Bonus Feature - A "Fish Story" Story

April 18, 2015

The reason most people buy DVDs anymore is for the extra bonus features. It's why we don't just download everything... usually.

So it is with the new "WKRP in Cincinnati" DVD box set that, along with all the other joys it provides, there is a disc of bonus features. So since we have come to the end of reviewing Season One, I thought I would look at one of these features.

The featurette "A "Fish Story" Story" first appeared in the Season One WKRP box set that was released in 2007 ("The Black Box") and I want to refer you now to my blog post from Ep. 21 - "Fish Story." At that time I went into detail about the story of writer Raoul Plager, who wrote this episode. I said in that blog: "any interview with Hugh Wilson, or members of the WKRP cast, will touch on the story of Raoul Plager." I realize now that where I had heard the story the most was from this featurette back in 2007.

Is this Raoul Plager?

Cast members Loni Anderson, Frank Bonner and Tim Reid, along with creator Hugh Wilson, tell the story of getting notes from CBS saying the show wasn't funny enough and they want a "Laverne and Shirley" type of script with more sight gags and more jokes. Hugh Wilson is furious and decides to show CBS the error of their ways.

The featurette begin with very somber music, underscoring the seriousness of WKRP's situation. The first sentence spoken has Loni Anderson using the word "bastard!" This is the lowest ebb in WRKP. The show might be cancelled and the solution CBS is offering seems to be a sellout of all the ideals Wilson and the writers are trying to create. What will they do??

As Tim Reid tells it, Wilson called everyone into the writers' room and said "I want everyone to tell me the worst cliche comedy thing they can think of." So they came up with ideas like Herb in a fish suit and Bailey in the men's room.

Of course, Wilson was so embarrassed by what they came up with, he used the pseudonym Raoul Plager for the writing credit. Frank Bonner says "Psychologically, I've tried to delve into "Raoul Plager" and I can't come up with anything."

But as Loni Anderson puts it, Wilson's idea backfired. "It got huge ratings and everyone was crazy about it." The popularity of this episode, still an audience favourite, helped get WKRP renewed. The dark, troubled tone from the beginning is gone and we are left with a fun antidote.

This piece is only about three minutes long and I would have much preferred to have Hugh Wilson and these cast members actually provide a commentary track to the episode. It's cute, but it's just one story. Also, as I've already pointed out, it's a recycled story from 2007.

So take this one for what it is and get ready for season two!

Roy

Ep. 22 - Preacher

April 9, 2015

Writer: Bill Dial
Director: Michael Zinburg
Original Air Date: June 4, 1979


These last two episodes aired a month after the rest of the series was originally shown, when the producers and even the network weren't sure the show was coming back. These were the episodes the creators of the show felt were their weakest. With the previous episode "Fish Story" they misjudged its quality and eventual popularity. With "Preacher," they did not.

Just as a small indication, check out the credits at the end of the show. They are blue - something we hadn't seen used since "Mama's Review". That means this was 1) produced at the time of the original 9 episodes and 2) thought so lowly of that it wasn't worth updating the credits. I mean, it's not like 35 years later, some guy with a computer will ever see this episode and write about it...

But like pizza, a bad episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" has some good to it and we get a few nice gags along the way.

The build up to revealing the Reverend Little Ed Pembrook works well. Johnny and Mr. Carlson both know him and are terrified of him, both claiming he's crazy. Venus is the one to tell Andy that he is a 300 lb former wrestler whom he once saw drive Haystacks Calhoun through a soda pop machine.

Finding the Sinners

So when we meet him, it's kind of a disappointment. The actor, Michael Keenan, did a fine and over-the-top job, but he doesn't come across as a gigantic lunatic. He's just a fat loud-mouth. He's shorter than Mr. Carlson even. It leads to a bunch of lame fat jokes, like having his backup choir, the Merciful Sister of Melody each be heavyset, for no particular reason. Pembrook states at one point that the sisters are "waiting for me down in the Honda" which was a notoriously small car for 1979. Four fat people driving in a Honda?!? Har-dee har har!

"Ahem!"

The big joke is the Reverend seems more interested "selling" "religious artifacts" on the air than providing any real spiritual guidance. I can imagine a session in which the writers sat around trying to come up with the most ridiculous items imaginable: John the Baptist shower curtains; The World is Coming to an End lawn furniture; My favourite: the St. Peter and Paul spice racks. But these items never seem like they are anything more than a string of punchlines.

Speaking of punchlines, did you hear the one about the priest, the minister and the rabbi? When the three members of the Greater Cincinnati Inter-Faith Council (there's no such thing. I looked it up) arrive at the station to complain about Little Ed and his "Church of the Mighty Struggle," it again looked like the writers creating stereotypes to joke with, rather than real characters. Why was a Cincinnati priest Irish? Stereotype.

Crisis of Faith

I completely understand that WKRP is not a documentary on the inner workings of the late 70's radio scene, but more than most episode, thing happen in "Preacher" that make even a casual observer say "really?" Of all the characters, VENUS watches wrestling? Why would Mr. Carlson put an exercise cycle in his office, and then ride it in a three-piece suit?

But most importantly, what rock station carries a religious service on Sunday mornings? Why would a religious service want to stay on a rock station? Why bother with the threat of an IRS audit when an Inter-Faith Council is complaining about Little Ed? That should be enough to void any contract the station might have.

The only part that felt genuine is that Bailey is the one who comes up with the idea of an IRS audit. Her shyness is exaggerated, but the enthusiasm she has in delivering her plan to take down Little Ed shows how wild she will be one day.

This ended the first season. Spoiler alert: the show didn't get cancelled.

Other notes: No Herb in this episode. I believe this is the only episode Frank Bonner missed. Haystacks Calhoun was a real wrestler in the 1950's and 1960's. He was one of the first famous Big Men, like Andre the Giant and the Big Show later on. There is no way Little Ed would even have been able to put his head through a pop machine.

Roy