WKRP in Cincinnati

1978 - 1982

Chronicles the wacky hijinks of the staff of a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Stars: Gary Sandy, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Howard Hesseman, Jan Smithers, Tim Reid, Richard Sanders, Frank Bonner
Created by: Hugh Wilson
Tags: workplace

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Episode Tropes

Season 1

Jumper: Episode 3, "Les on a Ledge" (1978). Andy tells Les that he's banned from sports team locker rooms because of rumors that he's gay, and Les is so distraught that he climbs out on the ledge of the building and threatens to jump.
Hostage Situation: Episode 5, "Hold Up" (1978). While Johnny is broadcasting remotely from a stereo store, an out-of-work DJ who was turned down for a job at the station holds Johnny and the store owner hostage.
Clip Show: Episode 9, "Mama's Review" (1979). The show was taken off the air for two months and then brought back in a different time slot, so this clip show serves as a recap for viewers.
Toupée or Not Toupée: Episode 10, "A Date with Jennifer" (1979). Les gets a toupée for a special award dinner he's attending with Jennifer as his date.
Home Sweet Office: Episode 15, "Never Leave Me, Lucille" (1979). Herb and his wife are separated, and Herb has nowhere to go, so he sleeps on the couch in the office.
Take Good Care of My Baby: Episode 16, "I Want to Keep My Baby" (1979). A fan leaves her baby with Johnny. At first, he's ready to turn the baby over to Children and Family Services, but he changes his mind and decides to take care of the baby until her mother comes back for her.
The Old Inflatable Raft Gag: Episode 18, "Who is Gordon Sims?" (1979). Mr. Carlson accidentally inflates a raft in his office, and he can't figure out how to deflate it.
Pretend We're a Couple: Episode 19, "I Do, I Do... for Now" (1979). When an old friend from her hometown shows up and expects Jennifer to marry him, she claims she can't because she's already married to Johnny, and the rest of the gang play along to help her out.

Season 2

Play Ball: Episode 3, "Baseball" (1979). Les challenges WPIG to a softball game, and talks the rest of the WKRP gang into playing because he never got a chance to play sports as a kid.
Election: Episode 6, "Carlson for President" (1979). Mr. Carlson runs for city council, but after accidentally outing his opponent for being an alcoholic, he throws the race by working hard to lose votes.
We Said No Gifts: Episode 11, "Jennifer's Home for Christmas" (1979). Jennifer announces that she bought Christmas gifts for everyone in the office after they agreed they wouldn't buy each other gifts this year, so the rest of the gang runs out to buy whatever they can find.
Act of God: Episode 13, "God Talks to Johnny" (1979). Johnny wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks he hears God speaking to him, but he doesn't understand what God says.
Not with My Sister You Don't: Episode 14, "A Family Affair" (1980). Andy's sister, Carol, visits the station, and Andy asks Johnny to take her out while he's busy at work, but Carol meets Venus first and ends up spending the night with him, which makes Andy angry.
Requited Love: Episode 16, "Put Up or Shut Up" (1980). Herb's wife is out of town for 10 days, and Herb is amping up his flirting with Jennifer, so Bailey suggests Jennifer say yes to Herb to scare him away.
Dog from Hell: Episode 18, "Les's Groupie" (1980). Les has a very aggressive pet dog named Phil that he has to dress in heavy padding just to feed.
Obsession: Episode 18, "Les's Groupie" (1980). Les dates a fan who moves herself into his house and takes over his whole life.
Barenakedlady: Episodes 21-22, "Filthy Pictures" (1980). When Jennifer and Andy are photographed for an ad for the station, the sleazy photographer snaps some shots of Jennifer while she's changing without her knowledge, and he plans to sell them to an equally sleazy magazine.
Awkward Awards: Episode 24, "Most Improved Station" (1980). WKRP gets snubbed for "Most Improved Station" in Cincinnati, and Les storms the stage, complaining that it was supposed to be fixed in their favor.

Season 3

Glen or Glenda: Episode 5, "Hotel Oceanview" (1980). While Herb is on a business trip in Dayton, a beautiful woman named Nikki, who claims to be an old high school classmate of his, invites him back to her hotel room. While they're fooling around on the bed, Nikki confesses that when she knew Herb in high school, she was presenting as male.
Milwaukee: Episode 5, "Hotel Oceanview" (1980). Herb goes on a business trip to Dayton and is seduced by a beautiful former high school classmate of his, but he doesn't do more than kiss her because he finds out she's transgender.
12 Angry Men: Episode 6, "A Mile in My Shoes" (1980). While reluctantly serving jury duty, Herb is elected foreman and has to keep a group of whacky characters focused on the case so they can decide on a verdict and he can go back to work.
A Christmas Carol: Episode 7, "Bah, Humbug" (1980). After deciding to buy a new control board for the DJ booth instead of giving the staff Christmas bonuses, Mr. Carlson falls asleep and has a Christmas Carol style nightmare where he's in the role of Scrooge.
I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 7, "Bah, Humbug" (1980). Gordon Jump plays Mr. Carlson and the ghost of his grandfather.
Replacement Pet: Episode 11, "Frog Story" (1981). While he's painting the kitchen cabinets, Herb accidentally paints his daughter's pet frog and kills it, so he buys another frog and tries to pretend it's the same one, but he can't keep up the act and confesses to his daughter.
Will You Marry Me Again?: Episode 19, "A Simple Little Wedding" (1981). For their 25th anniversary, Mr. Carlson and his wife plan to renew their vows because they eloped when they got married the first time. They plan a small wedding with a few close friends, but when Mr. Carlson's mother gets involved, it blows up into a huge affair, so they decide to elope again.
Bachelor Party Gone Wrong: Episode 19, "A Simple Little Wedding" (1981). Herb throws Mr. Carlson a bachelor party, despite his protests, and it goes about as well as any of Herb's parties.
Magic Fingers: Episode 19, "A Simple Little Wedding" (1981). Mr. and Mrs. Carlson decide to elope again and spend the night in the same hotel room in which they spent their wedding night, but they discover the place has gone downhill over the years, as indicated by it scheap decor and Magic Fingers-equipped mattress.
We Were Robbed: Episode 20, "Nothing to Fear But..." (1981). While Johnny is working the late shift, burglars rob the station, stealing all the typewriters and cleaning out everyone's desks.
Giving Up the Gun: Episode 20, "Nothing to Fear But..." (1981). After the station is robbed, Herb buys a gun to keep in his desk. That night, when everyone else is at Herb's advertising party downstairs, Johnny and Venus hear the security alarm go off and get Herb's gun to investigate, and Venus ends up pointing the gun at Andy, who had snuck into Mr. Carlson's office with the coatcheck girl from the party. The scare convinces everyone that keeping a loaded gun around is a bad idea.
Pretend We're a Couple: Episode 21, "Til Debt Do Us Part" (1981). Johnny's ex-wife, Paula, is getting re-married, and a misunderstanding convinces her new fiance that Johnny and Jennifer are dating, so they play along when they join Paula and her fiance for lunch.

Season 4

Trading Places: Episode 6, "Who's on First?" (1981). While Herb is in the hospital, Mr. Carlson takes over sales. He meets with one of Herb's clients, who assumes he's Herb and wants to confirm that Mr. Carlson is as stupid as Herb told him, so Mr. Carlson plays along and pretends to be Herb, and Les pretends to be Mr. Carlson.
Rags to Riches: Episode 7, "Three Days of the Condo" (1981). Johnny receives $24,000 from his previous employer for breaking his contract, but he's not comfortable having that much money, so after blowing a few thousand dollars on trivial things, he gives the rest to his daughter.
Pretend We're a Couple: Episode 7, "Three Days of the Condo" (1981). Johnny hates the condo Venus talked him into buying, but the management won't let him out of his contract, so he pretends that he and Venus are a gay couple, and Venus plays along.
Video Will: Episode 8, "Jennifer and the Will" (1981). One of the rich, elderly men Jennifer dates passes away and leaves a video will designating her as the executor of his estate.
School Reunion: Episode 11, "You Can't Go Out of Town Again" (1982). Mr. Carlson and Carmen attend their college reunion, and Mr. Carlson learns that the story of how they met was not what he thought.
Electric Dreams: Episode 15, "I'll Take Romance" (1982). Herb's new client is a computer dating service, and he wants to try it out, so he signs up using Les's name.
Surprise Prostitute: Episode 15, "I'll Take Romance" (1982). Herb gets Les a date to the Cincinnati Broadcasters dinner through his new client, a computer dating service, but the service turns out to be a front for prostitution, and Les's dream date is a paid escort.
Dance Lessons: Episode 15, "I'll Take Romance" (1982). Jennifer teaches Les how to dance for his big date to the Cincinnati Broadcasters dinner.
False Arrest: Episode 16, "Circumstantial Evidence" (1982). A woman Venus is dating turns out to be a criminal, and when she gets caught with stolen jewels, she claims Venus is the ringleader of a string of robberies in the area, and he's arrested and put on trial.
See You In Court: Episode 16, "Circumstantial Evidence" (1982). Venus is tried for burglary on the word of a jewel thief he dated.
Between Floors: Episode 17, "Fire" (1982). When the building catches fire, Jennifer and Herb get trapped in the elevator together.
On Fire: Episode 17, "Fire" (1982). The building's on fire, the stairwell's full of smoke, and Herb and Jennifer are stuck in a stalled elevator together, so the gang tries to find a way to rescue them and get everyone out.
Unwanted Surprise Party: Episode 20, "The Impossible Dream" (1982). Jennifer plans a surprise birthday party for Les, but when Les shows up early, he tells her he hates birthdays and doesn't want her to tell anyone else that it's his birthday, so Jennifer has to covertly alert the arriving guests that the party is off.
I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 20, "The Impossible Dream" (1982). Richard Sanders plays Les Nessman and his mother.

Character Tropes

Gold Digger: Jennifer Marlowe - Played by Loni Anderson.
Loveable Lech: Herb Tarlek - Played by Frank Bonner.
The Office Weird Guy: Les Nessman - Played by Richard Sanders.
Morality Police: Dr. Bob Hallier - Played by Richard Paul in season 3, episode 22, "Clean Up Radio Everywhere" (1981).