"Baby, If You've Ever Wondered...

Wondered, whatever became of me
I'm living on the air in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, WKRP

Got kinda tired of packing and unpacking
Town to town
Up and down the dial

Maybe you and me were never meant to be
Just maybe think of me once in awhile
I'm at W K R P in Cincinnati..."

A few months ago now, I got an e-mail from a someone at a marketing company called M80 whom had read a blog entry in which i had mentioned WKRP, and she was wondering if I might like to do a review of Season 1 of WKRP on DVD. In return, I would receive a free copy of said season. Now, I loves me some WKRP, so after checking for any other strings that might be attached, and finding that there were none, I responded with a resounding yes. And they rather quickly sent me a copy of Season One of WKRP on DVD.

Now, I am holding up my end of the bargain.

Now, I'm sure there are blog purists( as I am sure that all the blog purists out there visit Sandwich Flats-ha) out there decrying me as a whore, but hey. I got me some free DVD's, and all I gotta do is ramble on about a TV show that I love. If that makes me a whore, then give me my fishnet stockings a put me on a corner.

As I stated above in my rather classless defense, I do love WKRP In Cincinnati. I can remember watching it as a kid. Andy Travis(Gary Sandy),Dr. Johnny Fever(Howard Hesseman), Venus Flytrap(Tim Reid), Les Nessman(Richard Sanders), Arthur Carlson(Gordon Jump), Jennifer Marlowe(Loni Anderson), Herb Tarlek(Frank Bonner) and Bailey Quarters(Jan Smithers)....Oh, Bailey Quarters.Sure, Jennifer was the sex bomb, but that Bailey, she was hiding something. She was a tiger, I'm sure of it, and I was smitten.

Sorry about that, back to the show. I remember the show being hilariously funny, and it still is. I did not realize how many of the best episodes were in that first season. the Thanksgiving episode(Oh my God !! They're turkeys !!) the one where Johnny's reflexes get better with the more alcohol he drinks, the payola episode(Mr. Carlson inadvertently puts cocaine on his foot), Les' date with Jennifer, "Ferryman's Funeral's".

The writing is great, the characters are great. The stories themselves are a bit formulaic sometimes, but it's the characters that make the show. They really do change and grow as the season goes on. Les Nessman remains one of the greatest characters on television EVER. You must hear is mispronunciation of Chi Chi Rodriguez' name, typing cannot do it justice.

Now, for the negatives.

The music: At the time it originally aired, WKRP played the popular rock music of the time, Pink Floyd, Blondie, etc. Just about all of that music is missing, due to the cost of the music rights, and while it doesn't ruin the show for me, there is definitely something missing.

Also, these are the episodes as edited for syndication. that's worse than the music for me. One of the things I love so much about TV shows on DVD is that you get the WHOLE original episode(the Simpsons being a prime example), so this is a pretty big negative for me.

I still enjoyed the DVDs, as the show is very very funny, but there is a sense that something is missing. Here's to hoping that someday they will give WKRP the deluxe treatment it deserves. And it DOES deserve it It's one of the top five funniest shows ever, I think.

Oh, and Bailey Quarters ? Call me .