Ep. 72 - Who's On First?

October 25, 2018

Writer and Director: Dan Guntzelman
Director:
Original Air Date: November 11, 1981

One of my favourite WKRP episode is ep. 50 "Hotel Oceanview;" an episode full of mistaken identities and oddball guest characters that builds and builds in its ridiculousness. This is not that episode. It doesn't have the same clockwork precision of that script, but it shares much of the same DNA with generally good results. And it all builds to one, huge joke.

The continuity continues with the episode opening on Herb in the hospital awaiting the test results from the previous episode. His greatest fear of going to the hospital has been realized - not that he may be ill but that WKRP will think he's too sick to keep working. The station has run an ad for a new salesman. But Mr. Carlson swears to him his job will be there "as long as he wants it."

This upsets Andy. Carlson got panicky AGAIN after he had already explained to Carlson why they should hire a SECOND salesman, not replace Herb. Andy has complained that having only one salesman is wrong since the first season. Now Andy is frustrated that he'll have to meet with a concert promoter from Philadelphia himself.

That's when Jennifer throws out a strange curveball that, if the series had gone one more season, would definitely have been the source of some great stories - maybe SHE would like to become an account executive! I wonder if this idea comes out of seeing her predecessor, Joyce Armor, become an account executive in Cleveland. Anyhow, Mr. Carlson agrees to help train her by accompanying her to this meeting with the promoter.

Look how well she does right away. Pat Parillo is in a panic that he can't be busted again for fraudulent contracts. Carlson doesn't understand what he's talking about, but Jennifer understands immediately - so quickly in fact that she's essentially translating Parillo's slang and innuendo to him in real time. In the previous episode, we saw that Jennifer knew the holding cell guard by name. What other seedy dealings is she just as aware of? Because she also immediately has a solution for Mr. Carlson - it's only a kickback if he accepts it and he doesn't want to add to Andy's disappointment.

BUT there's a wacky catch - Herb has told Parillo that Carlson is incompetent, and Parillo thinks Carlson IS Herb, so... Parillo wants to meet Carlson and see how incompetent he is for himself!

While all of this has been going on, Johnny has begged everyone in the station for money to pay off a poker debt of... $562.16. This runs as the classic WKRP situation of one staff member bring a problem to each of the other staff members and watching their reactions. The best is either Les's description of his depression, cured only by "beating his rugs" or Bailey's response to the number $562.16: "Who do I have to kill to get it?" Unfortunately, this isn't just any poker debt - it's owed to famed Cincinnati gangster Guido Scalici! Guido is so disappointed that Johnny hasn't paid, that he has sent a gentleman to meet Johnny at the station.

The episode starts getting where it wants to go, and gets a big audience reaction, when Dave comes into the lobby where Bailey is eating a sandwich. The director made Bailey look very small at the desk when she looks up, waaay up, to look at Dave, played by the 6'7" character actor Mickey Morton. She looks like a tiny little girl compared to this mountain of a man.

Jennifer runs in and quickly tells her Carlson is Herb. They bring Parillo into Carlson's office and Jennifer goes off to find a Mr. Carlson. The real Carlson, as Herb, hears more of the insults Herb had said about him to Parillo. Jennifer returns with Les to play Carlson, but his acting and improv skills are so bad, it makes "Carlson" seem "looney tunes" to the promoter.

Johnny has to do some fast talking when he and Venus run into Dave in the lobby. He quickly introduces himself as Andy Travis, introduces Andy as his brother Randy and ol' Venus, of course. Andy watches all of this happening as the new accounts executives come out of Carlson's office, where Les is Carlson and Carlson is Herb and Bailey is not Jennifer. All of this mind swirling name swapping convinces Andy that the place is falling apart and he takes his digs at Mr. Carlson, calling him "Herb" and sarcastically compliments him for the sales department "running like a well oiled machine."

The entire episode has been building to this joke, and something we should have all learned by now... don't underestimate Mr. Carlson. With a quick glance to Dave, Carlson says "I'm just doing my job, Johnny." Dave looks Andy, Andy turns white and the audience builds in its reaction. It's the sound both of laughter and recognition - recognition of both what Mr. Carlson has just done and what is about to happen to Andy.

But Carlson doesn't end there. In the epilogue, in which Carlson and Jennifer go visit Herb in the hospital, we learn Andy is in emergency, although "no bones were broken." But he does want to speak with Johnny. He also asks several times making sure Herb is feeling great, as he rolls up his sleeves. Mr. Carlson would never go back on his swear that Herb's job will be waiting for him. And he would never hurt a man while he's already injured. But he still has no problem beating Herb down with his bare hands.

Roy

Special Notes - One of my all-time favourite quotes from this show, one I have used countless times is "Do you know what will happen if you don't eat?" Because invariably the person will answer "What?" to which I can finish the quote... "You'll die!"

Other Notes - Mickey Morton portrayed Chewbacca's wife, Mailia, in the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special." (That may be the greatest WKRP/Star Wars piece of trivia ever!).