Throw Away Genius: WKRP in Cincinnati

WKRP was a late 1970's television show about a cast of mostly incompetent characters working at one of the worst-rated radio stations in Cincinnati. WKRP was funny, touching and brilliant and was helmed by great writing, producing and actors with an impeccable sense of comedic timing. The number of jokes in each episode was high. When many other programs labored to produce only a few funny moments per show, WKRP threw away more laugh-out-loud gags per minute than you could count.

In this YouTube clip is an example of the unique genius that was the television show WKRP, the fine point of which is missed by many. This clip is usually referenced as the episode when WKRP disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever, played by Howard Hessman, deigned to play one of the Top 40 songs from the stations' mandatory playlist. One of the running gags of the show was that Johnny refused to play songs from the official list as a matter of principle. Partly because he thought the music was poor and partly because he liked to stick it to the management.

In the episode "The Doctor's Daughter" (18 Feb 1980) Johnny finally meets his estranged daughter and hates her boyfriend. After a few attempts to be a Dad, Johnny realizes it is too late to make up for all those years of his absence. Or is it? Johnny and his daughter come to an understanding of sorts and after she leaves, Johnny later receives a letter.

The letter, which is read at the end of the show, is done in the familiar device of the scribe speaking in a voice-over as the recipient reads along silently. Now here is where the genius comes in.

After putting on to play a Top 40 song, Johnny reads the letter. He smiles and nods at appropriate moments and turns the letter over to continue reading, flips the page back to re-read a sentence and turns the letter over again. All the while the voice-over stays in perfect synch with Johnny's reading.



As I said, genius. And throw away genius, at that. The realistic way Johnny read the letter with the interrupted voice-over synchronization was a great gimmick that probably went unnoticed by many. The show was full of moments like that.