The New WKRP in Cincinnati
| The New WKRP in Cincinnati | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Hugh Wilson |
| Based on | WKRP in Cincinnati by Hugh Wilson |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 47 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company | MTM Enterprises |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 7, 1991 – May 22, 1993 |
| Related | |
| WKRP in Cincinnati | |
The New WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom television series that aired in first-run syndication from September 7, 1991, to May 22, 1993, as a sequel to the original CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982). As with the original WKRP, MTM Enterprises produced the show.
Gordon Jump (Arthur Carlson), Frank Bonner (Herb Tarlek), and Richard Sanders (Les Nessman) reprised their roles from the original show, while Howard Hesseman reprised the role of Dr. Johnny Fever on a recurring basis (four episodes in the first season, then five in season two). Other original cast members came in for guest spots, with Loni Anderson (Jennifer Marlowe) returning for two episodes and Tim Reid (D.J. Gordon Sims/Venus Flytrap) for one episode. Other recurring players from the original series who appeared as guests on this sequel show included Carol Bruce (Lillian "Mama" Carlson), Edie McClurg (Lucille Tarlek), Allyn Ann McLerie (Carmen Carlson) and Bill Dial (Bucky Dornster).
The week before the show's premiere, many stations carrying the program aired the hour-long WKRP in Cincinnati 50th Anniversary Special, centered on a newspaper reporter interviewing Arthur Carlson about the fictitious station's golden anniversary, which served as a setup to show clips of memorable moments from the original series.
Synopsis
[edit]The New WKRP in Cincinnati revisits radio station WKRP, a station that had slowly climbed from near-last in the ratings to a top-10 station over the course of the original series under Program Director Andy Travis (unseen in this series). In the nine years since, another program director, Steve "The Savage" DeMarco (also unseen), had arrived at the station. At the time of the new series' debut, general manager Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump), the son of station owner Lillian "Mama" Carlson, had just fired DeMarco after DeMarco's reckless on-air antics had embroiled the station in major controversies and jeopardized the station's license with the Federal Communications Commission, as the station had fallen back into its previous pattern of malaise after Travis's departure.
With the station's 50th anniversary approaching, Mr. Carlson hires new program director Donovan Aderhold (Mykelti Williamson) to help restore the station to the success it had a decade prior. While almost all of the staff from the original series has already left in the intervening years, two long-time employees, boorish sales manager Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner) and inept news director Les Nessman (Richard Sanders), remain. Already at the station when Donovan arrives are DJs "the Morning Maniacs" Jack Allen (Michael Des Barres) (who previously appeared in the original series as a different character, the singer of the band "Scum of the Earth") and Dana Burns (Kathleen Garrett), whose real-life marriage is failing behind the scenes. Donovan soon also hires sexy night-time DJ Mona Loveland (Tawny Kitaen). Off the air, other staff members initially included traffic/continuity co-ordinator Claire Hartline (Hope Alexander-Willis); sporadically seen engineer Buddy Dornster (John Chapell); receptionist Ronnie Lee (Wendy Davis); and, after a few episodes, assistant sales manager Arthur Carlson, Jr. (Lightfield Lewis).
The show underwent many cast changes during its run, eventually dropping or replacing most of the initial "new" cast. Partway through the first season, the characters of Dana Burns and Ronnie Lee were written out. Ronnie's replacement as receptionist was spacey blonde Nancy Braithwaite (Marla Rubinoff). Dana's character was not replaced.
After the first season, more characters were dropped: Claire Hartline, Jack Allen, and Arthur Carlson, Jr. all disappeared. French Stewart joined the cast in the second season as morning DJ Razor D.
Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) made a few appearances as a guest in season 1, and participated in a four-episode story arc as WKRP's overnight DJ in season 2, although he left the station (and the series) before the season ended. Mona Loveland was quietly written out towards the end of season 2 and does not appear in the last five episodes. Donovan Aderhold quit the station in the next-to-last episode and was seemingly killed off in a plane crash at the episode's conclusion. Donovan does not appear and is not mentioned in the series finale.
A number of cast members from both old and new series wrote and directed episodes of the series. Howard Hesseman, in addition to appearing in nine episodes, directed two others in which he did not appear. Bill Dial wrote or co-wrote 13 episodes of the series, while Richard Sanders co-wrote three episodes with his wife. Frank Bonner directed five episodes, mostly in season 2, and Mykelti Williamson directed one episode. Non-cast members Asaad Kelada and Max Tash combined to direct most of the show's other episodes; among other notable non-cast members in the production staff included Burt Reynolds, Loni Anderson's then-husband, who directed one of Jennifer Marlowe's two appearances in the series in a stunt casting move, and Los Angeles conservative talk radio personality Doug McIntyre, who wrote two episodes.
As was the case with the aforementioned Andy Travis, Bailey Quarters was completely absent from the series (in her case, her absence is explained; she had left radio many years earlier and was now a successful politician, serving as mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan).
The show ended production in 1993 after two seasons and 47 episodes. Only the "original three" characters of Mr. Carlson, Herb Tarlek, and Les Nessman remain with the program for the entire run and are seen in every episode.
For the first several episodes, the series was still identified as WKRP in Cincinnati and used a nearly identical opening sequence to the original series, except with updated cast names. The New portion was not added to the title until later when clips of the starring actors were added to the title sequence. The familiar opening and closing themes of its parent series were also retained, and while a new arrangement/recording was used for the opening theme, the closing theme was the same version heard on the original series (although a bit faster).
The series followed up on some details left unaddressed in the original series. For example, the actual frequency of WKRP was never revealed in the original series. (Promos for the original series had noted, without specifying a frequency, that the station used the highest available frequency on the AM dial (at the time, before the AM expanded band was opened, this was 1610 AM, used only in the U.S. for noncommercial travelers' information stations.) In this version, the station is identified as being at 1530 AM, the actual home of WCKY, also licensed to Cincinnati,[1] though the actual 1530 AM is a 50,000-watt class A clear channel frequency, while WKRP's coverage map promoted the station as a 5,000-watt Class B station (with the exception of the original series pilot, in which the station was also at 50,000 watts).
Also addressed is why the station is in the same position as the original series, which was supposed to conclude with everyone's hard work paying off and the station reaching number six.
Main characters
[edit]| Actor | Character | Seasons | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Jump | Arthur Carlson ("Big Guy") | 1–2 | The middle-aged general manager, whose main qualification for the job is that his business tycoon mother is the owner. His bumbling, indecisive management is one of the main reasons the station is unprofitable, although he is a decent man and something of a father figure to his employees. |
| Frank Bonner | Herb Tarlek | 1–2 | Boorish, a tasteless advertising sales manager, who wears loud plaid suits, with his belt matching his white shoes. While Herb is portrayed as buffoonish most of the time, he does occasionally show a sympathetic side, particularly towards Art Jr., whom he feels he needs to protect though there's no love lost between the two. |
| Richard Sanders | Les Nessman | 1–2 | Fastidious, bow-tied news reporter, who approaches his job with absurd seriousness. In between the original series and the revival, Les married and divorced a woman named Demi, an unseen character who still looms large in his life. Les is also now an eight-time winner of the "Buckeye Newshawk Award", up from five during the original series. |
| Mykelti Williamson | Donovan Aderhold | 1–2 | The station's new program director, Aderhold fills the same position held by Andy Travis, who had left the station sometime after the end of the original series. He has also worked with former WKRP morning DJ Dr. Johnny Fever at a radio station in Pittsburgh. Near the end of the series, he falls in love and, pursuing his new flame, leaves the station; when he attempts to return in the penultimate episode, his plane disappears, with his fate never resolved. |
| Hope Alexander-Willis | Claire Hartline | 1 | The station's traffic and continuity director, who is kind and levelheaded, and one of the few competent employees at the station. Claire disappears without comment or explanation at the end of season 1, and the character is never referenced again (and her job position at the station is not replaced) |
| Howard Hesseman | Dr. Johnny Fever (ne Johnny Caravella) | 1–2 (recurring) | Former WKRP morning man who often drops by the station between jobs in various cities. (As Herb complains, "He only shows up here when he's broke!") Partway through the second season, the station's never-seen overnight jock (Moss Steiger, carrying over from the original series) dies, and Johnny is hired to take over the WKRP night shift, billing himself as "The Night Doctor". After a run of several episodes, he leaves the station to pursue a sitcom opportunity in LA. Though it doesn't pan out, Johnny decides to stay in LA, and the character exits the series. |
| John Chappell | Buddy Dornster | 1–2 (recurring) | The station's hopelessly lazy chief engineer. Buddy is the brother of Bucky Dornster (Bill Dial), who held the same job on the original WKRP, and who appears in a cameo on the revival. John Chappell appeared as Reverend Drinkwater in the "Preacher" episode of the original WKRP. |
| Carol Bruce | Lillian "Mama" Carlson | 1–2 (recurring) | Arthur Carlson's ruthless, domineering mother and the owner of WKRP. |
| Michael Des Barres | Jack Allen | 1 | One-half of WKRP's morning team, "Burns & Allen, the Morning Maniacs". Jack's marriage to broadcasting partner Dana Burns is extremely volatile; the two are perpetually on the brink of divorce and constantly spar verbally both on the air and off. Dana does in fact leave Jack partway through season one, and Jack continues at the station as a solo DJ. However, the character stops appearing after the end of season one and is never referenced again. Des Barres appeared in one episode of the original series as "Dog" of the band "Scum Of The Earth". |
| Kathleen Garrett | Dana Burns | 1 | The other half of the "Burns & Allen" morning team, who is both sharp-tongued and feisty. Garret left the series about halfway through the first season, and her character was written out—but she still appeared in the opening credits of every first-season episode. |
| Wendy Davis | Ronnie Lee | 1 (recurring) | The quiet-but-friendly, and efficient receptionist. A fairly minor character, she leaves partway through season 1 to get her master's degree. |
| Tawny Kitaen | Mona Loveland | 1–2 | The station's new nighttime DJ, hired by Aderhold, joins the cast a few episodes in. Beautiful and talented, Mona is also exceptionally intelligent, much like Jennifer Marlowe in the original series. Kitaen left the series before the end of season 2 but is credited in the final five episodes despite her character having been written out. |
| Katherine Moffatt | Edna Grinbody | 1–2 (recurring) | Head of the Cincinnati League Of Decency (CLOD), and an occasional complainant about the station's on-air practices. Often manipulated into serving the station's interests, due to her infatuation with Johnny. |
| Lightfield Lewis | Arthur Carlson, Jr. | 1 | Obnoxious, spoiled, proto-yuppie who is brought into WKRP as the new assistant sales manager working under Herb. (Although as he reminds everybody, his grandmother owns the station, so he expects to be moving up the ladder quickly.) Brought in a few episodes into the run, Art Jr. was written out after season 1, though still occasionally referenced. The character was played—as a child—in one episode of the original WKRP by Sparky Marcus. |
| Marla Jeanette Rubinoff | Nancy Braithwaite | 1–2 | Nancy is initially seen in a single episode as an attractive, though somewhat ditzy ad rep who is unaccountably lustful for Herb Tarlek. After Ronnie leaves WKRP, Nancy successfully schemes to get Ronnie's old job, mostly so she can continue to try seducing "Herbie". Although initially a recurring player, actress Rubinoff quickly worked her way up to a co-starring role in the opening credits. |
| French Stewart | Razor D | 2 | The new morning DJ as of season 2. An eccentric former monk, Razor has almost no radio experience to speak of, but has strong natural talent. |
Episodes
[edit]Series overview
[edit]| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 24 | September 7, 1991 | May 16, 1992 | |
| 2 | 23 | September 5, 1992 | May 22, 1993 | |
Season 1 (1991–92)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "How Did We Get Here?" "WKRP in Cincinnati 50th Anniversary Special" | Max Tash | Bill Dial | September 7, 1991 | |
| A reporter from Radio & Records chronicles the 50th anniversary of WKRP by interviewing Arthur Carlson. The interview turns into an ambush as the reporter repeatedly brings up every embarrassing moment in the station's history, dating back to its sign-on erroneously reporting the bombing of Pearl Bailey but focusing mainly on the station's 1978–82 heyday as a rock station. Arthur Carlson is the only series regular to appear in new material in this clip show. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Where Are We Going?: Part 1" | Max Tash | Bill Dial | September 14, 1991 | |
| Mr. Carlson gets arrested after the program director is fired following a string of major controversies. He hires a new program director following his release (unaware that he is black, to his visible discomfort), and learns his mother plans to sell the station. The characters of Donovan, Jack, Dana, Claire, Ronnie and Buddy all debut in the episode. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Where Are We Going?: Part 2" | Max Tash | Bill Dial | September 21, 1991 | |
| Johnny Fever and Jennifer Marlowe help save the station from threats from the FCC and the Cincinnati League of Decency. Mona makes her debut at the episode's conclusion. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Every Move a Work of Art" | Max Tash | Bill Dial | September 28, 1991 | |
| Mr. Carlson's son — Arthur Carlson Jr., a.k.a. "Little Big Guy" — comes to work for the station, very much a yuppie. His first deal is with a so-called circus. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Then Came Nessman" | Asaad Kelada | Steve Stoliar | October 5, 1991 | |
| After a dog bite convinces Les Nessman his death is imminent, he makes a pledge to live each day as if it were his last. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Lotto Fever" | Peter Baldwin | Bob Wilcox | October 12, 1991 | |
| Herb Tarlek buys a lottery ticket based on numbers that came to him in a dream, but his wife forces him to sell the ticket to "Little Big Guy." | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Cincinnati Kids" | Peter Baldwin | Stephen A. Miller | October 19, 1991 | |
| Mr. Carlson agrees to a charity poker match with the general manager of WPIG. The only problem: he doesn't know how to play, leaving the staff (including Mona, who is revealed as a recovering gambling addict) to school him before the match. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Cincinnati's Favorite Couple" | Art Dielhenn | Max Tash | October 26, 1991 | |
| When marital problems between Jack and Dana escalate into a food fight at an upscale restaurant, it leaves the staffers to find a way to positively spin the events before they ruin the station. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Here Comes Everybody: Part 1" | Asaad Kelada | Richard Chapman, Bill Dial | November 2, 1991 | |
| On his way to Chicago, Johnny Fever stops by the station. When word of his visit gets out, it seems a lot of people are looking for him. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Here Comes Everybody: Part 2" | Asaad Kelada | Richard Chapman, Bill Dial | November 9, 1991 | |
| Johnny has a number of people meet him at the station, and takes money from some to pay off debts to others. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Real Thing" | Frank Bonner | George Geiger | November 16, 1991 | |
| A wire report makes Les thinks Cincinnati has come under nuclear attack. While he's not believed, staffers still take pause to reflect on their lives. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Good Ole Radio Days" | Max Tash | Craig Nelson | November 23, 1991 | |
| After a ratings dip, the station puts on an old-fashioned radio drama to drum up publicity. Meanwhile, Herb is mistaken for a space alien while out on a sales call. Debut of the character of Nancy (at this point a media buyer for an outside firm), and the final episode of receptionist Ronnie. Nancy would take over as WKRP's receptionist beginning with the next episode. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Venus, We Hardly Knew Ya" | Max Tash | Max Tash | January 11, 1992 | |
| Gordon Simms, now CEO of a large communications company, visits the station, and takes a little piece of his Venus Flytrap alter ego when he leaves. | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Hip Hop Krp" | Buzz Sapien | Bill Dial | January 18, 1992 | |
| Donovan hires some inner city kids as interns. When Claire's computer soon goes missing, suspicion immediately falls upon them. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine" | Frank Bonner | Gail Honigberg | January 25, 1992 | |
| Claire moves in with Mona after a cooking accident, and Claire's boyfriend's eye soon wanders. Mona and Dana conspire to find out just where Gus' heart is. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Razor D Rules" | Max Tash | Stephen Nathan | February 1, 1992 | |
| With revenue down, Arthur and Donovan have to let go of a DJ — the afternoon's Phil Spindle. He does not take the news well, and barricades himself in the booth for a farewell to the city. Despite the episode title, the character of Razor D (who would be introduced in season 2) does not appear in this episode. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Jennifer and the Prince" | Burt Reynolds | Ron Friedman | February 8, 1992 | |
| Jennifer Marlowe returns to announce her engagement to a prince, and invites the staff to the party. However, a coup by her fiancé's brother and the suspicions of Herb and Les give her a lot to deal with. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Long Live the King" | Max Tash | Marilyn Marko-Sanders, Richard Sanders | February 15, 1992 | |
| Les gets a surprise phone call after editorializing against rival WPIG's Elvis lookalike contest: a caller claiming to be Elvis himself, and offering an exclusive interview. Final episode for Dana; it's mentioned in a later episode that she left Jack for good, an event which took place offstage. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Mamma Was a Rolling Stone" | Frank Bonner | Richard Chapman, Bill Dial | February 22, 1992 | |
| Trouble follows Johnny Fever on another visit to WKRP, as he deals with his mother and the station deals with a naked DJ and a surprise FCC visit. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Number One Fan" | Stephen Rothman | Mark Roberts | February 29, 1992 | |
| A woman claiming to be Les' "number one fan" kidnaps him, while Herb unknowingly sells stolen karaoke machines to an undercover cop and gets arrested. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Herb's Got a Guy" | Ginger Grigg | Gail Honigberg | April 25, 1992 | |
| Mama Carlson sets up a meeting between Herb and Carter Kimball, the owner of 30something Lodges, in an effort to start landing national ad business. However, business isn't the only thing about Herb that interests Mr. Kimball. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Chicken a La Russe" | Max Tash | Doug McIntyre | May 2, 1992 | |
| A hypnotist accidentally leaves Big Guy thinking he's a chicken upon hearing the word "colonel." A visiting Russian colonel, there to learn of American broadcasting, creates obvious complications. | ||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Where's Jack" | Ron Sossi | Bill Dial | May 9, 1992 | |
| Mona, alone for her birthday, and Jack, just dumped by Dana, make a connection at surprise party organized by Claire. Final episode for Jack; several episodes later it's mentioned he left the station, but no further explanation is offered. | ||||||
| 24 | 24 | "Spies Like Us" | Jay Broad | Jay Broad | May 16, 1992 | |
| The president appoints Donovan to a broadcasting commission, but the FBI must clear him before he can go to Washington. Final episode for both Claire and Art, Jr. | ||||||
Season 2 (1992–93)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Donovan, Don't Leave Us" | Asaad Kelada | Bill Dial | September 5, 1992 | |
| A one-hour retrospective to kick off the second season. It's mentioned that Art, Jr. has been "shipped off" to graduate school. | ||||||
| 26 | 2 | "Razor's Edge" | Asaad Kelada | Bill Dial | September 12, 1992 | |
| After the morning crew leave WKRP, Donovan hires a replacement, Razor D, who is not exactly as he appears. | ||||||
| 27 | 3 | "Retreading on Thin Ice" | Asaad Kelada | Gail Honigberg | September 19, 1992 | |
| Herb, attempting to land the Sam Bass tires account, sets up the beautiful female sales rep with Donovan, not knowing her husband is Mr. Bass. | ||||||
| 28 | 4 | "Sex, Lies & Videotape" | Asaad Kelada | Bob Wilcox | September 26, 1992 | |
| On his way to a lunch with Nancy, Herb gets into a traffic accident. The other driver feels Herb was at fault, and sues him and the station. | ||||||
| 29 | 5 | "Can't We Get Along?" | Frank Bonner | Bill Dial | October 3, 1992 | |
| The station starts airing editorials from Lash Rambo (a thinly veiled fictionalization of real-life conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh), whom many DJs object to. In protest, Razor plays Ice-T's "Cop Killer", making Mr. Carlson decide just how extreme, to either side, the station should be willing to go. | ||||||
| 30 | 6 | "Studs of the Airwaves" | Ginger Grigg | Ron Friedman | October 10, 1992 | |
| Looking to generate publicity, Herb has a radio version of Studs with Les, Donovan, and Buddy. The winner ends up going on a very surprising date. | ||||||
| 31 | 7 | "Nancy in Charge" | Buzz Sapien | Gail Honigberg | October 17, 1992 | |
| Nancy's fib about owning WKRP backfires when the advertising executive she told it to decides to visit the station the same day Mama Carlson does. | ||||||
| 32 | 8 | "Play Razor for Me" | Stephen Rothman | Bob Wilcox | October 24, 1992 | |
| Razor unknowingly dates a woman who works for rival station WPIG, and the staff race to prevent her from uncovering station secrets. | ||||||
| 33 | 9 | "Loveland to Look At" | Steve Rothman | Steve Stoliar | October 31, 1992 | |
| After Mona agrees to pose nude for Playboy, Mama Carlson demands she be fired if she follows through. This leads Buddy, Razor, and Herb to protest in the lobby. | ||||||
| 34 | 10 | "Strange Bedfellows" | Asaad Kelada | Doug McIntyre | November 7, 1992 | |
| After an on-air spat with his wife, Arthur temporarily moves into Donovan's place. | ||||||
| 35 | 11 | "Moss Dies" | Frank Bonner | Bill Dial | November 14, 1992 | |
| After nighttime DJ Moss Steiger dies, Johnny Fever returns to pay his respects and helps the staff carry out his last wishes. Complicating matters is a morgue attendant who claims Moss was Chinese. | ||||||
| 36 | 12 | "Flimm Flam Man" | Frank Bonner | Mark Roberts | November 21, 1992 | |
| Johnny Fever, taking over the nighttime slot, discovers a map indicating there may be treasure in the Flimm Building. When the staff find the map, a gold rush ensues. | ||||||
| 37 | 13 | "Nancy's Old Man" | Howard Hesseman | Unknown | January 16, 1993 | |
| When Nancy's salesman father visits, he's not just trying to sell weight-loss products. | ||||||
| 38 | 14 | "Herb's Lost Weekend" | Howard Hesseman | Unknown | January 23, 1993 | |
| Desperately trying to make a sale so he can vacation with Lucille, Herb's lies come back to haunt him. | ||||||
| 39 | 15 | "Murder by Les" | Ginger Grigg | Don Hart | January 30, 1993 | |
| Les feels his career is over after two of his talk show guests die. | ||||||
| 40 | 16 | "Fever in the Morning" | Asaad Kelada | Marilyn Marko-Sanders, Richard Sanders | February 6, 1993 | |
| Though afraid of heights, Johnny Fever vows to set a time record for broadcasting from a billboard. | ||||||
| 41 | 17 | "Fever All Through the Night" | Asaad Kelada | Marilyn Marko-Sanders, Richard Sanders | February 13, 1993 | |
| With two days to go to break the record, Edna makes it difficult for Johnny to stay on the billboard. | ||||||
| 42 | 18 | "Johnny Goes Hollywood" | Buzz Sapien | Doug McIntyre | February 20, 1993 | |
| Johnny Fever sees Hollywood is not what he'd hoped after he's offered his own sitcom about his life at WKRP. Final episode for both Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman), and Mona Loveland (Tawny Kitaen). Johnny gets a full, proper send-off -- but Mona simply disappears and is never referred to again after this episode (although Kitaen remains in the opening credits for the rest of the series.) | ||||||
| 43 | 19 | "Old Boyfriend" | Stephen Rothman | Joel Kimmel | February 27, 1993 | |
| Nancy believes her ex-boyfriend has returned to propose marriage, and she's right, to a degree. | ||||||
| 44 | 20 | "Treasure of Sierra Smith" | Ginger Grigg | Gail Honigberg | May 1, 1993 | |
| Donovan falls in love with a new deejay who holds him responsible for losing out on signing with an agent. Nia Peeples makes the first of two appearances as Sierra Smith. | ||||||
| 45 | 21 | "My Fair Nun" | Mykelti Williamson | Ron Friedman (story) Bill Dial (teleplay) | May 8, 1993 | |
| Razor D gives some bad habits to a nun-to-be sampling life outside the convent. | ||||||
| 46 | 22 | "Chicago Story" | Frank Bonner | Unknown | May 15, 1993 | |
| Donovan leaves WKRP to follow Sierra to her new job in Chicago. The episode ends on an unresolved cliffhanger, with Donovan set to return to the station when his plane is reported missing. | ||||||
| 47 | 23 | "Father of the Groom" | Buzz Sapien | Bob Wilcox (story) Bill Dial (teleplay) | May 22, 1993 | |
| Herb's son and an heiress fall in love. Bizarrely, the cliffhanger from the previous episode is left unresolved; Donovan does not appear and is not mentioned. | ||||||
Critical reception
[edit]Several critics of the show railed against the thought of continuing the original series, and it premiered to a mix of positive and negative reviews. Among the negative reviews from broadcast professionals was the charge that the station, broadcasting on the AM band, was still playing Rock 'n Roll music in the early 1990s, long after FM was established as the industry's leading music band, while most AM stations were adopting talk, all-news and all-sports formats.
As a syndicated program, its time slot differed in various markets. The series was able to operate in the black, but did not produce enough of a profit for investors to back it financially.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "Retro : 'WKRP' in Los Angeles". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-01-29.