as the new program director. He often played the straight man to the rest of the cast. The station manager was the bumbling Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump), a man torn between making his own decisions and listening to his mother, a ruthless business tycoon. Two of the characters remaining at the station after the switch were newsman Les Nessman (Richard Sanders), the bow-tied reporter who tried to be so serious, but just ended up being ridiculous. I loved when he insisted on pronouncing golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez’s name as “Ki Ki Rod-ri-gweeze.” Les was very proud of his five “Buckeye Newshawk” awards. If you never saw the famous Thanksgiving episode in which Mr. Carlson drops turkeys from the sky, you have really missed a great episode of television. It is my family’s tradition to watch that episode every Thanksgiving. Despite seeing it many, many times, my father and I still end up laughing so hard we have tears pouring down our faces.
Rounding out the cast were junior employee Bailey Quarters (Jan Smithers), who like Travis played it straight most of the time, account executive Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner), the boring blowhard who was famous for his plaid suits and white shoes, and Jennifer Marlowe, who was the recipient of much of Herb’s attention. Played by Loni Anderson, Jennifer was the epitome of a dumb blond, only this dumb blond was smart. As the receptionist, Jennifer was paid the highest salary, yet did the least amount of work and somehow, got away with it. One of her more famous quotes were “”I don’t get coffee, Mr. Carlson. We agreed.”
The staple of the station was the disc jockeys. For some reason, we only saw two, but they were enough to keep the gags running. Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) played a burned out veteran disc jockey that was cynical and neurotic yet entertaining and lovable. On the opposite end of the spectrum was Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid), a cool, funky disc jockey that was smooth talking and soulful. There were other deejays mentioned but rarely if ever seen – Moss Steiger, Rex Erhardt (who was finally seen in season four), Dean the Dream, and Doug Winter (who was hired and fired within one episode).
Thankfully, unlike some classic television shows, you can purchase “WKRP in Cincinnati” on DVD at Amazon.com. You can also still see the show on WGNSAT and American Life TV.