Ep. 74 - Jennifer & the Will

July 31, 2019

Writer: Blake Hunter
Director: Dolores Ferraro
Original Air Date: December 2, 1981

This is the episode from which, most of us in 1981, learned what an executrix is. And it has nothing to doing with high heels and leather!

Colonel H. Buchanan had been a hero of the second world war, during which he had become the beloved leader of the Fightin' 42nd Division. Upon returning to Cincinnati he beaome a multimillionaire entrepenear who enjoyed the finer things in life, such as expensive French dinners and going out with our own Jennifer Marlowe. The prologue takes place during one of these dinners and by the end, the Colonel passes away.

This sets up an interesting duality running though this episode. On one hand, it's been a running joke that Jennifer almost only ever dates older, wealthy men. We've heard in past episodes of Jennifer being jetted off to Paris for supper or that the Admiral is waiting for her in the car. We've always laughed at these lines because we've snickered at Jennifer being a gold digger. But in this episode we see the other side of Jennifer: she really cares for the Colonel. She may be the only person in the episode who is genuinely upset that the man, not the millionaire, has died. It at once goes against our snickering while reinforcing Jennifer's role as the caretaker of the group. Now she will be caretaking the Colonel's final wishes.

But there are a few things standing in her way and these make up the next three acts of the episode. First are the reactions of her co-workers, who are uncomfortable even discussing death and unsure as to how to comfort her. The people you think would be cool are uncomfortable now dealing with her. Johnny offers to take her out to night court (imagine an episode in which Johnny and Jennifer go on a date to night court!) Yet it's Herb, someone who is comfortable with himself all the time, who makes Jennifer feel better. He would love to have led the life the Colonel did: "He caught the big bus while eating at the best joint in town. Pretty good if you ask me."

Next are the people of Cincinnati, specifically the press, who are curious as to the torrid details surrounding the death of this rich a famous man and the "blonde floozie" he was last seen with. When Mr. Carlson accompanies Jennifer to the funeral, it turns into a madhouse! She can't just be allowed to respectful grieve the loss of someone she cared about.

The scene goes back to our "theatre of the mind" discussions, with Mr. Carlson telling Andy and Bailey about how the press ran across the cemetery, trampling flowers to get a picture of the mystery woman. We never see the chaos but we can imagine it. The highlight is someone shouting out "Hey! She's with another old coot!"

But mostly it is the Buchanan family Jennifer will need to overcome. They've used their powerful connections to plant the stories about "blonde floozies" to lay the groundwork for contesting the will.

And now we see something that only ever happens in TV sit-coms... the video will. In fact, "WKRP" appears to be one of the first shows to use what is now a TV Trope. Often in these video wills, the deceased will respond to what the living characters say because he knows them so well

"Do you have anything to say, Cedric?"
(whining) "No"
(exaggerated whining) "Nooooooo"

Maybe my favourite line from this episode is the Colonel's reason why his first brother is getting nothing: "You've always been an all-or-nothing type of fellow and since you can't have it all, you get... nothing." Even Jennifer, who asked that he leave her nothing so that she wouldn't appear to be a gold digger, receives one dollar, and they two throw kisses to each other.

As executrix, seeing the Colonel like this gives her the strength to face down the family. The Colonel wants the money to go to his beloved Fightin' 42nd Division, not his money grubbing family. He know that she actually cared about him, and how capable she can be.  The Colonel's lawyer sees both how beautiful and how capable Jennifer is when he says "Dating Ms. Marlowe might just prove his mind was as clear as a bell!"

Roy

Other Notes -- Pat O'Brien, a very well known character actor from the 30's, 40's and 50's played the Colonel. WKRP was one of his final roles. Bailey runs to the lobby with Les' tearsheets, however she puts her coat on to enter the lobby. Continuity error!!