Writer: Peter Torokvei and Steven Kampmann
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: December 24, 1979
What follows is my imagined WKRP writers' room meeting upon learning the show was going to have Sparky Anderson as a special guest on this episode:
"Who's Sparky Anderson?"
"He was the manager when the Cincinnati Reds won the world series a few years ago."
"Would our viewers know that? Would our characters?"
"We'll explain it all in the cold opening!"
"Is he funny?"
"No. He's a baseball manager."
"What's he going to do on the show?
"He'll just meet all of our characters. Maybe talk about getting fired out of Cincinnati."
"Wait! He's not even the manager in Cincinnati right now?"
"No. Now he manages in Philidelphia"
"Why is he in Cincinnati then?"
"To be on WKRP!"
"To do what?"
"Maybe he can host a sports talk show!"
"What does anyone in the WKRP universe know about hosting a sports talk show?"
"EXACTLY!!"
Watching the episode, you get the feeling this is about as much thought as went into having Sparky Anderson on the show. Anderson is a pleasant enough fellow and game enough to go through with the script. But there is a tonne of dumb stuff that is out of character for the staff and that we as the audience are suppose to forget in order for this episode to occur.
The episode opens with Andy breaking the "bad news" to Les that the Big Guy has hired Sparky Anderson to host this radio show, with dreams of syndicating it nation wide. Lots of problems there: a rock station is hosting a nationally syndicated sports radio show? It will be hosted by a locally fired coach who now works in another city? What happens to the show when the baseball season starts up again? Since when has Les been show eager to host a sports talk show - he has no interest in sports? Why would Andy think this is bad news - the last few episodes have been about him trying to get back on top? Why does Andy complain that he "hates looking like the bad guy" - we've just seen him recently want to be a tougher manager?
All those logistical problems and the credits haven't even rolled yet!
I understand that cold opening was written to provide a lot of exposition for the non baseball fans watching in 1979, but it may even be more valuable for those of us watching the episode 35 years later
Jennifer has seasons tickets to all the Reds home games and a computer like memory of baseball statistics that she has never displayed before and will never display again? Venus played three years of double A baseball in Texas? Was that while he was on the run from the US Army for being a deserter or while he was DJing in New Orleans? (Later in the series, we learn he was a teacher in New Orleans, but we never hear about baseball or Texas again). Neither of them showed any real baseball skills in the episode entitled "Baseball."
Staying with Venus for a moment, the shot of him introducing Sparky's new show must be the worst dub we have come across yet in the box set. Shout! Factory obviously didn't get the rights to whatever was playing, but a voice that is clearly not Tim Reid's refers to "The Surf Riders." Surely, a more talented voice actor could have imitated Venus better.
Returning to my complaints rant, I have two more. I don't know which one is worse; I'll let you decide.
Sparky on the Air!
The failure of The Sparky Anderson Show is that they simply rushed him onto the air, with no preparation, no producer handling the phones and no idea who his guest is. Bailey did hand Sparky a list of questions that could be asked. One of them had to be better than "What's your favourite colour?" She gave Sparky out of town scores (to what I don't know. It's not baseball season and the show seems to be on in the afternoon (although it's in the middle of Venus's night time show)) that he doesn't read. What exactly did Mr. Carlson expect Sparky Anderson to do for two hours.
They other is that sports coat! We laugh now at Herb's wardrobe, but really, does Herb dress any worse than Sparky does?
Are these two jackets really so different? One is stylish and the other is a joke
Let's get to some positive stuff now. Johnny's set up of calling Herb a jackass paid off much later for Sparky when he finally meets Herb. It's Sparky's best laugh of the show.
Les' dream about Mr. Carlson seems, to me, to be the writers' rebellion against what they had to know were the problems in a stunt casted show. "I'm a big fat muffin who loooooves to explode!" is ridiculous nonsense in the very best way. It is a great non sequitur in a whole episode that doesn't make much sense.
Other notes: The Cincinnati Kids were a real Indoor Soccer League team that only played in the 1978-79 season. Why use that team? Probably because it was co-owed by Spaky's old buddy Pete Rose. The oil man is played by Hugh Gillin who also played the WPIG reporter at the Linda Taylor press conference in "Love Returns." Regular story editors Torokvei and Kampmann were the writers on this episode.
Roy
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