Why WKRP In Cincinnati and Bootlegs Rule

When I first heard that WKRP In Cincinnati was coming out on DVD, I was pretty excited about it, especially since the initial reports claimed that it was going to have most of the original music intact. The first season came out, I bought it on sight, and after watching a few episodes realized that something wasn't right. The music that was featured prominently in each episode (and there was a lot of it -- it's a show about a radio station, after all) seemed generic, unrecognizable, sterile, and out of the time period.

It didn't take too much internet surfing to find comments from enraged fans concerning the generic music tracks that had been substituted for almost every real song that originally appeared in the episodes. Worse yet, when there was a part that had the characters speaking over the music tracks, different voices were dubbed over those of the original actors because the dialogue and songs couldn't be separated. Even worse than that, when a scene couldn't be salvaged because putting a new song over the old one would render the scene incomprehensible, the producers of the DVD decided to just eliminate the scene completely.

Once again, music copyright issues have almost destroyed a very worthwhile TV show for its release on DVD.

So as an ardent fan of both older TV shows and Rock and Roll, I had no choice but to do a quick internet search and order a bootleg version of the series. Ok, if you want to get technical, it's actually a pirate copy, taped off of TV years ago and burned onto DVDs by a genius or group of geniuses that will remain anonymous. This set is about 20 discs long and it's the entire series, with all of the original music intact. It also cost me only about as much as the commercial release of season one did. Thank God for the internet, I say!

Now for the nitpicky section: the bootleg (I like that word better than pirate, unless we're talking about actual pirates, you know, with peg legs and eye patches and whiskey dick - I mean whiskey breath - and parrots and shit - those pirates are cool), while containing the original music, is from a syndicated run (probably in the 80's), meaning each episode has a few minutes cut that were in the original run. The official version of Season 1 is uncut except for the scenes edited out because of the music issue stated above, but, of course, has the shitty generic music and overdubbed voices.

Well, I can deal with a few minutes missing from each episode on my bootleg because the show is so damn good. I remember watching it as a kid and being entertained by it, but I had no idea how good it really was. The main thing that strikes me is how they were able to balance funny and serious moments in the show and not make it seem like a "very special episode" like they always did in Family Ties and other shows. The writing and acting was good enough to skillfully navigate between these two genres to make the show much greater than the average sitcom.

Before I give any examples, I'll give you a quick idea of what the show is about if you've never seen it: As the series begins, new program director Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) arrives at the Cincinnati easy-listening radio station WKRP to find it a poorly run shambles of a business. He immediately changes the format to rock and roll (which pleases on-the-run rock DJ Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) and infuriates sleazy adman Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner)), hires soulful nighttime DJ Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid), and tries to turn the station into a money-making venture after nearly being run into the ground by inept station manager Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump). Added to this mess is nerdy, neurotic newsman Les Nessman (Richard Sanders); nerdy, shy, broadcasting school graduate Bailey Quarters (Jan Smithers); and hot receptionist Jennifer Marloe (Loni Anderson). This wide array of characters really provided the writers with a lot of material that made the show consistently good throughout most of its run.

Now about the blending of funny and serious stuff: in one first season episode, Venus gets bent out of shape when the others try to get a picture of him taken for promotional purposes. Come to find out, Venus is a deserter from the Vietnam War and is wanted by the authorities. Amid all of the laughs of the episode there is a scene where Venus is describing the horrors of the war that caused him to walk away. It is a riveting monologue that gave me a tiny sick feeling in the pit of my stomach - in a prime time sitcom from the late 70's.

I know that WKRP wasn't the first to do such things and certainly won't be the last, but I haven't seen any other show that is primarily a comedy tackle serious issues in such a natural-seeming matter.

How many TV shows dealt with a major character being an alcoholic and treated it in a sensitive and funny manner? Another example is the one that I just watched where WKRP is put under pressure by a powerful minister to censor its play lists so as to not offend the "good Christians" of Cincinnati. Sounds serious, right? Yeah, but funny too.

Alright, I think I've made my point. WKRP is much more than a funny show from over 20 years ago; it's also smart, well-written, well-acted and it makes you think. So go out and get that bootleg - or at least the official first season if the music thing doesn't bother you and the moral thing does. But think about this if you're having a moral dilemma: by not buying the bootleg you'll be giving money to the people that are more concerned about money than the integrity of a piece of art.