Posts
WKRP in Cincinnati is a situation comedy television series
that features the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The show was created by Hugh Wilson
and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI (AM) in Atlanta.
Many of the characters and even some of the stories
(including season 1 episode 7, "Turkeys Away") are based on people and events at WQXI.
Like many other MTM productions,
the humor came more from running gags based on the known predilections and quirks of each character,
rather than from outlandish plots or racy situations since the show has a realistic setting.
The characters also developed over the course of the series, generating a sense of family.
During the third and fourth seasons,
CBS moved WKRP around repeatedly,
so much so that cast and crew members claimed that even they didn't know when the show aired.
When the show became a hit in syndication,
some cast members joked that the reason for its success was that viewers finally knew where to find it on the schedule.
Don't you get the impression that studio executives
sometimes decide to kill a show?
Hi Roland .. seems like it .. but there are some wonderful situation comedies ... and thankfully they can get brought back out of retirement (sometimes) ... interesting about the cast and crew saying the audience could finally find them ...
ReplyDeleteCheers ... I've always loved the WKRP or radio stations with acronyms ... Hilary
the turkeys episode was that one I will always remember being one of the funniest moments on television... thank you.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great show. I don't remember it moving around, so I guess I always managed to find it.
ReplyDeleteI watched an episode just recently. When it came on the air, I watched the first season, but after that I can't remember that I continued.
ReplyDeleteI liked that show, too, especially the guy who delineated his 'office area' with tape in the days before cubicles. Wasn't that the sales guy? I'd forgotten about this one. . .
ReplyDeleteI really liked WKRP. I was a kid when it was on, so I didn't know the "backstory" of it being based on the station in Atlanta. That's great.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've come to believe that when a network is "done" with a show they will begin to move it all around the schedule. They have to know it will the show (though the advent of the DVR could foil that plan, because it will record your show whenever it airs, whether you know about the date/time change or not). But still... as soon as one of my favorite shows starts moving, I get worried.
Hilary:
ReplyDeleteBack when this was on, I didn't realize the laugh tracks were recorded in the '50's -- so that I was laughing with the dead! Brrr! Now, I cannot enjoy shows with laugh tracks!
Jeremy:
Yes! That Turkey episode was a guilty laugh fest!
Alex: 'Yes, if we like a show, we will find it, right?
Teresa:
That was because they had moved it on you!! I still laugh about that poor turkey episode!
D.G.:
Yes! He wanted a cubicle! Now people hate them! It really was a fun show filled with loveable oddballs. :-)
Robin:
I wonder why networks are like that? New technology is saving some "Bubble" shows as they call them.
I loved that show. The guy who played the owner of the station was from Topeka, Kansas, where I grew up. A couple of years after I graduated from high school, some students from my alma mater requested an interview with the guy. He granted the interview, had the kids and their chaperon stay at his house, and in general, treated them royally. I've always thought that was super nice.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I just remembered! I think his name is/was Gordon Jump.
DeleteOf course the "suits" in show business are bone-headed! They've killed countless good shows and movies. I watch WKRP because it was genuinely funny. Recently I read an article by Candace Bergen, and she said that the network suits wanted major changes to Murphy Brown--a younger and more conventional star, one who didn't have to go to rehab, and so on and so forth. But the producers stuck by their guns and the show went on as planned, and of course was an award-winning hit.
ReplyDelete