The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – CBS

Theme music: “WKRP In Cincinnati Main Theme” composed by Tom Wells, lyrics by Hugh Wilson, performed by Steve Carlisle

• 001. Pilot – 9/18/1978
  • Program director Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) arrives in Cincinnati from Sante Fe, New Mexico after being hired by Station Manager Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump). He meets WKRP employees secretary Jennifer Marlowe (Loni Anderson), salesman Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner), newsman Les Nessman (Richard Sanders), DJ Johnny Caravella (Howard Hesseman), and Bailey Quarters (Jan Smithers), who assists with the traffic reports. Andy announces his intentions to help the station turn a profit by converting them from Easy Listening’ music to all rock and roll. Once he sets this into motion, Carlson’s mother Lillian Carlson (Sylvia Sidney), who owns the station, shows up to get rid of Andy. After Andy pleads his case and Carlson finally stands up to his mother, she decides to give them a shot at revamping the station. Johnny changes his on-air name to “Johnny Fever” and Andy brings in a New Orleans DJ named Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid). 4/17/13

• 002. Pilot, Part 2 – 9/25/1978
  • WKRP is losing sponsorship left and right after their conversion from Easy Listening music to Rock and Roll. Carlson refuses to spend money on advertising, so Andy and the crew brainstorm ways to generate a media stunt. Things get worse when a fringe group invades the studio to picket the new format. Eventually, Andy realizes that the group can be used to generate some free press. Richard Stahl plays fringe leader Wayne R. Coe, and Nedra Volz is Mrs. Burstyn, a zesty old lady who smashes one of Johnny’s rock records as it is playing on the air. 4/19/13
• 003. Les on a Ledge – 10/2/1978
  • A misunderstood comment that insinuates that Les is gay instigates a player to request that Les be barred from doing locker room interviews. Meanwhile at the studio, Jennifer asks Johnny to speak to Herb to get him to stop pestering her for a date. His solution: tell Herb that Jennifer used to be a man who had a sex change operation. When Herb is asked to tell Les about his locker room ban, he thinks that he is supposed to be delivering the news that Jennifer is a man. Once Les hears the real news from Andy, it prompts him to climb out onto the ledge and threaten suicide. The WKRP crew attempt to talk Les down, but it eventually takes an apology via phone from the player who had him banned to convince him to come back in to safety. In the process of bringing him in, Herb falls off the ledge. He is mostly unharmed since firemen had already positioned a net below. 4/27/13
• 004. Hoodlum Rock – 10/9/1978
  • Mr. Carlson brings his concert promoter friend Steve Pievy (Ned Wertimer) to the station to help find a suitable band for WKRP to promote. They settle upon a punk rock band from England called Scum of the Earth. Carlson in nervous, but the band members “Dog” (Michael des Barres), Blood (Peter Elbling), and Nigel (Jim Henderson) show up dressed in suits and seem to be polite. However, when Venus interviews them on the air, their wild side begins to show as they mock Cincinnati and WKRP. Mr. Pievy also shows up at the station disheveled after the band threw him out of the car on the way to the station. Andy appoints Johnny to babysit the band in their hotel room and he lets them destroy the place. The concert sells out 4000 seats, but when the band shows up they refuse to play. Andy, Johnny, and Venus physically force them to play after a fistfight. Carlson and Andy can’t understand the new generation of music fans, who seem to be ecstatic that the band is dispensing a fire extinguisher on the audience.  4/28/13
• 005. Hold-Up – 10/16/1978
  • Herb makes an advertising sale to stereo salesman Del Murdock (Hamilton Camp), with the condition that WKRP does a remote broadcast from his store.  Johnny, Herb, and station engineer Bucky Dornster (Bill Dial) show up for the broadcast, initially knocking out the power. Once it is restored, the broadcast gets going with Johnny acting as DJ and Del delivering the advertisements.  Despite the lack of customers, all is going well until out-of-work DJ Bob Burnat (Garry Goodrow), whom Andy had earlier denied a job, shows up with a gun and hijacks the broadcast, hoping that his stunt will bring him fame. He begins to broadcast as Bobby Boogie, and the gang at WKRP finally think to call the police. After Bob locks Del in the bathroom, Johnny talks Bob out of the gun. When the police show up, they think Johnny is the hold-up man and arrest him, allowing Bob to escape. Johnny, wanting to keep Bob out of trouble, gives a bad description of Bob – one more closely matching Richard Nixon. 4/28/13
• 006. Bailey’s Show – 10/23/1978
  • Andy has asked the staff to come up with an idea for a public service program. Bailey is the only who takes the assignment seriously, working late hours, which interrupts Venus’ date, and coming up with the idea for a local interview program called “Cincinnati Beat.” She volunteers to produce the show and Andy gives her the okay, convincing Johnny to host it. As Bailey reviews the candidates for the first interview subject, she finds most of them to be nuts. For example, Mrs. Woodruff  (Kathryn Ish) believes she was abducted by aliens and taken to Mars. She finally settles for Dr. Hyman Monroe (Woodrow Parfrey), who has written a book about juvenile delinquency. However, when Johnny gets him on the air, his theories are cockeyed as well, referring to the youth as “insane and more than a little immature.” Herb sees this as an opportunity to get Bailey off the project and get it turned over to Les so that Herb can be the show’s first guest. With Jennifer’s coaxing, Bailey stands up for herself and earns the right to calmly discuss her future plans for the show with Mr. Carlson and Andy. 4/28/13
• 007. Turkey’s Away – 10/30/1978
  • Utterly bored and looking for something to do, Mr. Carlson decides that he is going to be more involved in the day-to-day operation of the station. He starts to drive everyone crazy, and even worse, he plans a radio promotion but won’t tell anyone what it is. Les is asked to be on location to cover the event, and Herb is taken into a helicopter with Carlson. As Les reports the news, the gang is back at the station listening – aghast when they realize that the plan is to drop live turkeys on Cincinnati, which they do. Various groups such as the Humane Society are fended off, as Carlson admits that he really did believe that turkeys could fly. 6/8/13
• 008. Love Returns – 11/6/1978
  • Les is covering a press release from singer Linda Taylor (Barrie Youngfellow), when Andy shows up and it is clear that he and Linda have a past. It turns out that the two were an item long before she became famous. They begin to rekindle their romance, and Linda asks Andy to quit his job at WKRP and become her road manager. Andy seriously considers it and tries to convince Carlson that he isn’t really needed. But soon it becomes obvious that he is very instrumental in running WKRP – so he ultimately has to decline the offer, leaving a note for Linda in her dressing room during her Cincinnati concert. Meanwhile, Johnny and Venus take part in a contest in which they as local DJ’s have to take the winning entries to ur concert. Johnny is reluctant about participating, and for good reason: he ends up with a man as his date. 6/8/13
• 009. Mama’s Review – 1/15/1979
  • Mr. Carlson’s mother Lillian (now played by Carol Bruce) visits for her quarterly review of WKRP, and through flashback sequences from the first eight episodes, they discuss WKRP’s rocky transition to rock and roll, the role of each of the station employees, and the station’s sponsors and promotions.  When Mrs. Carlson starts to chastise Andy, Arthur stands up to her, tells her that they are no longer just going through the motions and are doing the best that they can, and storms out of the meeting. Mrs. Carlson is happy to see the her son is developing a backbone, so she leaves with a mild warning that ratings better be up by the next review. 1/11/14
• 010. A Date with Jennifer – 1/22/1979
  • Les wins the Silver Sow Award and is looking for a date to take to the ceremony. As Herb is teaching him to practice asking a woman out by using Jennifer, she actually accepts the date. This makes Herb jealous and he convinces to Carlson, who is already going overboard with issuing memos, to issue one that prohibits employee fraternization. Les refuses to break the company rules, but after he puts on his new suit, ascot, and Mr. Macho hairpiece, he confronts Carlson and convinces him to lift the company dating rule. 1/11/14
• 011. The Contest Nobody Could Win – 1/29/1979
  • Johnny accidentally announces a contest to give away $5000 rather than the intended $50. Carlson is ready to fire everyone, but Andy and Johnny hatch a scheme with Venus so that no one could possibly win. Stringing six song snippets together in rapid succession, they assume no one can name them all…but someone does! Johnny offers to pay back the money over the next 33 years. Herb and Les see this as a chance to take the station back over, blaming all that is wrong with the world on the ‘dungaree’ generation. Carlson appoints Herb to be in charge of promotion and Les in charge of publicity. They offer to pay the prize money in cash, and when Donald Pesola (Vincent Schiavelli) show up for his prize, they hand it over. Unfortunately he was an impostor, and when the real Pesola (Tracey Walter) shows up, it is Johnny who retrieves the money – with Carlson telling Herb and Les that they are fired. 1/28/14
• 012. Tornado – 2/5/1979
  • A tornado touches down in Cincinnati as WKRP is giving a tour to a group of Japanese radio executives whose translator Jose Rodriguez (Rene Enriquez) only speaks Spanish. Johnny is terrified of tornadoes so he gets drunk with the translator. Andy gets injured when the storm blows through a window and is given mouth-to-mouth from Jennifer, which makes Herb jealous. Les is upset that he didn’t get the information off of the teletype that Herb unplugged, so he misses delivering the story. Mr. Carlson directs a young girl over the phone to go to her basement, possibly saving her life. 1/28/14
• 013. Goodbye Johnny – 2/19/1979
  • Johnny announces that he has received a job offer from the competitor of the station that fired him in Los Angeles. He has every intention of going, and money doesn’t seem to be a factor. Andy, Carlson, and Venus plan to trick him into staying by throwing him a farewell party and letting him know how much he will be missed. At the dinner, Les loses his note cards, Carlson gives a drunken rambling speech, and Herb complains the he is the only one who brought his wife Lucille (Edie McClurg). Jennifer makes an impression when she hints at her fantasies about Johnny, but Andy eventually confesses how sorry he is that they tried to trick him and wishes him luck. Johnny is touched and acknowledges his great friends, but the next day, he does not show up to WKRP in the morning. NOTE: This is the first of a two-part episode. Janet Mashed is the waitress. 2/26/14
• 014. Johnny Comes Back – 2/26/1979
  • Andy looks for replacements for Johnny’s morning show and agrees to interview Doug Winner (Philip Charles Mackenzie), a bright DJ who is being pushed by a promoter named Murray Gressler (Jeff Altman) from Onslaught Records, who does not feel that WKRP is giving their music enough airplay. He ends up hiring Doug, who wins over most of the station with his flattery. Johnny then returns, having been fired from his station in LA for using an obscenity on the air. Andy gives Johnny the third shift job hosting an easy listening music show, and he changes his name to Heavy Early. While Johnny is sleeping in the storage room, he overhears Doug taking a cocaine payoff for keeping a song called Nowhere Band in constant rotation. Johnny confronts him, but does not tell Andy, who figures out on his own that Doug must be taking payoffs. Doug assumes that Johnny told and mentions the cocaine – which Carlson is now using for foot powder – and is fired, which gives Johnny his old spot back. NOTE: This is the second of a two-part episode. Sam Anderson plays DJ applicant Mason Nobel. 2/27/14
• 015. Never Leave Me, Lucille – 3/5/1979
  • Les finds Herb sleeping at the office and finds out that he and his wife Lucille have parted ways. Jennifer is aghast because this means that Herb’s flirting will intensify. Johnny allows Herb to stay with him, and the guys from WKRP throw him the most boring party in the world to convince him that single life is a drag. While looking at his slides, Herb becomes sentimental for his wife and kids Hebert Jr. and Bunny, and goes to retrieve her from a bar, where she is hanging out with Jennifer. Herb promises to be more attentive and they reconcile. Jim Begg plays the waiter. 5/20/14
• 016. I Want to Keep My Baby – 3/12/1979
  • Johnny gets an early morning call from a girl named Peggy, who not knowing anyone in town except for Johnny – but only on the radio – has abandoned her baby at the radio station. The gang contacts Children’s Services, while Johnny desperately tries to get Peggy to return. When they arrive, he refuses to give up the baby and takes her home. Eventually he realizes that Peggy is not returning so he gives the baby over to the folks from Children’s Services (Mary Betten, Michael Flanagan) with the promise that they’ll place the baby with a loving couple. 5/20/14
• 017. A Commercial Break – 3/26/1979
  • The team is excited when Herb lands a very lucrative advertising deal for Ferryman’s Funerals, which aims to target young people who listen to rock and roll. Herb recruits Bailey, Les, Jennifer, and Venus to  write and sing the jingle, while Johnny provides the narrative to the commercial. Everyone including the owner Randall Ferryman (Fred Stuthman) is pleased with the results, but Mr. Carlson decides that airing a funeral commercial is in bad taste, so he resigns the account. Herb is aghast, but Andy expresses his respect for both Carlson and Herb. 8/5/14
• 018. Who Is Gordon Sims? – 4/2/1979
  • Venus threatens Herb and Les when they try to take his picture. When Andy confronts him about it, Venus admits that his real name is Gordon Sims and that he was a deserter from the army during the Vietnam war. He offers to quit, but Carlson proposes that he turn himself in and accompanies him to the army base where he tells his tale to Major Edmond Hunter (Nicholas Worth) of how after witnessing extreme interrogation measures and his friend jump out of a plane and commit suicide, he decided to slip away form the military – even though he was on his way home. The army decides not to pursue legal action, but has Venus stay on base while the case is closed. Meanwhile, Mr. Carlson accidentally inflates a giant raft in his office. 8/7/14
• 019. I Do, I Do…for Now – 4/23/1979
  • Jennifer’s old friend from West Virginia T.J. Watson (Hoyt Axton) comes to visit the station, and fearful that he will hold Jennifer to an old promise to marry him, claims to be married to Johnny. At first he accepts this, but then returns to make sure that Jennifer is truly happy. Jennifer and Johnny host a dinner party to which the whole crew from work comes as well. When Jennifer and Johnny can’t get their stories straight about children, T.J. realizes he’s been lied to and Jennifer is forced to tell the truth. T.J. then admits that the real reason he came was to see if Jennifer could use her connections to help him get a demo tape recorded to send to Nashville. He performs the song Della and the Dealer. 9/14/14
• 020. Young Master Carlson – 4/30/1979
  • Carlson is notified that his 11-year old son Arthur Jr. (Sparky Marcus) has left the Prussian Valley Military Academy because he has been passed over for Regimental Commander. He has run straight to his grandmother, who insists that he live with her and work at WKRP. Little Arthur manages to alienate, insult, and invade the personal space of everyone at the station, to the point that Venus almost throttles him. Carlson gets a call from the Commandant and finds out that Little Arthur is actually flunking out and reads his son the riot act and insists that he show everyone respect at the station…then apologizes for submitting to his own mother’s insistence of sending him to military school, and decides to to have him stay at home and attend Cincinnati public schools. 9/16/14
• 021. Fish Story – 5/28/1979
  • Mr. Carlson’s new idea for promotion is to dress Herb like a carp – a play  on the pronunciation of WKRP – and send him to the University of Cincinnati with Les and Bailey to do some promotion. While there he runs into the pig mascot (Lee Bergere) for WPIG and gets into a fight with him in the restroom. All of them are arrested. Back at the station, Andy tries to explains this situation to local magazine reporter Quentin Stone (M.G. Kelly), in addition to the promotion that Johnny and Venus have going on: they are having a drink every fifteen minutes to see how their motor skills deteriorate. Officer Plyler (Jerry Hardin) is onsite to measure their reflexes with the intention of dissuading drinking and driving. However, Johnny’s scores become better and he seemingly can’t get drunk. Meanwhile, a lazy painter (Jack O’Leary) is painting the reception area and hitting on Jennifer. When the WPIG mascot makes his way to WKRP, Les tries to throw paint on him, but it hits Stone, who then storms out. 10/16/14
• 022. Preacher – 6/4/1979
  • WKRP is getting complaints about their Sunday morning religious show due to the preacher, the former wrestler Little Ed Pembrook (Michael Keenan), especially when it comes to him peddling phony religious products on air. Among those complaining are  Reverend Drinkwater (John Chappell), Father Riley (Arthur Malet), and Rabbi Fishbein (Jeremiah Morris). Carlson is scared to death of Little Ed and buckles whenever pressed to take him off the air. But Andy, although frightened, won’t back down. When Little Ed fears he is going to be fired, he subtly initiates a campaign to complain to the station through letter writing and picketing. Thanks to an idea from Bailey, Andy threatens Ed with reporting him to the IRS to review the charitable contributions he receives. They end up compromising with Ed going on for less time, at an earlier time, and without being allowed to sell his wares. Suzanne Kent, Mary Steelsmith, and Cynthia Szigeti are the Merciful Sisters of Melody. 10/17/14

SEASON 2

• 023. For Love or Money: Part 1 – 9/17/1979
  • Bailey asks Johnny to go see a Bogart movie with him and he accepts, but he soon forgets all about Bailey when his old girlfriend from California, Buffy (Julie Payne), calls and asks to see him while she is in town. Johnny asks around to borrow some money to take her out, and Jennifer, thinking that he is taking out Bailey, lets Johnny use her apartment while she is in Washington D.C. After a romantic start to the evening, Buffy starts to hint that she had given up a career of singing while dating Johnny, and he soon realizes that she intends to sue him for palimony. Meanwhile back at the station, Bailey waits for Johnny to show up for their date. NOTE: This is the first of a two-part episode. 11/16/14
• 024. For Love or Money: Part 2 – 9/24/1979
  • Bailey mopes about being stood up by Johnny, while Johnny calls Venus for help about being sued. Venus, Bailey, Andy, and Carlson all go over to see Johnny at Jennifer’s apartment. Buffy shows up and tells him that it was her lawyer boyfriend’s idea to extort from him, but now he’s left her. She only needs $500 from him, and as she descends into craziness, she says that she’s poisoned the wine they’re drinking. It turns out to be laced with uppers and Johnny starts talking fast. He realizes that he stood up Bailey and they go out to dinner. Les thinks that everyone’s had an orgy and he wasn’t invited. NOTE: This is the second of a two-part episode. 11/16/14
• 025. Baseball – 10/15/1979
  • Les accepts a softball game challenge from cocky WPIG news director Clark Callahan (Ross Bickell). Everyone declines until Les gives a sob story about his mother never let him play baseball, forcing him to take violin lessons. When Bailey and Jennifer agree to play, everyone else does as well. WPIG starts out destroying WKRP, getting ahead 7-0. WKRP rallies – with the help of distractions from Jennifer – and brings the score to 9-6 at the top of the ninth inning. WKRP loads the bases and Carlson, who claims to have been a star player in college using the nickname “Moose”, is first up. Sure that Carlson will strike out yet again, he clears the field. Carlson hits a home run giving them the winning score. During the last at-bat for WPIG, their batter hits a fly ball to Les in right field, and although panic-stricken, he manages to catch it and WKRP wins the game. Wyatt Johnson plays the umpire. 12/28/14
• 026. Bad Risk – 10/22/1979
  • Herb is selling insurance on the side, and although everyone tries to avoid him initially, a depressed Les ends up buying huge amounts. He also buys Herb’s boat, along with boat insurance. That very day, Les crashes the mobile news scooter into a house and injures the couple inside, J. Garrett (William Glover) and Tiffany Hopkins (Helena Carroll). Feeling more despondent than ever, he insists on visiting the couple in the hospital and takes Herb along with them. At first they want nothing to do with Les or Herb, until Les tells them how heavily he is insured, at which point they see the opportunity for a windfall. Herb is fired, and when he asks Les about getting his boat back, Les has crashed that on the highway too. 12/29/14
• 027. Jennifer Falls in Love – 10/29/1979
  • Jennifer is irritated with herself for falling in love with her maintenance man Steel (Thomas Callaway) because he is poor. Meanwhile Andy and Mr. Carlson review the financial statements and agree they have to ask Carlson for $30,000 in working capital. Les decides that he is due a raise and goes over to Jennifer’s house and interrupts her date with Steel to ask her to ask Carlson to give her a raise. Jennifer finally gets tired of Steel always asking her for money, although she realizes the irony of how she normally dates older men for their money. Les enlists the aid of Venus to try and ask for a raise since he is black. Carlson finally gives Les a $10 raise thanks to Jennifer’s suggestion, although it is after Andy has already offered to give him $10 a week out of his own pocket. Les then expects both. 2/14/15
• 028. Carlson for President – 11/5/1979
  • Carlson decides to run for City Council to impress his mother and the gang at WKRP rally behind him, with Herb acting as his campaign manager. Les coaches him on how to speak political mumbo jumbo, and Jennifer solicits contributions. Bailey gets some information that one of his opponent Charles Tillman (Howard Witt) was an alcoholic. Carlson vows not to use the info, but when he gets on the TV show Corner the Candidates hosted by Barry Schifrin (Dick McGarvin), nervous and with too much make-up, he can’t hold his tongue when Tillman knocks Carlson’s ability to run a radio station. Ashamed of himself and now ahead in the polls, Carlson and the gang focus their sites on intentionally losing the election. In the final hour, they succeed and Tillman is re-elected, but drunk when interviewed for his victory speech. Lillian Garrett is candidate Mitzi Monahan, Howard Morton is candidate Wendel Brooks.  2/14/15
• 029. Mike Fright – 11/12/1979
  • When Johnny makes an off-hand comment about the city combating the garbage strike by dumping their trash on the steps of City Hall, more than 100 listeners actually do it. Furthermore when Johnny realizes the power of his voice, he finds that he can no longer speak on the air. Carlson’s lawyer Elgar Neese (Christian Seaborn) suggest that they fire Johnny, but Andy would rather have Johnny apologize on the air. Andy and Venus track down Johnny at a bar and are able to convince him to come back and apologize for his statement. He is able to limp through the apology, which rebuilds his confidence… before he then alludes to dumping garbage at the Mayor’s house. Andy gets beat up at the bar by a trucker (Tim Culbertson) over the meaning of owing ‘two bits’. 3/23/15
• 030. The Patter of Little Feet – 11/26/1979
  • On the eve of their bonefishing excursion, Carlson’s wife Carmen (Allyn Ann McLerie) announces to him that she is pregnant. The news spreads quickly and soon Herb is questioning how Carlson could possibly have gotten her pregnant, and Carlson’s mother admits to liking Carmen and fears for her and the baby’s safety, and suggests an abortion. Carlson is excited the have the baby, but fears that Carmen may just be going forward with it to appease him. Carlson tries to let her off the hook and then she thinks that he does not want the baby. Finally they both agree to be honest: Carlson says he wants the baby, and Carmen says, that although it may not be the best decision, she wants it too. 3/23/15
• 031. Baby, If You’ve Ever Wondered – 12/3/1979
  • WKRP receives their Arbitron ratings and Mr. Carlson is too nervous to look at them. Andy finally convinces him to study them and they learn that they’ve moved to 14th place in the market out of 18 stations, up from their last rating of 16th. Carlos is thrilled with the results and wants to celebrate with a party. Herb sees it as a cause for celebration, and both Venus and Johnny are happy with their results, while Les’ results are merely okay. Andy however is clearly distraught by the ratings and is spotted by Bailey throwing a tantrum in his office. Venus finally gets to the bottom of Andy’s problem, who is disappointed that they haven’t improved more, noting that the format change alone would have brought them to where they are. He also says that he lets way too many things at the station because he considers everyone his friend. Venus notes that clearly their friendships have become more important to him than the station itself… and that’s not a bad thing. 6/18/15
• 032. Bailey’s Big Break – 12/10/1979
  • Andy tries to find another newscaster so that Les doesn’t have to carry all of the reports. Bailey slips her demo tape in for consideration, and Andy thinks she’s sensational. Les on the other hand bristles at working with a woman and is reluctant to give up any of his news time slots. Bailey and Les argue, until Carlson ultimately makes the decision – or rather listens to Jennifer’s advice – to let Bailey have two of her own segments. Bailey and Les continue to argue, until Bailey points out all of the mistakes in Les’s coverage of a swim meet. Les timidly thanks her and then becomes depressed. Bailey then tells him that she’s changed her mind about hosting the news, which irritates Andy. Ultimately Les sees the error of his ways and invites her to come in the next morning and do a segment. Meanwhile Johnny loses his paycheck to Herb in a coin flip. 6/19/15
• 033. Jennifer’s Home for Christmas – 12/17/1979
  • Everyone seems to have plans to travel for Christmas except Jennifer, who has gotten everyone gifts despite the fact that they had all agreed not to exchange them this year. She also is gung-ho for the WKRP Christmas party, but finds that everyone else wants to blow through it in ten minutes and get on with their plans. Some of her co-workers start to suspect that Jennifer has no plans, so they all come over to her house with Christmas trees to cheer her up. Jennifer is touched, but then it is revealed that French Admiral Henri (George Gaynes) is flying her and some orphans to Bethlehem for Christmas, but had been embarrassed to tell everyone. Jennifer used the Admiral’s limo and plane to help get her friends where they are going, and gives Herb a big kiss under the mistletoe that he brought along. Don Diamond and producer Steve Marshall are deliverymen. 8/16/15
• 034. Sparky – 12/24/1979
  • Mr. Carlson has big plans to promote a new sports interview show hosted by former Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson (himself). Carlson lines up a big show promoter in Cal Owens (Hugh Gillin) with Sun-Lux Petroleum. Les is extremely chafed about not getting the job, and Venus isn’t too happy with having his programming cut into. Sparky’s first interview is with Derek Dougal (Andrew Bloch) with the Cincinnati Skids indoor soccer team. The show goes poorly with very few call-ins. The show doesn’t improve at all and Carlson is finally forced into a position where he has to fire Sparky, who accepts it gracefully – especially since he has a TV offer lined up – and gives Carlson a pep talk about doing what he has to do to run his business. Les makes amends with Sparky, who gives him an autographed ball and one of his Championship rings. Steven Kampmann is the voice of one of the radio callers. 8/17/15
• 035. God Talks to Johnny – 12/31/1979
  • One night Johnny is awaken by a knock at the door. No one is there when he answers but he hears a voice in his head telling him that He loves him and something else he can barely make out. The next morning at work, Johnny’s broadcast is strange enough that Andy asks him if he is high. Johnny attempts to talk to Andy, Bailey, and Les about God, whom he assumes is the one speaking to him. He tries to talk to Carlson, but Carlson is too busy trying to adjust his window shades. Johnny has Andy and Venus come over to his house to see if they hear the voice, but they do not. Johnny tells them that he thinks God told him to become a golf pro. Johnny tries to check himself into the hospital, but Mr. Carlson comes down and tells him that he should look at it as a gift if God truly spoke to him. 11/15/15
• 036. A Family Affair – 1/7/1980
  • Andy’s sister Carol (Allison Argo) is in town and after showing her around for a few days, he pays Johnny $50 to take her out. However Venus and Carol hit it off, and he takes her out for the afternoon. Meanwhile Jennifer takes the day off to shop and Mr. Carlson fumbles with taking over her phones. Carlson doesn’t give Andy the message until the last minute, but Venus calls off for his show that evening forcing Andy to do a black impression and act as DJ. When Venus and Carol return, Andy is livid with Venus, who thinks that his ire is racially motivated. The two make up, but Andy is forced to admit that there is a bit of bigotry in him. When they all go out, a redneck (Don Pulford) starts a fight because Venus is dancing with a white girl. Venus and Andy team up and punch him out. Herb winds up on crutches while performing Bailey’s promotion of skydiving while dressed as a carp. When Jennifer returns, nearly everyone in the station is sporting an injury. 11/15/15
• 037. Herb’s Dad – 1/14/1980
  • Herb is in hot water with Andy for both raffling off his paycheck and for airing tacky commercials for the Shady Hills Rest Home. When Herb’s father Herb Sr. (Bert Parks), it becomes obvious that Herb has struck a deal with the rest home to let his father live there in exchange for commercial air time. Herb’s father however is restless at the home and wants out, first claiming to be dying, then telling Herb he got kicked out for a romantic indiscretion. Herb gets him back in, but as much as he tries to convince everyone that he doesn’t feel guilty by putting away his hard-to-please father, he finally admits to his father that he does feel guilty. Herb Sr. gives Herb some salt and pepper shakers like he always did when Herb was a kid, which leads Herb to tell his father he can follow his own dreams. Herb gives him $1000 from his paycheck raffle so that Herb Sr. can head to his dream life in California with a 33-year old nurse that he’s hooked up with. 1/15/16
• 038. Put Up or Shut Up – 1/21/1980
  • With Herb’s wife Lucille out of town for ten days, he doubles his efforts to ask Jennifer out on a date. Bailey suggests that Jennifer call his bluff to get him off her back and she reluctantly agrees. When Jennifer begins flirting with him, Herb nearly folds after he talks to Lucille on the phone, but then Les reveals that he overheard Bailey and Jennifer talking with his ‘Sneaky Snooper’ listening device – a glass jar – and tells Herb their plot. Herb decides to call her bluff, but still can’t help but hyperventilating when he visits Jennifer at her apartment. Herb admits his guilty, but Jennifer makes him feel better by telling him that she settling on being his friend since he belongs to another woman. Meanwhile Johnny has 60’s acid flashbacks, which aren’t helped with the strangeness he witnesses between Herb and Jennifer. 1/15/16
• 039. The Americanization of Ivan – 1/28/1980
  • Agricultural experts from the Soviet Union visit Cincinnati and hold a press conference. Andy is tired of Les’s strange communism rants during his editorials and insists that Les take Bailey with him to press conference. Afterwards one of the delegates named Ivan Popasonaviski (Michael Pataki) passes Bailey a note asking for help and asks her to meet him at Fountain Square. She brings Ivan back to the station, where he announces his intention to defect. Andy and Bailey take him to the local Department of Immigration where a man named Mr. Anderson (Sam Anderson), who is thrilled about having any excitement at all, recommends that they go to their head office in Cleveland where the defection can be handled. Andy plans to drive him to Cleveland in the middle of the night, but before they can leave, the delegations shows up at the station, where Ivan tells them that he was actually just pretending to be friendly so that he could spy on the American way of life. They head out, but not before Ivan says goodbye to his new friends, mentioning that their next stop will in fact be Cleveland. Alex Rodine is the Russian interpreter. 3/28/16
• 040. Les’s Groupie – 2/4/1980
  • Les is flattered when a groupie named Darlene (Kristina Callahan) calls into the station confessing her crush on him. Les ends up taking her out and brings her back to his apartment, where his simulated news broadcasts seduce her and she spends the night with him. Although Les considers the relationship a one-night stand, Darlene ends up moving in with him during their first week together. Jennifer gives Les advice on how to get rid of her, but he can’t be bring himself to break it off and hurt her feelings… until she comes into his office and starts to ‘re-decorate’ by tearing up his tape ‘walls’. Les is enraged and tells her to be out of his apartment when he gets home. Alice Nunn is the voice of Les’s tenant Mrs. Nedelman. 3/28/16
• 041. In Concert – 2/11/1980
  • WKRP gives away tickets to The Who concert, and Carlson starts to question the station format, as the publicity leads to him having to take his son to the show. Johnny looks for someone to go the show with, and when Bailey and Andy already have dates, he asks Les to go with him. Venus is picked by the band to be a guest DJ at the show. Carlson, who is suffering a cold and wearing a face mask, excuses everyone early so that they can get their early to find a seat since the seating at the Riverfront Coliseum is general admission. He also allows Johnny to go with him. Carlson has a great time, but the next day he is informed by the rest of the group that 11 kids were killed at the concert during a stampede as a result of the concert’s general admission festival seating. Everyone is sullen, making frequent announcements on the air about memorial taking place at Fountain Square. Les convinces Bailey that is their duty to report the story as news people. Carlson feels guilty for publicizing the concert, giving away tickets, and enjoying the concert. Despite coping with the situation, he vows to keep WKRP a rock station. He passes on his mask to Venus who now has a cold. NOTE: This story is based on the real event that occurred in Cincinnati on December 3, 1979. A note after the show indicates that Cincinnati passed an ordinance prohibiting general seating on December 27 that year. 6/26/16
• 042. The Doctor’s Daughter – 2/18/1980
  • As Andy badgers Johnny to play hit songs from his playlist, Johnny’s estranged daughter Laurie (Patrie Allen) whom he hasn’t seen in seven years shows up at the station, having left her mother’s house in Seattle and headed to Cincinnati. Johnny confesses that he has no idea how to be a father, but settles on being her friend. However his fatherly instincts start to creep in when he meets her boyfriend Justin (Derrel Maury), whom she claims to be married, but to whom she was hitched by simply stating vows at Yellowstone National Park. Johnny decides that he can’t let them both live with him, so Laurie ends up taking off so they can remain friends. Meanwhile Mr. Carlson tries to avoid meeting a salesman (Milt Oberman) by pretending to be one. He ends up purchasing a safe from him. 6/27/16
• 043 & 044. Filthy Pictures – 3/30/1980
  • Mr. Carlson imposes on Jennifer and Andy to act as models for his Kiwanis Club’s annual Charity Fashion Show and Bazaar. The theme of the event will be Surf City U.S.A., and Herb gets him a photographer that takes photos of Jennifer and Andy frolicking on a beach set. Andy is extremely uncomfortable, but Jennifer is a natural. After the shoot, the photographer D. Arnold Gonzer (George Wyner) takes nude photos of Jennifer through a one-way mirror unbeknownst to her. When Carlson goes down to pick up his photos, he sees the nude photos of Jennifer, but the photographer will not give them up, claiming she signed a release. After Carlson threatens to fire Herb, Johnny suggests that they break in and steal the photos and negatives, but when he, Carlson, Andy, and Venus attempt this, they are scared off by a siren that turns out to be an ambulance. Carlson finally tells Jennifer about this, and she attempts to use her sexuality to get them back, but then determines that Gonzer is gay. Herb is then guilted in to going to see Gonzer and make a pass at him, but the then determines that Gonzer is not gay. Finally Johnny and Bailey go to see him posing as Philippe Caravella and Ginger Gregg, German publishers starting a new skin magazine called Navel in New York. Gonser wants $30,000 for the pictures, but when they hint that they might hire him as a photographer, they con him into investing in the magazine, using the photographs as down payment. Jennifer gets the chance to burn the negatives… but now before taking a look at the photos and declaring them perfect. NOTE: This is a one-hour episode which aired as a two-part episode in syndication. 9/17/16
• 045. Venus Rising – 3/10/1980
  • Venus is offered a job as program director at the competing WREQ, which makes Carlson and Andy nervous. However when Venus goes to visit the studio and is shown around by the station manager Jason Realli (Terry Kiser), he finds that the station is almost complete automated and that he is only being considered because of their affirmative action program. Meanwhile when Herb makes a deal with a client that involves them paying for air time with non-meat hams, he starts to feel unappreciated by the station. Knowing they plan to offer Venus more money to stay, he circulates the rumor that he too has been offered a more lucrative job. However no one tires to talk him out of accepting it. Even though Venus has been offered a salary with WREQ that WKRP cannot match, he agrees to accept $1000 less than Andy’s best offer, on the condition that Andy offer Herb a $1000 raise. Andy is happy because he only spends $2700 rather than the $3000 he was authorized to, Herb is happy that he feels wanted even though he knows Venus is behind it, and Venus is just happy to stay at WKRP. Brenda Elder is WREQ secretary Amanda Dean. 12/14/16
• 046. Most Improved Station – 3/31/1980
  • WKRP loses out winning the Cincinnati Broadcaster’s Award for most improved station to WTNA. Les is upset that he didn’t win an award, whereas Johnny did receive one… and also had a night of passion with the presenter Celeste (Colleen Kelly). Bailey is angry about being forced to get coffee for everyone. Venus is also upset when Andy changes his schedule to work further into the morning. Les attacks Herb when he calls him a wimp. Andy demands that Mr. Carlson get involved in addressing everything going on around them, so Carlson arranges a staff meeting. They tries a series of exercises to open up about what is bothering them, which just leads to more bickering. Jennifer reminds everyone that it is easy to get irritated with people with whom you are close, and pointing out that their crew is much like a family. This appeases everyone, and Bailey admits that she’s not so mad about the coffee, but that Johnny hasn’t her asked her out for a while. He offers to take her out, but she tells him she is busy. 12/14/16

SEASON 3

• 047. The Airplane Show – 11/1/1980
  • Irritated by the ‘helicopter gap’ with WPIG, Les goes out on his own to be a ‘fish-eye in the sky’ by renting crop duster Buddy Barker’s (Michael Fairman) biplane and services to do the traffic report. Carlson is livid and forbids him from leaving his desk, but Les is hellbent on going back up on Veterans Day. When they do, Buddy is extremely upset by the lack of support for Veterans Day, and vows to run the plane out of gas and crash unless he sees some celebrations of the holiday. Andy proposes that they encourage Cincinnati listeners to all blow their car horns at 1pm, and Buddy accepts that as a condition. Other radio stations jump on board, and although they are slightly late, they all blow their car horns on cue and save Les’s life. Harold Johnson is the stunt pilot. 3/23/17
• 048. Jennifer Moves – 11/8/1980
  • Jennifer moves from her apartment to a beautiful Victorian home in Landersville and enlists her friends to help her move. As they load up the house, the neighbor Ken Dahlquist (Terry Wills) visits and drools over Jennifer, while Ken’s wife Dottie (Judith-Marie Bergan) is saddened when she sees how beautiful Jennifer is. Also stopping by is the phone company installer Wayne Craven (Kenneth Kimmins), and Mr. Furman (Beans Morocco) who is circulating a petition to stop a high-rise from being erected nearby. Herb loses the piano down the street when Dottie pulls Ken away from helping in a jealous rage. Les thinks he hears voices and that the house is haunted. As Jennifer relaxes with some sherry at the end of the night, a policeman (Milt Tarver) arrives with an elderly woman (Georgia Schmidt), who car was hit by the piano. The officer warns of the sex pervert in the neighborhood posing as a phone company employer. 3/24/17
• 049. Real Families – 11/15/1980
  • Hosts of the TV reality show Real Families Phil Tarry (Peter Marshall) and Elaine Parker (Daphne Maxwell aka Daphne Reid) introduce the subject of their next show: Herb and Lucille Tarlek and their kids Herb the III (N.P. Schoch) and Bunny (Stacy Heather Tolkin). Although the show told the family they’d show up Monday morning, they show up to the unsuspecting family on Sunday morning. Herb and Lucille scramble to get presentable and go to church, and wind up at a synagogue. At the office, Herb tries to make himself look important, and coaches everyone to describe him the same way – as a ‘hard worker, loyal husband, and all-around fine person.’ Soon the hosts catch on, and try to expose Herb’s many faults, including his crush on Jennifer, as well as his failed promotions such as the dancing duck promotion that was accomplished by putting them on a hotplate. Eventually Herb gets tired of it and admits that they’re not perfect and throws them out. He cools off later and accepts an all-expense paid trip to California to appear on the show. Jim Hudson is Vargus Enswiller with the S.P.C.A. 10/8/17
• 050. The Baby – 11/22/1980
  • Late one evening at the office, Arthur’s wife Carmen goes into labor, and he has Andy take him to the hospital. Arthur had cold feet about going into the delivery room, while Andy hits it off with a beautiful candy-striper (Darian Mathias). Jennifer and Bailey show up and get personal attention from the admitting receptionist (Edward Marshall). Johnny can’t follow the directions of the the receptions and winds up in the room of an elderly lady named Peggy Sue (Dolores Albin), and they discuss the afterlife while he gets high on oxygen. Herb and Les show up, and Les takes pictures of everything he can. Arthur sees blood on the Dr. Levin’s (Andy Romano) and decides not to go into the birthing room… but Jennifer eventually talks him into it. At first the doctor thinks the baby is breach and he’ll have to perform a C-section, but Carmen ends up giving birth naturally. Afterward the entire gang of WKRP admires the new Carlson daughter. 10/8/17
• 051. Hotel Oceanview – 11/29/1980
  • Mr. Carlson, Andy, and Herb take a trip to Dayton to stay at the Hotel Oceanview where they are to meet Vicky Von Vicky (Dr. Joyce Brothers) to entice her to advertise her line of jeans with the station. The guys bring in bartender Mickey Broadhead (Larry Hankin), and Herb tries to butter up Vicky’s assistant Nikki Sinckler (Linda Carlson), who claims to know Herb, by taking her back to his suite and making love to her. As Nikki and Herb are kissing, Nikki tells Herb that she was once a man…Nick Sinckler, class of ’64. When Andy’s presentation projector’s bulb burns out, he leaves to go find a new one, and leaves Carlson alone with Mickey and they begin drinking together. Mickey confesses a fascination with the ‘Dayton Poisoner’ who Les had warned him about, leading Carlson to believe that Mickey might be the killer. Andy returns to find Herb and Carlson hiding in the room in the dark, just as Vicky Von Vicky walks in. Nikki informs everyone that Mickey is a part time police officer. They collect themselves, and Andy makes his presentation… the first slide being pornographic, followed by Andy’s trip to Jamaica. They consider the trip a success since Vicky isn’t suing them. 5/15/18
• 052. A Mile in My Shoes – 12/6/1980
  • Carlson and Andy get after Herb about clients who aren’t paying their accounts, but are then notified that he has been selected for jury duty. Andy volunteers to take over the salesman role, and places Venus in the role of program director. Problems begin to arise when Johnny can’t stand Venus’s programming choices, and Andy struggles to get new clients and to get existing clients to pay their bills. L Andy is even conned by a client named Smilin’ Al (Noble Willingham) into running low-cost spots immediately for his business without sending him home with the $9000 WKRP is owed. Andy begins to question his ability in radio and starts taking on the characteristics of Herb. Meanwhile Herb struggles to get the jurists (Walter Janovitz, Jessica Nelson, Joseph Reale) into reaching a consensus, and once they all do, he flip-flops and finds the man not guilty. Les tries to convince Venus that it will be a good idea if he dresses up like a black man to live among the people and then report on it. When Herb returns, he coaches Andy on how to collect from Smilin’ Al, while Herb laments how he had to be in charge of a group of people who didn’t care what he said or did… just like Andy sometimes seems to be. 5/16/18
• 053. Bah, Humbug – 12/20/1980
  • As Christmas approaches, the gang at WKRP are nervous about what type of bonus they will receive now that the station has reached some degree of success. With comments from Carlson himself, it starts to look pretty bleak. He grabs a couple of Johnny’s brownies and retires to his office to write a speech explaining why there will be no bonuses, when he suddenly grows tired and falls asleep – with possible assistance from the brownies. He dreams that he sees the ghost of his grandfather who warns him of three ghosts that will visit him ala Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The ghost of Christmas Past is Jennifer and she takes him to the station in 1957 where he sees a younger version of himself as sales manager, a young Les just getting promoted to cub reporter as well as newsman Don Bassett (Don Diamond), receptionist Mrs. Butterworth (Merie Earle), and the station manager Mr. Armor (Parley Baer), who gives everyone a healthy bonus… just before getting fired by Carlson’s mother for it. The ghost of Christmas present is Venus, who takes him around the office so he can hear the things his employees are saying about him being cheap. Carlson is ready to fold and write checks to everyone, but not before the ghost of Christmas future in the form of Johnny Fever takes him to a bleak future where every employee of the station except for Herb has been driven out and replaced by automation. Carlson wakes up in a great mood and gives healthy bonuses to everyone. 12/29/18
• 054. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – 1/3/1981
  • With the heat out in the Flimm building, Johnny and Jennifer begin drinking bourbon to keep them warm early in the morning, when they are surprised by a visit from Lillian Carlson. Lillian takes Jennifer to Arthur’s office and they begin to drink more, and Lillian starts relating tales of her late husband Hank. Jennifer becomes mildly flirtatious with everyone including Herb, but Andy won’t let him act up it. Mrs. Carlson becomes flirtatious with Andy, which causes everyone to tease him. Johnny, fearing for his job, calls Venus down to the station for no apparent reason. Les tries to take advantage of Mrs. Carlson being drunk and ask her for walls for his office, which doesn’t work. Lillian becomes giddy and wants to dance, but hates rock and roll, so she orders Johnny to play some Gershwin. Johnny initially refuses, but fearing his job, finally caves in. Arthur finally comes in late, having tries to pick him mother up at home. It turns out this is the morning that they visit Hank’s grave. 12/29/18 
• 055. The Painting – 1/10/1981
  • Herb and Bailey attend a benefit auction run by Mr. Carlson’s church, but Les doesn’t show up since he had to visit his mother in Dayton. In order to score brownie points with the big guy, Herb and Les has agreed to split the cost of an item, but since Les didn’t show, Herb buys a painting for $100. Herb is angry about Les and bugs him until Les gives him $50, and in anger, gives the painting away to Bailey, who loves it. Herb still feels remorse and coaxes Carlson into buying it for $50. However when he tries to retrieve it from Bailey, she says it now belongs to her. In order to make peace, she offers to buy it, and gives Herb $200, since Herb told her that Carlson was paying $160 for it. When Herb tells Carlson that he no longer needs to buy the painting, Carlson informs Herb that it was donated by the ultra-rich Van Geesen family. Herb then assumes that it is actually very valuable, so he offers to buy it from Bailey for $500, while giving Les back his $50, plus an additional $100 since Bailey tells Les that the painting must be very valuable. Unfortunately, when Herb gets hold of Mrs. Van Geesen to find out the painting’s history, he finds out that it was actually painted by her son, one of one per day that he paints while in prison. Herb is beside himself knowing that he shelled out $500, so Bailey gives him back $300 if she can keep the painting, in essence meaning she got it for free. Les however donates his money partially to Mr. Carlson’s church and partially to Jerry’s Kids. 12/26/19
• 056. Daydreams – 1/17/1981
  • Mr. Carlson is nervous about giving a keynote address at the annual Ohio Broadcasters Dinner, but Andy and Jennifer talk him practicing the speech for the team at WKRP, with Jennifer also telling him to imagine his audience naked. During the speech, everyone begins daydreaming about other jobs they wish they were doing. Herb imagines he is Franco, a Latin American leader discussing with his lover Jennifer about fighting against a rebel faction. Jennifer imagines life in a luxury suite having an affair with Cary Grant, but it is interrupted by thoughts of Les interrupting. Les daydreams about broadcasting from London during World War II, with his driver Bailey throwing herself at him romantically just before a bomb lands on him. Bailey imagines that she and Johnny are married with children and living in the White House as President and First Husband. Andy imagines he is a don in the mafia with Venus as his consigliere, helping Herb get a difficult account, and then helping Jennifer keep Herb from making passes out her. He then brings in Johnny and warns him about having respect for the organization and playing the top hits on the radio, the orders a hit on him. Venus imagines himself as a stand-up comedian on a talk show and being heckled by Johnny. Johnny dreams of being a rock star arriving at a concert surrounding by his entourage, which happens to be all of his co-workers, but instead of bringing him on stage, they bring on Art Carlson. Back in reality, Mr. Carlson gains the confidence to deliver his speech, thinking that everyone looked mesmerized with it. 12/26/19
• 057. Frog Story – 1/24/1981
  • Herb solemnly brings in his daughter Bunny’s pet frog Greenpeace, who he has accidentally painted pink when it hopped in front of a spray paint can he was using to paint his cabinets at home. No one seems to have much advice for him, but Les suggest checking with the neighboring podiatrist Dr. Hunnisett (Kenneth Tigar). Meanwhile Johnny is suffering a headache and oncoming cold, but Les has convinced him that it might be something more, perhaps, according to Les, schistosomiasis. Johnny is upset that more people seem to care about the frog than him. Hunnisett has no more advice to offer than the others. Soon the frog dies and everyone tries to be sympathetic, but Herb’s real concern is how to tell Bunny. Although Andy tells him to tell the truth, Herb returns and gives Bunny a different frog and tells her that Greenpeace has recovered. At the last minute he does tell her the truth, and she responds that she already knew. Johnny sees a doctor and is advised that he is simply coming down with a cold, but then Les manages to convince him that doctors often make mistakes and really never know. 4/10/20
• 058. Venus and the Man – 1/31/1981
  • The station’s cleaning lady Cora Isley (Veronica Redd) confides in Venus that she is beside herself because her 16-year old son Arnold (Keny Long) has dropped out of high school and is running with the wrong crowd. Venus agrees to meet with him and try to talk some sense into him. Arnold shows up at the station with his gang in tow, but agrees to give Venus a half-hour to talk to him. No one at the station knows how to react to Arnold’s presence, and Les insists on telling him about the black influence on current culture. Arnold is stubborn and feels that he doesn’t need school, and admits that he feels dumb and without the capacity to learn. Venus offers to teach him about an atom, and Arnold agrees that if he can teach him in two minutes, he would return to school. Venus relays the information about an atom, but relates its parts to neighborhood gangs. Arnold is impressed and agrees to go back to school, and also speculates that Venus must have been a teacher. Although he denies it, he later admits to Johnny that he had once been a teacher but couldn’t cut it. Meanwhile Mr. Carlson tries his hand and on-air editorials that have no substance whatsoever. 4/12/20
• 059 & 060. Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide – 2/7/1981
  • Johnny accepts an offer to host a local TV show called Gotta Dance. Venus thinks he is selling out, but when he takes him down to the studio his attitude changes when the show’s producer Avis Dropkin (Mary Frann) mentions they may have work for him too. Johnny and Venus are both impressed with the set and Johnny’s dressing room, but things start to spiral downhill when Avis shows him the sparkly dance attire they expect him to wear and the disco music they expect him to play. Johnny wants to dress his way and play rock music. He tries to get out of the contract, but Avis warns him that the network executives will sue him. Venus heads back to the station and Johnny vows that he will never do the show. Everyone at the station tunes in to see what happens, and Johnny does in fact host the show using a different persona and calling himself Rip Tide. Bailey hates the performance and makes no qualms about telling him, while Herb is thrilled and thinks Johnny is doing the right thing. Johnny, who can’t get the dye job out of his hair, defends himself by saying that he stepped into a great scam by getting a great paycheck pretending to be Rip Tide for an hour a day. Later Venus and Bailey try to approach Johnny about him selling himself out, but he immediately appeals to their sympathy by telling him they couldn’t possibly expect him to look this gift horse in the mouth. Johnny’s Rip Tide persona begins seeping into his Johnny Fever act, and at one point he mis-identifies a Carl Perkins song for an Elvis Presley hit. Johnny starts to realize that he gets perks around town when he dresses as Rip Tide. Herb and Andy start to see the financial potential of Johnny being Rip and ask him to portray Rip on WKRP. Andy flatly refuses because he thinks that Rip is a schmuck who he doesn’t like. He begins to have second thought and runs it by Jennifer in his Rip persona, but she says she doesn’t like Rip at all and wants her old friend Johnny back. Johnny goes back on Gotta Dance, and in the middle of the show makes a speech about how he has sold out. He puts on the Little Richard song Ready Teddy and leaves the stage. Avis let him out of his contract and tells him that she never wants to see him again. Johnny says goodbye to his dressing room and takes every last bottle of liquor with him. NOTE: This is an hour-long episode that aired in two parts in syndication. 7/22/20
• 061. Ask Jennifer – 2/14/1981
  • Andy and Mr. Carlson decide to act on Herb’s idea to have a call-in advice show, and they put Herb in charge of finding a host, which he promises he can have in one week. Nearly six months later after interviewing Herb’s cousin (Wayne Morton), an exotic dancer (Feather Austen), a guy with a speech impediment named Mr. Van Hausen (Mickey Cherney), and Les, they finally find a seemingly suitable candidate in book author Arlene Allen (Eileen Barnett). However on the day she is scheduled to start, she shows up late, tells everyone about her failed relationships, and then passes out at the microphone from valium before she can even start. Jennifer quickly covers for her and takes over the show. She is such a rousing success that everyone tries to talk her into taking the job, but she prefers to remain the receptionist. However she agrees to do it temporarily until Herb can recruit someone else. Time rolls on again and she begins to settle into the job, often giving humorous and flippant responses to callers. Things turn ominous for her when she advises a caller named Joan to leave her husband Bob, and she gets beaten up by him. Jennifer and Bailey get the lady help with a battered women’s shelter, and then insists on quitting. She admits that she was starting to like the job but now cannot handle it emotionally. Mr. Carlson is thrilled to have her back as a receptionist so she can help him with things like repairing his model train. Johnny takes over the call-in show, giving helpful advice for things like how to set a dinner table. 11/6/20
• 062. I Am Woman – 2/21/1981
  • Mr. Carlson receives a letter from the owner of the Flimm building in which they reside, that it is going to be torn down in three months. The WKRP crew all goes out drinking, and while Bailey is tipsy, she gets riled up when she realizes that the building may have historic value because of its art deco design, and for once housing a burlesque theater. She heads up a movement to save the building and everyone at the station pitches in with Johnny, Les, and Venus all making pleas on the air, and Mr. Carlson recording an editorial about saving the landmark. Carlson changes his tune however when his mother gives permission to build his dream office building Carlson Plaza. In fact everyone in the office starts to get excited about the new building and forget about the cause. Bailey gets upset and plays Mr. Carlson’s editorial on the air anyway. He calls her in to scold her, but when she delivers a speech about the building that he barely understands, he has nothing left to say. Later she hears him live on the air delivering a speech about the building that she wrote for him, speaking out against tearing down the building. Les is the most upset, as this means he won’t get the office walls he wanted. 11/7/20
• 063. Secrets of Dayton Heights – 2/8/1981
  • Les is planning to cover the local press conference of President Reagan, but Andy finds out that Les’s press pass has been revoked by the Secret Service. While Les thinks it is because they are scared of his honest reporting, Andy and Mr. Carlson take him to the local Secret Service office to talk to Special Agent Berwick (Sam Anderson). After looking through his extensive Nessman file, Berwick claims that Les has a radical affiliation father has been branded a Communist and had been twice accused of selling American secrets. Les laughs it off since his father ran a laundromat in Dayton, Ohio, then storms out of the meeting. Mr. Carlson sticks around to tell Berwick that Les’s father had passed away, and Berwick responds that Mr. Nessman was his step-father, and that his real father’s name is Harvey Moorhouse, and currently runs a barber shop in Kentucky. Mr. Carlson later calls Les into a meeting, hurting Andy’s feelings by not allowing him in, and tells Les the news. Les decides to go see his father, gets a haircut and gets Moorhouse (Bill McLean) talking about his family life. Moorhouse ends up telling him about the son he’s hadn’t seen since he was a month old. He also mentions that it made it easier on his son, since he had been accused of doing some horrible things and didn’t want that legacy following his son around. Les never reveals who he is, and Moorhouse, despite saying he’d recognize his son, never makes the connections. Les leaves the barbershop, promising to return. Meanwhile Jennifer learns French for an upcoming trip to Paris, and Venus and Johnny attempt to re-wire the sound booth. Venus blames Johnny, and when Johnny re-wires it again, he has equally poor success. 2/26/21
• 064. Out to Lunch – 3/14/1981
  • As Bailey is complaining that she never gets to go on fancy business lunches, Herb and Mr. Carlson are having a liquid lunch with a client. Carlson is looped and begins to suffer the effects of a hangover, and Herb is in the doghouse with Andy because he has left a record store owner named Ray Margison (Michael Sherman) waiting for a meeting for hours. Herb smooths it over with a bottle of scotch, and sells Margison some radio spots. Venus and Johnny have received some Irish Sweepstakes tickets as a perks from a client, and passes them out to everyone at WKRP. Andy calls Herb into the office to warn him about his drinking, but Herb says that it is all in the name of business, and he is wining and dining a guy named Charlie Bathgate (Craig T. Nelson), who works for a major ad agency. Herb starts to alienate even more co-workers when he is too hungover after closing down the bar with Bathgate the next day to do the radio spots he promised Johnny and Venus for Margison. While at lunch with Bathgate, Herb find out that Bathgate has been fired from the ad agency for excessive drinking. Back at the office, Herb finds out that Margison pulled his spots form WKRP. What’s more, Herb’s Irish Sweepstakes ticket has won $5000… but while drunk, he gave it away to Margison. Andy rails him once again and tells him he better pull it together and start doing a better job. Herb admits to Carlson that it’s been a horrible months of perpetual hangovers and time away form his kids. Carlson takes a gentler approach to getting him back on the right track and tells him he can quit the drinking and start looking into the future. Herb apologizes to Andy and offers to take him to lunch, so Andy quickly gets Bailey in on the invite. She in turn invites the others, forcing Herb to treat nearly everyone in the station. Alan Toy is the bartender. 2/26/21
• 065. A Simple Little Wedding – 3/21/1981
  • Mr. Carlson is excited when he comes in and shows Bailey and Jennifer the new diamond ring he has bought for his wife Carmen for their 25th wedding anniversary. He also announces that they are going to have another ceremony and renew their vows since they eloped when they got married. Everyone at the station is invited to the wedding, so Herb decides to throw Mr. Carlson a bachelor party at the station. Meanwhile Arthur and Carmen go and see Arthur’s mother Lillian to invite her to the wedding, and to also insist that she doesn’t take over and try and make the wedding a social event with dignitaries like she did when they originally got married… which was what caused them to elope in the first place. They do agree to allow her to throw a small shower with Jennifer and Bailey. When Carlson finds out about the bachelor party, he is irritated but appreciative. However, when Herb brings in the strippers (Holly Smith, Feather Austen) and the advertising client, he becomes even more uncomfortable, and leaves the party. The wedding shower starts growing as Mrs. Carlson’s socialite friends start showing up. The butler Hirsch (Ian Wolfe) tells Carmen that Arthur has shown up and wants to elope once again. They go to the same motel where they spent their first honeymoon, only to find that it is now a very adult motel. Lillian shows up at WKRP to yell at Arthur for embarrassing her at the shower and canceling the wedding, but when she hears Herb also yelling at Carlson because he can’t wear his red plaid velour tuxedo, she decides to just let it go. Mavis Neal Palmer and Mary Ann Gibson are ladies at the shower. 6/22/21
• 066. Nothing to Fear But… – 3/28/1981
  • Late one night while Johnny is broadcasting in a drunken stupor, the station is robbed by a pair of thieves. The next morning as the rest of the crew comes in, they notice all of the things that are missing and feel violated. Additionally they are even more spooked because the robbers stole everyone’s personnel files. Mr. Carlson decides to put in a burglar alarm to try and prevent this from happening again. Meanwhile, Herb has arranged a Friday night party for the advertising clients, and Mr. Carlson recommends that everyone attend in order to feel like everything is normal. The party is lame, with boring guests like Helga (Linda Rand), a mailroom manager from one of the companies, and a wannabe intellectual (Robert O’Donnell), but Andy is having a good time chatting up the attractive Stella (Kelly Greer), the coat check girl. Johnny head back to the station in order to relieve Venus of his shift, and they hear the new alarm go off. Les has tipped both of them off about a loaded gun in his desk, so Venus reluctantly takes it to investigate. They hear someone inside Mr. Carlson’s office, and when he comes out, Venus points the loaded gun at him. It turns out to be Andy and Stella, whom Andy brought back and told that Mr. Carlson’s office was his. Jennifer stops by as well to let everyone know that while everyone was at the station, all of the coats and purses were stolen from the party. 6/23/21
• 067. ‘Til Debt Do Us Part – 4/5/1981
  • Johnny is ecstatic when he finds out his ex-wife Paula (Ruth Silveira) – the mother of his daughter Laurie – is getting married, as this will mean he will no longer be paying alimony. He quickly arranges to get the following week off so he can take the vacation to the Bahamas he’s been passing up. Carlson gives him the okay, and he asks Bailey to join him on the trip, and he puts Herb in charge of making the arrangements and getting him a discount. Unexpectedly, Paula’s future husband Buddy Gravers (Hamilton Camp) shows up ahead of Paula so they can all meet each other. However, Johnny is taken aback when Buddy aggressively flirts with Jennifer. To try and stop it, he infers that he’s dating Jennifer, so when Paula finally shows up to meet him, Buddy insists that they all go out together for lunch. Johnny takes them to a middle eastern empty restaurant, where Abdul’s wife (Naomi Serotoff) is the only one there waiting tables, and brings them soup instead of champagne. Jennifer is very uncomfortable being there and pretending to be Johnny’s girlfriend, so she leaves, followed shortly thereafter by Buddy. Paula and Johnny have an emotional talk, where she figures out he only wants the alimony to stop. However, he really does want what’s best for her, and admits he thinks that Buddy is ‘goofy’. He tries to give his best advice to her, and even suggests that maybe they just try living together. She finally sees that he is sincere, and she tells him that she is going to marry Buddy, even if she is a little confused, but admits she came to make sure that all was really over between them. Johnny also thanks her for all she did to raise their daughter. They toast to the future with their soup. Back at the station, Johnny is livid when he finds out that Herb got him tickets to Omaha, Nebraska, and that Bailey is just going to go visit her parents. 11/15/21
• 068. Clean Up Radio Everywhere – 4/12/1981
  • Mr. Carlson gets a visit from Dr. Bob Hallier (Richard Paul), a local member of the Tri-Faith Broadcasting Community, who has started a task force called C.U.R.B. – Clean Up Radio Broadcasting. He brings Arthur a list of songs that the group objects to due to their vulgarities Arthur is astounded that they are playing this type of music since he rarely listens to it. He tells the jockeys to stop playing the songs on the list, over the objections of Johnny and Andy who feel it borders too close to censorship, and feel that there will be more lists coming. Arthur receives a commendation from C.U.R.B. for the good he is doing, but they also enclose a second list of music. Johnny and Andy are quick to point out that they haven’t even played some of the music on the new list yet. Arthur finally starts to agree that this is censorship, so he goes and sees Hallier. Arthur tells him that he feels funny taking orders from a religious group as to how their private business conducts themselves, but Hallier tells him that this is how democracy works. He tells Arthur that there are a small group of people who choose the programming, so their larger group has every right to fight back against it. He explains that if they continue to play the music, they they start going to their advertisers. When Arthur gives him the lyrics to John Lennon’s Imagine, and is told that this song will have to go on the list as well due to its secular teachings, Arthur is sure that this has become censorship based on beliefs, and not just about vulgarities. He refuses to cave, even when sponsors start pulling their ads. The owner of Red Wigglers bait shop, Harvey Green (Ralph Manza), comes to tell Arthur personally that he can’t afford to lose his customers so he has to pull his sponsorship, but feels like a coward for caving. Dr. Bob pays another visit to see if Arthur has changed his mind, and receives an icy reception from Andy, whom Arthur tells to tone it down since he’s speaking to a man of God. Arthur tells Bob that he would keep an eye on his ‘friends’ who cave to him, because they’re only trying to save their swimming pools, while it is the good men who will fight for principals at their own personal cost. Andy vows that he’ll keep fighting by organizing the other stations, to which Arthur tells him that he knows he will. 11/15/21

SEASON 4

• 069. An Explosive Affair: Part 1 – 10/7/1981
  • WKRP is paid a visit by their former receptionist Joyce Armor (Rosemary Forsyth), who seems to have a lot of chemistry with Mr. Carlson. After they chat a while in Carlson’s office, they wind up going to the bar to have a drink together. Meanwhile at the station, Andy receives a letter in which it states that someone will be detonating a bomb at the station. He blows it off and calmly calls it into the police. When Venus and Johnny get wind of it, they want to leave immediately, so Andy sends them out to the transmitter to broadcast from there. Andy then realizes that the group, Black Monday, who sent the threat had actually bombed a radio station in Dayton. Officer Mardigan (Lou Richards) shows up to search the building, but they find nothing. At the bar, Mr. Carlson  becomes quite nervous when it seems that Joyce offers him a hot proposition and invites him to come back to her hotel. He hightails it out of the bar and head back to the office. He tries to keep his mind off of Joyce by making plans with his wife Carmen, but she is too busy with the baby. Joyce then calls him back and convinces him to go see her. From the transmitter, Johnny tries to place a bet with his bookie Wing when he discovers there is a horse named Fever’s Break in the next race. Wing puts him on hold and he doesn’t get to place the bet, and the horse winds up winning the race, which would have paid out 166 to 1. Johnny is furious and smashes the phone with a toolbox. The police don’t find anything in station, and Les wants to do a report on the bomb scare. He interviews Andy for the story, but when Les tells Andy that the terrorist had blown up a transmitter in Dayton, Andy suddenly realizes that the bomb might be at their own transmitter. He can’t get through to Venus and Johnny, who is holding onto the toolbox containing the bomb. NOTE: This is the first of a two-part episode. 5/3/22
• 070. An Explosive Affair: Part 2 – 10/14/1981
  • Out in the transmitter, Venus and Fever try to decided how long to stay there since they realize that Andy won’t be able to get through on the phone Johnny destroyed. When Andy can’t get them on the phone, he calls the police and sends them there. With the bomb threat indicating that the bomb would go off at 3:30, it is a waiting game to see if the cops and get there first. Andy receives a call from Black Monday, who tells him that he didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. Andy is able to keep the man on the phone until the police trace the call and arrest him. The man verifies that the bomb is in the toolbox in the transmitter. Meanwhile, Mr. Carlson nervously goes to see Joyce, and despite all indications otherwise, he learns that she was not looking to have a romantic affair, but instead to deliver the proposition that her company Norbert Haskins rep for WKRP. Arthur admits his misconception, and chalks it up to him never understanding anything correctly. Venus and Fever hear the police cars coming from the transmitter, but Johnny is convinced that it is the phone police coming to arrest him for destroying the phone. Back at the station, Andy and Jennifer hear the station go blank, and the police verify that the bomb when off. Both of them are inconsolable, and Andy has the task of telling Mr. Carlson the bad news. As they sit around depressed, Johnny runs in the studio to try and hide, while Venus parks the car. Johnny had left in Venus’s car, so he chased after him, and the bomb went off while they were on the road. Mr. Carlson has Jennifer send Carmen flowers. Andy tells Carlson that WPIG has offered to loan them the use of their backup transmitter at $800 a week. NOTE: This is the second of a two-part episode. 5/3/22
• 071. The Union – 10/21/1981
  • WKRP hits a milestone when it becomes the tenth ranked radio station in the Cincinnati market. Johnny is disappointed that it doesn’t mean a raise for him, and he, along with Venus and Bailey, entertain the notion of working with the Brotherhood of Midwestern Radio Workers to form a union. Les is against it, as he thinks it equates to Communism. Meanwhile, Mr. Carlson knows nothing about the plans but wants to have a company dinner at which time he will announce some raises for everyone. When Herb finds out about the union, he goes running to Carlson, who is livid and takes the news personally. Andy has heard the rumblings and is snooping around to see what it is all about. Carlson goes straight to his mother, who advises him to start a rumor via Les that if there are any union ‘troubles’, she will sell the station. When Les hears this, he calls a meeting before they all go to the ‘big’ union meeting to vote, so that he can tell everyone they might be out of their jobs if they unionize. Johnny starts to think that Andy is not sympathetic to their cause, so they kick him out of their meeting at the station. He talks to Carlson and tells him to not take it personally, as they are only trying to protect themselves against his mother. Carlson then interrupts the meeting that Johnny is holding with the other employees and admits that his mother is not going to sell the station. He also offers his support to them no matter whether they unionize or not, but prefers that they didn’t. They wind up voting 5-4 not to unionize. Andy has a private meeting with Mrs. Carlson, and she gives him credit for blocking the union, and then tells him that she will keep her promises to them. He goes back to the station rejuvenated, and Mr. Carlson tells him that he just go off the phone with his mother, and she is getting ready to finally put some money into the station. Jennifer keeps getting love-bombed by a suitor named Henri, who writes her name with an airplane skywriter, fills the office with roses, and sends a Mariachi band (Los Amigos – Ray Sanchez, Alberto Leyva, Pedro Salas) to play for her. Robert Starr is the delivery man. 8/29/22
• 072. Rumors – 10/28/1981
  • Johnny is having his apartment fumigated it for lizards, but none of the guys will let him crash at their place. Bailey overhears the conversation and volunteers her place for him to stay, much to the shock of Herb and Les. Andy tells Johnny that he can take a week’s vacation, and he has DJ Rex Erhardt (Sam Anderson) fill in for him. Johnny starts to become paranoid that Andy is going to put Erhardt into his time slot and relegate Johnny to Sunday mornings. Bailey tries to tell Johnny to relax and tells him to take advantage of his situation and enjoy his vacation. Johnny takes this as a sign that Bailey wants romance, so he prepares a candlelight dinner for two. Bailey, on the other hand, is trying to put together an interview show called Business About Business at Herb’s suggestion because Les didn’t want to do it and finds all of the snickers behind her back to be childish and annoying. Andy starts to institute his changes around the station, and he gives Jennifer the freedom to redecorate the lobby. Bailey doesn’t even notice Johnny’s candlelight dinner setup and starts to lament how everyone is talking about them. She decides that if they’re going to talk anyway, she’s going to pretend that something is in fact going on… without actually getting physical with Johnny. He goes to see Andy to tell everyone to cool it on Bailey, as she is a nice girl. He also confronts Andy about his time slot, and Andy surprises him with the real changes that are going to take place… namely a $200 monthly raise for Johnny. Bailey comes to work the next day dressed in Johnny’s t-shirt, pretending that they are now an item. Bailey finds out that she only got Herb’s business show because Les didn’t want it, but decides to go through with hit anyway. Mr. Carlson is utterly confused by everything going on, accuses Johnny of being disgusting, is puzzled by Johnny’s raise, and is curious what Andy’s next move is after redecorating the lobby. 8/29/22
• 073. Straight from the Heart – 11/4/1981
  • Between playing the wrong advertising tape and knocking over all of the tapes in the booth, Les announces that he has won the Copper Cob Award and will be heading to Omaha for the Awards presentation. Meanwhile, Herb claims to be going on vacation, but when Jennifer and Bailey catch him sneaking through the personnel files and taking his medical insurance papers, the suspect he is doing something else. They become even more worried when they find that he has just filled out his will and testament. Andy buys him a trophy case for his new award and gets Mr. Carlson to make presentation to him. Les isn’t listening because he’s on the phone with the hospital to find out if Herb is there. It turns out he is, so Jennifer and Les agree to go visit him together. Johnny and Venus look for a new person to play poker since Les is heading out of town, but they are afraid to let Bailey play. Herb decides to skip his trip and go sneak into the hospital and visit Herb. He admits that his doctor wanted him to see a doctor in the hospital to get some tests run on his heart. However, Herb doesn’t want any part of it, so he decides to leave with Les and go live life to the fullest. They wind up visiting a pornographic movie theater to see a 3-D movie. After Bailey cleans out the guys of $200, they all show up at the theater as well and try to convince Herb to go back to the hospital. When the theater is raided, they and the theater patron Buzzy (John Brent) whom they were sitting near, all get thrown in jail. Jennifer shows up at the jail and the guard Mel lets her in. They all try to talk Herb into returning to the hospital. Bailey even offers to gamble her winnings on a game of high card if Herb will agree to go back if he loses. Andy throws in two weeks of vacation and Jennifer offers to go on a date of a lifetime with her. This tips the scale for him, and he finally agrees. Bailey draws a 4 card, and then Herb draws and claims that he lost but won’t let anyone see his cars. He heads back to the hospital and thanks his buddy Les. Jennifer bails out Herb, but everyone else is left sitting in the cell. Bonnie Erseth is the nurse. 12/14/22
• 074. Who’s on First? – 11/11/1981
  • Mr. Carlson takes his turn to go see Herb in the hospital, where he is recovering successfully, and is confronted by Herb because WKRP has placed an ad in the paper for his replacement. Mr. Carlson returns to the station where Andy is interviewing a potential new salesman named Howard Liske (E.A. Sirianni). Even though it was originally his idea, Carlson takes issue with the way this has scared Herb into thinking he is losing his job, but Andy explains that they might need a junior salesman to fill in for Herb in events like this. To prove the point, Andy tells him that concert promoter Pat Perillo (Dennis Lipscomb) is flying in from Philadelphia to meet with Herb. Jennifer says that maybe she could handle filling in for Herb and asks Mr. Carlson to go with her and show her the ropes. Meanwhile, Johnny is trying to find someone to lend him $562.16 that he lost in a poker game, but everyone at the station turns him down. Guido Scalisi calls the station and leaves a message for Johnny that he is sending a man over to collect the debt. Carlson and Jennifer meet with Pat, who thinks that Carlson is Herb, and accidentally reveals that Herb is charging him a kickback and told him that Carlson is too dumb to ever find out. Jennifer tells Carlson to go ahead and pose as Herb, and then collect the kickback and give it to the station. Pat insists on meeting Carlson so that he can verify that Carlson is as incompetent as Herb says. When they get back to the station, Jennifer tells Bailey to pretend that Carlson is Herb. Jennifer then has Les pose as Mr. Carlson. During all of this, Scalisi’s s man Dave (Mickey Morton) shows up looking for Johnny. Les is so confused by what is going on that it is easy to convince Pat that Carlson is incompetent. Venus tells Johnny he can stay at his house, but Johnny runs into Dave before he can get out of the station. Johnny introduces himself as Andy Travis and introduces Andy as his brother Randy. When Les tries to introduce his staff in front of Dave, Johnny steps in with his fake introductions, then leaves with Perillo, who acknowledges that Carlson is a real loony tune. Andy then mocks Carlson and tells him that he sees that the sales department is operating like a well-oiled machine. Carlson retaliates by calling Andy ‘Johnny’ in front of Dave. Later, Carlson shows up at Herb’s hospital room after visiting Andy in the room downstairs. They report Andy has no broken bones and that he would like to see Johnny. After everyone leaves, Carlson closes the door, asks Herb about his heart, and the prepares to pummel him. 12/14/22
• 075. Three Days of the Condo – 11/18/1981
  • Venus is helping Johnny sort through his stacks of unpaid bills when he comes across a $24,000 settlement check from his former employer, the radio station in Los Angeles that fired him for saying the word ‘booger’ on the air. Johnny is in shock when he sees the check, and as soon as he cashes it, he begins to squander it and spending time with two girls named Nadyne Piowatti (Maryanne Furman) and Roberta (Denise McKenna). After the first day, he has already spent $1000. Les recommends that he invest the money in bean futures, while Venus tells him he should invest in moving into a new condominium, the Gone with the Wind Estates. He decides to follow Venus’s advice, but when everyone comes to visit him in his new digs, it is obvious that Johnny is incredibly uncomfortable living the high-class lifestyle. Venus arranges a meeting with Mr. Wainwright (Weldon Bleiler) and Ms. Archer (Constance Pfeifer) from the sales office, trying to get them refund Johnny’s money for the place he bought on Pittypat lane. They are resolute in their conviction that there are no refunds, as they try to convince Johnny that he will ultimately grow to love the place. Johnny then gets the idea to pretend that he and Venus are gay lovers, at which point the sales reps are all too anxious to get rid of him and refund his money. Johnny later teases the others by telling him that he blew all of his wealth on a horse race, but then admits that he gave the money to his daughter. Meanwhile, Jennifer continues to decorate the reception office and purchases a grandfather clock. 6/1/23
• 076. Jennifer and the Will – 12/2/1981
  • Jennifer is dating an rich 80-year-old man named H. Buchanan (Pat O’Brien), who goes by the name “The Colonel”, as he had served as such during both World Wars, fighting in the 42nd Division. During dinner at a restaurant, the Colonel suddenly drops dead in his seat. Jennifer comes to work the next day, and everyone is struggling find the words to console her. Les announces The Colonel’s death in his news brief, and also announces that the family is distraught that he had been spending his day in the company of a young blonde woman, noting that had developed an affinity for gold-diggers and blonde floozies. Jennifer is further upset by being in the news in this capacity, knowing full well that the Colonel had named her as executrix of his will, and also that she had asked him not to leave her anything, knowing how it would look to the public. Despite the media attention, she is adamant about attending the funeral and asks Mr. Carlson to accompany her. He returns and reports that the funeral was indeed a media circus, and Jennifer was treated disrespectfully by the crowd, who insinuated that she had picked up another old ‘coot’ in Mr. Carlson. She decides to attend the reading of the will also, where she meets the Colonel’s disapproving siblings Chester (Brian Wood), Cloris (Janet Clark), and Cedric (Ernie Brown), and nephew Skip (Charles Alvin Bell). The lawyer Mr. Kennington (John Terry Bell) introduces everyone and then shows a video of the Colonel reading his own will. He winds up leaving all of his family nothing whatsoever and gives Jennifer $1 – the first he ever made – and asks her to arrange a parade in honor of the 42nd division, then give the vets or their family the remaining money from his fortune. He tells her not to handle this himself, but rather hire a staff… which may include his brother Cedric, who has now lost his meal ticket. The family vows to contest the will, but Jennifer vows to fight them all the way. Roger Til is Andre the waiter. Shony Alex Braun is the restaurant violinist. 6/5/23
• 077. The Consultant – 12/30/1981
  • Andy goes to see Mrs. Carlson, who wants to go over some of the finances, including it’s lack of return on the additional money that she has been putting into the studio. She decides that since her investment has been getting more and more, she hires a professional radio consultant from New York named Norris Breeze (David Clennon). Although Andy is not happy about this at all, he remembers that Breeze used to work for him back in Albuquerque and suddenly isn’t so worried. However, when he goes to visit Breeze before the inspection, he realizes that Breeze has changed quite a bit, including a new cocaine habit. Breeze tells him that there are several ways he feels he can improve the station, but he agrees to give Mrs. Carlson a good report if he will purchase his services to program for the station. Andy tells Breeze not to come before Thursday. Andy goes back to the station and talks it over with Venus and Johnny. When Breeze arrives on Thursday, he finds that Jennifer is a complete bubblehead, Carlson is busy crunching the numbers and appears to be overworked, Herb also seems to be working around the clock, Herb turns down Jennifer’s advances, Bailey seems like a stoner hippy, Les seems competent and funny, and Venus intimidates everyone around the studio with his knife. When Breeze and Andy meet up with Mrs. Carlson, Breeze tells her that WKRP is a loony bin and needs some major overhauls. When not a single thing he says about the employees rings true to Mrs. Carlson, she realizes that he’s been had. She sends Breeze on his way, and then tells Andy that he’s been a very, very bad boy. She has her butler Hirsch escort Andy out of the house, as Andy tells Mrs. Carlson that the station is going to need some more money. 10/1/23
• 078. Love, Exciting and New – 1/6/1982
  • After Les has actress Colleen Camp (herself) on his segment Show Beat and unnecessarily grills her on her film They All Laughed, Les tells Andy that he isn’t doing things right either. Andy demands that he tells him what he means, and Les reveals in front of Venus that Andy is dating Mr. Carlson’s mother. Andy throws Les out of the room and is then grilled by Venus. He claims that he’s just spending time with her so that she will buy the station a new transmitter since theirs was blown up by terrorists. Venus then tells Johnny, while Les tells Herb. They all think that Andy is crazy, but he insists that it’s all about business. Mrs. Carlson then calls in front of Venus and Johnny and tells Andy that he will talk to him about the transmitter that afternoon. Carlson is puzzled when he talks to his mother, and she doesn’t criticize him in any way. Jennifer suggests that she might have just foreclosed on someone… or is in love. Andy asks Mr. Carlos to join him in visiting his mother to talk about the transmitter. Arthur is more interested in playing pool, which works out for Mrs. Carlson so she can privately ask Andy to come back alone later in the evening. They all then play pool together, with Mrs. Carlson telling the guys that she must win every game. Later, Andy looks to Bailey and Jennifer for advice about Mrs. Carlson, and Mr. Carlson walks in and hears the conversation. Mama Carlson then comes down to the office, and Arthur confronts her about hitting on Andy. She feels foolish and tells Arthur that she just likes to go places and do things and have a nice-looking young man on her arm. She says he’s also been using her and wants something from her, ie. the transmitter. She decides to tell Andy that, but in her own way, on her own terms. She invites him back over to her place, and in his nervous state while waiting for her in the game room, he spills his drink on her pool table. She apologizes to Andy for making him so uncomfortable, but questions why she went to the opera with her. He tells her that he enjoys her company but mostly wanted to talk to her about the transmitter. She tells him that she wants to run away with him to Los Angeles. He thinks she is kidding, but she claims that she isn’t. Once Andy has finally reached maximum nervousness and knocked the pool cues and pool balls off the rack on the wall. Andy returns to the office and asks Mr. Carlson why he didn’t tell him that his mother was going to mess with him. Andy implies that they wound up getting romantic, and that he won’t have to call him ‘Dad’. He then tells Mr. Carlson the truth, that she told him he has nice hair…and that he can go home. 10/1/23
• 079. You Can’t Go Out of Town Again – 1/6/1982
  • Venus is hosting a late-night guest named Jackie Winston (Renee Jones) in the DJ booth when Mr. Carlson comes in and interrupts to talk about his upcoming Otterbein college reunion in Westerville, Ohio. He lets out his little secret that his wife Carmen had asked him to a sorority dance in college, but they ended up skipping it and going to the Eat n’ Sleep Motel. Although titillated by that fact, he asks Venus to keep it quiet. The next day at work, Les, who is suffering a bad cold, tries to get time with Carlson to tell him that he is doing a news piece on colds, while Bailey wants Andy to talk to him about getting her a computer. However, Carlson is too busy getting ready, trying to fit in his old Omega sorority sweater, and looking through the yearbook at his old chum Hank “The Hunk” Kremsky (Claude Earl Jones) who used to call him by his nickname “Moose”. He briefly considers skipping the whole reunion, but Jennifer reminds him that he is successful and should show it off. Venus is just happy that Carlson is leaving so he can have Jackie visit again. Carlson and Carmen arrive at the Eat n’ Sleep Motel where he meets up with Hunk and his wife Fluffy (Joy Claussen). Carmen and Fluffy go back to their rooms while the guys have a beer together. Carlson is surprised and hurt when Hunk tells him that their wives actually asked them to the sorority dance as part of their initiation since they were known as being on the “dip list” at the time. Carlson asks Carmen if this is true, and although she admits that it is, she said she never showed up at the dance or joined the sorority, because once she met Arthur she could see he wasn’t really a “dip”. They came to the Eat n’ Sleep and had dinner, and although rumors circulated that they did a lot more, she didn’t really mind because she fell for him. They decide to skip the reunion and just dance to music on the jukebox. Venus brings Jackie back into his booth, but this time Andy interrupts him. Alice Nunn is the motel manager Mrs. Hutchinson. 1/29/24
• 080. Pills – 1/20/1982
  • Herb talks Johnny into a radio promo spot for one of his clients, Dave Wickerman (Robert Ridgely), but when Johnny realizes that the spot is for a Weight Loss Energy Capsule, he quickly realizes that it is a fancy term for speed and backs out of the deal. While Mr. Carlson is trying to exercise in his office, Herb goes in to complain about Johnny attacking his client verbally. Andy says he will look into it and talks to Johnny, who tells Andy that not only is it speed, but it also being marketed to kids who need a pick-me-up for exams. Since he has been studying the subject, Les also concurs that manufacturers are using unregulated chemicals like caffeine to make the pills. Andy then gathers Mr. Carlson and Herb and they head over to see Wickerman at his office. They try to return his money and tell him that they aren’t going to run the spots, but Wickerman insists that he has an iron-clad contract for the ads to be run. Carlson calls in his lawyer Frank Bartman (Max Wright) and he tells them that Wickerman can sue if they renege on the contract. Bartman recommends that they add a disclaimer before the spots that the station doesn’t endorse the product. Johnny and Venus take a more hardline approach and announce that the vendor of the product is a ‘scum bucket.’ Carlson fears that Wickerman will sue for slander, but Wickerman talks to Andy and tells him that the ads are actually generating talk and boosting sales. Herb then finds out that Les has a news story relating to the drug. Herb wants to record the spot himself, but Andy stops him and tells him to leave it to the DJs. Herb feels guilty about the speed and wants to do the right thing for once, and when he shows Andy the story, Andy tells him to move forward… but to do it live. Although nervous, Herb goes on the air and apologizes for entering the deal to promote the drug, then talks about a 15-year-old boy who keeled over in gym class after taking it. Later, Venus reports that he drove by Wickerman’s office and saw picketers and an ‘out of business’ sign on the door. Andy says that he’s actually moving across town and will continue to sell. Mr. Carlson decides to abandon his diet. 1/29/24

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