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

Matt.Koz

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Raoul Plager said:
Matt, can you spot check a couple things when you get a chance?In the episode Mike Fright from the second season, did the Sly and the Family Stone track "Remember Who You Are" make the cut? Sly wasn't on the song list that Shout released. Fever mentions the band and the tune so if they weren't able to license it (thanks, MJ), I'm guessing that would have been edited out. Also, can you check if "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis remains in the episode Les's Groupie, also from the second season? Would be a shame if that was cut (Les's only record!). Another important one would be "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy which was used to hilarious effect in the episode A Family Affair, as part of the laid-back soul sound of DJ Apollo Flytrap, who was filling in for Venus (as improvised by Andy). Also curious if "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads was cut from the brilliant season three episode, "Real Families." Didn't see the Heads on the song list so guessing yes. Like others, I'm also curious if the Eagles song "The Long Run" (the hit Johnny played!) was cut from "The Doctor's Daughter," also in season two. Thanks so much. Look forward to hearing more from you and Brian on this long awaited set.
Checked the episodes. Mike Fright has Sly and the Family Stone. The Sports and Chuck Berry are missing and dialog has been edited to reflect their omission. Chances Are by Johnny Mathis is there in Les' Groupie and I Am Woman is there in A Family Affair. The Eagles are not in The Doctor's Daughter. There is a soundalike and Gary Sandy's dialog has been been overdubbed by someone who sounds nothing like him.I think I may be trying my hand at some creative video editing (demuxing and remuxing audio) when all is said and done.
 

Peter M Fitzgerald

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There's so much good news (and very few disappointments), so far, coming from these early reviews (Brian Himes, Matt Koz and the other early-receivers and WKRP scholars are my new heroes!) that I had the confidence to put in my advanced order for the general release last night... can't wait! :rock:

Sounds like Shout has more-or-less done a similar job with WKRP that they did, years ago, with the similarly-problematic SCTV collections, which is a good thing.
 

AndrewCrossett

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It sounds like they did a great job with season 1... and in season 2 we start running into problems with bad overdubs.

I wonder if it would have been that difficult to get the original actors to do their own dubs. They're all still around except for Gordon Jump.
 

Jaime_Weinman

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Matt.Koz said:
The Eagles are not in The Doctor's Daughter. There is a soundalike and Gary Sandy's dialog has been been overdubbed by someone who sounds nothing like him.
To show you how funny licensing can be: in the '90s syndication package, "Rock around the Clock" is cut in this final scene and Johnny's daughter's voice is overdubbed, but the Eagles are intact. Now "Rock Around the Clock" is back (according to someone else I asked about this scene; I don't have my copy yet) but they couldn't get the Eagles. (This is not a criticism, just a statement that what you can or can't get seems to change over the years, or maybe even weeks.)
 

Obtuse

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classictvfan40 said:
Those who ordered it from Shout are getting their copies today.
Got mine yesterday......

Looks like in some cases where music couldn't be cleared, Shout! simply used the substitutions originally made for the 90's syndie run.

For example, S2 EP. 1 "For Love Or Money pt. 1" uses the same replacement song for "Bad Case Of Loving You", ("Six Pack Of Love...") and the same slight overdubs used on the 90's cut.
 

AndrewCrossett

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Wonder if the Gershwin survived in "Baby It's Cold Outside," or the Star Wars theme in "Carlson for President?"

Not hopeful on either.
 

alfke

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A friend told me that in the case of the Eagles, the publishing rights are held by Eagles Ltd, which settled a lawsuit with former member Don Felder. Any licensing for WKRP would mean the current Eagles would have to cut a royalty cheque for Don Felder, which does not go over well with current members Don Henley and Glenn Frey, which is the primary reason to deny rights to Shout! and other companies (ie karaoke).

Not sure if it's true, but it makes sense. There is no source, just pure speculation on my friend's part.
 

Skywalker79

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AndrewCrossett said:
Wonder if the Gershwin survived in "Baby It's Cold Outside," or the Star Wars theme in "Carlson for President?"

Not hopeful on either.
Don't know about Gershwin but Star Wars theme is included according to someone at The WKRP group at FB.
 

Brian Himes

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Ok, here is the run down on the next six episodes of season 2

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.

Well, I'm off to do the next four episodes.
 

Jaime_Weinman

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The replacement of Chevalier with "We've Only Just Begun," and the voice dubbing with it, was one of the first changes made for syndication in the '80s - the original is quite rare. It seems funny that with all the expensive songs in the show, a song from an MGM musical was the first to go.

Great news about "Baseball," "Jennifer Falls in Love," "Carlson For President" and "Bad Risk" as they are all episodes that only circulated in cut syndicated versions for the last 15+ years, even on stations that wanted to show the uncut versions. Getting these episodes with all the scenes intact is almost as big an inducement for me as the music.

Thanks for doing this, Brian (I can't wait to get the set and see for myself, but this is the next best thing until it arrives)
 

Brian Himes

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Ok, here are the next four episodes of season 2.

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.

Off to do more. Be back later. Since I have tomorrow off from work, I hope to get into season 3.
 

Jaime_Weinman

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Thanks again, Brian. If you have a chance, could you check the timings on the following episodes and see if they're full length?
- Les's Groupie (season 2)
- Herb's Dad (s2)
- The Baby (season 3)
- Baby, It's Cold Inside (s3)
- Frog Story (s3)
- I Am Woman (s3)
- Changes (season 4)
- Dear Liar (s4)
These are the episodes that were always circulated in cut syndication versions. (Also "Daydreams" but I've been already told that one is complete.)
Update: Someone else who has it says he timed "Frog Story" at 24:56. Yes! Probably my favorite episode and I could never get a good uncut copy.
 

Doris2k

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- Les's Groupie 24:55- Herb's Dad 24:50- Baby, It's Cold Inside 24:55- I Am Woman 24:55- Changes 24:55- Dear Liar 24:55
 

Jaime_Weinman

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Thanks, Doris. And thanks to Shout! for going the extra mile to find the full-length versions of these episodes. Some of these episodes haven't been broadcast uncut in a generation.
 

Rob P S

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I hope that's a good sign for Mama Carlson singing Gershwin - a really lovely scene that ties into the ending.
 

Brian Himes

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Here are the final four episodes of disc two of season 2.

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: No music edits. Jennifer's Doorbell (Fly Me To The Moon) is intact. Running time: 24:43. The bumper before the tag scene is there.

I'll be back tomorrow with the final episodes of season 2 and I hope the first couple episodes of season 3.
 

Obtuse

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I'll add some from S2, Disc 3:

The Americanization Of Ivan: No music edits (all instances of "Tiny Dancer" present). Running Time 24:55.

Les' Groupie: No music edits. Johnny Mathis-"Chances Are" present (both the recording and Les' singing). Running Time 24:56.

In Concert: Slightly trimmed at beginning (part of The Pretenders "The Wait"). The Rolling Stones "Sympathy For The Devil" replaced (obscured by generic music, over what sounds like original dialog...can hear a little Mick Jagger under Bailey's voice). Bill Evans "Remembering The Rain" is there. Running Time 24:57.

Looks like they could clear some Rolling Stones material, but not all.....

On edit...In Concert seems to be complete when compared to another copy.
 

Obtuse

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The Doctor's Daughter: Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", Bo Diddley-"Bo Diddley", and Bill Haley-"Rock Around The Clock" present. The Eagles-"The Long Run" replaced by a similar sounding tune. Andy's reaction to Johnny playing a hit overdubbed (not too convincingly). Running Time 24:35.
 

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