My review of "WKRP in Cincinnati"

WKRP in Cincinnati was an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 18, 1978, to April 21, 1982 for four seasons and 90 episodes. I first heard about it when doing research on the TV show Frasier. It follows a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati called WKRP and the misadventures of its staff. The series was created by Hugh Wilson whose experiences when he worked in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta served as a basis for the series. These include many of the series’ characters, along with some of the stories which are based on people and events at WQXI. 

The show features an ensemble cast consisting of Gary Sandy as the straight man and program director, Andy Travis, Gordon Jump as the middle-aged general manager, Arthur Carlson, Howard Hesseman as the veteran disc jockey, Dr. Johnny Fever, Richard Sanders as the fastidious, bow-tied news reporter, Les Nessman who wears a bandage in every episode as a running gag, Loni Anderson as the receptionist, Jennifer Marlowe, Frank Bonner as the boorish, tasteless, and vain sales manager, Herb Tarlek, Tim Reid as the DJ, Venus Flytrap whose real name is Gordon Sims, and Jan Smithers as the young ingenue, Bailey Quarters. The acting for them on the series is done really well! I especially enjoy the relationship between the two female characters, Jennifer Marlowe and Bailey Quarters. It's similar to that of Ginger Grant and Mary Ann Summers from Gilligan's Island, another CBS sitcom.

The series was videotaped instead of filmed so that the rights to rock songs were cheaper. The opening and closing themes are really catchy! They can be really fun to sing along with and dance to! The show did a phenomenal job using licensed music which makes the episodes really exciting! Among the artists who had music featured in the series, these include Blondie, U2, The Cars, TOTO, The Knack, Devo, and The Beatles. That's why it took a while to put every episode of the series on DVD as they were able to obtain most of the music rights. When the series used Blondie's song "Heart of Glass", it helped make it a hit to where Blondie was so grateful that they gave their Gold Record to the producers which hung in the WKRP bullpen from seasons 2-4. The music itself gets me really excited whenever I watch the series! I find it more exciting than the music from shows that everybody likes such as the American version of The Office, Friends, and Parks and Recreation!

The show addressed issues such as the 1979 The Who concert tragedy, or the Janet Cookie falsified article incident. The series managed to avoid referencing the death of John Lennon though. The series did a great job referencing Cincinnati's real-life pro sports teams. One thing that made the series really important from my point of view is that it was the sitcom to show a character using or handling cocaine although it wasn't the first sitcom to show a character using or handling drugs. 

The opening and closing sequences are really enjoyable. In the former, you get various views of the downtown area of Cincinnati during the daytime which feels really breathtaking as you get to see various landmarks! At the end of the sequence, you see a view of the Cincinnati skyline at sunset. In the latter, they show footage of the guest star(s) for the episode, along with a nighttime view of the Cincinnati skyline! During the opening sequence for the first season, you only get various views around Cincinnati while Gary Sandy & Gordon Jump's name appear, but you don't actually see what they look like. Starting with the opening sequence for the second season, only Gary Sandy & Gordon Jump are shown where a freeze-frame is used when their names appear while the other six regulars are shown during the closing credits for the first two seasons while you get to see footage of them from the  episode. Then, for the opening sequence in the last two seasons, all eight cast members appear individually during the opening sequence as footage of them is shown. However, they never show them all together during the opening sequence. In each opening sequence, the show's logo appears several seconds into it. You can try to compare the series to what Cincinnati is like in the series to the way it is in real life by doing research yourself or visiting Cincinnati itself! 

The recurring cast members are really memorable such as Carol Bruce as Lillian Carlson (Arthur's mother), Allyn Ann McLerie as Carmen Carlson (Arthur's wife), Ian Wolfe as Hirsch, Edie McClurg as Lucille Tarlek (Herb's wife), series writer Bill Dial as Bucky Dornster who works as WKRP's station engineer, and longtime actor William Woodson (uncredited) as the announcer and did voiceover roles during the series' original run. 

The series featured a number of memorable guest stars. A partial list of them includes Sparky Anderson, Barrie Youngfellow, Lee Bergere, Hoyt Axton, Julie Payne, Allison Argo, Bert Parks, Michael Pataki, George Wyner, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Mary Frann, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Paul, Rosemary Forsyth, David Clennon, Robert Ridgely, and Daphne Maxwell Reid.

The series was nominated for sixteen awards and won two. The two it won were a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Series" which went to Andy Ackerman, and a Humanitas Prize for 30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television. 

Out of all the episodes in the series, my favorite one is "Turkeys Away" which has to be the most famous episode in the series where Arthur Carlson drops live turkeys from a helicopter  when trying to pull off the greatest Thanksgiving promotion in radio history. Despite his belief, he learns that turkeys can't fly. The episode is a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving! When TV Guide unveiled their "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" list in 1997, it was ranked number 40. It later moved to number 65 in 2009. There are many other memorable episodes such as "Baseball", "Sparky", "Jennifer's Home for Christmas", "Daydreams", "Hotel Oceanview", "Bailey's Big Break" and "In Concert".

During the middle of the series' second season, CBS kept moving the show around its schedule which ultimately led to lower ratings and its eventual cancellation. However, when the series entered syndication, it unexpectedly became successful. It became one of the most popular sitcoms in syndication, even as it outperformed many programs that had been more successful in primetime with all the other MTM Enterprises sitcoms as an example.

Overall, I'll give WKRP in Cincinnati a 10/10! I'd highly recommend it! It's a really funny show! People who love rock music or sitcoms that feature workplaces or other public places as a main setting will really enjoy it!