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

[lj01]

Brian - thanks again for taking the time to create this resource AND doing it so quickly!

Quick question on Season 4's "Pills" - it sounded to me that the Police's "Spirits in the Material World" was missing (dialogue unchanged, during the scene where Andy asks the DJs to read a disclaimer) - in general the song is drowned out by the dialogue but it sound to me as if the song wasn't there.

 

[Brian Himes]

Brian - thanks again for taking the time to create this resource AND doing it so quickly!

Quick question on Season 4's "Pills" - it sounded to me that the Police's "Spirits in the Material World" was missing (dialogue unchanged, during the scene where Andy asks the DJs to read a disclaimer) - in general the song is drowned out by the dialogue but it sound to me as if the song wasn't there.

The Police song is indeed there. You're right, the dialogue drowns most of it out but it is there.

 

[Brian Himes]

Can anyone shed any light on the reason the first 12 or so episodes of season 4are 24:05, and then later season shows go back to near 25:00?I'm looking for confirmation these aren't cut down from their original length.

Jamie Weinman mentioned this a few pages back that several of the first episodes of season four were just over 24 minutes and later episodes were back to being closer to 25 minutes. He didn't know why. He thought it had to do with CBS trying to squeeze in a bit of extra commercial time.

I did compare all of them to his original versions and the running times are the full length. All syndicated cuts of the series are 22 minutes.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

Having studied the complete list of changes, it looks like I'll be able to use this set as my go-to WKRP viewing for all but these episodes:
Hold Up
The Contest Nobody Could Win [I want both versions]
For Love or Money, Part 1
Mike Fright
Patter of Little Feat
The Airplane Show

 

[kentmccord]

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

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?)

and no credit to person who told Brian to make a post like that, typical

 

[Brian Himes]

I watched the bonus disc and features and well....they're not horrible but they're not spectacular either. When it comes to bonus features, I'm not that hard to please. I like for companies to use as much vintage stuff as they can on a set and if the have new things (cast interviews, reunions, etc) I like for them to be comprehensive. You know, give us all of the stuff on the history of the show, the making of it, any day to day remembrances or moments that stand out. In other words, a full course meal and not just a fluffy dessert. The four bonus features here are just fluffy dessert. Now, that is not a complaint. I didn't want any bonus features for this set. I wanted every scent to spent on the music clearance. However, Shout did decide to spend a little money for a couple of new bonus features and to carry over the two featurettes that were on the Fox season 1 set.

The Paley Center cast reunion was ok, but there really wasn't a whole lot of new information here. Hugh Wilson pretty much dominates the conversation. While he's really funny, I would like to have heard more from Tim Reid, Jan Smithers (she only gets to talk for a couple of brief moments), Howard Hesseman (my personal favorite), and Loni Anderson. The moderator was some radio guy that I don't even remember his name. He talked alot. There is a very brief call in moment with Gary Sandy. Gordon Jump, Frank Bonner and Richard Sanders are all talked about very fondly. Especially Gordon. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this a 5.

A Look Back At WKRP In Cincinnati With Gary Sandy is decent, but again not earth shattering. It's basically Sandy siting in a radio booth and talking. There are show clips scattered throughout to pad the running time. There are a few good moments and recollections here.

The other two bonus features are the two from the Fox set. A Fish Story Story, and Do My Eyes Say Yes. The Fish Story one is the better of the two. Both do have interviews with Frank Bonner which was nice.

What I really would like to have seen is a documentary on the history of the complications this show has had in terms of syndication and home video. What did Shout have to go through to get the series to its current state on home video? An honest look at everything. The first stuff to cut for syndication in the early 80s right through to the Fox season one set. Don't turn it into a Fox bashing session, but show why the Fox set was such a travesty. Was there one really big 'yahoo' moment for Shout when they cleared a certain song that before had been unobtainable or that finally completed a certain episode so it could be seen 100% intact for the first time in 35 years? I mean, if there was a time for Shout to toot its own horn, here was the chance. I certainly would have found this kind of feature much more interesting and engaging than the few things we did get.

What we got is fine. It's just nice versus something a little more meaty.

Ok, now bring on Batman. I'm ready.

 

[Brian Himes]

and no credit to person who told Brian to make a post like that, typical

I actually had it in mind to do that before it was suggested.

 

[TJSBEATLES]

and no credit to person who told Brian to make a post like that, typical

I am very much hoping that this post is sarcasm/an attempt at humor, because if it isn't, it's kind of antithetical to the entire spirit of both this thread and the joy of WKRP. To even bring any kind of ego or anger to this thread would be, to quote Young Master Carlson, "obtuse" and/or "addle-minded", right? (Are you sure this post didn't come from Prussian Valley Military School?)

 

[Hasslein]

As I had mentioned before, there was a Paley WKRP reunion in the 90's every actor was there, but no Hugh Wilson. Wish that were included. Even then, the actors didn't talk a lot, the writers carried most of the conversation.

 

[Obtuse]

Jamie Weinman mentioned this a few pages back that several of the first episodes of season four were just over 24 minutes and later episodes were back to being closer to 25 minutes. He didn't know why. He thoght it had to do with CBS trying to squeeze in a bit of extra commercial time.

I did compare all of them to his original versions and the running times are the full length. All syndicated cuts of the series are 22 minutes.

Maybe Jaime or someone else can confirm this for me....did the (80's) syndicated episodes shown on the CBC in Canada have less cuts (for time) than the U.S. Victory Television package? I seem to remember that being the case. Unfortunately I don't have any episodes taped from the CBC to verify....

I know the later 90's syndication package that ran in Canada (Comedy Channel) was cut a bit differently than the U.S. one.

The CBC ran WKRP during the afternoon from the 80's into the early nineties, which is why the show retains a great deal of popularity in the Great White North. (Was mandatory after-school viewing for me, though I was on the U.S. side of the border).

 

[jeffyoungct]

Maybe Jaime or someone else can confirm this for me....did the (80's) syndicated episodes shown on the CBC in Canada have less cuts (for time) than the U.S. Victory Television package?

Some of the episodes currently running Sunday nights at 10 PM & 10:30 PM ET on Antenna TV in the US do run 24-25 minutes. Others are just 22. I have seen the Victory Television logo a couple of times on there; but, most have the 20th Television logo (Maybe if there was nothing to change, they just continued to distribute the Victory version as-is?)

They seem to have the late '90s overdubs and replacements described on Jaime's first (?) blog, The Flimm Building:

http://www.oocities.org/wkrpvote/music.htm

For instance, in the final scene of "The Doctor's Daughter", Bill Haley is out, but The Eagles are in.

Thanks to all gathering and sharing information here!

 

[TJSBEATLES]

Kent, this isn't Russia. (Is this Russia? This isn't Russia. Sorry, just a little Caddyshack to lighten the mood). None of us was forced to purchase this set. And while I can't speak for anyone else on this thread, all I can tell you is that I am incredibly frustrated that one of the most classic scenes in TV history (from "Turkeys Away"), not to mention other favorite, classic moments have been butchered. It's rendered at least 4-5 of the 90 newly issued episodes borderline unwatchable for me, and another 10-12 slightly disappointed.

But, that leaves around 75 episodes of this great show - my favorite sit-com of all time, in fact - intact, just as I remembered it. No, strike that - having fallen in love with the show in syndication, I'm actually seeing new scenes and hearing new songs & dialogue I never knew existed. That's a gift that more than makes up for the awful and painful omissions and overdubs; for which I'll go back to the syndicated episodes I've found online and on my old VHS tapes.

I've seen you post angry rants at Shout, and at all of us who are experiencing great joy at this release. I am not judging your frustration - I understand it and share it. But on this thread and others, your efforts to incite mass anger at Shout makes little sense and doesn't respect the happiness that many - if not most - of us are feeling right now. I don't get it. Besides, unless you have an inside source at Shout who personally told you that to get, say "Dogs", or "I'm Down", or "The Long Run" was doable for X amount of money and Shout refused because they're cheap, I don't think you have a very good argument. What was the price point for "Dogs"? If it cost $250,000 to clear "Tomorrow Never Knows" on Mad Men, what was it for "Dogs"? $100,000? $500,000? Or are Floyd's publishers so difficult/unmovable that no amount of money would have cleared it? What inside information do you have - and not about other Shout series or other releases from other companies? If you have tangible proof, please share.

In the meantime, I respect your opinion and your frustration. I really do. I share a lot of it. But the answer is simple: don't buy the set! Download the old syndicated torrent files, or go to iOffer and buy a whole syndicated set with the original music. But lashing out at the rest of us misses the point and is kind of a downer. We're all here because we love WKRP. I don't have any vested interest in Shout one way or another; but if 80-85% of the previously-impossible-to-clear episodes of my favorite TV show of all time are available to me at a price I can afford - with footage and dialogue I'd never even dreamed existed - then damn straight I'm thankful for their hard work and especially pleased with my purchase. I wish you'd respect that as much as we respect your anger and decision to not buy this set.

We all wish it was perfect. It's not. And it sucks. But either try to deal with it like the rest of us have, or move on and stop ruining the joy the rest of us are experiencing.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Maybe Jaime or someone else can confirm this for me....did the (80's) syndicated episodes shown on the CBC in Canada have less cuts (for time) than the U.S. Victory Television package? I seem to remember that being the case. Unfortunately I don't have any episodes taped from the CBC to verify....

I know the later 90's syndication package that ran in Canada (Comedy Channel) was cut a bit differently than the U.S. one.

The CBC ran WKRP during the afternoon from the 80's into the early nineties, which is why the show retains a great deal of popularity in the Great White North. (Was mandatory after-school viewing for me, though I was on the U.S. side of the border).

I don't remember much about the versions shown on the CBC, but I've been told by those with better memories than I that yes, they did include stuff like Bailey's daydream that we didn't see on the Comedy Network. In all likelihood the CBC was showing the same master tapes Shout! is using (with the substitutions already made by then, like the removal of some of the Stones songs) but complete. But I've never seen tapes from those airings. They must be out there somewhere, though it's no longer essential to find them.

The syndication package Fox prepared in the late '90s had many new music changes/edits, and also used 22-minute syndicated versions for about one-fourth of the episodes.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

In the meantime, I respect your opinion and your frustration. I really do. I share a lot of it. But the answer is simple: don't buy the set! Download the old syndicated torrent files, or go to iOffer and buy a whole syndicated set with the original music.

And remember, those sets may have music that isn't on this set, but it will be also missing 3-4 minutes of scenes from every episode that are on this set. There's no perfect version except the ones you may make yourself (IN THEORY).

Yeah, it's too bad the commentaries couldn't be 'ported over and yes, it's too bad every episode isn't exactly the way it originally aired, and no, I'm not an apologist for Shout! or any other company, even if I'm grateful to them for getting this set out. But we just know that a company will spend the money they can afford on a set and sell it at the price where they can make back their money (if they paid whatever it costs to get the missing songs, and raised the price accordingly, they're not going to sell the same number of sets). Within those limitations, we think Shout! has done extremely well and better than many of us ever expected this show to get.

 

[kentmccord]

And remember, those sets may have music that isn't on this set, but it will be also missing 3-4 minutes of scenes from every episode that are on this set. There's no perfect version except the ones you may make yourself (IN THEORY).

Yeah, it's too bad the commentaries couldn't be 'ported over and yes, it's too bad every episode isn't exactly the way it originally aired, and no, I'm not an apologist for Shout! or any other company, even if I'm grateful to them for getting this set out. But we just know that a company will spend the money they can afford on a set and sell it at the price where they can make back their money (if they paid whatever it costs to get the missing songs, and raised the price accordingly, they're not going to sell the same number of sets). Within those limitations, we think Shout! has done extremely well and better than many of us ever expected this show to get.

the bolded area, yes commentaries could have been ported over but SHOUT is either to lazy or incomptent or ignorant to have done so, as said before MILL CREEK WAS ABLE TO DO A PORT OF A COMMENTARY FROM AN EDITED EPISODE TO A UNEDITED VERSION OF SAME EPISODE OF THAT 70S SHOW

SO I GUESS SHOUT IS ADMITTTING BY THEIR ACTIONS, THEY ARE MORE INCOMPETENT THAN MILL CREEK

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

the bolded area, yes commentaries could have been ported over but SHOUT is either to lazy or incomptent or ignorant to have done so, as said before MILL CREEK WAS ABLE TO DO A PORT OF A COMMENTARY FROM AN EDITED EPISODE TO A UNEDITED VERSION OF SAME EPISODE OF THAT 70S SHOW

SO I GUESS SHOUT IS ADMITTTING BY THEIR ACTIONS, THEY ARE MORE INCOMPETENT THAN MILL CREEK

Maybe? But Mill Creek didn't do this set, Shout! did. And I don't know why they couldn't or wouldn't use the commentaries. You'll have to ask them.

Nobody's saying every aspect of this set is perfect, just that it's overall a good job that exceeded expectations.

 

[Obtuse]

As I've said before, one is certainly free to hold out for that "100% perfect set" (no doubt delivered next-day by unicorn, riding on a rainbow made of sweet, delicious candy).

I choose to enjoy this one.

 

[Brian Himes]

Nobody's saying every aspect of this set is perfect, just that it's overall a good job that exceeded expectations.

Exactly. This set, while not perfect, is certainly not a butchered mess. Yes, there are edits. One big one and several smaller ones that border on the very tiny. There are music substitutions but they are handled well and are appropriate sounding. There is some dialogue redubbing but it was kept to the barest minimum. A lot of the music lost is in dialogue heavy scenes that you could barely even hear the music (Here Comes The Sun for example) and all of the dialogue was saved. Overall, yes I'm pleased. It is certainly a set that I can live with.

 

[TJSBEATLES]

Kent, what will make you happy at this point? Do you want Shout Factory to give you something for free? Do you want us to gather with torches and pitchforks and head to Shout's headquarters? Should we call up Mill Creek and vent our anger to them? Do you want the ghost of Gordon Jump to return and hand you the two commentaries that you can easily rip from the Fox DVD's as digital files? For real, you are pointing fingers and barking at people and then getting defensive; why not be pro-active and let us all know what it is you'd like to do at this point?

The set has been released. Most of us are thrilled. You are alone on an island here; which would be fine, if you weren't making everyone so angry in the process.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

It's a sign of a decent set that some people are down to loudly complaining about lack of two commentary tracks.Granted, there is still missing music, but only the most unreasonable people, or perhaps those with an ax to grind, would expect 100% of the music with what we have heard about prices for Beatles songs or Pink Floyd's unfortunate unwillingness to license their music out.So, lack of two commentary tracks is THE WORST POSSIBLE THING! And if that's not enough, that lime green box color sure is ugly.