WKRP In Cincinnati: The Complete Series Review (See Posts #218 & 356 for Info) (1 Viewer)

[Obtuse]

I don't have the VHS release with Turkey's Away, but I have a couple of the individual releases and the quality is really bad.. EP mode... I don't have the box set, were they EP as well?

Edit: I've just seen Turkey's Away isn't in the box. What release was it on? I've never seen it...

Found it... Classics....

The VHS in question: WKRP Classics (1991, MTM)

The episodes are:

Pilot (part 1 only), Fish Story, Turkeys Away. Music intact on all three.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

There are a couple other small music edits I noticed in season 3: the Candi Staton song in "Venus and the Man" isn't there (this is one of the better edits from the '90s syndication package, though; they managed to do it without overdubbing or cutting) and in "Clean Up Radio Everywhere" Mr. Carlson's baseball game doesn't play "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (Insert complaint about how a song that old is still in copyright) though luckily the joke works about as well with just the beeps from the game.

On the plus side, some really bad overdubs from the '90s have been removed. "Ask Jennifer" has the correct voice for Jennifer's caller. "I Am Woman" has all the right audio (in the '90s, that same terrible voice actor redubbed the whole voice-over scene of Venus in act 1). "Goodbye Johnny" doesn't have the Beach Boys but it does have the music and dialogue right after (in the '90s, Les's voice was overdubbed). I mentioned before that the '90s redub of Les's news announcement is thankfully gone.

"Baseball" is not only complete but has a shot that even some CBS affiliates cut at the time - Johnny checking the chalk on the basepaths to see if it's drugs. And "Herb's Dad" has at least two bits of dialogue that aren't in my (battered) copy from a CBS airing.

An interesting side note about "Herb's Dad" is that it's an "unsweetened" version, meaning only audience laughter, nothing else. This is noticeable in this episode because a number of scenes were obviously shot without the audience, and when they did that they'd insert a very mild laugh track just to keep the sound from being dead. It works fine here though. (There were a few episodes that were unsweetened in the '90s package that use their original soundtracks here, like "Ask Jennifer" and "Bailey's Big Break.")

Comparing the episodes that were previously only available in syndicated versions with the versions presented here, it renews my admiration for how little filler WKRP episodes often had. Okay, sometimes there was filler (that long tag to the original version of "The Contest Nobody Could Win" seems like a way of filling time) but in a lot of episodes, anything that was cut in syndication removes some good joke or piece of plot information. Eg in "Baby, It's Cold Inside," not only did the syndicated version cut a very funny drunk scene for Loni Anderson, but the scene establishes that Les will be late that morning. Another scene cut in syndication explains that Venus is there because Johnny called him and told him to rush down there. In syndication, you don't know why Les shows up late or why Venus is there so early in the morning, they're just there. I can't emphasize enough how important it is that the full-length versions were found.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

"Take Me Out To the Ballgame" is itself in the public domain (having been published in 1908). But any given recording of it is copyrighted to the artist unless specifically released to the public domain. Shout must not have been able to ascertain the source of the version used in this episode, and so couldn't risk using it. I assume they didn't have the resources to create any of their own replacement music.

 

[Brian Himes]

Sorry for taking so long to get these latest episode reviews posted but I wanted to get half of season 4 finished. So, here they are. The first 11 episodes of the final season.

An Explosive Affair, part 1: No music edits. Running time 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

An Explosive Affair, part 2: There are a couple of edits to this episode. First the voice over for the recap scenes is gone. The second edit is a music edits. Kool & The Gang's Celebration have been removed. No music has been substituted and all of the original dialogue has been preserved. Running time: 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

The Union: There is one music edit. The Rolling Stones song Start Me Up has been replaced with a generic rock song. Johnny's intro to the song has been redubbed. This is not too bad. He just identifies the artist and song as the song starts. Running time: 23:45. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Rumors: No music edits. Running time: 24:05.

Straight From The Heart: No music edits. Running time: 24:04.

Who's On First: No music edits. Running time: 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Three Days Of The Condo: No music edits. Running time: 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Jennifer And The Will: No music edits. Running time: 24:04.

The Consultant: No music edits. Running time: 24:04.

Love, Exciting And New: No music edits due to there being no music in the episode. Running time: 23:44. The bumper before the tag scene is there. This episode looks like it runs short but I did compare running times with the original and this is correct.

You Can't Go Out Of Town Again: There is one music edit. The Rolling Stones song (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction has been replaced with a generic rock song. There is no dialogue so nothing has been edited or overdubbed.

Tomorrow I will have the final 11 episodes finished. We are into the home stretch!

 

[TJSBEATLES]

Brian, I've been diligently keeping up with your excellent posts, but might have missed something: Shout says it cleared the Stones, but in every Stones instance I've seen, it seems as if they've been replaced. In which episode were the Stones not replaced?

 

[Brian Himes]

The Stones Shattered, and Lies are in Pilot, part 2. A very, very small portion of Tumbling Dice is in the episode The Contest Nobody Could Win. Finally, Bitch is in the episode Bad Risk. Those are the only Stones songs to make onto the set.

 

[TJSBEATLES]

Ah, yes. Makes sense. Thanks for the fast reply and for all you've contributed here. Plowing through the set very slowly tonight and your guide has tied me over until I had it in my hands!

 

[Obtuse]

The Stones Shattered, and Lies are in Pilot, part 2. A very, very small portion of Tumbling Dice is in the episode The Contest Nobody Could Win. Finally, Bitch is in the episode Bad Risk. Those are the only Stones songs to make onto the set.

Seems like all of the earlier (Abkco controlled) Stones material was unable to be licensed (Sympathy For The Devil, Get Off My Cloud, Satisfaction), while some of the later (Virgin controlled) material (Tumbling Dice, Shattered, Bitch) was cleared.

Of course, Abkco is notorious for not licensing it's material. (Heck, for years they didn't even release many of the hit recordings they controlled...it took until 2006 before Chubby Checker's original recordings finally appeared on CD).

Not sure what happened with "She's So Cold" (which should have been as easily obtained as "Shattered"). Perhaps since the copy of "Real Families" Shout! was provided already had Jackson Browne in place of The Rolling Stones (the song was replaced during the 80's syndication run), they didn't know about the substitution, and therefore didn't license the song.

Or perhaps their 80's material falls under different control than their 70's stuff.

 

[Obtuse]

Out To Lunch: There are two music edits. The Bee Gees Jive Talkin' has been replaced by a song that sort of sounds like Jive Talkin' in that all you can really make out is the lyric 'talkin', talkin'. The original dialogue in this scene is there and has not been overdubbed. As expected, The Beatles Here Comes The Sun is also gone. It has been replaced by some generic piano music that seems to be more appropriate to a restaurant setting (which is where the scene takes place). The original dialogue is intact with no overdubbing. All of the other music in the episode is intact as originally broadcast. Running time: 24:56. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Actually there is another song missing....U2-I Will Follow. (I missed that one, too). It was either not on Shout's master tape, or edited out very well. Dialog was unchanged. (It was in the background when Johnny tells Herb about the winning ticket in the hallway).

It was definitely there on Jaime's version (Act 2, 1:17 in):

http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2008/11/wkrp-episode-out-to-lunch.html

 

[Obtuse]

A Simple Little Wedding

No music changes, running time 24:38.

Included:

Eric Clapton-I Can't Stand It
Gene Dunlap (f/ The Ridgeways)-Rock Radio
Otis Redding-I Can't Turn You Loose

Nothing To Fear But...

No Music changes, running time 24:56.

Included:

Otis Redding-Rock Me Baby (misidentified by Johnny as The Singing Nun)
Otis Redding-Love Man
Les singing The Great Pretender
Bob James-Westchester Lady (Bottom Line)
Bill Withers/Grover T. Washington-Just The Two Of Us

'Til Debt Do Us Part

One song removed, running time 24:55.

Included:

The Monotones-Book Of Love

Dave Mason-We Just Disagree removed. No replacement track. Dialog unchanged.

Clean Up Radio Everywhere:

No Music Changes (no music)

Carlson's "computer baseball game" sounds are altered.

"Imagine" lyrics read by Dr. Bob Halyers intact.

I know Brian is providing some of the same information...I'm trying to document every song played (and what's missing) as I go along. Also trying to fill in the gaps regarding the more obscure tracks.

 

[TJSBEATLES]

Hi friends - the last track in "Frog Story", during the final scene (Johnny confronts Les about his frightening medical diagnosis, then Les heightens the game even more), seems to have been changed. I don't recall what it was originally, but it sounds like it's mixed differently, almost like the generic rock tracks used when there's other replacement music. I'm back on the road without the ability to compare the new set with the older syndicated eps I have, can someone please confirm?

 

[Obtuse]

Hi friends - the last track in "Frog Story", during the final scene (Johnny confronts Les about his frightening medical diagnosis, then Les heightens the game even more), seems to have been changed. I don't recall what it was originally, but it sounds like it's mixed differently, almost like the generic rock tracks used when there's other replacement music. I'm back on the road without the ability to compare the new set with the older syndicated eps I have, can someone please confirm?

The original song in the tag is "Gone Dead Train" by Randy Newman (you can see the album cover for the Performance soundtrack in the scene as well).

The version of the song on the new DVD sounds different. Sounds like a different recording/cover version of the same song was used. The replacement music is also a bit louder on the DVD than on the syndie cut.

Also of note, Soundhound identified the original from the syndie version right away, but couldn't identify the version of "Gone Dead Train" used on the new DVD.


Here's the lowdown:

Frog Story

One song replaced. Running time 24:57.

Included:

The Kinks -You Really Got Me

Randy Newman-Gone Dead Train replaced with a cover version of the same song. Dialog original.

 

[Matt.Koz]

Re watched Out To Lunch and was stricken by how loud Jive Talkin was in the mix. It's quite clear at some times over the replacement music. Sounds like dueling jukeboxes or some weird mashup.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

Was "Gone Dead Train" the Crazy Horse version, by any chance?

Could also have been Nazareth's cover.

 

[Obtuse]

Was "Gone Dead Train" the Crazy Horse version, by any chance?

Could also have been Nazareth's cover.

It was neither of those (which both differed in style and tempo)...it seemed to be a re-creation/cover of the Randy Newman version (the instrumentation was close, but the voice was noticeably different).

 

[Brian Himes]

Ok folks, here we go. We're about to cross the finish line. Here are the final 11 episodes.

Pills: There is one music edit. Barry Manilow's song The Old Songs has been replaced. Also, two lines of dialogue have been redubbed. They are the same lines as spoken in the original but they are those voice actors. Bailey's line, 'It's only for a week.' and Johnny's line, 'Well I guess I can take if for that long', are the lines that have been redubbed. Other than that, there are no other music edits. Running time: 24:04. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Changes: No music edits. Running time: 24:55.

Jennifer And Johnny's Charity: The Beatles song Come Together is there but is is not performed by The Beatles. It is performed by a sound alike band. As such, Johnny's line, 'Here comes John Lennon. He's a rock monster.' has been changed, redubbed and slightly edited. The edit is very, very small. The John Lennon line is completely gone and instead of 'He's a rock monster' the line now is 'Here's a rock monster'. There are no other edits, music or otherwise. Running time: 24:53.

I'll Take Romance: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Circumstantial Evidence: There are two music edits. Kool & The Gang's Take My Heart has been replaced with a generic instrumental jazz song. Also, Tom Scott's We Belong Together has been replaced with a generic version of the same song. Since Venus mentions not only James 'J.T.' Taylor, Kool & The Gang, and Tom Scott, all of his dialogue has been changed. However, it is not that really bad voice actor. What they did was lift an original Venus voice over from another episode where he doesn't mention either artist or song and use it here. If I recall, the dialogue used is from the episode For Love Or Money. It was the voice over that was supposed to be over the Herb Alpert song that was replaced with that bad voice actor. It's an interesting solution. None of the replacement songs affect the original dialogue. Everything is still there that was there originally. Running time: 24:57. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Fire: No music edits. Running time: 24:44.

Dear Liar: No music edits. Running time: 24:55.

The Creation Of Venus: There is one music edit. There is a song playing in the scene where Johnny is breaking records and throwing records around in the booth. This is just after the format change and Venus, Herb and Les are watching through the window. I was not able to identify the song in the original broadcast nor can I identify the replacement. No of the dialogue is affected by the replacement. There are no other music edits. Running time: 24:55.

The Impossible Dream: No music edits. Running time: 24:25.

To Err Is Human: No music edits. Running time: 24:57. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Up And Down The Dial: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

And there we have it. The good, the bad and the ugly of the set. Each and every episode has been picked apart to the best of my ability. I'm sure that it is not perfect. I know I probably missed a few songs here and there but trying to identify music in dialogue heavy scenes was a pain. I only managed to pick out about three songs that I didn't find on any list. And there are a few that someone with greater knowledge and a sharper ear could probably pick out.

I need to thank Jamie Weinman for his invaluable blog, Something Old, Nothing New. Without this handy tool I would have been totally lost. As he has demonstrated here, his knowledge of this show is staggering. Thanks so very, very much for all of your time and effort to resurrect the original uncut versions of just about every episode of this series.

I also would like to thank all of the other folks here that jumped in an answered questions and did spot checking for people while I worked my way through this set. Your help was also invaluable. Thanks again.

So, here are my final thoughts on the set as a whole.

I gotta tell ya, I'm pretty impressed with it. I think that until some sanity comes to music licensing this is the very best that we could hope for or are ever going to get. Yes, there are some bad spots. There are even a couple of really ugly spots. The loss of The Eagles and the missing 55 seconds from Hold Up are particular thorns. At least to me. Thankfully the bad redubbing that plagued the 90s syndicated package has pretty much been eliminated. When it had to be used it was kept to the barest minimum. I am just amazed at the effort that went into retaining all of the original dialogue in scenes with music playing in the background. Song replacements were generally at least, not of the Muzak variety but appropriate sounding. Very little just out and out junk. I had pretty high expectation for this set but I also had realistic expectations. I knew going in that Pink Floyd and The Beatles were gonners. So, it did come as a pretty big surprise that Come Together is there even though it is not performed by The Beatles. There was some definite care taken to present this series on DVD in the best possible light. The integrity of the series was preserved. That was the most important thing to me. My expectations were met and in most cases exceeded. Until I compiled my list of music based on Shout's list of what artists were included, I hadn't seen the entire run of this show in decades. Watching this set was a real treat. There were times I laughed myself silly. This show is a gem and I totally get the passionate following that it has.

Shout did a great job and they should be commended.

I hope that all of the information provided by myself and all of the others here has been helpful. Especially to those folks who where on the fence about buying it or just wanted to wait and see what was there. That was my goal.

Now I'm off to watch the bonus disc.

 

[Brian Himes]

Here is the entire series and everything that I found. I put all of my posts together for an easy handy reference guide.

Season 1

Pilot: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. There is also an original bumper (Gary Sandy doing a voice over as Andy) just before the tag scene.

Pilot, part 2: No music edits. Running time: 25:13.

Les On A Ledge: No music edits. However, there is a slight edit. Herb’s line, ‘Les, I’ve thought about it and it’s okay if you’re a homo’, has been redubbed to say ‘gay’ instead. Running time: 25:13. This episode also has an original bumper (Loni Anderson voice over as Jennifer) just before the tag scene.

Hoodlum Rock: No music edits. Running time: 24:55.

Hold Up: There are two musical edits. Van Halen's Atomic Punk is missing. This is the song heard when Dell turns on the stereo. There is no dialogue over the song so the music replacement does not interfere with the scene so there is nothing edited. Just a music substitution. The music used is generic rock music. Period appropriate and sounding so it isn't noticeable. I can live with this.

The other music edit is a bit more puzzling. Linda Ronstandt was on the list of artists whose music would be on the set, however Back In The U.S.A has been cut. Thus around 55 seconds is missing from the episode. The missing segment begins just after you hear Johnny say it's time to play another record. It then cuts to the footage of Carlsons' s car. The entire segment where Herb comes into the booth and Carlson saying he wants Herb killed is missing. Sorry folks. Running Time: 24:19.

Bailey's Show: No music edits. Running time: 25:05.

Turkey's Away: As I already mentioned Pink Floyd is gone. The scene is handled very well. The substituted music that is used does have barking dogs and it does sort of sound like Pink Floyd. So the dogs joke is there but Mr. Carlson asking for the name of the orchestra line and Johnny's response (naming Pink Floyd) and the next two lines has been edited. It picks up where Carlson mentions Pigs on the Wing. Without Pink Floyd, this is the best that could be accomplished with the scene. The scene is still funny, and all of the jokes are still there and not ruined. In my opinion Shout did an excellent job preserving 99% of the scene. Loads better than the old Fox DVD set. All other music in the episode is intact. Running time: 24:55.

Love Returns: No music edits. Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones and Linda Taylor's song at the end are all present. Running time: 25:08.

Mama's Review: No music edits. Running time: 25:08. The scene with Venus is intact and it seems to have the original music. I don't know what the song is, but Venus talks through the entire scene and there is no overdubbing. So, since Fox cut the scene on their season 1 set, I can't help but assume that this is the original scene as originally aired.

This episode does have one small imperfection. At the end, it fades to black (like it should) but then you hear the ending credits music, but Loni Anderson's credit is missing. You just see a black screen. The picture pops back in during Richard Sanders credit. This imperfection might be present on the original master tape and can't be corrected. It's just a minor thing but I thought I'd mention it.

A Date With Jennifer: No music edits. Running time: 25:07. There is an original generic bumper before the tag scene. Also there is a slight video imperfection during the scene in Andy's office just before Jennifer comes in with the new memo. It only lasts a brief moment but I wanted to mention it.

I gotta say here that having Hot Blooded back in the episode sure makes this episode so much better. Brilliant scene.

The Contest Nobody Could Win: No music edits. Yes, the original contest songs are all there. Running time: 25:08. An original bumper is used before the tag scene.

Ok, this is going to take some explaining. I'm not sure what happened here. There are some major edits to this episode. In the original version, just after the whole suits versus dungarees speech between Les and Herb, the scene cuts to Carlson's office and he's talking with Jennifer about the whole suits/dungarees thing. Then Andy comes in and says Johnny wants to pay back the $5000. The conversation between Andy and Carlson continues with mentions of putting Herb back in charge of promotions and Les back in charge of station publicity, Andy is to just program the music and also that the prize will be given out in cash and it's been promoted on the air all morning long. Herb and Les come in with the money. Jennifer then comes in and says the winner will be coming in early. The scene then changes to the lobby and the winner (Vincent Schiavelli) is there. He gets the money and meets Johnny just before he leaves. Johnny escorts him to his car. The real winner enters and the deception is revealed. Johnny then comes back with the cash and tells Carlson that he owes Johnny $12.50. Then the tag scene ending credits with Nicolette Larson's Lotta Love is heard and the next contest (underwear) and prize (lip gloss) is revealed. After that you get the standard ending credits with the usual ending credits music.

On the new set, after the suits versus dungarees speech with Les and Herb, the next scene is in Carlson's office and it's between Herb, Les, and Carlson. Lots of the dialogue is different then the original versions, but the points are basically the same. Herb and Les will be resuming some of their previous responsibilities, and the prize will be in cash. There is no mention of Johnny wanting to pay back the money. Andy leaves the office when the fake winner arrives. The fake is played by a different actor (John Wheeler). The fake doesn't meet Johnny nor does Johnny escort the winner to his car. The real winner comes in (in this version Jennifer is present during the reveal of the fake). Johnny does not get the money back. The next scene is the tag scene in the booth between Johnny and Venus. Johnny is borrowing money from Venus. It is revealed that Johnny has to pay the money back and it is not $5000 but $10,000. He plays a public service announcement asking for donations to help pay the winner his $5000. Johnny then announces the new contest (guess his underwear) and the prize (lip gloss). Standard ending credits with the usual ending credits music.

The only thing that I can speculate is that Shout used alternate scenes so they could edit out Lotta Love at the end and still preserve the underwear/lip gloss joke. It seems a bit of over kill to totally alter half of the second act of the episode to eliminate just one song. And a song that plays over the ending credits of the tag scene at that. Even more puzzling is the fact that the original scenes are on the Fox DVD. Very, very odd to say the least. I think that someone needs to have this addressed by Shout. Like I said, I'm not sure exactly what happened here.

Tornado: No music edits. Running time: 25:09. There is a bumper just before the tag scene. Les does play the Star Spangled Banner and not America The Beautiful. So, that scene is as it originally aired.

Goodbye Johnny: The Beach Boys, Surfin USA is gone. The same generic surf music that was used on the Fox DVD is used again here. However, the song Johnny plays for his Cincinnati Snow Shoe Shuffle Stomp (love that) that Fox substituted with something else and used dubbed dialogue has been restored to the original version. No dubbed dialogue and the original tune (whatever it is) is present. Running time: 24:00. That seems a bit short, but I did compare it to the original broadcast version and that is the correct running time.

Johnny Comes Back: No music edits. Running time: 24:56. There is an original bumper just before the tag scene.
I forgot to mention that the picture quality for this episode is not as pristine as previous episodes. The picture has a bit of a soft quality to it and it seems to be slightly faded. So, it could use some color correction or restoration. It's not terrible. It's just not as crisp as the other episodes. Since this is the original full length broadcast version, I'm not going to complain. More than likely, this is the best version and only copy that exists.

Never Leave Me Lucille: No music edits. Les singing Heartbreak Hotel is there. Running time: 24:55.

I Want To Keep My Baby: No music edits. In fact, The Kinks (which were not on the list from Shout) song Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy is there. Running time: 24:45.

A Commercial Break: No music edits. Herb reciting the lyrics to Sing by the Carpenters is there. Also Johnny's quick refrain of So Long is there. Running time: 24:45. There is a generic bumper just before the tag scene.

Who Is Gordon Sims?: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. There is a generic bumper just before the tag scene.

I Do, I Do...For Now: No music edits. As stated earlier, Jennifer's Doorbell (Fly Me To The Moon) is present and so are the two songs by Hoyt Axton. Running time: 24:49.

Young Master Carlson: No music edits. The theme from Patton is present. Running time: 24:56. There is a generic bumper just before the tag scene.

All four of the previous episodes appear to be 100% original broadcast versions.

Fish Story: No music edits. The scene of a drunk Venus singing is there (it was edited from on the Fox set). Running time: 23:58. There is a generic bumper just before the tag scene.

Preacher: As anticipated The Beatles song I'm Down has been replaced. A generic rock song is used. There is no dialogue over the song so the substitution is smooth with no edits. All of the other original music is present. Running time: 24:29. There is a generic bumper used just before the tag scene.

Season 2

For Love Or Money, part 1: Sadly there are two music edits in this episode. Robert Palmer's Bad Case Of Loving You and Herb Alpert's Rise are gone. Each song is substituted with generic music. The substitute for Robert Palmer is a generic rock song. There are two quick lines of dialogue over the song. Bailey is in the booth and says, 'Uh...Johnny' and Johnny pops out from under the console and says 'Yeah.' The sound drops a bit during these lines of dialogue. It sounds like the lines have been redubbed using voice actors. Once Johnny turns the sound down so the song is gone, everything is fine.

The Herb Alpert song missing is a bit more troublesome. In the original version we see the establishing shot of Jennifer's apartment building and Venus's voice is heard talking over Rise by Herb Alpert. He even says Venus is on the rise. In the new set the song is missing and the voice we here is not Tim Reid's voice. This is very obvious. The lines of dialogue have also been changed. No longer is 'Venus on the rise.' That's just part of what makes this troublesome. Rise is also used in the season 3 episode Hotel Oceanview. I checked Hotel Oceanview and the song is there. So, I'm confused. If the song was licensed, why wasn't both instances cleared? Were both instances cleared and this is just a mistake? I can't say. The very, very bad voice over bothers me alot. However, in the episode Hotel Oceanview there is a lot more dialogue over the song, so Shout may have had to choose the lesser of two evils here. I don't know. This just seems strange that the song could be used in one episode but not the other.

Now Earth, Wind and Fire's After The Love Is Gone is here. However, during the very end of the episode when Bailey is in the hall outside the booth, there is some sound dropouts. The song tends to come and go. This could be an issue with the original master tape. The 'next week on WKRP' is there just before the end credits. Running time: 24:54.

For Love Or Money, part 2: No music edits. The recap of part one is there just before the opening credits. Running time: 24:53.

Baseball: No music edits due to there being no music in the episode. Running time: 25:00.

I meant to mention that the scene where Johnny sniffs the white powder on the ground is there. Someone mentioned that this moment has been edited out from later broadcasts. Well, it is there but oddly enough there is no canned laughter for this joke.

Bad Risk: No music edits. The Knack, Little River Band and The Rolling Stones are all present and accounted for. Running time: 25:00. There is a generic bumper just before the tag scene.

Jennifer Falls In Love: No music edits. The three uses of Jennifer's Doorbell (Fly Me To The Moon) is present. Running time: 24:57. The usual bumper is there just before the tag scene.

Carlson For President: No music edits. The Star Wars Theme is there as is the bit of music just before the Carlson Campaign Announcement. Running time: 24:58. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Mike Fright: As was reported earlier, Sports and Chuck Berry are gone. There is dialogue just after the Sports song and that has been edited out. Johnny back announces the song and artist also the lines 'For those of you who do here are the morning's headlines." There is also a small amount of redubbed dialogue. Just before the Chuck Berry song in the original version Johnny says "...just say" and the song starts. In the dubbed version he says "...just say yeah." Yes, it is noticeable but not as intrusive as the Venus overdub from For Love Or Money. All of the other music (Martha and the Vandellas, Sly and the Family Stone, Bob Dylan, and Waylon Jennings) are all present. The blues music heard in the bar scene is the original. Andy and Venus (and later just Venus) singing Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) is also there. Running time: 24:45.

Patter Of Little Feat: There are two music edits in this episode. As I reported before, Maurice Chevalier is gone and just before Maurice comes on in the original The O'Jays Sing A Happy Song was heard. The O'Jays are also gone. So, instead of Maurice Chevalier we get a generic vocal version of We've Only Just Begun (I mistakenly said this was (They Long To Be) Close To You in my original post. Sorry about that.). The dialogue in the final scene is exactly the same as the original version but it has been overdubbed by voice actors. The Carlson sound alike is very close. At first I thought it was Gordon Jump, but when I listened more closely, I could tell it wasn't him. The voice actress doing Carmen Carlson's voice is not even close. It is very noticeable. Still by the Commodores is present. Running Time: 24:57.

Baby, If You've Ever Wondered: The only music edit is the loss of Michael Jackson's Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough from the party during the tag scene. The original voices are still present. The music has been substituted with some generic disco sounding song I don't recognize. Running time: 24:35. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Bailey's Big Break: No music edits. Running time: 24:58.

Jennifer's Home For Christmas: No music edits. All five instances of Jennifer's Doorbell (Fly Me To The Moon) is there. Running time: 24:55.

Just a couple of observations about this episode. If Johnny Fever hates disco so much, why during the party is he holding the Ethel Merman Disco Album? Then at Jennifer's apartment, why is Jennifer dressed as Shirley Partridge? Just a couple of odd things that I noticed. Yes, the goose joke is there. So is the down home Christmas joke.

Sparky: One music edit in this episode. Bob Marley and the Wailers song Survival is gone and generic Reggae music is heard. The song was just before Sparky Anderson's first interview show. Sadly, when Venus signs off, he mentions both the song title and the artist so his dialogue has been redubbed with the same really bad voice actor. Yes, it is noticeable. There are no other music edits. Running time: 24:25. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

God Talks To Johnny: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

A Family Affair: There is only one small music edit. The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Foxy Lady is gone. With the loss of the song we lose about 10 seconds of dialogue. Johnny mentions Hendrix so that is why there is an edit. This edit is handled very, very well and it is confined to just the few seconds that contained the song. Johnny says 'Chemicals, a natural part of life' just before the edit. A total of three lines are cut. Running time: 24:00.

Herb's Dad: No music edits. Running time: 24:46.

Put Up Or Shut Up: One music edit. Herb singing Our Day Will Come has been removed. No dialogue has been affected. Jennifer's Doorbell (Fly Me To The Moon) is intact. Running time: 24:43. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

The Americanization Of Ivan: No music edits. All of the references to Elton John's Tiny Dancer (and the song itself) are present. Running time: 24:55.

Les's Groupie: No Music edits. Johnny Mathis Chances Are is there as well as Les singing Chances Are. Running time: 24:55.

In Concert: There is a very, very small edit in the opening. The opening shot of what looks like the empty booth is not there. Instead the scene opens with Johnny flying to the microphone just as the song ends. I guess they could only use a small portion of The Pretenders song The Wait. There are just about 3 or 4 seconds edited. Also, The Rolling Stones Sympathy For The Devil has been replaced but the original dialogue over the song has been salvaged. No overdubbing. Bill Evans Remembering The Rain is there. Running time: 24:55.

The Doctor's Daughter: Well, the Eagles The Long Run is missing, It has been substituted by a generic song that kind of has the same feel and beat to match Johnny head bobbing movements. Andy's voice is redubbed as is Laurie's voice over while Johnny read her letter. In fact, Laurie's overdubbed voice begins at the beginning of the scene where Bill Haley and The Comets Rock Around The Clock is heard. Bill Haley is there. Running time: 24:35. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

I'm kind of surprised that the Eagles are gone, but not too surprised. Someone here said that the recent lawsuit with Don Felder is the reason for the song not being there. Oh well. I don't like it, but there isn't much I can do about it.

Filthy Pictures: No music edits. Bonnie Raitt is there. This is the original hour long version and not the two part version that has been aired for years. Running time: 48:53. There is a bumper in the middle of the episode as it originally aired.

Venus Rising: No music edits. Running time: 25:00. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Most Improved Station: There is a tiny music edit (believe me this is quite petty if you ask me). The next morning after the awards, when Johnny takes off his headphones, the original music heard has been replaced. Now, I tried and tried to identify the song and I had no luck at all. You really can't make out just what it is. Johnny's line about the tux not going back until six is still there and it has not been overdubbed. However, the music is now much louder and it just about covers up the line about the tux. To me, removing this very tiny, practically unclear bit of music is really nitpicking. It really brings this whole music licensing issue to light. To have to remove something that no one can even understand is going too far. I mean really. Without looking at what ever paperwork exists showing what songs were used where, could anyone even figure out what the song really is? I seriously doubt it. Running time: 24:57.

Season 3

The Airplane Show: There are four music edits. Devo's Whip It has been replaced but the original dialogue has been kept with no overdubbing. The same for Deep Purple's Space Truckin' since there was some dialogue over this song. The Cars Gimme Some Slack has been removed. Nothing was affected by its removal. The very brief snipit of Debbie Boone's You Light Up My Life is gone as well. She is still mentioned during the long roster of other stations announcing their call letters but the actual part of the song is gone. Since the song was at a low volume, it may have been dubbed over with another radio station call letters, but I didn't match each and every bit of this montage with the original version. Sorry folks. I just listened for the song. Everything else sounded correct but it all goes by so quickly that it would take just too much time to pick that minute of the episode apart. Running time: 24:13. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Jennifer Moves: There are no music edits as there is no music in this episode. Running time: 24:53. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Real Families: There are some music edits as well as a couple of other edits to this episode. First Johny Olson's voice as the announcer of the Real Families show has been replaced. Also the theme music for the Real Families show has been changed. This was probably done at the same time that Olson's voice was replaced. The Talking Heads song Once In A Lifetime is gone. The dialogue over the song has been kept with no overdubbing. Ok, the Rolling Stones song She's So Cold has been replaced by Jackson Browne's That Girl Could Sing. The original dialogue has been kept. No overdubbing. Running time: 24:50. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

The Baby: There is one music edit. The Pointer Sisters song Could I Be Dreaming is gone and has been replaced with something I don't recognize. There was no dialogue so nothing is affected with the replacement of the song. The mellow jazz music that Venus is playing at the beginning of this episode is there and it is the original piece. Johnny singing Peggy Sue is there as well. Running time: 23:50. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Hotel Oceanview: No music edits. Running time: 24:14. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

A Mile In My Shoes: The Rolling Stones song Get Of Of My Cloud has been replaced with a generic song. The original dialogue over this song has been kept with no overdubbing. Running time: 24:58.

Bah, Humbug: No music edits. Running time: 24:03.

Baby, It's Cold Inside: No music edits. Mrs. Carlson singing Someone To Watch Over Me is there. Running time: 24:55.

The Painting: No music edits. Running time: 24:55.

Daydreams: No music edits. All of the music (instrumental or vocal) used in the dreams are present. Running time: 24:55.

Frog Story: There is one music edit. Randy Nedwman's song Gone Dead Train has been replaced with a sound alike version of the same song. The Kinks (song You Really Got Me) were not on Shout's list and they are present. Running time: 24:55. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Venus & The Man: One music edit. Candi Staton’s song Looking For Love has been removed and a generic song has been substituted. Venus’s dialogue has been altered to say Andi Taton instead of Candi Staton. No other music has been changed. Running time: 24:54. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Dr. Fever & Mr. Tide: There are two music edits. First, once again The Rolling Stones song Sympathy For The Devil is gone. It has been substituted with some generic rock song with the same basic beat and tempo. There is no dialogue over the song so nothing is edited out of the scene. However, Andy does a bit of singing along with the song in a soft voice (almost a whisper) so the volume of the replacement song is loud enough to cover this up. The second music edit is the loss of Chic's Le Freak. It has been replaced with some generic disco song. No dialogue, just dancing so nothing is edited out of the scene. The kids dances moves really don't fit with the replacement song, but that's minor. This episode is presented in its original hour long version. Running time: 47:34. The bumper just before the tag scene is there.

Ask Jennifer: No music edits due to there being no music in the episode. Running time: 24:55.

I Am Woman: No music edits. The Gershwin song Lady Be Good that is played on the piano in the bar scene is intact. Running time: 24:58.

Secrets Of Dayton Heights: One music edit. The song on the radio in the barber shop has been replaced with generic big band music. The original song was I've Found A New Baby by Benny Goodman. Running time: 25:00. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Out To Lunch: There are three music edits. The Bee Gees Jive Talkin' has been replaced by a song that sort of sounds like Jive Talkin' in that all you can really make out is the lyric 'talkin', talkin'. The original dialogue in this scene is there and has not been overdubbed. As expected, The Beatles Here Comes The Sun is also gone. It has been replaced by some generic piano music that seems to be more appropriate to a restaurant setting (which is where the scene takes place). The original dialogue is intact with no overdubbing. The U2 song I Will Follow is gone. All of the original dialogue in the scene has been preserved. All of the other music in the episode is intact as originally broadcast. Running time: 24:56. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

A Simple Little Wedding: No music edits. Running time: 24:36. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Nothing To Fear But...: No music edits. Running time: 24:54.

'Till Debt Do Us Part: There is one music edit. Dave Mason's We Just Disagree is gone from the tag scene. It was not replaced with anything. The original dialogue is there with no overdubbing. Running time: 24:53. A silent bumper just before the tag scene is there.

Clean Up Radio Everywhere: No music edits. I am also very happy to report that Dr. Bob Hayler reciting the lyrics to John Lennon's Imagine is there and has not been tampered with. I don't know what this cost Shout, but I'm betting it didn't come cheap. Kudos to them for being able to keep this episode 100% intact. The loss of the recitation of Imagine would have ruined the entire episode. Bravo! Mr. Carlson’s handheld video baseball game sounds no longer play ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game.’ Instead it just makes generic computer game noises like those old Matel games from the late 70s. Running time: 24:55.

Season 4

An Explosive Affair, part 1: No music edits. Running time 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

An Explosive Affair, part 2: There are a couple of edits to this episode. First the voice over for the recap scenes is gone. The second edit is a music edits. Kool & The Gang's Celebration have been removed. No music has been substituted and all of the original dialogue has been preserved. Running time: 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

The Union: There is one music edit. The Rolling Stones song Start Me Up has been replaced with a generic rock song. Johnny's intro to the song has been redubbed. This is not too bad. He just identifies the artist and song as the song starts. Running time: 23:45. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Rumors: No music edits. Running time: 24:05.

Straight From The Heart: No music edits. Running time: 24:04.

Who's On First: No music edits. Running time: 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Three Days Of The Condo: No music edits. Running time: 24:05. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Jennifer And The Will: No music edits. Running time: 24:04.

The Consultant: No music edits. Running time: 24:04.

Love, Exciting And New: No music edits due to there being no music in the episode. Running time: 23:44. The bumper before the tag scene is there. This episode looks like it runs short but I did compare running times with the original and this is correct.

You Can't Go Out Of Town Again: There is one music edit. The Rolling Stones song (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction has been replaced with a generic rock song. There is no dialogue so nothing has been edited or overdubbed.

Pills: There is one music edit. Barry Manilow's song The Old Songs has been replaced. Also, two lines of dialogue have been redubbed. They are the same lines as spoken in the original but they are those voice actors. Bailey's line, 'It's only for a week.' and Johnny's line, 'Well I guess I can take if for that long', are the lines that have been redubbed. Other than that, there are no other music edits. Running time: 24:04. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Changes: No music edits. Running time: 24:55.

Jennifer And Johnny's Charity: The Beatles song Come Together is there but is is not performed by The Beatles. It is performed by a sound alike band. As such, Johnny's line, 'Here comes John Lennon. He's a rock monster.' has been changed, redubbed and slightly edited. The edit is very, very small. The John Lennon line is completely gone and instead of 'He's a rock monster' the line now is 'Here's a rock monster'. There are no other edits, music or otherwise. Running time: 24:53.

I'll Take Romance: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Circumstantial Evidence: There is one music edit. Kool & The Gang's Take My Heart has been replaced with a generic instrumental jazz song. However, Tom Scott's We Belong Together is there. Since Venus mentions James 'J.T.' Taylor and Kool & The Gang all of his dialogue has been changed. However, it is not that really bad voice actor. What they did was lift an original Venus voice over from another episode where he doesn't mention either artist or song and use it here. If I recall, the dialogue used is from the episode For Love Or Money. It was the voice over that was supposed to be over the Herb Alpert song that was replaced with that bad voice actor. It's an interesting solution. None of the replacement songs affect the original dialogue. Everything is still there that was there originally. Running time: 24:57. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Fire: No music edits. Running time: 24:44.

Dear Liar: No music edits. Running time: 24:55.

The Creation Of Venus: There is one music edit. Van Morrison's song Wavelength has been replaced with a generic song. None of the dialogue is affected by the replacement. There are no other music edits. Running time: 24:55.

The Impossible Dream: No music edits. Running time: 24:25.

To Err Is Human: No music edits. Running time: 24:57. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

Up And Down The Dial: No music edits. Running time: 24:55. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

 

[BobO'Link]

Brian, WOW! What a incredible job and service you've performed! Thank you for your hard work in compiling such a comprehensive listing as it makes *all* the difference! I can safely keep my pre-order in place knowing I'll soon be able to view WKRP almost as if I were watching the original broadcasts again! Like others, I was hoping to finally get rid of that horrible job done by Fox on Season 1 but with your notes about "The Contest..." it is apparent I need to keep it, or at least the single disc with that episode, for completion sake. Consider this a "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" shout out! (hmmm... do we have to license that to sing it for you?)

 

[WhitneyG]

Brian, I can't thank you enough for all your hard work in putting this together for us. Based on the first 30% or so of your posts, I felt confident enough with the quality of this set to place a pre-order for it. You're helping to educate us, and helping Shout to sell more copies in the process. Thanks!

One minor question: I didn't see your review of "Dear Liar." Did you miss that one?


Also, to everyone else: Now that we know the edits that have been made, which ones do you think are the most problematic? I ask this not to pick at this set, as it's clear to me that a lot of care was put into making this as close to perfect as possible under the circumstances. Rather, I'd just like to get some frame of reference for which episodes I should dig out of my archive recordings. I'm a big fan of the show, but I don't have every minute memorized (yet), so your opinions will help me get my barrings on what matters most.

I made a short list of which episodes were hit the hardest. Here's my take, please let me know if you disagree, as I am still thinking this over:

Hold-Up
The Contest Nobody Could Win
For Love or Money, Part 1
Patter of Little Feet
The Doctor's Daughter
Real Families

Have I missed any that are particularly bad or unfortunate edits/cuts? Obviously there are many other episodes that have edits, but a lot of the edits were done tastefully and without causing much disruption. The fact that I'm happy with 84/90 of the episodes speaks volumes to how much was done to get this right.

 

[Brian Himes]

Brian, I can't thank you enough for all your hard work in putting this together for us. Based on the first 30% or so of your posts, I felt confident enough with the quality of this set to place a pre-order for it. You're helping to educate us, and helping Shout to sell more copies in the process. Thanks!

One minor question: I didn't see your review of "Dear Liar." Did you miss that one?

Ooops! Yep, I forgot to post that one. I did do it. I have added it to both the master list and the post where it should be. Thanks for catching that.

I also made a slight mistake on the episode Fire. I had the wrong running time. It should be 24:44. I posted the running time of 24:55 which is the running time for Dear Liar.