"WKRP 50th Anniversary Special" (opening)

[mustaffa1611]

why didnt jan smithers or gary sandy ever appear on "the new wkrp?"

[wandaluverr]

how come it always says as Dr. Johnny Fever but it doesnt say the names of the other characters

[solidchef]

@wandaluverr It's because, at that time, Howard hesseman was the biggest star.

[tsntana]

@solidchef I don't think that was the reason. If it was, then Tom Poston (as George) must have been the biggest star of Newhart.

[sserpent21]

Why didn't Jan Smithers get into another show? I hear she wants to act again.

[vlunney]

@sserpent21

she was hotter then Loni Anderson!:)

[VinylShellacLover]

2028?

(It will be here in the blink of an eye!)

[RobertJ1966]

50th anniversary .. um I know I went to school in Ohio but was the show 20 years old when it first aired?

[Captmiloman]

@RobertJ1966 It was supposed to be the 50th anniversary of the fictional radio station WKRP.

[smichael61]

50TH Anniversary?

[WhatsAYak]

@smichael61 - The idea was that WKRP (the fictional station) went on the air Dec. 7, 1941...a joke is made during the special that they announced the beginning of WWII by breaking the news that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl BAILEY. :-D

[petebear12000]

just to point out that World War II began in Sept 1939

[WhatsAYak]

@petebear12000 - In Europe, yes, but it didn't expand into the Pacific until 2 years later.

[laneatlileden]

i have almost every new wkrp that was ever made. i will upload them soon as i figure this process out.

[younghoss]

Loni also had another failed series, "Partners in Crime" with Lynda Carter

[MayarO1313]

I liked her in another short-lived series "Easy Street" where one ep had her neighbor turn out to be Peter Noone, who was in a punk band and their hit was "Squash The Puppy" tho we didn't actually get to hear the song, just the lyrics recited...anyone else remember this series?

Thanks for uploading this vid, BTW :)

[manga12]

That statue at 49, is that a statue of Mary the mother of God, or is it someone else?

I have always wondered and just came to my attention again on the wgn showings last weekend.

[MattBronsil]

It's just a woman. The statue itself celebrates the uses of water. Water comes out of her hands. There are animals playing in the water (statue animals, of course) and people showing the practical uses of the water. You might be able to find more if you wikipedia or google Tyler Davidson Fountain or Fountain Square, Cincinnati.

[manga12]

i did wiki it, its called the water geneus or something like that due to the person that donated it to cincy wanted a fountain that was not full of religious or mythological figures but something original,

though the woman looks like she could pass for the blessed mother dont you think at a quick glance.

[MattBronsil]

It can be mistaken for that.

[manga12]

yea I did that, I have seen similer poses of a mary statue of course being catholic I have been to plenty of places where they have mary posed with her hands up like that.

[vfreeck]

Good news everyone, if you have WGN, they're showing all the episodes with everything from the original airings intact :-)

[tvnutboy]

Or at least they did...until reruns of "The Cosby Show" took over as of a few weeks ago.

[420shinchan]

"50th anniversery"? that's a joke right?

from the time this was on tv until 1991 is only 20-sum years. wtf?

[DaveSwinger]

It is bogus documentary - WKRP, the station's 50th anniversary!

[denominator7]

it's much the same question as you have with Gilligan's Island, ..... who would you rather? Ginger, or MaryAnn ? I always have preferred Bayley and MaryAnn.

[arthurv2008]

I saw the new WKRP, it was okay but it did not have the same charm as the original. Although Loni and Howard returned for at least one episode Frank Bonner (Herb) and Richard Sanders (Les) were regulars on the new show.

Trivia:

The second mom on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Daphne Maxwell-Reid) is married to Tim Reid. She guest-starred on an episode when she was just Daphne Maxwell.

Jan Smithers was once married to James Brolin.

I heard she is living in Nova Scotia, Canada but I doubt that.

[Maxwell1901]

Jan Smithers actually did live in Halifax for a while but she's now back in California. I think that was the point, hiring an actress prettier than Loni Anderson to play Bailey's part. As for those who heard Richard Sanders was the vocalist on the original theme song, there's not an ounce of truth to that urban legend.

[fluffydolly]

....and then they got a budget....great show!!!!

[newfiemale25]

i never seen any of the new WKRP but i heard it didnt do to well. was it as funny? are there any clips of it?

[zaius316]

Jan Smithers was hotter than Loni Anderson.

[njdevil1313]

I'll cosign that.

[Dogsw00f]

Yeah! Me 2 ... Loni looked to be trying too hard for some mannequinesque ... thing.

[ccfc73]

Yes. Yes, she was.

[Starsky5000]

Ironically I agree. You would expect Loni Anderson to be hotter but it quite the opposite.

[megamanj2004X]

100% agreed! And Jan Smithers was a much better actress than Loni ever was. Loni was on 2 other sitcoms, one she managed to ruin (case in point, the The Golden Girls and Empty Nest spin-off Nurses when she joined that show for its 3rd and sadly final season from 1993-94), another one (The Mullets) where it was ranked as one of 50 worst sitcoms of all-time and it showed that w/out WKRP, Loni wasn't exactly the world's greatest actress.

[WhatsAYak]

@zaius316 - I agree...don't get me wrong, Loni was/is an attractive woman, but Jan had a certain understated beauty about her. :-)

[megamanj2004X]

@zaius316 - you said it! Plus she aged better than Loni did!

[X23109]

Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland (oops wrong show)

[RP19890]

Cleveland does rock!! Go Browns!!

[X23109]

Actually I'm a baseball fan, so go Indians :)

Say a game once back in the late nineties or 2000 between the Indians and the Tigers. Fight almost erupted on the ball field that day.

I miss not being able to listen to WTAM 1100 and the Mike Trivisonno show on a regular basis. I love the state Ohio and wish that state nothing but the best.Hope to dine at Bob Evans again out that way

Just enjoying life out here in northern Nevada and settling for Denny's or IHop but can sure use a Waffle House.

[RP19890]

I love that Tribe!! And I believe it, usually Indians/Tigers games cause riots, good ol Ohio vs Michigan rivalry. I used to like Trivisonno but sometimes I think he says too much. Don't get me wrong, he is smart but likes to chirp, no doubt. Oh you can't go wrong with Bob Evans, I eat there every saturday for breakfast at the one out here at Kent State.

[X23109]

I like it when Kim was still with the Trivisonno show. When I worked the Cleveland area in the nineties doing telecom work, there was a Sleep Inn in Brunswick, OH off I-71 (Center+Carpenter) right next door to a Bob Evans I'd stay at. I use to live in Novi, MI back in 2001. I really enjoyed living in the east preferable to the west as there are some very good restaurants out that way. As a trucker and telecom professional I must've covered the entire state of Ohio. Lot of nice small towns.

[RP19890]

Especially places like Brunswick. Brunswick sure is booming these days. I can't say much about the east to west comparsion, as the furthest west I've ever been is St. Louis, but yes, plenty of nice restaurants off all the interstates, especially here in Northern Ohio.

[X23109]

Yep and the turnpike service plazas have really come a long way. And for what I pay for premium gas out there, Sunoco ultra 94 octane is cheaper. Ran my 1990 Eclipse of that stuff back in 2001 :)

Every part of the U.S. has it's little differences which makes every state unique. Since I lived out in MI for a year and got familiar with OH, that area is like another home to me. Funny thing is that I'm of I-80 here in northern NV, but wrong side of the country. Mansfield was another town I liked

[MillBelater]

You could say the same about Brunswick GA.

[WhatsAYak]

Basically, the special had this reporter interviewing Carlson about WKRP's 50th anniv, setting the stage for clips from classic eps to be shown...most were from the first season (the pilot, "Preacher", "Hold-Up" "Les On a Ledge", "A Commercial Break", "Fish Story", and the classic "Turkeys Away") althogh a few were from later eps ("Sparky", "Changes,"

"Pills", "Jennifer and Johnny's Charity", etc).

[coolchef64]

My one fave scene was when everyone was invited to Jennifer`s apartment. then Herb shows up at her door and asks if he can come in(you can tell Jennifer feels akward about this)Then Doctor Johnny Fever sais, "Oh what the hell, it`s Christmas". That was a funny moment.

[BigBoiJC]

I love how before Johnny said that line that andy started really screwing with him.

[coolchef64]

I gotta see that episode again. Thanks Merry Christmas -S

[Ian16545]

That singer somehow reminds me a little bit of Disney announcer Mark Elliott...

[Jnelson09Returns]

WKRP can be found on WGN Sunday nights 7-8 Eastern, 6-7 Central, 5-6 Mountain, 4-5 Pacific.

[thedudeistoocool]

there was a parody version of the opening song performed like the U2 video numb with Les Nessman sitting in for the Edge

It was hysterical but I con no longer find it on the Tube anymore

If you get a chance to see it Do so !

[reverendmalibu]

I would love to see more of the special.

[telxon04]

I liked the '91 updated version of the theme song...I watched this show all the time when I was growing up. The new episodes werent bad either.

[kdraper2007]

WKRP season one is out on DVD, My 11 year old nephew discovered this on my dvd shelf & watched all of them in 1 sitting. he likes it.

[davidoffon]

Why is it all 30 second clips on Youtube,its 28 years since I saw this and Im trying to get some idea as to why I loved it so much,I may cringe when I see it but hopefully I will laugh as much as I did back in the crap old days of teen angst and spots and twenty pints of Guinness just to get the party going.

[chrismaster1]

if i'm mistaken WKRP In Cincinnati didn't start until the 70s so unless I'm in a time warp here its only been 30 years not 50 years but i guess it depends on when it was first aired or maybe it was just a topic for an episode

[SPTO]

fictionally the station was around for 50 years at the time this special was aired which was 1991 so the station was around since '41.

[chrismaster1]

oh ok. Now it makes since. I thought the TV Show in general I didn't know they meant the station. Thanks for letting me know!

[dtension]

That new version of the theme song is horrendous.

[mandyra05]

Thanks for posting this. I realize a lot of people did not like the new WKRP in Cincinatti, however I would like to see it again. I don't think it has been broadcast anywhere else since VH1 showed it back in 1993.

[Ryokosha]

Not sure about the new episodes but the old are being shown on something called AmericanLife TV... and are still very funny.

[WhatsAYak]

Is the music still being replaced for certain eps on American Life?