# WKRP - One of the Great Sitcoms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282 "2006-05-18T17:08:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/21 "2006-05-18T23:37:23Z")
[QUOTE=hlanelee] And I can’t resist calling the little dogs chi-hooa-hooas 😃 [/QUOTE] And the giant lizard approaching the east coast. “Les, that’s Blizzard, not lizard. The B key is broken on the teletype.” Priceless. In my top 5 to 10 along with **The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show and MASH**. I’ll have to think about the others. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/22 "2006-05-19T00:04:58Z")
[QUOTE=blueserge] IIRC, during the first season the opening credits rolled over the sound of someone moving up and down the radio dial and settling on different stations for just a few seconds. It’s a vague memory, but the schtick was pretty funny. I think the song (“Baby, if you ever wondered. . .”) came in the second year. [/QUOTE] It did open with sound of it going up and down the dial. One brief stop was something about “…and the senator couldn’t explain” from there I forget the rest of the words but it had something to do with being naked. After that snippet it moved on to another station playing "Baby,if you ever wondered…"sounding like it was being broadcast on AM radio. After a few notes, it transitioned to the untinny sound for the balance of the song. Why, yes, I DID love WKRP. Why do you ask? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/23 "2006-05-19T00:17:11Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] It did open with sound of it going up and down the dial. One brief stop was something about “…and the senator couldn’t explain” from there I forget the rest of the words but it had something to do with being naked. [/QUOTE] “…while insisting he was not intoxicated, the Senator could not explain his nudity…” ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/24 "2006-05-19T00:43:27Z")
The show was full of little bits where the timing was absolutely perfect. I still remember the Jury Duty episode. > [@](#): > > **Mr Carlson:** > Andy. Les. Lookin’ good, Andy. Go wash up, Les. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/25 "2006-05-19T00:50:33Z")
“Ask Dog about his musical training.” “All right, Dog. Tell me about your musical training.” “I have none.” * * * “It’s the phone cops!!” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/26 "2006-05-19T00:52:48Z")
“That’s it for him then!” ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/27 "2006-05-19T00:55:26Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] “…while insisting he was not intoxicated, the Senator could not explain his nudity…” [/QUOTE] Thanks for saving me from having to wake up at 3 in the morning remembering that quote was (being the time that these things usually come back to me). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/28 "2006-05-19T01:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=blueserge] And every guitar player I know loves that closing kick-out jam that is not identified, but I think they used it throughout the show’s run. [/QUOTE] This site is loaded with wav files, including opening and closing themes, with info. [http://www.littleshopofvoices.com/wkrpwavs.html](http://www.littleshopofvoices.com/wkrpwavs.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/29 "2006-05-19T01:52:19Z")
Like **fishbicycle** I was a radio guy, and I love _WKRP_ with the same passion I loved my first girlfirend. That said, it’s not in my Top 10 list. On the one hand, it had brilliant individual bits, and the “Turkeys Away” episode ranks right up with the final episode of _Newhart_ and the “Chuckles Bites the Dust” episode of _Mary Tyler Moore_ as a classic. On the other hand, it could be preachy and heavy-handed, Jennifer was a caricature and Herb wasn’t much better, the original conflict between Carlson and Travis was forgotten and Johnny Fever, like Fonzie, became so popular that the show got thrown out of balance. It never got so bad that it jumped the shark, and it’s definitely one of my Top 15 of all time. But it falls just short of great. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/30 "2006-05-19T02:02:48Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] Jennifer was a caricature [/QUOTE] Uh, no. Jennifer was almost always the smartest person in the room! Loni Anderson insisted on that, after having been informed that the character was envisioned as the stereotypical dumb blonde. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/31 "2006-05-19T02:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] “…while insisting he was not intoxicated, the Senator could not explain his nudity…” [/QUOTE] And my favorite: “Genuine plastic—accept no substitutes!” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/32 "2006-05-19T02:27:04Z")
“Chiy Chiy Rod-Rih-Gwaze.” ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/33 "2006-05-19T02:43:08Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Uh, no. Jennifer was almost always the smartest person in the room! Loni Anderson insisted on that, after having been informed that the character was envisioned as the stereotypical dumb blonde. [/QUOTE] “Herb I looked up executrix. It has nothing to do with leather.” ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/34 "2006-05-19T03:38:38Z")
Has anyone ever ordered from here? link removed Just wondering… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/35 "2006-05-19T03:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=Poysyn] Has anyone ever ordered from here? \<\< Link to bootleg vendor site \>\> [/QUOTE] Unfortunately, those are bootlegs and quite illegal. I wouldn’t go around promoting them, lest _The Straight Dope_ be accused of perpetuating a criminal act. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/36 "2006-05-19T03:49:25Z")
Me, just now. Ought to get here in a week or so. I’ll subscribe to this thread and let everybody know what I get. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/37 "2006-05-19T03:57:07Z")
[QUOTE=bup] Welcome to a club that includes about a billion guys. Let me show you around the place. [/QUOTE] ::sniff:: _And I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry_ :: ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/38 "2006-05-19T03:59:41Z")
My favorite episodes: 1. “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”. 2. The sobriety test. To the trooper’s consternation, Johnny Fever’s reaction time gets faster as he drinks. Until he walks out of the booth and sees a giant pink pig - the WPIG mascot. 3. A serious episode - the WHO concert disaster, which actually happened. I remember when the episode went on the air the first time, and it was right after it happened. It took a lot of guts to make a sitcom half hour out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/39 "2006-05-19T04:11:34Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] Unfortunately, those are bootlegs and quite illegal. I wouldn’t go around promoting them, lest _The Straight Dope_ be accused of perpetuating a criminal act. [/QUOTE] That’s why I asked, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282/40 "2006-05-19T04:29:46Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] the WPIG mascot [/QUOTE] [Arthur Carlson]Those swine![/AC] I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve been tempted to set up a tape-line office for myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-one-of-the-great-sitcoms/357282.md?page=3)