October 31, 2017
Writers: Steve Marshall
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: February 7, 1981
Call it the dungarees versus the disco suits.
This is a strangely dated episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" even for 1981. Today it plays like an episode of "Mad Men" in which the audience is constantly asking "Is that really how things happened?"
I believe this episode exists for reasons outside of the story, which I will get to later. Storywise, the entire HOUR LONG episode is based on the premise of business versus authenticity. This is the moment, dear readers, in which the baby boomer generation (the "dungarees" of these past three season) must enter the Dark Night of the Soul and decide to either cling to their fading, tie-dyed ideals or embrace the Reagan-era, trickle down "greed is good" aesthetic and do what is best for business, best for your own wants and best for the bottom line. For John Caravella, this decision will literally rip his mind in half.
Writing a blog 36 years after this show aired means the direction of society has already been decided. Johnny has been perpetually broke since we first met him. If "Gotta Dance" is going to pay him $500 a week, that's more than Jennifer makes (we learned in Ep. 10 she is the highest paid employee at WKRP at $24,000 a year) PLUS he gets to keep his WKRP job. We saw in this season's "Daydreams" episode, Johnny longs to be the decadent, adored rock star figure he has always admired. Since getting fired in LA, Johnny's always been looking for a way to get back on top. The song he plays as his defiant send off from "Gotta Dance" is "Ready Teddy" by Little Richard, an artist who wore makeup and sparkling costumes to help sell his music. In 2017, there's not even a decision to be made: Dr. Fever would have taken the money and played music he didn't like. As the Ripper himself says "The dude was stuck in the 60's and these are the 80's!"
But we as the audience are suppose to see Johnny as our better selves, the side that is never going to sell out. Loyal to the ideal that Rock 'n Roll can change the world, we are rooting for Johnny to have his Rip Tide cake and eat his WKRP cake too (sorry for strangling that metaphor). We want to be Johnny and believe we could walk away from both the big payday and the legal threats just to stand by our convictions.
We need to see the producer, Avis, as the face of the bad guys: the corporate suits. We need to forget that Johnny signed contracts, drunk, without a lawyer and then tried to back out 45 minutes before the show was to air.
Which begs the larger question: why hire Johnny Fever for a TV Dance show? Venus Fly Trap, who regularly plays a style of music more in line with what the producer wants, is literally standing right beside him! If this producer ever listened to Johnny's show, in which he famously never plays the hits, why would she think he'd be a good host for "Gotta Dance"? After looking at him, in his dark, rumbled T-shirt and sagging skin (sorry Howard) no one would hire him to host this show. If he was so important to it success, it would have been called "Dr. Fever's Dance Prescription" and replacing him with a no-name Rip Tide would have killed it.
I've written all of this and none of it matters. Because none of that is why this show was written, and certainly not why it had to be an hour long. This episode is an acting showcase for Howard Hesseman. He was nominated the season previously for an Emmy and would be again this season. I was not able to confirm if he was nominated in 1981 for this episode in particular but I be surprised if it wasn't. Hesseman plays both characters to their fullest, sometimes within the same sentence!
Johnny isn't just ashamed of the Rip Tide character he created - he's paranoid of him! He genuinely is afraid this "schlemiel" is going to take over his life. Johnny goes from casually taking on this new job to anger and fear about the job to glee that he's fooling people with this new persona to fearing the persona to regretting the whole thing happened. Rip Tide moves from being thrilled to perform to ambitious about his career to annoyed Johnny is holding him back. That's a lot for one actor to keep a handle on and Hesseman navigates well.
I'd love to get a commentary from Hesseman on this episode, describing how much was on the page and how much was improvised. We know about his years with the San Francisco improv troop the Committee and how he drew on that time to play Johnny Fever. I want to know if he came up with "I could eat you up Jennipoo. Yum, yum yum!" on the spot.
So many good lines! "My wink is my word, digez vous?" "The undoubtably soulful Oblivious Neutron Bomb!" "Well, I Gotta Dance! Hug hug!"
I felt a little split myself figuring out what to write this blog about. I was going to write a whole piece on schizophrenia and how it is NOT split personality disorder. And how Les can not claim to be "something of an expert" on it because he saw "Three Faces of Eve." I could have also written quite a bit about the relationship between Herb and The Ripper, and that Herb is the first person, even before Avis, to see what the potential of Rip Tide could be. I also gave some thought to how poorly Venus and Bailey treated John Caravella. If he wasn't going to be the Dr. Fever they knew, they were ready to abandon him. I also could go on at great lengths about how the time in this episode is too condensed. Johnny becomes Rip in under an hour. It seems like the whole "Gotta Dance" phenomena lasted a month at most.
But I'm going to wrap it up the way the episode wrapped it up - discussing payola. We saw in Ep. 14 "Johnny Comes Back" that the one unforgivable thing in radio (or even radio on the television) is to suggest the band or label have paid to have their songs played. Johnny knew that treating people badly, drinking, drugs, insulting his audience or even an interest in "really young girls" would not be enough to make the Rip Tide character unsellable. But saying he's only playing a song because it's been paid for is the death knell. Although that might have been a lie, it was only because Johnny was getting paid that Rip was pretending to like these songs as well. Where did the real payola start and excuse payola end? Maybe the way to judge would be to have Jennifer defiantly say "No! I really liked those songs."
Roy
Other Notes - Mary Frann, who played Avis, went on to her greatest success playing Bob Newhart's wife, Joanne, on "Newhart," which was also an MTM Production. She died in 1998. "Gotta Dance" is based on the nationally syndicated dance show "Solid Gold" which ran from 1980 to, surprisingly, 1988. Allen Carr was a producer and manager whose clients included "the undoubtedly soulful" Olivia Newton-John, Ann-Margaret, Herb Alpert and many more. He also produce the films "Grease" and the Village People's "Can't Stop the Music."
Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Thursday, 19 October 2017
Ep. 57 - Venus and the Man
October 19, 2017
Writers: Hugh Wilson
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 31, 1981
^^^ Very Important ^^^
What the writers of this episode (who included Tim Reid as well as the credited Hugh Wilson) want you to remember about this episode is its commentary about the life of Africian Americans in the U.S., specifically Cincinnati, in 1980. It is jarring to notice this is the first episode of WKRP with more than two black characters in it. The writers want you to remember the value of education in such a society. But that's not what you remember.
You remember the atom.
Venus claims he can teach Arnold the basics of the atom in two minutes and "you'll remember it for months." That's not true. I've remembered it for decades! The Newboys, The Pros and the Elected Ones got me through Grade 9 chemistry better than my teacher did. In fact, when I first received the Shout Factory box set, this was the first episode I showed my son - because he needed to know about the atom for science class. "Turkey's Away" was second.
In the previous episode, a dead frog is presented to each staff member and we watch their reactions to it. We have an idea of how each will react because, after three seasons, we have come to know the nuances of each character's personality. In this episode, each staff member is presented, not with something ridiculous, but with something very real... a black man. And not the black man they have all become friends with in the past three years, but a "Big, Tricky and Bad" black man.
The first reaction we hear is actually from the audience. They sort of gasp and oooooh the way a crowd does before two Real Housewives have a catfight ????????? What are they expecting to happen in this episode? Certainly not a chemistry lesson.
Mr. Carlson comes out first, and is visibly terrified by the gang. In fact, he seeks a sort of protection from Venus and then hides in his lush, comfortable office until they go away. Even ultra-liberal Bailey is uncomfortable, giggling her way through a half-hearted defense of education.
Yet the centrepiece of these interactions is Les. Again, remember back to just the previous episode in which Les asks Venus if he knows of "some voodoo plantation thing" to get paint off a frog. When he first met Venus in the pilot, Les asked him if he noticed "there are an awful lot of negros in sports." Venus groans at whatever Les might say.
Surprisingly, amazingly, he is not only not actively bigoted, but complimentary and excited to share some of his views on black influence on America as a whole. It's a different type of racism from Carlson's direct jump to fear and hiding. Les would never give that speech to Bailey or Herb. But Les "can't help noticing both... gentlemen are black." He could have just left the office after introducing himself as a friend of Arnold's mother, but he can't do it. Oddly, the speech he gives sounds like what a white professor might give to an undergraduate class on African studies. It sounds read from a book. Les is polite and thrilled to express these ideas he has learned in a forum he assumes would be interested in them.
I wonder if meeting Venus has encouraged Les to read up on the African American experience. He seems to know much more on the subject than he did before they met.
Johnny doesn't care that Arnold is black or big. Herb may be the most genuine. Finding a $100 bill will do that to Herb. But he isn't either nervous or overly impressed and the "hip" walk he tries after the two men leave is really just a tacked on joke.
"I think there are only two things anybody cares about in this world: 1) Survival 2) Conquest." That is a really interesting quote, especially coming from Gordon Sims. Think about what we know about him: Vietnam vet and deserter. Where was the line draw between conquest and survival for him? Failed school teacher: How did that job conquer him? Black DJ at a white radio station: is that a battle to survive for him? Does slipping a little Della Reese into the playlist constitute a conquest? Venus has obviously been thinking about it.
Venus Flytrap has always been the character that has had the least continuity to his character. When he first entered the show, if was as a flamboyant, freaky, funky DJ - a blast of New Orleans street into buttoned-up Cincinnati. But then we heard the harrowing story of Gordon Sims, the Vietnam deserter. Venus has been Johnny's investment advisor and a Boy Scout leader. We've heard that he played Triple A baseball in Texas for three years. In the very next episode, we'll hear he hosted a children's program as Sailor Ned. Now we hear the he graduated from Carlise State Teacher's College. That's a lot for one person by the age of 31. Tim Reid has mentioned in interviews that he was insistant the character of Venus portray a well-rounded black man and not a stereotypical "jive" cartoon.
So is the "jive" Venus Reid's method of "survival" - getting on a network show, and then his scattershot development a method of "conquest" - show the many sides of a man who happens to be black? Possibly. It would show just how "strong and smart" Tim Reid is.
Roy
Other Notes - There is no Carlise State Teacher's College. The closest thing I found is Dickinson College in Carlise, Pennsyvania, but they do not offer a teaching program. Cora's little boy Arnold looks like a "regular man" because he was portrayed by dancer Keny Long, who was in his early 30's at the time.
Writers: Hugh Wilson
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 31, 1981
^^^ Very Important ^^^
What the writers of this episode (who included Tim Reid as well as the credited Hugh Wilson) want you to remember about this episode is its commentary about the life of Africian Americans in the U.S., specifically Cincinnati, in 1980. It is jarring to notice this is the first episode of WKRP with more than two black characters in it. The writers want you to remember the value of education in such a society. But that's not what you remember.
You remember the atom.
Venus claims he can teach Arnold the basics of the atom in two minutes and "you'll remember it for months." That's not true. I've remembered it for decades! The Newboys, The Pros and the Elected Ones got me through Grade 9 chemistry better than my teacher did. In fact, when I first received the Shout Factory box set, this was the first episode I showed my son - because he needed to know about the atom for science class. "Turkey's Away" was second.
In the previous episode, a dead frog is presented to each staff member and we watch their reactions to it. We have an idea of how each will react because, after three seasons, we have come to know the nuances of each character's personality. In this episode, each staff member is presented, not with something ridiculous, but with something very real... a black man. And not the black man they have all become friends with in the past three years, but a "Big, Tricky and Bad" black man.
The first reaction we hear is actually from the audience. They sort of gasp and oooooh the way a crowd does before two Real Housewives have a catfight ????????? What are they expecting to happen in this episode? Certainly not a chemistry lesson.
Mr. Carlson comes out first, and is visibly terrified by the gang. In fact, he seeks a sort of protection from Venus and then hides in his lush, comfortable office until they go away. Even ultra-liberal Bailey is uncomfortable, giggling her way through a half-hearted defense of education.
Yet the centrepiece of these interactions is Les. Again, remember back to just the previous episode in which Les asks Venus if he knows of "some voodoo plantation thing" to get paint off a frog. When he first met Venus in the pilot, Les asked him if he noticed "there are an awful lot of negros in sports." Venus groans at whatever Les might say.
Surprisingly, amazingly, he is not only not actively bigoted, but complimentary and excited to share some of his views on black influence on America as a whole. It's a different type of racism from Carlson's direct jump to fear and hiding. Les would never give that speech to Bailey or Herb. But Les "can't help noticing both... gentlemen are black." He could have just left the office after introducing himself as a friend of Arnold's mother, but he can't do it. Oddly, the speech he gives sounds like what a white professor might give to an undergraduate class on African studies. It sounds read from a book. Les is polite and thrilled to express these ideas he has learned in a forum he assumes would be interested in them.
I wonder if meeting Venus has encouraged Les to read up on the African American experience. He seems to know much more on the subject than he did before they met.
Johnny doesn't care that Arnold is black or big. Herb may be the most genuine. Finding a $100 bill will do that to Herb. But he isn't either nervous or overly impressed and the "hip" walk he tries after the two men leave is really just a tacked on joke.
"I think there are only two things anybody cares about in this world: 1) Survival 2) Conquest." That is a really interesting quote, especially coming from Gordon Sims. Think about what we know about him: Vietnam vet and deserter. Where was the line draw between conquest and survival for him? Failed school teacher: How did that job conquer him? Black DJ at a white radio station: is that a battle to survive for him? Does slipping a little Della Reese into the playlist constitute a conquest? Venus has obviously been thinking about it.
Venus Flytrap has always been the character that has had the least continuity to his character. When he first entered the show, if was as a flamboyant, freaky, funky DJ - a blast of New Orleans street into buttoned-up Cincinnati. But then we heard the harrowing story of Gordon Sims, the Vietnam deserter. Venus has been Johnny's investment advisor and a Boy Scout leader. We've heard that he played Triple A baseball in Texas for three years. In the very next episode, we'll hear he hosted a children's program as Sailor Ned. Now we hear the he graduated from Carlise State Teacher's College. That's a lot for one person by the age of 31. Tim Reid has mentioned in interviews that he was insistant the character of Venus portray a well-rounded black man and not a stereotypical "jive" cartoon.
So is the "jive" Venus Reid's method of "survival" - getting on a network show, and then his scattershot development a method of "conquest" - show the many sides of a man who happens to be black? Possibly. It would show just how "strong and smart" Tim Reid is.
Roy
Other Notes - There is no Carlise State Teacher's College. The closest thing I found is Dickinson College in Carlise, Pennsyvania, but they do not offer a teaching program. Cora's little boy Arnold looks like a "regular man" because he was portrayed by dancer Keny Long, who was in his early 30's at the time.
Monday, 9 October 2017
Ep. 56 - Frog Story
October 9, 2017
Writers: Robert H. Dolman
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 24, 1981
^^^FAMOUSLY FUNNY^^^
First thing I need to get off my chest with this episode is that there is a running joke that I don't think most people get. It doesn't earn a laugh from the audience and none of the characters make a comment on it, so I need to point this out right now: nobody in their right mind spray paints the INTERIOR of their kitchen cabinets! Much less in pink! You would choke on the fumes! It would go on too thick, drip off, and make a huge mess! Spray paint in not durable enough for that much wear and tear - that why most cabinet interiors are left alone, or maybe have shelf paper in them.
Nobody spray paints the interior of their kitchen cabinets! Certainly not pink! It's a joke to show once again how clueless and lazy Herb is, and that it was his cluelessness and laziness that killed a frog. We all need to laugh at that for a minute before I can go on.
And how did the frog get into the kitchen cabinets to end up being spray painted in any case?!? The frog is kept in Bunny's room. So how did...
Nope, nope. I'm okay. I'm better now. With those huge logic jumps behind us, let's go ahead and analyze this generally very good episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati."
Remember that this episode appears only six years after the original MTM Productions show "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" aired its funniest episode called "Chuckles Bites the Dust." This episode is always listed with WKRP's "Turkeys Away" as one of the funniest episode of television ever aired. Ostensibly, that episode is about the funeral of kiddie show host Chuckles the Clown (and thankfully, not Sailor Ned) after a bizarre accident. But really it's about characters trying not to laugh at a ridiculous situation. The writer of this episode, Robert H. Dolman (see: Other Notes - there's a lot about him) who only wrote this one episode for WKRP would definitely have known this and may have used the same idea to pitch a script to another MTM show.
Even before the credits, we see Jennifer trying to hold in her laughter so as not to appear rude to a distraught Herb over his painting of Bunny's pet frog. Bailey can't even bring herself to tell Les what happened. Andy is complete nonchalant about the whole incident. Venus thinks it's the setup to a joke until Les quickly says something racially insensitive about how Venus could help. Strangely Les is the only person who really tries to help by convincing Herb to take Greenpeace the frog to the only doctor in the building.
Les exhibits a behaviour I remember well from the 1970's that I don't see in the world as much today: doctors as Gods. Perhaps it is through changes in pop culture that takes us from the saintly "Marcus Welby, MD" through "ER" and into "Gray's Anatomy" that has pulled doctors down from their pedestals, but there was once a time when the word of a doctor was law. To ask for a second opinion was practically unheard of and the motivations of doctors were not questioned. That's why, eventually the opinion of a podiatrist is seen as valuable in the case of a chemically poisoned frog.
Let's also pause to note that I think this is the first time the word "environmentalist" has ever been used on the show. It's used to describe Herb's daughter Bunny and I think it's an interesting decision for the daughter of Herb and Lucille. It's as if this little eight-year-old has already looked at the adult role models in her life and said "Nope. There's gotta be another way to go."
WKRP is never more itself then when it takes a ridiculous situation and passes it from character to character to see how they handle it. Think of Ep. 35 in which Johnny thinks he hears God, or Ep. 20 when Carlson's weird son visits. Now they are passing around a frog in a shoebox so every character can give their explanations of death. Now all of that stifled laughter has turned into the same general condolences people give when a friend's relative dies: they don't know quite what to say but they want to appear sympathetic. Jennifer even says "my sympathies, Herb." Herb, who was so distraught earlier, is now the person who has to remind everyone that Greenpeace was "just a frog." Andy calls him "a great frog;" Venus goes even farther, saying "he was an all right frog."
Jennifer and Bailey go into a very deep discussion on the nature of death. To Jennifer "death is the logical, unavoidable conclusion to all things." Bailey mentions how waves may end but the water that makes a wave continue, and I believe that's proof that, at some point on her summer vacation, Bailey got high at the beach.
Through all of this discussion of poisonings and death, the staff misses the main point that has upset Herb so much: what will his daughter think of him? How disappointed will she be in him that he has killed something she cares about. Despite Herb trying his best to "Herb" his way out of facing the music, in the end he does come clean and tell his daughter the truth.
Which brings us to what I always remember most about this episode: "schistosomiasis!" Whenever someone around me is ill and they don't know what's the matter, I'll often yell "schistosomiasis" and nobody but me gets the reference.
Schistosomiasis, or "snail fever" is caused by parasitic flatworms and is caused by contact with contaminated fresh water. It is most commonly found in the developing countries in Africa and Asia (thanks, Wikipedia). In short, it is not the sort of disease a DJ in Cincinnati is likely to pick up. A lot of this episode is taken up with Les's frightening diagnosis of Johnny's cold, especially "the chin-chest thing." The highlight of all this is Johnny's complaint that people will care more about the health of an animal than another human. "It's like in the movies. You can waste the entire Confederate Army - nobody cares. 395,000 guys deader than doornails. But you kill one collie, everyone collapses in grief."
Roy
Other Notes: The writer is credited as "Robert H. Dolman." He would go on to greater success as Bob Dolman under which he won two Emmys writing for SCTV. In fact, he even married and had two children with SCTV star Andrea Martin and his sister was married to another SCTV alum Martin Short. He also wrote the films "Willow" and "Far and Away".
Johnny is referencing the collie Lassie, who was a TV staple in the 1950's and 60's. The actor who played the doctor, Kenneth Tigar, currently has 156 imdb.com acting credits. Stacy Heather Tolkin, who portrayed bunny both here and in "Real Families" was also a voice of Sally from The Peanuts cartoons.
Writers: Robert H. Dolman
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 24, 1981
^^^FAMOUSLY FUNNY^^^
First thing I need to get off my chest with this episode is that there is a running joke that I don't think most people get. It doesn't earn a laugh from the audience and none of the characters make a comment on it, so I need to point this out right now: nobody in their right mind spray paints the INTERIOR of their kitchen cabinets! Much less in pink! You would choke on the fumes! It would go on too thick, drip off, and make a huge mess! Spray paint in not durable enough for that much wear and tear - that why most cabinet interiors are left alone, or maybe have shelf paper in them.
Nobody spray paints the interior of their kitchen cabinets! Certainly not pink! It's a joke to show once again how clueless and lazy Herb is, and that it was his cluelessness and laziness that killed a frog. We all need to laugh at that for a minute before I can go on.
And how did the frog get into the kitchen cabinets to end up being spray painted in any case?!? The frog is kept in Bunny's room. So how did...
Nope, nope. I'm okay. I'm better now. With those huge logic jumps behind us, let's go ahead and analyze this generally very good episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati."
Remember that this episode appears only six years after the original MTM Productions show "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" aired its funniest episode called "Chuckles Bites the Dust." This episode is always listed with WKRP's "Turkeys Away" as one of the funniest episode of television ever aired. Ostensibly, that episode is about the funeral of kiddie show host Chuckles the Clown (and thankfully, not Sailor Ned) after a bizarre accident. But really it's about characters trying not to laugh at a ridiculous situation. The writer of this episode, Robert H. Dolman (see: Other Notes - there's a lot about him) who only wrote this one episode for WKRP would definitely have known this and may have used the same idea to pitch a script to another MTM show.
Even before the credits, we see Jennifer trying to hold in her laughter so as not to appear rude to a distraught Herb over his painting of Bunny's pet frog. Bailey can't even bring herself to tell Les what happened. Andy is complete nonchalant about the whole incident. Venus thinks it's the setup to a joke until Les quickly says something racially insensitive about how Venus could help. Strangely Les is the only person who really tries to help by convincing Herb to take Greenpeace the frog to the only doctor in the building.
Les exhibits a behaviour I remember well from the 1970's that I don't see in the world as much today: doctors as Gods. Perhaps it is through changes in pop culture that takes us from the saintly "Marcus Welby, MD" through "ER" and into "Gray's Anatomy" that has pulled doctors down from their pedestals, but there was once a time when the word of a doctor was law. To ask for a second opinion was practically unheard of and the motivations of doctors were not questioned. That's why, eventually the opinion of a podiatrist is seen as valuable in the case of a chemically poisoned frog.
Let's also pause to note that I think this is the first time the word "environmentalist" has ever been used on the show. It's used to describe Herb's daughter Bunny and I think it's an interesting decision for the daughter of Herb and Lucille. It's as if this little eight-year-old has already looked at the adult role models in her life and said "Nope. There's gotta be another way to go."
WKRP is never more itself then when it takes a ridiculous situation and passes it from character to character to see how they handle it. Think of Ep. 35 in which Johnny thinks he hears God, or Ep. 20 when Carlson's weird son visits. Now they are passing around a frog in a shoebox so every character can give their explanations of death. Now all of that stifled laughter has turned into the same general condolences people give when a friend's relative dies: they don't know quite what to say but they want to appear sympathetic. Jennifer even says "my sympathies, Herb." Herb, who was so distraught earlier, is now the person who has to remind everyone that Greenpeace was "just a frog." Andy calls him "a great frog;" Venus goes even farther, saying "he was an all right frog."
Jennifer and Bailey go into a very deep discussion on the nature of death. To Jennifer "death is the logical, unavoidable conclusion to all things." Bailey mentions how waves may end but the water that makes a wave continue, and I believe that's proof that, at some point on her summer vacation, Bailey got high at the beach.
Through all of this discussion of poisonings and death, the staff misses the main point that has upset Herb so much: what will his daughter think of him? How disappointed will she be in him that he has killed something she cares about. Despite Herb trying his best to "Herb" his way out of facing the music, in the end he does come clean and tell his daughter the truth.
Which brings us to what I always remember most about this episode: "schistosomiasis!" Whenever someone around me is ill and they don't know what's the matter, I'll often yell "schistosomiasis" and nobody but me gets the reference.
Schistosomiasis, or "snail fever" is caused by parasitic flatworms and is caused by contact with contaminated fresh water. It is most commonly found in the developing countries in Africa and Asia (thanks, Wikipedia). In short, it is not the sort of disease a DJ in Cincinnati is likely to pick up. A lot of this episode is taken up with Les's frightening diagnosis of Johnny's cold, especially "the chin-chest thing." The highlight of all this is Johnny's complaint that people will care more about the health of an animal than another human. "It's like in the movies. You can waste the entire Confederate Army - nobody cares. 395,000 guys deader than doornails. But you kill one collie, everyone collapses in grief."
Roy
Other Notes: The writer is credited as "Robert H. Dolman." He would go on to greater success as Bob Dolman under which he won two Emmys writing for SCTV. In fact, he even married and had two children with SCTV star Andrea Martin and his sister was married to another SCTV alum Martin Short. He also wrote the films "Willow" and "Far and Away".
Johnny is referencing the collie Lassie, who was a TV staple in the 1950's and 60's. The actor who played the doctor, Kenneth Tigar, currently has 156 imdb.com acting credits. Stacy Heather Tolkin, who portrayed bunny both here and in "Real Families" was also a voice of Sally from The Peanuts cartoons.
Monday, 2 October 2017
Ep. 55 - Daydreams
September 30, 2017
Writers: Peter Torokvei
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 17, 1981
As much as every episode of WKRP in Cincinnati is a strange episode, this one is stranger than most, in its structure and tone. This really feels like an episode written by committee, with each member of the staff perhaps being given one "daydream"to write and that Peter Torokvei gets the writing credit because he put the pieces together. I have no evidence of that other than the feeling I get from watching the show.
However, if I can still assume the entire episode was directed by one person, regular director Rod Daniel, then kudos to him, because each daydream looks and feels very different from the others which in turn feel very different from the "real life" of the big guy's speech. Some of the daydreams are very elaborate while others are not much more than a one joke set-up.
Here's a very geeky blogger's theory: I think the characters with the most elaborate daydreams (Herb, Les and Andy) are the characters who feel the trapped in their own lives and do the most daydreaming - they are really good daydreamers. Those characters who are most satisfied with their lives (Jennifer and Venus) have the simplest daydreams - they are only daydreaming because they are bored. Again I have no evidence the writers were putting that much thought into it, other than from watching the show.
In his book "Here on Gilligan's Island," Russell Johnson, who played the Professor, said his favourite episodes were the dream sequence ones ("Gilligan's Island" seemed to have a dream sequence every fifth episode) because all the actors got to play different roles than their usual characters. I would have to imagine the same is true for the actors in this episode. Everybody gets to play dress up! (except for Gordon Jump, who got to play a lot of dress up back at Christmas time, so we can't feel too bad for him). The best example of this is in Johnny's daydream of rock stardom, in which everyone gets in on the decedent rockstar lifestyle: Jennifer is the sexy limo driver; Andy is the sleazy promoter, Herb is a leather clad fan while Bailey is a wide-eyed groupie; Les is a... bowtied rock reporter? and Venus is the corn-rowed "Jamaican Doctor" to the rockstar.
But I'm starting at the end. Let's go back to the beginning. Mr. Carlson is nervous about giving the keynote address at the Annual Ohio Broadcasters Dinner. Let's not worry ourselves too much about how many people had to turn down this "honour" before it was bestowed to the General Manager of a mid-ranked AM rock radio station in Cincinnati. Or that Mr. Carlson is delivering a speech outlining the history of radio to an audience that would already have in depth knowledge of the history of radio. Carlson is nervous so Andy (with Jennifer's help) convinces him to test the speech out on the staff.
Note the knowing little wink Jennifer gives Mr. Carlson when she advises him to "imagine your audience is naked" to help him relax. It's as if she's giving him permission to do something naughty that she knows he'll like. In fact, she mentions it twice, and each time Carlson gets a good chuckle... at Andy's and Les's expense.
Johnny guesses at what Andy already knows when he moans "Oh God." It a fifth grade level speech, running through the historic highlights of the 20th century and the role radio played in them. It's starts by stating the obvious, radio is for speaking to the people, and this prompts the first daydream.
Herb is now "Franco" the dictator/monarch of a small South American country besieged by rebels (Franco must be a take-off on Frank Bonner's name). It's surprising to see that Herb's fantasy is all about romancing the most beautiful woman in his country - Jennifer - and not something more graphic. The fantasy is about being sauve, romantic, powerful - all the things the real Herb is not. Jennifer is just the conclusion of that. The best line of the episode is Franco's timing on "I too am in love with someone. The pope... has again refused my request for a divorce."
This then floats to a very simple daydream of Jennifer imagining herself being romanced by Cary Grant. It completely fits Jennifer's personality that she wouldn't imagine a more comtemporary heartthrob, say like Robert Redford, but a classic leading man, like... Les? who gives the wonderful reading on "I was wondering if you could pour something sticky all over me?" I don't know how you daydream, but I usually don't have random people popping up in my imagination to ruin the daydream. That's is just the connective tissue to the next dream.
Les is an interesting case because he lives in his daydream all the time. He has always seen himself as a modern day Edward R. Murrow, the legendary CBS newsman who made a name himself reporting on the European front of World War II. Being radio, Murrow needed to describe in florid detail what he was seeing and hearing around him. It was exciting for the time, but to modern ears, it sounds excessive and showy, like watching an opera on TV. But it's a style Nesman has always emulated. So to see him daydreaming of standing on a rooftop in mid-Blitz London, with an enamored "dame" at his side, waiting to have a few drinks with the boys, is simply the lifestyle he has actually aspired to.
When you watch the end of this episode, you will notice the credits begin before the action ends and there is no epilogue scene. This is actually the longest single episode of WKRP as it runs about two minutes longer than the average. The "linking" device makes it difficult to cut anything out. I have read stories that Bailey's daydream sequence often got cut from syndication, however I clearly remember it airing. Having said all of that, it's easy to see why it would have been cut. It's boring. There are two jokes: one is that we are to figure out Bailey has become President of the United States. The other is that Johnny is her neglected First Spouse who is worried about "the social calendar" and longing for affection. Another way to say that is this: can you imagine a world in which a woman is the President of the United States and a man had to do all of the First Lady stuff? Har-de har har!!
Let's get past that very dated idea and look at some other stuff. Whereas Herb dreams of romancing Jennifer, Bailey actually daydreams about ignoring her spouse? Who daydreams about being a jerk? Also, this dream isn't either elaborate like Herb's or Les's, or simple like Jennifer's. It's just boring. More importantly, if we are to keep up the "linking device," shouldn't ANDY be the First Husband? I understand we have seen the flirtations between Bailey and Johnny in the past, but if the writers really wanted to show a shift in the power balance, having her boss in bed would be much more effective.
Andy's daydream is all about power, but it is interesting to note he is the only one daydreaming about being at the radio station. Andy's dream is all about getting respect from the actual staff and results for the actual station. Helping Herb land a big client and getting Johnny to play the playlist, all as an unquestionable mafia boss is what Andy desires. What's funny is that in this daydream, Johnny not playing the playlist is Don Travis's greatest problem - one that earns a Kiss of Death. Not Herb or Les or even Mama Carlson.
Venus's daydream simply doesn't make sense given what we know of the character. Even if we think he would want to be a standup comedian (Tim Reid is the only WKRP cast member who actually was a stand up comedian), why would he want to be a cheesy Vegas standup playing to "Sammy and Frankie"? Wouldn't he have wanted to be Richard Pryor? Also, like Jennifer, who gets their daydreams interrupted by outside characters? Neither Jennifer of Venus know how to daydream well. It really seems tacked on and, although I'm not a fan of Bailey's dream, I would much rather have cut this one for time in syndication.
At the end, Carlson's speech is a success, in that it is over. Carlson's daydream of delivering a successful speech has come true. "Frankly Andy, I think I stunned 'em!"
Roy
Other Notes: Is this my longest episode of the blog? Which two minutes need to be trimmed for syndication?
Writers: Peter Torokvei
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 17, 1981
As much as every episode of WKRP in Cincinnati is a strange episode, this one is stranger than most, in its structure and tone. This really feels like an episode written by committee, with each member of the staff perhaps being given one "daydream"to write and that Peter Torokvei gets the writing credit because he put the pieces together. I have no evidence of that other than the feeling I get from watching the show.
However, if I can still assume the entire episode was directed by one person, regular director Rod Daniel, then kudos to him, because each daydream looks and feels very different from the others which in turn feel very different from the "real life" of the big guy's speech. Some of the daydreams are very elaborate while others are not much more than a one joke set-up.
Here's a very geeky blogger's theory: I think the characters with the most elaborate daydreams (Herb, Les and Andy) are the characters who feel the trapped in their own lives and do the most daydreaming - they are really good daydreamers. Those characters who are most satisfied with their lives (Jennifer and Venus) have the simplest daydreams - they are only daydreaming because they are bored. Again I have no evidence the writers were putting that much thought into it, other than from watching the show.
In his book "Here on Gilligan's Island," Russell Johnson, who played the Professor, said his favourite episodes were the dream sequence ones ("Gilligan's Island" seemed to have a dream sequence every fifth episode) because all the actors got to play different roles than their usual characters. I would have to imagine the same is true for the actors in this episode. Everybody gets to play dress up! (except for Gordon Jump, who got to play a lot of dress up back at Christmas time, so we can't feel too bad for him). The best example of this is in Johnny's daydream of rock stardom, in which everyone gets in on the decedent rockstar lifestyle: Jennifer is the sexy limo driver; Andy is the sleazy promoter, Herb is a leather clad fan while Bailey is a wide-eyed groupie; Les is a... bowtied rock reporter? and Venus is the corn-rowed "Jamaican Doctor" to the rockstar.
But I'm starting at the end. Let's go back to the beginning. Mr. Carlson is nervous about giving the keynote address at the Annual Ohio Broadcasters Dinner. Let's not worry ourselves too much about how many people had to turn down this "honour" before it was bestowed to the General Manager of a mid-ranked AM rock radio station in Cincinnati. Or that Mr. Carlson is delivering a speech outlining the history of radio to an audience that would already have in depth knowledge of the history of radio. Carlson is nervous so Andy (with Jennifer's help) convinces him to test the speech out on the staff.
Note the knowing little wink Jennifer gives Mr. Carlson when she advises him to "imagine your audience is naked" to help him relax. It's as if she's giving him permission to do something naughty that she knows he'll like. In fact, she mentions it twice, and each time Carlson gets a good chuckle... at Andy's and Les's expense.
Johnny guesses at what Andy already knows when he moans "Oh God." It a fifth grade level speech, running through the historic highlights of the 20th century and the role radio played in them. It's starts by stating the obvious, radio is for speaking to the people, and this prompts the first daydream.
Herb is now "Franco" the dictator/monarch of a small South American country besieged by rebels (Franco must be a take-off on Frank Bonner's name). It's surprising to see that Herb's fantasy is all about romancing the most beautiful woman in his country - Jennifer - and not something more graphic. The fantasy is about being sauve, romantic, powerful - all the things the real Herb is not. Jennifer is just the conclusion of that. The best line of the episode is Franco's timing on "I too am in love with someone. The pope... has again refused my request for a divorce."
This then floats to a very simple daydream of Jennifer imagining herself being romanced by Cary Grant. It completely fits Jennifer's personality that she wouldn't imagine a more comtemporary heartthrob, say like Robert Redford, but a classic leading man, like... Les? who gives the wonderful reading on "I was wondering if you could pour something sticky all over me?" I don't know how you daydream, but I usually don't have random people popping up in my imagination to ruin the daydream. That's is just the connective tissue to the next dream.
Les is an interesting case because he lives in his daydream all the time. He has always seen himself as a modern day Edward R. Murrow, the legendary CBS newsman who made a name himself reporting on the European front of World War II. Being radio, Murrow needed to describe in florid detail what he was seeing and hearing around him. It was exciting for the time, but to modern ears, it sounds excessive and showy, like watching an opera on TV. But it's a style Nesman has always emulated. So to see him daydreaming of standing on a rooftop in mid-Blitz London, with an enamored "dame" at his side, waiting to have a few drinks with the boys, is simply the lifestyle he has actually aspired to.
When you watch the end of this episode, you will notice the credits begin before the action ends and there is no epilogue scene. This is actually the longest single episode of WKRP as it runs about two minutes longer than the average. The "linking" device makes it difficult to cut anything out. I have read stories that Bailey's daydream sequence often got cut from syndication, however I clearly remember it airing. Having said all of that, it's easy to see why it would have been cut. It's boring. There are two jokes: one is that we are to figure out Bailey has become President of the United States. The other is that Johnny is her neglected First Spouse who is worried about "the social calendar" and longing for affection. Another way to say that is this: can you imagine a world in which a woman is the President of the United States and a man had to do all of the First Lady stuff? Har-de har har!!
Let's get past that very dated idea and look at some other stuff. Whereas Herb dreams of romancing Jennifer, Bailey actually daydreams about ignoring her spouse? Who daydreams about being a jerk? Also, this dream isn't either elaborate like Herb's or Les's, or simple like Jennifer's. It's just boring. More importantly, if we are to keep up the "linking device," shouldn't ANDY be the First Husband? I understand we have seen the flirtations between Bailey and Johnny in the past, but if the writers really wanted to show a shift in the power balance, having her boss in bed would be much more effective.
Andy's daydream is all about power, but it is interesting to note he is the only one daydreaming about being at the radio station. Andy's dream is all about getting respect from the actual staff and results for the actual station. Helping Herb land a big client and getting Johnny to play the playlist, all as an unquestionable mafia boss is what Andy desires. What's funny is that in this daydream, Johnny not playing the playlist is Don Travis's greatest problem - one that earns a Kiss of Death. Not Herb or Les or even Mama Carlson.
Venus's daydream simply doesn't make sense given what we know of the character. Even if we think he would want to be a standup comedian (Tim Reid is the only WKRP cast member who actually was a stand up comedian), why would he want to be a cheesy Vegas standup playing to "Sammy and Frankie"? Wouldn't he have wanted to be Richard Pryor? Also, like Jennifer, who gets their daydreams interrupted by outside characters? Neither Jennifer of Venus know how to daydream well. It really seems tacked on and, although I'm not a fan of Bailey's dream, I would much rather have cut this one for time in syndication.
At the end, Carlson's speech is a success, in that it is over. Carlson's daydream of delivering a successful speech has come true. "Frankly Andy, I think I stunned 'em!"
Roy
Other Notes: Is this my longest episode of the blog? Which two minutes need to be trimmed for syndication?
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Ep. 54 - The Painting
September 12, 2017
Writers: Steven Kampmann
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 10, 1981
This is Steven Kampmann's first script since "Hotel Oceanview" and it shares that episode's clockwork- like story structure. It is so complex, I created a chart to follow the money and the ownership of the painting...
In fact, I can't quite tell if Mr. Carlson ever actually gave Herb any money for the painting, and/or if so, if Herb paid it back. Even if the accounting is a little off, the passing of money is little more than the slamming doors in a French bedroom farce. The doors don't matter; it's all about the people showing their true faces.
We've always known Herb's true face. It's his only face! He's a hustler, whether hustling Carlson for favour by showing up at a church auction he has no interest in, or trying to cut Les out of a deal to make big money from the painting. Herb fancies himself "a shrewd businessman" while admitting "when have you ever known any of my schemes to work out?"
What is more interesting is Bailey. Throughout the entire episode, she holds herself in higher moral standing to Herb because she acts as the only true lover of the art for the art's sake. But when Herb's price jumps up to $500, she is willing to sell. Herb even calls her out on this, saying "Deep down inside you're just a shrewd businessman like me." Bailey protests by saying she doesn't hold Herb's belief that everything has a price. But Bailey is the one who sold the painting! She proves Herb's point, AND demands the tax deductable receipt while doing so! The episode ends with Bailey gazing lovingly at the painting, but we've already seen that she has a price.
Les is also a lot more like Herb. He originally intended to go to the auction with Herb for the same reason - to curry favour with the Big Guy. And he might get guilted into visiting his mother and paying Herb $50. But in the end, he uses Herb's own cheque to suck up to Carlson, all while smirking at his "best friend."
I brought up Kampmann because this is a very "writterly" episode, with call backs and repeated phrases used one on top of the other to building comedic effect. Whether any real people would ever speak like that is another matter.
Here are some of the phrases Herb uses over and over:
- planning on taking the family to Milwaukee/Oklahoma City
- were you there when... ?
- that's just a word people use...
- no lectures
It really only gains some traction when Bailey repeats these phrases back to him, especially the very well timed "so's your mother." By repeating Herb back, it shows us that she has been learning from him this whole time. Again, she is more of the "shrewd businessman" than she would want to admit to herself.
There is one scene that seems like it may have been written by somebody else, because it doesn't follow along with the clockwork symmetry of the main story and that's the scene in Andy's office in which Bailey shows off the painting. Can we all admit here that this is a terrible painting? Maybe not terrible, but stodgy and old-fashioned and certainly not the sort of item a young, college educated woman would literally swoon over. It looks like it could be hanging in a hotel hallway.
Andy likes the frame. Maybe he could use it to frame his bumper sticker collection. Venus exaggerates his poses before proclaiming it "nice." Johnny's rants on how he doesn't like it. But the boys all come to Bailey's defense when Herb threatens to take back the painting. I've always loved the line "How about the four of us pounding you to dust?" No one backs down from the threat - there is solidarity. Someday I'll work it into a conversation.
By the conclusion. Herb was right and his scheme doesn't work, but he's only out the amount he spent on the painting anyhow and Bailey get the painting she desperately wanted. It's a "Midsummer Night in Cincinnati."
Roy
Other Notes: Steven Kampmann might be best known for the two season he played the character of Kirk Devane on "Newhart."
Writers: Steven Kampmann
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 10, 1981
This is Steven Kampmann's first script since "Hotel Oceanview" and it shares that episode's clockwork- like story structure. It is so complex, I created a chart to follow the money and the ownership of the painting...
In fact, I can't quite tell if Mr. Carlson ever actually gave Herb any money for the painting, and/or if so, if Herb paid it back. Even if the accounting is a little off, the passing of money is little more than the slamming doors in a French bedroom farce. The doors don't matter; it's all about the people showing their true faces.
We've always known Herb's true face. It's his only face! He's a hustler, whether hustling Carlson for favour by showing up at a church auction he has no interest in, or trying to cut Les out of a deal to make big money from the painting. Herb fancies himself "a shrewd businessman" while admitting "when have you ever known any of my schemes to work out?"
What is more interesting is Bailey. Throughout the entire episode, she holds herself in higher moral standing to Herb because she acts as the only true lover of the art for the art's sake. But when Herb's price jumps up to $500, she is willing to sell. Herb even calls her out on this, saying "Deep down inside you're just a shrewd businessman like me." Bailey protests by saying she doesn't hold Herb's belief that everything has a price. But Bailey is the one who sold the painting! She proves Herb's point, AND demands the tax deductable receipt while doing so! The episode ends with Bailey gazing lovingly at the painting, but we've already seen that she has a price.
Les is also a lot more like Herb. He originally intended to go to the auction with Herb for the same reason - to curry favour with the Big Guy. And he might get guilted into visiting his mother and paying Herb $50. But in the end, he uses Herb's own cheque to suck up to Carlson, all while smirking at his "best friend."
I brought up Kampmann because this is a very "writterly" episode, with call backs and repeated phrases used one on top of the other to building comedic effect. Whether any real people would ever speak like that is another matter.
Here are some of the phrases Herb uses over and over:
- planning on taking the family to Milwaukee/Oklahoma City
- were you there when... ?
- that's just a word people use...
- no lectures
It really only gains some traction when Bailey repeats these phrases back to him, especially the very well timed "so's your mother." By repeating Herb back, it shows us that she has been learning from him this whole time. Again, she is more of the "shrewd businessman" than she would want to admit to herself.
There is one scene that seems like it may have been written by somebody else, because it doesn't follow along with the clockwork symmetry of the main story and that's the scene in Andy's office in which Bailey shows off the painting. Can we all admit here that this is a terrible painting? Maybe not terrible, but stodgy and old-fashioned and certainly not the sort of item a young, college educated woman would literally swoon over. It looks like it could be hanging in a hotel hallway.
Andy likes the frame. Maybe he could use it to frame his bumper sticker collection. Venus exaggerates his poses before proclaiming it "nice." Johnny's rants on how he doesn't like it. But the boys all come to Bailey's defense when Herb threatens to take back the painting. I've always loved the line "How about the four of us pounding you to dust?" No one backs down from the threat - there is solidarity. Someday I'll work it into a conversation.
By the conclusion. Herb was right and his scheme doesn't work, but he's only out the amount he spent on the painting anyhow and Bailey get the painting she desperately wanted. It's a "Midsummer Night in Cincinnati."
Roy
Other Notes: Steven Kampmann might be best known for the two season he played the character of Kirk Devane on "Newhart."
Thursday, 31 August 2017
Ep. 53 - Baby, It's Cold Inside
August 31, 2017
Writers: Blake Hunter
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 3, 1981
Shirley Levy was 21 years old when Irving Berlin himself tapped her for a role in his latest Broadway musical "Louisiana Purchase" in 1930. Later she played the lead role of Julie in the first major revival of Kern and Hammerstein's "Show Boat," directed by Oscar Hammerstein himself. Her career was dotted by appearances on radio, in movies and the big playhouse productions on television where statuesque strength and delicate voice combined keep her busy. She was a classic Hollywood beauty that belied sly comic timing, which she used in comedies such as "Abbott and Costello's Keep 'Em Flying." And somewhere along the line, she changed her name to Carol Bruce.
Bruce was not the first choice to play Mama Carlson. That was Sylvia Sidney, who had made a career of playing "tough dames," from gangster's molls in the 1930's and 40's to the grouchy afterlife administrator in "Beetlejuice." But after having Ms. Sidney in the pilot, scaring Arthur and the rest of the staff, Hugh Wilson decided to take a different approach to Mama when the show had a soft relaunch at episode nine. After being off the air for a couple of weeks, and in a new time slot, WKRP returned with a clip show (yes, after only eight episodes!) re-introducing the characters with "Mama's Review" of the station. But now Mama would be very different. She would not be shrill and mean - she would cold and imperious. She would not be a small hag - she would be statuesque and superior.
It is not surprising that the station member Mama Carlson most closely relates to is Jennifer. They are both strong, smart, beautiful who have used people's underestimations of them to their advantages. Jennifer is in many ways the guiding-force "mother" of the station and that Arthur relies on her so heavily because she is the compassionate mother figure he always yearned for. Mama has always spoken to Jennifer as an equal (followed closely by Bailey) and it would be easy to imagine that they both socialize in the same high brow Cincinnati circles. But she must also recognize Jennifer's compassionate side because it is to Jennifer that Lilian (she's not really "Mama" at this point anymore) discusses her past.
Wait! Why does she do that? Let's go back to the fundamental conflict of this episode. The heat is off in the Flemm Building. The Sales Manager has lost all feeling in his lower extremities! The staff is doing everything in their power to keep warm and Johnny's solution is to drink "brandy" on the air. This is a particularly strong beverage because it gets Jennifer drunk before the credits even run. We see one strong, controlled woman start to act silly and flirty after a few sips. Why not another one?
The drinking on the air subplot is just a distraction. The entire purpose of this episode is to give the audience a background on Lilian. How did she wind up as head of a business conglomerate like Carlson Enterprises? And, most importantly, what does she truly value. Most sit-coms, especially in the early 80's wouldn't risk an entire episode filling in the backstory of just a recurring character. Many don't bother doing this much for a main character.
She starts off laughing about how she "hasn't lost her touch" in scaring someone like Johnny just by looking at him. But what she really wants is a good old-fashioned gossip session with one of the girls, and Jennifer is the closest thing she's going to get to that. We just saw in the last episode where the General Manager was likely having an affair with his secretary. We don't know it until the final scene that Lillian has come to the station because she has the past on her mind, and with the help of the brandy, she gets sentimental about her late husband, her past as a singer and the price of her success. Carol Bruce delivers what might be her finest WKRP performance. It's is funny and poignant all at once.
If, as I suggest, the purpose is to give us some of Lillian's background, then the climax is her touching rendition of "Someone to Watch Over Me." She tells Johnny that she wants to hear it, but want she really wants is to perform it. Is she telling the staff that she is the one watching over them? Or does she miss having someone, like her husband, to watch over her? Or is she reliving a spotlight moment from her past, on a day when the past is on her mind? Either way, the producers were smart using the Bruce's talents in this way.
Moving away from Mama, the rest of the staff gives us some funny, panicky scenes. It has often been a struggle for the writers to explain why the night time DJ is hanging out at the station during the day. So for Johnny to call in Venus in a panic only to tell him to "Go home and get some sleep" actually highlighted that dilemma.
I don't know what is in that drink, but the flirtiness continues with Mama, who has her eyes on a certain cowboy. Gary Sandy is at his best when Andy is flustered and nothing gets him flustered faster than being hit on by a strong woman. Her touching of his knee knocks him off kilter for the rest of the episode. It takes a strong, forceful man to turn that flirting back on Mama Carlson.
Enter Les Nesman. He sees this as his opportunity to talk to her about getting walls. But Mama is drunk enough and strong enough to do what everyone else has been too polite to do... she laughs in his face! And calls him "ingenius" while she does it!
As anyone who has had too much brandy knows, once the giddiness subsides, reality steps in. Jennifer pops two asprins dry and Arthur comes to collect his mother. They were to meet to go visit his father's grave; the grave of the man she still loves. They leave arm in arm to the strains of Gershwin. So raise a glass to this episode...
"To Pale Grey."
Roy
Other Notes: I cannot find any references to a real Hoffman's Department Store in Dallas in 1980. Can anyone help?
Writers: Blake Hunter
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: January 3, 1981
Shirley Levy was 21 years old when Irving Berlin himself tapped her for a role in his latest Broadway musical "Louisiana Purchase" in 1930. Later she played the lead role of Julie in the first major revival of Kern and Hammerstein's "Show Boat," directed by Oscar Hammerstein himself. Her career was dotted by appearances on radio, in movies and the big playhouse productions on television where statuesque strength and delicate voice combined keep her busy. She was a classic Hollywood beauty that belied sly comic timing, which she used in comedies such as "Abbott and Costello's Keep 'Em Flying." And somewhere along the line, she changed her name to Carol Bruce.
Bruce was not the first choice to play Mama Carlson. That was Sylvia Sidney, who had made a career of playing "tough dames," from gangster's molls in the 1930's and 40's to the grouchy afterlife administrator in "Beetlejuice." But after having Ms. Sidney in the pilot, scaring Arthur and the rest of the staff, Hugh Wilson decided to take a different approach to Mama when the show had a soft relaunch at episode nine. After being off the air for a couple of weeks, and in a new time slot, WKRP returned with a clip show (yes, after only eight episodes!) re-introducing the characters with "Mama's Review" of the station. But now Mama would be very different. She would not be shrill and mean - she would cold and imperious. She would not be a small hag - she would be statuesque and superior.
It is not surprising that the station member Mama Carlson most closely relates to is Jennifer. They are both strong, smart, beautiful who have used people's underestimations of them to their advantages. Jennifer is in many ways the guiding-force "mother" of the station and that Arthur relies on her so heavily because she is the compassionate mother figure he always yearned for. Mama has always spoken to Jennifer as an equal (followed closely by Bailey) and it would be easy to imagine that they both socialize in the same high brow Cincinnati circles. But she must also recognize Jennifer's compassionate side because it is to Jennifer that Lilian (she's not really "Mama" at this point anymore) discusses her past.
Wait! Why does she do that? Let's go back to the fundamental conflict of this episode. The heat is off in the Flemm Building. The Sales Manager has lost all feeling in his lower extremities! The staff is doing everything in their power to keep warm and Johnny's solution is to drink "brandy" on the air. This is a particularly strong beverage because it gets Jennifer drunk before the credits even run. We see one strong, controlled woman start to act silly and flirty after a few sips. Why not another one?
The drinking on the air subplot is just a distraction. The entire purpose of this episode is to give the audience a background on Lilian. How did she wind up as head of a business conglomerate like Carlson Enterprises? And, most importantly, what does she truly value. Most sit-coms, especially in the early 80's wouldn't risk an entire episode filling in the backstory of just a recurring character. Many don't bother doing this much for a main character.
She starts off laughing about how she "hasn't lost her touch" in scaring someone like Johnny just by looking at him. But what she really wants is a good old-fashioned gossip session with one of the girls, and Jennifer is the closest thing she's going to get to that. We just saw in the last episode where the General Manager was likely having an affair with his secretary. We don't know it until the final scene that Lillian has come to the station because she has the past on her mind, and with the help of the brandy, she gets sentimental about her late husband, her past as a singer and the price of her success. Carol Bruce delivers what might be her finest WKRP performance. It's is funny and poignant all at once.
If, as I suggest, the purpose is to give us some of Lillian's background, then the climax is her touching rendition of "Someone to Watch Over Me." She tells Johnny that she wants to hear it, but want she really wants is to perform it. Is she telling the staff that she is the one watching over them? Or does she miss having someone, like her husband, to watch over her? Or is she reliving a spotlight moment from her past, on a day when the past is on her mind? Either way, the producers were smart using the Bruce's talents in this way.
Moving away from Mama, the rest of the staff gives us some funny, panicky scenes. It has often been a struggle for the writers to explain why the night time DJ is hanging out at the station during the day. So for Johnny to call in Venus in a panic only to tell him to "Go home and get some sleep" actually highlighted that dilemma.
I don't know what is in that drink, but the flirtiness continues with Mama, who has her eyes on a certain cowboy. Gary Sandy is at his best when Andy is flustered and nothing gets him flustered faster than being hit on by a strong woman. Her touching of his knee knocks him off kilter for the rest of the episode. It takes a strong, forceful man to turn that flirting back on Mama Carlson.
Enter Les Nesman. He sees this as his opportunity to talk to her about getting walls. But Mama is drunk enough and strong enough to do what everyone else has been too polite to do... she laughs in his face! And calls him "ingenius" while she does it!
As anyone who has had too much brandy knows, once the giddiness subsides, reality steps in. Jennifer pops two asprins dry and Arthur comes to collect his mother. They were to meet to go visit his father's grave; the grave of the man she still loves. They leave arm in arm to the strains of Gershwin. So raise a glass to this episode...
"To Pale Grey."
Roy
Other Notes: I cannot find any references to a real Hoffman's Department Store in Dallas in 1980. Can anyone help?
Wednesday, 23 August 2017
Ep. 52 - Bah, Humbug
August 23, 2017
Writers: Lissa Levin
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: December 20, 1980
"This isn't going to be one of those Charles Dickens "Christmas Carol" things, is it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Oh boy!
There are 80 episodes of "WKRP in Cincinnati" which when shown once a day, five days a week, makes for an tidy 16 weeks of programming. However, when going into syndication, the hour long episode "Filthy Pictures" gets split up into two shows. That makes for 81 episodes, which is just cumbersome to program. So most stations dropped one particular episode and would only play it once a year, or roughly once every three programming rotations. This is that odd episode and for some fans, the box set may be the first time they have ever seen it.
It's not hard to see why "Bah, Humbug" became the "lost episode." First and most obviously, it is a Christmas themed show. But there are other Christmas themed WKRPs, so why this one? Because it's so weird, that's why. Here are all the ways it's weird.
The story is told as a dream sequence (and not as a drug-fueled fantasy if Johnny is to be believed). It follows the plot of Dickens' "Christmas Carol" in which three ghosts haunt Mr. Carlson to show him the error of his greedy ways. After the opening credit sequence, Jennifer peeks into his office to see Mr. Carlson asleep at his desk, so we know it's all a dream.
A dream is not part of reality which might explain Mr. Carlson's behaviour. For a show that prides itself on, in fact was an innovator of character continuity, at the beginning of the episode, Mr. Carlson comes off as a greedy jerk, not the befuddled father figure we have come to know and love. It's almost as if he has reverted to the Carlson of the pilot episode. The Carlson we know would love to get the team together to hand out bonuses. This Carlson is sneaky and deceitful.
This episode, hands down, utilizes the most special effects the show ever has, beating out the exploding window from "Tornando." Because of this, the set seems "off." The lighting isn't right; there are strange shadows even in the "awake" scenes. Even Carlson himself remarks upon his return from the past "I'm alone. And in bad lighting again."
But mostly, the audience seems out of sync with what is on our scenes. My best guess is that some of the scenes were filmed in front of a studio audience, as usual, but that the special effects, such has Carlson speaking with his deceased "Marley-like" grandfather (both played by Gordon Jump) just couldn't be filmed live. Some audience "sweetening" was needed and it is noticeable.
Something else that makes this episode stand out is how self-referential it is. The characters, especially Carlson himself, talk openly about how they are in a telling of "Christmas Carol." Carlson mocks "The Ghost of Christmas Present" for not being too good with his magic. "The Ghost of Christmas Past" goes on and on in his defense of "poor, misunderstood Johnny." It's almost as if the cast and crew are getting to put on a community theatre production of "Christmas Carol" rather than a network sit-com.
We start with an audience "Oooooo!" when Arthur is confronted with the ghost of his grandfather, warning that he will be visited by three ghosts that night. The effect of Jump conversing with himself is pretty well done, especially for 1980 television. But this ghost doesn't speak like either a ghost or like Arthur's grandfather would have. He speaks like Arthur using terms like "suckers" and buster" giving a very modern (for 1980) and irreverent twist to the telling.
Jennifer visits as the beautiful, white clad Ghost of Christmas Past and brings Arthur back to December 24, 1954 - 26 years before. This scene is a Christmas present for the audience in the form of a heaping helping of fan service. See squeaky-voiced Artie Carlson land his first big account as WKRP sales manager, sitting at the same desk Herb sits at now. See the staff of WKRP from a quarter century ago, including GM Mr. Armour who may be having an affair with sweet old Mrs. Butterworth, the receptionist. But mostly, see scrappy young office boy Les Nesman with a full head of hair be named a "full blown" cub reporter. And, touchingly, receive his first bow tie.
This scene sweetly emphazies how important WKRP is to Arthur. It is where he has spent his entire adult life and it's a place he is going to remain long after all these kids in their dungarees leave Cincinnati.
It is a good choice to make Venus the jovial, if not quite magical Ghost of Christmas Present. He is a natural Master of Ceremonies. Carlson gets to see what his employees really think of him. I'm not sure who is playing the Bob Cratcrit role here though. Is it Herb, who calls himself Carlson's "number one Yes Man," just to be screwed out of a Christmas bonus again? (Does this mean his snaggletoothed daughter will have to live out her days in a convent?) Or is it Andy, who has to be the one to break the bad news to the staff and explain the bonuses aren't coming? For all the times Carlson and Andy have spent together, does Andy really think of him as "Cheap. A skinflint. A tightwad."?
What Carlson really sees is the camaraderie of the staff, excluding himself. They are the ones organizing their own Christmas party and bringing their own potluck treats. Johnny brings brownies that, for some reason, nobody wants to try. Bailey brings her Grandmother's cookies, even if they taste terrible. But Bailey also lies so she will work the Christmas Day shift and Les can visit with his Mother in Dayton.
All of this is enough for Carlson to agree to give out the bonuses, even out of his own pocket. But just as in the original story, these visits aren't to just earn a one time donation. As Carlson is told by the Ghost of Christmas Future "This trip is for you to understand the true spirit of giving. It's to teach you Good Will Among Men. Peace on Earth. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and so on.
No other cast member could ever be the sombre, Reaper-like Ghost of Christmas Future than Johnny Fever. Clad in black with red-rimmed eyes, he's always been only a couple of cups of coffee away from death at the best of times. But it is a chilling glimpse into the future of WKRP and radio itself that pays off here. If Christmas past was 26 years ago, we can assume Christmas Future is 26 years ahead, which takes us to the dystopian year of... 2006! While others were Bringing Sexy Back, Herb Tarlek is alone in a THX1137 - inspired futuristic radio office, free to read actual girlie magazines at his desk because no one else is around. The station is fully automated (gasp!). Only the least effective employee has survived (gasp again!).
In an act of fan service like the Past gives us, the Future tells us what will become of our beloved 'KRP family, and each of the answers feels like it could possible happen - except for Les. Bailey runs a TV station in Chicago. Andy breeds guard dogs in New Mexico. Venus owns a clothing line called "Upwardly Mobile." Jennifer married and bought an island of the coast of Sardinia (which itself is off the coast of Italy). Christmas Past says that Les Nesman has become the Republican Whip of the U.S. Senate, but I think it would have to be another ten years or so before the Republican party would give someone like Les that kind of authority. Fever "just sort of... disappeared. There were rumours, of course..." also seems to be right on the money for his character.
Of course, true to Dickens' story, Arthur wakes up from his dream and is giddy about being generous to the staff. The ending of the show is the only time we don't hear the rockin' "knock 'em all dead, uh-huh" outro music, but instead we watch the staff enjoying their Christmas party together. They are all laughing and dancing together, and mixing outside of their usual office cliques until finally, Arthur Carlson throws kisses us all.
God Bless Us, Every One!
Roy
Other Notes: This is the one episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" that won an Emmy. Andy Ackerman won for "Outstanding Videotape Editing for a Series." He would later win Emmys for "Cheers" and be nominated for "Seinfeld." The Republican Whip of the U.S. Senate in 2006 was William Frist. Don Diamond, who played Past news director Don Bassett on this episode, had one other WKRP espisode... in the other Christmas episode "Jennifer's Home for Christmas!
Writers: Lissa Levin
Director: Rod Daniel
Original Air Date: December 20, 1980
"This isn't going to be one of those Charles Dickens "Christmas Carol" things, is it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Oh boy!
There are 80 episodes of "WKRP in Cincinnati" which when shown once a day, five days a week, makes for an tidy 16 weeks of programming. However, when going into syndication, the hour long episode "Filthy Pictures" gets split up into two shows. That makes for 81 episodes, which is just cumbersome to program. So most stations dropped one particular episode and would only play it once a year, or roughly once every three programming rotations. This is that odd episode and for some fans, the box set may be the first time they have ever seen it.
It's not hard to see why "Bah, Humbug" became the "lost episode." First and most obviously, it is a Christmas themed show. But there are other Christmas themed WKRPs, so why this one? Because it's so weird, that's why. Here are all the ways it's weird.
The story is told as a dream sequence (and not as a drug-fueled fantasy if Johnny is to be believed). It follows the plot of Dickens' "Christmas Carol" in which three ghosts haunt Mr. Carlson to show him the error of his greedy ways. After the opening credit sequence, Jennifer peeks into his office to see Mr. Carlson asleep at his desk, so we know it's all a dream.
A dream is not part of reality which might explain Mr. Carlson's behaviour. For a show that prides itself on, in fact was an innovator of character continuity, at the beginning of the episode, Mr. Carlson comes off as a greedy jerk, not the befuddled father figure we have come to know and love. It's almost as if he has reverted to the Carlson of the pilot episode. The Carlson we know would love to get the team together to hand out bonuses. This Carlson is sneaky and deceitful.
This episode, hands down, utilizes the most special effects the show ever has, beating out the exploding window from "Tornando." Because of this, the set seems "off." The lighting isn't right; there are strange shadows even in the "awake" scenes. Even Carlson himself remarks upon his return from the past "I'm alone. And in bad lighting again."
But mostly, the audience seems out of sync with what is on our scenes. My best guess is that some of the scenes were filmed in front of a studio audience, as usual, but that the special effects, such has Carlson speaking with his deceased "Marley-like" grandfather (both played by Gordon Jump) just couldn't be filmed live. Some audience "sweetening" was needed and it is noticeable.
Something else that makes this episode stand out is how self-referential it is. The characters, especially Carlson himself, talk openly about how they are in a telling of "Christmas Carol." Carlson mocks "The Ghost of Christmas Present" for not being too good with his magic. "The Ghost of Christmas Past" goes on and on in his defense of "poor, misunderstood Johnny." It's almost as if the cast and crew are getting to put on a community theatre production of "Christmas Carol" rather than a network sit-com.
We start with an audience "Oooooo!" when Arthur is confronted with the ghost of his grandfather, warning that he will be visited by three ghosts that night. The effect of Jump conversing with himself is pretty well done, especially for 1980 television. But this ghost doesn't speak like either a ghost or like Arthur's grandfather would have. He speaks like Arthur using terms like "suckers" and buster" giving a very modern (for 1980) and irreverent twist to the telling.
Jennifer visits as the beautiful, white clad Ghost of Christmas Past and brings Arthur back to December 24, 1954 - 26 years before. This scene is a Christmas present for the audience in the form of a heaping helping of fan service. See squeaky-voiced Artie Carlson land his first big account as WKRP sales manager, sitting at the same desk Herb sits at now. See the staff of WKRP from a quarter century ago, including GM Mr. Armour who may be having an affair with sweet old Mrs. Butterworth, the receptionist. But mostly, see scrappy young office boy Les Nesman with a full head of hair be named a "full blown" cub reporter. And, touchingly, receive his first bow tie.
This scene sweetly emphazies how important WKRP is to Arthur. It is where he has spent his entire adult life and it's a place he is going to remain long after all these kids in their dungarees leave Cincinnati.
It is a good choice to make Venus the jovial, if not quite magical Ghost of Christmas Present. He is a natural Master of Ceremonies. Carlson gets to see what his employees really think of him. I'm not sure who is playing the Bob Cratcrit role here though. Is it Herb, who calls himself Carlson's "number one Yes Man," just to be screwed out of a Christmas bonus again? (Does this mean his snaggletoothed daughter will have to live out her days in a convent?) Or is it Andy, who has to be the one to break the bad news to the staff and explain the bonuses aren't coming? For all the times Carlson and Andy have spent together, does Andy really think of him as "Cheap. A skinflint. A tightwad."?
What Carlson really sees is the camaraderie of the staff, excluding himself. They are the ones organizing their own Christmas party and bringing their own potluck treats. Johnny brings brownies that, for some reason, nobody wants to try. Bailey brings her Grandmother's cookies, even if they taste terrible. But Bailey also lies so she will work the Christmas Day shift and Les can visit with his Mother in Dayton.
All of this is enough for Carlson to agree to give out the bonuses, even out of his own pocket. But just as in the original story, these visits aren't to just earn a one time donation. As Carlson is told by the Ghost of Christmas Future "This trip is for you to understand the true spirit of giving. It's to teach you Good Will Among Men. Peace on Earth. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and so on.
No other cast member could ever be the sombre, Reaper-like Ghost of Christmas Future than Johnny Fever. Clad in black with red-rimmed eyes, he's always been only a couple of cups of coffee away from death at the best of times. But it is a chilling glimpse into the future of WKRP and radio itself that pays off here. If Christmas past was 26 years ago, we can assume Christmas Future is 26 years ahead, which takes us to the dystopian year of... 2006! While others were Bringing Sexy Back, Herb Tarlek is alone in a THX1137 - inspired futuristic radio office, free to read actual girlie magazines at his desk because no one else is around. The station is fully automated (gasp!). Only the least effective employee has survived (gasp again!).
In an act of fan service like the Past gives us, the Future tells us what will become of our beloved 'KRP family, and each of the answers feels like it could possible happen - except for Les. Bailey runs a TV station in Chicago. Andy breeds guard dogs in New Mexico. Venus owns a clothing line called "Upwardly Mobile." Jennifer married and bought an island of the coast of Sardinia (which itself is off the coast of Italy). Christmas Past says that Les Nesman has become the Republican Whip of the U.S. Senate, but I think it would have to be another ten years or so before the Republican party would give someone like Les that kind of authority. Fever "just sort of... disappeared. There were rumours, of course..." also seems to be right on the money for his character.
Of course, true to Dickens' story, Arthur wakes up from his dream and is giddy about being generous to the staff. The ending of the show is the only time we don't hear the rockin' "knock 'em all dead, uh-huh" outro music, but instead we watch the staff enjoying their Christmas party together. They are all laughing and dancing together, and mixing outside of their usual office cliques until finally, Arthur Carlson throws kisses us all.
God Bless Us, Every One!
Roy
Other Notes: This is the one episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" that won an Emmy. Andy Ackerman won for "Outstanding Videotape Editing for a Series." He would later win Emmys for "Cheers" and be nominated for "Seinfeld." The Republican Whip of the U.S. Senate in 2006 was William Frist. Don Diamond, who played Past news director Don Bassett on this episode, had one other WKRP espisode... in the other Christmas episode "Jennifer's Home for Christmas!
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