Writer: Peter Torokvei
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: November 15, 1980
*** Very Important ***
Thanks for reading the "Real Life Blog" in which we examine the banality of everyday living and see if we can make it seem seedy and illicit!
No, wait! Don't stop reading yet! You are actually reading the right blog "WKRP Re-Lived!" in which we look way too deeply into the significance of an early 80's sit-com and see how it relates to today. And wow, does this episode relate to television today!
The episode might be as remembered for its fake-out opening, which made many original viewers change the channel when it didn't look like WKRP was starting up, as it is for its "mockumentary" style (that term didn't even exist at this time. "This is Spinal Tap" wouldn't be released for another four years!). What ought to be remembered is its criticism of the public's hunger for entertainment and scandal and television's decent into feeding it to them.
Two very popular shows at the time of this episode were "Real People" and "That's Incredible!" Both showed filmed clips of regular American's with extraordinary or ridiculous hobbies or talents. I watched both shows with my family as a kid, and I clearly remember on "Real People" a woman who was so patriotic, she wore nothing but red, white and blue. Everything in her home, down to the wallpaper, was festooned with the American flag. But the real reason I remember her is that, whenever she heard "The Star-Spangled Banner," she would stop and stand with her hand on her heart. The producers then filmed her on the side of a busy highway, standing patriotically, as the song played on her car radio. I remember at the time, even as a 10 year old boy, thinking "That's Crazy! She's going to get killed or get somebody else killed. Who does that?" But I also thought "Why is the National Anthem playing on the radio? How did they know that was going to happen? THIS HAS BEEN A SET UP!"
Remember, this is a time before the internet, when eccentric people couldn't easily meet other eccentric people to wallow in their eccentricities. Nobody knew exactly how their neighbours really lived, so there was a pent-up curiosity that these shows catered to. Also, and this is simply my own experience, people love to be judgy. Talking about how bad "those people" are goes back much further than television.
So "Real Families" combines these two basic wants: seeing how people really live, and then judging them for it. All you need is some dolt willing to go under such scrutiny.
"That's right, Elaine. This is Herb and Lucile Tarlek and their two children."
Let's start with Herb's letter to the show. "I am edified by your broadcast presentation and the direction of same in the entire field of television" ending with "I know the time difference can be a hassle, so call anytime." If this program were real, the producers would have been licking their lips at a chance to get this family on their show! It starts with the most pretentious opening line, using words no "Average Joe" (especially Herb) would really use. It finishes off with the tip-off that this guy is so unsophisticated, he thinks a three-hour time difference would confuse a Hollywood producer. This is a guys with something to hide!
Before we go into that too far, I want to mention the "Real Families" opening, in which the host Phil updates us on last week's guest, Dr. Feltner, who, because of the show's "journalism" was arrested for keeping Demerol in his garage. This piece would have set the audience up for the kind of attack Herb was about to face, but it was cut from syndication. Fortunately, the box set restores it.
So what does it take to start to uncover all of the Tarleks' hidden shames? Just showing up one day early. By arriving on Sunday, the show immediately discovers 1) unattended children answering the door to strangers (with cameras), 2) children watching loud TV on their own, 3) a messy house, 4) a boy playing with dolls and 5) Herb was drinking in bed last night. Lucille is so desperate to appear "normal" she comes up with something she thinks other "normal" families would do on a Sunday morning: go to church.
I don't know if the subsequent car chase was actually filmed in Cincinnati (I don't think it was) because it could really be any suburban neighbourhood, but this is the first time it is dawning on Herb that he won't be able to "outrun" these Hollywood producers. His scheming and hustling might work in the sleazier parts of Cincinnati, but it's not going to be enough against these guys. The chase is actually a hilarious scene, as hosts Phil and Elaine narrate Herb's obviously growing desperation; so much so that he just stops at the first religious looking building he can find (How could Herb, a life-long Cincy resident, to not even know where one church is in his own neighbourhood).
Let's talk about Edie McClurg! This would be her last appearance on WKRP but she brings a ton of heart to what could be a one-note ditzy character. McClurg was a founding member of the famous improv group, the Groundlings (thanks, IMDB!) so this episode's improvisational format suits her to a tee. Lucille thinking she needs to explain how shopping works is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Later, when she admits her life hasn't turned out the way she had hoped, she is not shamed the way the hosts wants her to be shamed. Lucille is defiant and proud of the life she and Herb have built. McClurg brings all of that to Lucille and WKRP is forever in her debt.
Another little side note - "WKRP in Cincinnati's" time slot was often up against "Little House on the Praire." Having Lucille use "Little House" as the example of a wholesome, family show she would let her children watch, in which "every week a house burns down or someone goes blind" contrasts nicely against the "counter-cultural" WKRP. Which would YOU rather have your kids watch?
Here's something only a blog would ever say: Is Herb Tarlek the WKRP MacBeth? (Would that make Lucille Lady MacBeth?) The answer is probably no, except for this: Herb's fatal flaw is his hubris. He thinks he will always be able to con and hustle his way out of every situation. That's what makes it so much fun to watch him fail! With "Real Families," Herb is betting he can hustle a bunch of Hollywood producers, and by extension all of America, into believing he is a really great guy. But the hustle that might work on stereo shops in Cincinnati is not going to work on the bigger scale.
Convincing literally everyone at the station (Andy, Venus, Bailey, Les, Johnny, Mr. Carlson, Jennifer and eventually his own daughter) to repeat the same phrase, and not think the producers wouldn't notice is such a small time move. The ironic thing is that "hard worker, loyal husband and all around fine person" is a good description of Herb: he does work hard at hustling, just not at selling radio airtime, to always be supportive and available for his wife and family. He may not be a Great person, but Herb is a Fine person. Certainly not the sort of person who would torture ducks.
Call it the Karma of the Ducks that Herb practically has to dance on a hot plate himself to explain away his SPCA condemned behaviour, then follow it up with a call back to the "Turkeys Away" episode. The heat is slowly but steadily being turned up on Herb Tarlek, until he finally cracks! And when he does, and he stops hustle and just says the real things that are on his mind, he comes across at his best, protecting and loving his family by just admitting... they're not perfect!
What he says in his blow up is the whole point of the show: "The Truth? You mean, what's real?" Why are those two different questions? Even the title of the show is a falsehood. Nobody would watch a show about REAL families. The need to be crazy, interesting, illicit families to have viewers tune in. "My life is boring!" Most people's lives are boring! There are always more people in the audience than there are on the stage. But somehow people have been lead to believe that boring is not good enough; that they have failed because they are not up on the stage for everyone to applaud. Here is the hubris of Herb: he proclaims this as a revelation; something he figured out. But later, when they are flown out to California to appear on the stage, the host tells him and the audience point blank "almost anybody will do almost anything to get their picture on television." The producers have known this all along.
The same is even truer in a world with 1000 cable channels and unlimited YouTube. Someone can even write a blog about a 35 year old TV show and have people worldwide read it (seriously). But perhaps the most poignant thing Herb says to our times is "Nothing on the tube is Real! Not even the news!"
We tend to look back today to the late 70's and early '80's with nostalgia about the news industry. There were stalwarts of journalism like Walter Kronkite and Knowlton Nash who would only be concerned with bringing us the facts of the world without regard for ratings. It was a time when every major city had multiple newspapers with reporters who dug for the facts rather than repeat press releases. But was that really the case? Maybe we're just more aware of the stagecraft now than we were back then. Maybe Herb's revelation is one the general public is only starting to have now, while the "producers" have known the truth the whole time.
In the end, Herb gave Herb jr. his doll back, because it was more important for his son to be happy than to appear "normal." That's the truth.
Roy
Other Notes - This might already be the longest blog I've written and I didn't even get into the other characters at the station! Especially: Johnny's piece about Herb being Nitchzie, Bailey being the person who couldn't remember her lines, Carlson and Herb being grilled. Next week's family "He's a cuban bandleader and, she says, she's an average, redheaded housewife" is obviously a reference to "I Love Lucy."
Thanks for reading the "Real Life Blog" in which we examine the banality of everyday living and see if we can make it seem seedy and illicit!
No, wait! Don't stop reading yet! You are actually reading the right blog "WKRP Re-Lived!" in which we look way too deeply into the significance of an early 80's sit-com and see how it relates to today. And wow, does this episode relate to television today!
The episode might be as remembered for its fake-out opening, which made many original viewers change the channel when it didn't look like WKRP was starting up, as it is for its "mockumentary" style (that term didn't even exist at this time. "This is Spinal Tap" wouldn't be released for another four years!). What ought to be remembered is its criticism of the public's hunger for entertainment and scandal and television's decent into feeding it to them.
Two very popular shows at the time of this episode were "Real People" and "That's Incredible!" Both showed filmed clips of regular American's with extraordinary or ridiculous hobbies or talents. I watched both shows with my family as a kid, and I clearly remember on "Real People" a woman who was so patriotic, she wore nothing but red, white and blue. Everything in her home, down to the wallpaper, was festooned with the American flag. But the real reason I remember her is that, whenever she heard "The Star-Spangled Banner," she would stop and stand with her hand on her heart. The producers then filmed her on the side of a busy highway, standing patriotically, as the song played on her car radio. I remember at the time, even as a 10 year old boy, thinking "That's Crazy! She's going to get killed or get somebody else killed. Who does that?" But I also thought "Why is the National Anthem playing on the radio? How did they know that was going to happen? THIS HAS BEEN A SET UP!"
Remember, this is a time before the internet, when eccentric people couldn't easily meet other eccentric people to wallow in their eccentricities. Nobody knew exactly how their neighbours really lived, so there was a pent-up curiosity that these shows catered to. Also, and this is simply my own experience, people love to be judgy. Talking about how bad "those people" are goes back much further than television.
So "Real Families" combines these two basic wants: seeing how people really live, and then judging them for it. All you need is some dolt willing to go under such scrutiny.
"That's right, Elaine. This is Herb and Lucile Tarlek and their two children."
Let's start with Herb's letter to the show. "I am edified by your broadcast presentation and the direction of same in the entire field of television" ending with "I know the time difference can be a hassle, so call anytime." If this program were real, the producers would have been licking their lips at a chance to get this family on their show! It starts with the most pretentious opening line, using words no "Average Joe" (especially Herb) would really use. It finishes off with the tip-off that this guy is so unsophisticated, he thinks a three-hour time difference would confuse a Hollywood producer. This is a guys with something to hide!
Before we go into that too far, I want to mention the "Real Families" opening, in which the host Phil updates us on last week's guest, Dr. Feltner, who, because of the show's "journalism" was arrested for keeping Demerol in his garage. This piece would have set the audience up for the kind of attack Herb was about to face, but it was cut from syndication. Fortunately, the box set restores it.
So what does it take to start to uncover all of the Tarleks' hidden shames? Just showing up one day early. By arriving on Sunday, the show immediately discovers 1) unattended children answering the door to strangers (with cameras), 2) children watching loud TV on their own, 3) a messy house, 4) a boy playing with dolls and 5) Herb was drinking in bed last night. Lucille is so desperate to appear "normal" she comes up with something she thinks other "normal" families would do on a Sunday morning: go to church.
I don't know if the subsequent car chase was actually filmed in Cincinnati (I don't think it was) because it could really be any suburban neighbourhood, but this is the first time it is dawning on Herb that he won't be able to "outrun" these Hollywood producers. His scheming and hustling might work in the sleazier parts of Cincinnati, but it's not going to be enough against these guys. The chase is actually a hilarious scene, as hosts Phil and Elaine narrate Herb's obviously growing desperation; so much so that he just stops at the first religious looking building he can find (How could Herb, a life-long Cincy resident, to not even know where one church is in his own neighbourhood).
Let's talk about Edie McClurg! This would be her last appearance on WKRP but she brings a ton of heart to what could be a one-note ditzy character. McClurg was a founding member of the famous improv group, the Groundlings (thanks, IMDB!) so this episode's improvisational format suits her to a tee. Lucille thinking she needs to explain how shopping works is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Later, when she admits her life hasn't turned out the way she had hoped, she is not shamed the way the hosts wants her to be shamed. Lucille is defiant and proud of the life she and Herb have built. McClurg brings all of that to Lucille and WKRP is forever in her debt.
Another little side note - "WKRP in Cincinnati's" time slot was often up against "Little House on the Praire." Having Lucille use "Little House" as the example of a wholesome, family show she would let her children watch, in which "every week a house burns down or someone goes blind" contrasts nicely against the "counter-cultural" WKRP. Which would YOU rather have your kids watch?
Here's something only a blog would ever say: Is Herb Tarlek the WKRP MacBeth? (Would that make Lucille Lady MacBeth?) The answer is probably no, except for this: Herb's fatal flaw is his hubris. He thinks he will always be able to con and hustle his way out of every situation. That's what makes it so much fun to watch him fail! With "Real Families," Herb is betting he can hustle a bunch of Hollywood producers, and by extension all of America, into believing he is a really great guy. But the hustle that might work on stereo shops in Cincinnati is not going to work on the bigger scale.
Convincing literally everyone at the station (Andy, Venus, Bailey, Les, Johnny, Mr. Carlson, Jennifer and eventually his own daughter) to repeat the same phrase, and not think the producers wouldn't notice is such a small time move. The ironic thing is that "hard worker, loyal husband and all around fine person" is a good description of Herb: he does work hard at hustling, just not at selling radio airtime, to always be supportive and available for his wife and family. He may not be a Great person, but Herb is a Fine person. Certainly not the sort of person who would torture ducks.
Call it the Karma of the Ducks that Herb practically has to dance on a hot plate himself to explain away his SPCA condemned behaviour, then follow it up with a call back to the "Turkeys Away" episode. The heat is slowly but steadily being turned up on Herb Tarlek, until he finally cracks! And when he does, and he stops hustle and just says the real things that are on his mind, he comes across at his best, protecting and loving his family by just admitting... they're not perfect!
What he says in his blow up is the whole point of the show: "The Truth? You mean, what's real?" Why are those two different questions? Even the title of the show is a falsehood. Nobody would watch a show about REAL families. The need to be crazy, interesting, illicit families to have viewers tune in. "My life is boring!" Most people's lives are boring! There are always more people in the audience than there are on the stage. But somehow people have been lead to believe that boring is not good enough; that they have failed because they are not up on the stage for everyone to applaud. Here is the hubris of Herb: he proclaims this as a revelation; something he figured out. But later, when they are flown out to California to appear on the stage, the host tells him and the audience point blank "almost anybody will do almost anything to get their picture on television." The producers have known this all along.
The same is even truer in a world with 1000 cable channels and unlimited YouTube. Someone can even write a blog about a 35 year old TV show and have people worldwide read it (seriously). But perhaps the most poignant thing Herb says to our times is "Nothing on the tube is Real! Not even the news!"
We tend to look back today to the late 70's and early '80's with nostalgia about the news industry. There were stalwarts of journalism like Walter Kronkite and Knowlton Nash who would only be concerned with bringing us the facts of the world without regard for ratings. It was a time when every major city had multiple newspapers with reporters who dug for the facts rather than repeat press releases. But was that really the case? Maybe we're just more aware of the stagecraft now than we were back then. Maybe Herb's revelation is one the general public is only starting to have now, while the "producers" have known the truth the whole time.
In the end, Herb gave Herb jr. his doll back, because it was more important for his son to be happy than to appear "normal." That's the truth.
Roy
Other Notes - This might already be the longest blog I've written and I didn't even get into the other characters at the station! Especially: Johnny's piece about Herb being Nitchzie, Bailey being the person who couldn't remember her lines, Carlson and Herb being grilled. Next week's family "He's a cuban bandleader and, she says, she's an average, redheaded housewife" is obviously a reference to "I Love Lucy."
One very interesting point (to me, at least): when Herb was driving to work on a Monday morning, the radio news announcer is speaking about President-elect Reagan. Election Day, 1980, was November 4th, and this aired on November 15th, just 11 days after the election. So this episode was to have taken place the Monday after the election. That's some serious hustle for the show in producing and recording that audio piece about Reagan being President-elect! Maybe they had one for Reagan and one for President Carter both recorded weeks before, just in case.
ReplyDeleteRewatching the episode three years later from my last comment. No, it absolutely wasn't filmed I'm Cincinnati. Palm trees are seen in the driving scenes. It was just your average LA neighborhood at that time.
ReplyDelete