Is there a ray of hope for WKRP?? (1 Viewer)

[Jaime_Weinman]

Possibly. I'm not one of them, though, because I don't really think that price was the biggest factor in MTM's sales disappointment -- a factor, perhaps, but I think it had as much to do with the fact that MTM's fanbase skews kind of older -- not that there's anything wrong with that, but that's the segment of the audience that may not have DVD players yet. I believe that M*A*S*H would have outsold MTM even if the sets had been priced the same, because M*A*S*H has a larger fan following among people who buy DVDs; same with the expensive Dick Van Dyke show sets (granting that Image probably didn't have Fox-style sales expectations, but "Dick Van Dyke" has a somewhat broader fanbase than MTM).

With WKRP, I think the show could sell better than MTM for various reasons: it has more young fans, the rock music element, the first season has the turkey episode (MTM's first season doesn't have many famous episodes), and radio DJs love it so it would get a lot of plugs on the radio. So even at the MTM-style price, I think WKRP would sell better than that. But I haven't researched this of course.

 

[Paul Drake]

I think your first point is quite valid (skews older), but I'm not sure on your second point (segment without DVD players). I have no hard evidence to back this up, but just from personal observation from family and work people of boomer age and older, you'd be suprised at how many of them have at least one player. What does come into play though is that they seem to shop for DVDs at lower price points. I've also heard some "why should I pay for TV DVD when I can watch it for free on TV" type comments.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I didn't get MTM because I just didn't like it that much. It may have been #1 in the ratings when it was out, but if the other shows that were on at the same time were garbage, then it is easier to be #1.

I see we're all taking $40 - $50 here, but if TNG was $100 a season, how many would go for $110. for each season of WKRP?

Yes, they were half as long, but movies aren't priced by how long they are, but by (partially) the work involved.

Glenn

 

[george kaplan]

I can only speak for myself. No. I'm consistent in that it wasn't price at all that kept me from buying season 1 of MTM, it was a cut episode due to unpurchased music rights. I'm in the minority, but price is not what kept me from buying MTM or Wiseguy, it's cut episodes. If they'd ponied up the money for the music rights and charged more for those, they may have sold less. I don't know. But I do know that I would have bought both.

 

[Nick Graham]

I'd easily pay $50 per season, and I'm far from a WKRP fanatic. It's just one of the few shows that I really loved growing up, like Simpsons, Night Court, and Married...With Children.

 

[Randy A Salas]

To its credit, Fox was the only major studio I contacted that was willing to discuss this complex issue candidly for publication. Others, including Universal, weren't--not on the record, at least.

 

[Scott Leopold]

The Russian was nuts over Bailey. That's one of my favorite episodes (the favorite, of course, being the turkey episode), and without the proper music, it's totally ruined. I've seen several other cut episodes that had jokes or comments that seemed completely out of place, and thinking back on it, it was probably due to the music.

Interestingly, there was a bunch of talk about WKRP recently on 700 WLW out of Cincinatti. They were talking about just how popular this show still is in other countries, and several callers brought up the idea of a WKRP museum in downtown Cincy as a tourist attraction. Oddly enough, this isn't the first time I've heard the idea brought up. Most people point to the Cheers/Boston relationship, and state that it's about time Cincy finally try to capitalize on WKRP. Around here, at least, I think uncut season sets would sell well, even if they were a bit more expensive.

 

[KeithAP]

Wouldn't this pose a marketing opportunity for a music CD? Say for instance, with each season on DVD, you would get a Best of Season #_ Music CD with the package. While this would cost more they could certainly justify charging more and both Fox and the music companys involved would profit from it.

Would people pay an extra $20-25 per season if the episodes had all the orginal music intact and the package came with a music CD with full length songs on it? I know I would.

-Keith

 

[David Lambert]

Randy, I can see where people would get confused a bit, but it should have been clear enough that these weren't hard-and-fast numbers. However, I got the impression that they at least represented the *ballpark*. Didn't they? It's around $10, give or take...not $50, give or take. Right?

 

[Randy A Salas]

Well, maybe. Peter Staddon was more interested in giving an example that produced nice, round numbers for the article more than anything else. The gist I got was that the 200,000 units in expected sales was the most accurate figure. The "couple of million dollars" in music-rights clearances was more conjecture. The actual figure would surely vary by season and depend on the number of songs and the particular rights holders.

I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that the whole thing was an example, not fact.

 

[Joey Gunz]

All this talk of music rights makes me very nervous for Northern Exposure which plays a lot of different types of music (some popular, some classics, some opera, western, etc). The "NE" music plays a very important part on the show too. I hope when "NE" gets released, the music will be left intact and not be replaced or ommitted as a whole. It's scary that we may never see some of our favorite shows on DVD because of the music situation. :frowning:

 

[Bob Movies]

Wow, I'd gladly pay the extra to have some WKRP on DVD... Hopefully someday we'll have it!

 

[PaulBigelow]

If there's a chance to get it done *right*, I'd say do it. It is only going to be more expensive down the road.

Carlson: "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I want this on DVD, and I'd pay an extra $10 or whatever to get it. It would be worth it, just for the Thanksgiving episode.

 

[Brian Kidd]

Heck, they'd probably sell several thousand copies here in Cincinnati alone. I still hear people in Fountain Square say, "That's the WKRP fountain!" Fantastic show. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[todd s]

Speaking of Miami Vice. I was watching a couple of the episodes from Columbia House with the substituted music. And it really changed the mood of the episodes.

 

[Scott_F_S]

I saw an ep of WKRP on TV Land the other day whilst channel surfing. First time I had seen it in years. I think the one I saw actually was the pilot.

Anyway, there were a couple of Johnny Fever scenes where he spun the record, and instead of a Who song or something that we would hear in the original airing, we heard some cheesy faux-rnr guitar instrumental. It was really awful.

I thought it was amazing how something like that could totally alter the whole feel of the show!!!!

 

[Tony Whalen]

I'd pay extra for uncut episodes!

Oh, and Joey, thanks for posting the text of the infamous turkey bombing. I cracked up just READING it.

 

[Nick Graham]

Hear the big WKRP Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway!

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Yep, I'd pay a higher price for all 4 seasons with original music...

So many great lines, but so much of the humour was in the delivery.