Ep. 78 - Pills

October 14, 2019

Writer: Steve Marshall
Director: Asaad Kelada
Original Air Date: January 20, 1982

What we love about "WKRP in Cincinnati" is that it would tackle subjects no one else ever thought to tackle. I have never seen, or even heard of, another sit-com that discusses selling over-the-counter Speed.

I also can't recall a show that tackles festival seating or radio censorship either. The writers on this show go places other writers just never seem to THINK of. There are a bunch of shows that have shown the dangers of TAKING Speed, from the "The Love Boat" to "Mad Men" but this is a unique angle. However, the point that absolutely, 100%, with a sledge hammer, that Steve Marshall wants to get across is... IT'S ALL LEGAL.  Andy says it. The Lawyer says it. Wickerman says it several times. Just because WKRP is taking a unique look at something doesn't mean they can't also be heavy handed about it.

The episode begins with a very long cold opening in which 1) Johnny rails against the idea of a taped DJ (which we never hear about again) 2) Herb and Johnny negotiate a performance fee for performing 3 60 second commercials 3) Herb introduces Johnny to Dave Wickerman (and we see he's a Herb kinda guy) 4) Johnny and Wickerman begin recording the spots cold, without even a one-time run through (also with no producer or engineer) 5) Johnny realizes the "hidden meaning" in the copy and 5) Johnny quits the sessions and calls Herb a snake. That's a lot for four minutes of a 22 minute show before the opening credits.

Certainly as a kid watching this show in syndication I didn't pick up on all the hidden messages in the commercial copy, and I don't think most of America would have picked up on it in 1982. That's why it's so important to have Johnny and Les (??) explaining it to Andy. If they were explaining it to Herb, it would just be the cool kids telling the out-of-touch square about something. If Les wasn't a big part of what is two solid minutes of exposition, there would be no laughs. Because we always have to remember this is a sit-com. Finally, if Johnny doesn't explicitly say "What does studying for finals have to do with losing weight?" I think some in the audience might still think Johnny is acting paranoid. We've seen him be paranoid lots of times (Phone Cops, anybody?), so we need to see that Andy has been convinced and is taking him seriously.

It is very sly that this is an episode in which we see Mr. Carlson worrying about his weight, as they take on a weight loss clinic. It presents lots of opportunities for one liners and the physical comedy of Gordon Jump on a tiny trampoline. Also, I can't count the number of times I have used the joke about "on you, donuts seem to tun into hair."

Now to the crux of the conflict: Herb has signed a contract with Wickerman's Weight Loss Clinic to run two weeks of ads, but the WKRP staff realizes this is just a front to sell counterfeit amphetamines "or turkeys, as we call them on the street." The staff wants out of the contract but Wickerman won't let them. He needs to advertise. So what should WKRP do?

Well, don't do what the station did and listen to Johnny Fever! Listen to your lawyer!! Because Johnny forgot the whole reason Wickerman wanted to advertise in the first place... to bring attention to his store. If the DJs had just read the boring warning line the lawyer had provided before playing his dull, average commercials, nothing much would have happened. But once Johnny got "that vigilante justice look" in his eyes, they couldn't let that happen. But by calling their advertiser a different name every time it's played, and messing with the tape itself, it made Wickerman the most popular advertiser on the station! How did they NOT know that would be the result? Even Herb knew that would happen! "I've been telling you... tasteless sells!"

Speaking of Herb, in this episode he finally gets to do what he's wanted to do since the Pilot episode... "Herb is going on the air!"

It's always a mixture of heartbreaking and hysterical when Herb actually expresses his true feelings, rather than just put on the guise of a slick salesman. When he learns about a kid passing out in his gym class after taking Wickerman's "diet pills," he tells Andy "I've GOT to do the right thing!" He wants to personally tell the audience that he is pulling the ads and that he shouldn't have sold them in the first place. In a strange moment of self-awareness, he says "I'm tired of being the only person around here without a shred of human decency." which is probably going a little too far.

The epilogue tells us that, in part because of WKRP, Wickerman's Weight Loss Clinic has been picketed and his landlord has revoked his lease. But, he's just moving his business to another part of town... "All Perfectly Legal."

Roy

Other Notes - Guest Stars Galore! Dave Wickerman is played by Robert Ridgley, who spent most of his career as a voice-over actor but is probably most famous as The Colonel in "Boogie Nights," where he plays "in the opinion of this announcer, and is in no means a provable fact... a real scum bucket." Max Wright played the father, Willie, on the TV classic "ALF." Please don't sleep on the scene in which Mr. Carlson is telling Bailey and Jennifer how to dispose of each and every other member of the staff one by one, ending with "Jeez, it a pleasure doing business with women!" It might be the most liberated thing he ever says on the show.