An All-Time Classic!
WKRP in Cincinnati is easily in my personal top-10 list for best sitcoms of all-time. The show ran on CBS for only 4 seasons from 1978-1982 which encompass most of my High School years.
Being a male teenager of that era, the thing that kept me coming back to WKRP every week was Loni Anderson. Loni’s poster was a prominent fixture on my wall at home during my High School years. (Poster Below) During the 60′s, teenage boys asked “Ginger or Mary Anne?” In my High School horndog years it was “Jennifer or Bailey?” I, like most guys, answered “Jennifer” although now, as I watch the show, I really should have answered “Bailey”.
The show was a true comedy classic with great characters that are still timeless today. Dr. Johnny Fever, Venus Flytrap, Andy Travis, Bailey Quarters, Jennifer Marlowe, Les Nessman, Arthur “Big Guy” Carlson, and my personal favorite, Herb Tarlek.
My personal favorite episode is one in which Mr. Carlson and Herb bomb a strip mall with live turkeys during a Thanksgiving episode as Les reports live from the mall with a hysterical play-by-play reminiscent of the Hindenburg disaster.
Best Quote: (Mr. Carlson) “As God as my witness….I thought Turkeys could fly!”
The show was not very successful during it’s original run on CBS but really exploded in popularity when it hit syndication. Season 1 has been released on DVD, minus much of the original music, and the show can be seen occasionally on local stations or channels such as WGN AMERICA. Still a great show!
Loni Anderson has since gone public with the news that her and co-star Gary Sandy (Andy Travis) were secretly a couple during much of the shows run.
Sadly, we have lost cast member Gordon Jump (Mr. Carlson) who died in 2003.
