Ep. 9 - Mama's Review

December 22, 2014

Writer: Hugh Wilson
Director: Asaad Kelada
Original Air Date: January 15, 1979

So if you missed all the earlier blogs, that's okay! This is a recap blog of all the best parts of the first eight blogs because you probably missed all those earlier blogs!

Okay not really. But that's the theme of this episode and begins a reoccurring pattern in the history of "WKRP in Cincinnati" - the show is close to cancellation and we need to remind you all about what's going on in the show.

Let's leave the repeated parts for a while and let's talk about new stuff that happens. The show has been off the air for six weeks. Critics and audience have given their opinions and some changes have been made. First off - cold opening! Tap, tap, tap, tap as Carlson and Andy are waiting for Mrs. Carlson to arrive for the quarterly station inspection. There is no dialing though the radio stations of Cincinnati. That gives us a couple of extra minutes of jokes and less sightseeing of downtown 1970's Cincy.

New graphics! White, instead of blue lettering that looks steadier and, oddly, more professional.

But the most important new addition is Carol Bruce at Mama Carlson, taking over the role from Sylvia Sidney. By the end of the show's run, she becomes the de facto ninth cast member. But here, she establishes all of Mama's important characteristics: imperious; smart; joyless; icy business woman; but in the end, a mother who cares (?) about her son.

Mama's review goes through all the highlights of the station since Andy arrived, showing all the funniest moments and showcases each of the characters. It begins with Johnny scratching the needle across the record and announcing it is "times for this town to get down!" (Ep. 1) and goes quickly to the scene of Johnny yelling at the elderly protesters in the studio(Ep. 2)

Since we've now had two Johnny spots, it's time to introduce the other characters, and if you are trying to keep this show alive, the smart move is to bring out Loni Anderson first. It is revealed that Jennifer makes an extraordinary amount of money: $24,000 a year! (oh, inflation!) and we see the scene in which she reminds Mr. Carlson that she doesn't do any of the things you imagine a secretary making $24,000 would (Ep. 7)

It is important to remember that throughout this quarterly review, Mr. Carlson's main objective is to try to keep his staff from getting fired, so a lot of the comedy comes from him attempting to defend the undefendable. Calling Les a "crackerjack news reporter" and following it with the clip of Les calling a golfer "Chai Chai Rod-ra-queeze" (Ep. 3) just gives Mama more ammunition for firings.

The next clip is the strangest, as it had never appeared in the show before. It is a short monologue of Venus, talking to his audience in his full "child of the cosmos" persona. It's a nice little illustration of what Venus does but it is a wonder why we've never seen it before.

Because the show started with two Johnny clips, Johnny gets discussed and moved past without a clip, to go straight to Bailey Quarters. But Bailey doesn't get a clip either. Instead we get a call back to a running joke that Mr. Carlson doesn't know who Bailey is. Frankly, I've never understood this joke. Only eight people work at this station - how hard can it be to remember all of their names?

Herb is up next with the clip of him being told Jennifer was once a man (Ep. 3) to show how stupid he is. When Mama asks Carlson why he didn't fire Herb years ago, Andy says "Firing Herb wouldn't solve anything." How is that true? Herb might be the worst salesman in Ohio, and the entire station's fortunes depend on him selling this new format change to the businesses of Cincinnati. Firing Herb was probably the first thing Andy should have done, even before changing the format!

But I digress. The characters are all introduced, so let's see some top clips! Here's Johnny describing on-air getting held up at the stereo store remote (Ep. 5). And then to finish, let's show the clip you're friends have told you about... it's Les and the Turkey Drop! (Ep. 7). This is by far the longest clip shown because, as we have discussed in the blog before, it's the most important clip in the show's history.

The episode ends with Mr. Carlson, no longer defending his employees, but taking responsibility for them and the actions of the station. He stands up to his mother when she begins to threaten Andy, for the first time in his life! "You're 20 minutes? They're up!" It's a very nice ending to a pretty unnecessary episode because it really puts the Mr. Carlson character into focus. He will become the lovable, sometimes bumbling father-protector of the station and it's staff. Gordon Jump plays down the shrillness of the character from the earliest episodes in favour of a well-meaning man just out of his element.

Roy