Customer Reviews

America's Favorite Radio Station: WKRP in Cincinnati

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like a lot of people, I first truly discovered one of the best sitcoms in television history a year or two after it was cancelled. Every night, at 6:30 pm, I'd turn the TV over to channel 21 and catch reruns of WKRP in Cincinatti and I'd find myself enthralled by everything from the sleaziness of Herb Tarlek, the well-meaning insanity of Les Nessman, the drug-addled flashbacks of Johnny Fever, and the likeable foolishness of Art Carlson. (And even though Loni Anderson's Jennifer may have been the officially recognized sex symbol, my crush was reserved for the much more quiet Bailey Quarters who proved that intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac.) As a child, I often wished that I could be a character on that show and even today, I often find myself thinking how much more fun I'd have at work if I'd moved up to Ohio and gotten a job at that low-rated radio station. Much like the later Newsradio, WKRP In Cincinnati was distinguished by a mixture of character-driven plots and surreal humor. And much like Newsradio, WKRP was treated like a redheaded stepchild by its parent network and ended up getting canned without a proper chance to build up an audience. Even today, WKRP is overshadowed by other, increasingly dated '70s sitcoms (basically anything produced by Norman Lear). With all that in mind, I was delighted when, recently, I came across a copy of Mike Kassel's entertaining behind-the-scenes history of WKRP in Cincanniti. Along with the prerequisite episode guide (which was very nicely detailed without getting overly obtuse as seems to happen with so many fan guides), Kassel provides some wonderful anecdotes and gives some nice insights into the cast. It was strangely heartwarming to discover that, behind-the-scenes, the show was apparently as enjoyable to work on as to watch. As well, most of the trivia found inside the book was new to me and made for some interesting speculation. (For instance, Gary Sandy was originally a candidate for Herb Tarlek -- a character as far away from Sandy's Andy Travis as possible. At the same time, one can see Sandy playing the Herb role as it was originally detailed in the pilot's script. One can see Sandy playing the role to good effect without discounting the absolute brilliance of Frank Bonner's Herb.) Anyway, if you hated WKRP, this book won't change your mind. Kassel's a fan and he's not attempting to be objective in his analysis of the show. And more power to him! After all, the point of a fan guide like this is to celebrate the nostalgia that people feel for their favorite TV shows, even years after they've been cancelled. And this book certainly succeeds at that. It is true that if you want to be nitpicky, you can find quite a few typos in the book. If that bugs you to a state of distraction, I can only suggest that you follow the (paraphrased) advice of Mystery Science Theater 3000, keep telling yourself its just a TV show, and you really should relax.

This book was hard to find but worth the search. It shows all the battles it took to get the show on the air. Why they video taped it instead of filming the show, so they could use the actual songs and not sound a likes. If you like books about how your favorite shows were created you will love this one. Thank goodness it was so good because it is the only one written about it I have ever seen.

This is a book that all WKRP fans will enjoy. It is about the show with the program's actors and writers contributing most of the material which Mr. Kassel has woven together in a thoughtful history. For that is exactly what books like this should be - entertaining along with historical value. Kassel never indulges in yellow journalism as Marc Elliott did in writing "To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles (1998)which ended up being a rehash of ancient newspaper articles and photographs along with a great deal of unsubstantiated information. Kassel provides a first-hand account and look at WKRP that does not trash-or-hurt anyone. And...that is what make the book so refreshing and engaging. In reading the book I was able to actually visualize particular episodes and to revisit the quirky, quaint, and remarkable personalities that inhabited WKRP. Every week I waited with anticipation to see where Les's new bandage would appear or to enjoy Bailey's shyness and intelligence and Jennifer's profound common sense and beauty, and Johnny's outrageousness and confusion, and Venus's quiet manners and humor, and Herb's tackiness...can anyone ever forget that white belt and the muddled antics of the wackiest station manager in the world..Mr. Carlson. There are other characters: Herb's much put-upon wife, Carlson's wife and mother and Johnny's ex-wife who all were strong and memorable characters. What a cast...what a program...what a book!!!!! I have a feeling that nobody will ever write a book about the radio program that NBC just cancelled because it could never achieve the warmth and lovliness of its predecessor and I thank Mr. Kassel for providing a book to accompany all the other memories of WKRP in Cincinnati.

We all enjoyed this great TV show in 1980s and many of still do in reruns on TV. Author Mike Kassel has done an excellent job of interviewing the cast and crew and put it all in the form of a book so that millions of fans of the show can read and enjoy. The book gives history of the show's casting, and what went on during each year of taping of the show. Many fans know that this show had an uphill task of convincing CBS executives to give it a stable and steady time slot in weekly program grid, but CBS chose to do what they wanted to do. In spite of that, the show emerged as winner and entertained millions of fans. We are glad to know that Howard Hesseman got the role of WKRPs DJ and Jan Smithers won the hearts of producers of the show to play the role of Bailey Quarters (producers were considering other actors to play these roles). Tim Reid and Richard Sanders wrote several episodes of the series and Frank Bonner directed many shows of WKRP. The author left out Jan Smithers in the list of "WKRP Creative Alumni" on Page iii, which is sad. The book gives episode (story) descriptions of all 90 shows. I encourage the reader to have this book added to his/her personal library.

"America's Favorite Radio Station" by Michael B. Kassel is an account of the creation, making, rise, and fall of the wonderful television comedy "WKRP in Cincinnati". The book is relatively short, but is printed in very small font, so it takes a bit longer to read that you might at first suspect. Kassel spends a lot of time discussing the origins of "WKRP" which requires a lot of time spent with Hugh Wilson, the executive producer of this gem. The background information with Wilson is insightful and justifies reading the book by itself.

Kassel also discusses all of the characters in depth, and interviewed many of the actors that had major roles in the show. Another useful feature is the listing and description of all ninety shows in the series. Less useful, however, is Kassel's attempts at cultural justification for the rise and fall of the show. A theme that Kassel approaches from several different directions is that the rise of Reagan conservatism was indirectly to blame for the demise of the show, while simultaneously arguing that it was the multiple time slot changes that did the show in. The latter seems more logical since the evidence Kassel has assembled seems to support it; the former seems like a method of working a personal political statement into a book where it otherwise didn't fit.

The book also suffers from an overall lack of attention to detail. On page iii, in the list of "WKRP Creative Alumni," Kassel leaves Jan Smithers off the list, despite talking about the importance of the eight key cast members throughout the book. I found that to be a fairly glaring oversight of proofreading, and it didn't set the tone well for the remainder of the book. Typographical and spelling errors also are common in the book. He spells the name of guest star Hoyt Axton as "Axten," and the name of the plane Les took a ride in as "Wacco," not "Waco." Neither of these are, by themselves, a catastrophe for the book, but are representative of the types of errors common throughout the work. I am surprised that Kassel, or the Popular Press of Bowling Green State University, didn't proofread more effectively for these and numerous other spelling and grammatical errors (possessives and apostrophes are a special bane to Kassel). The book is very dated and could use a new edition. Kassel speaks of the "New WKRP" in the present tense, when in fact it was short lived and has been off the air for years.

I was torn about the rating to give this book. For a university press publication the book is very sloppily edited, has numerous spelling and grammatical challenges, and occasionally suffers from conclusions and inferences inadequately supported by the disclosed documentation. On the other hand, Kassel provides all "WKRP" fans and television historians with a valuable account of the making of a television show beloved by millions. Maybe the problem is that the book is an uneasy combination of fan literature and serious historical criticism of a phenomenon, but in the end I think the good outweighs the bad, and that four stars is the most appropriate rating for the book.

I thank Mr. Kassel for his work, and would sincerely love to see a revised edition of the book published to coincide with the release of "WKRP" on DVD.

I finsihed reading this book in roughly 18 hours over two days. I would have been able to finish even faster had I not had to stop to go to school and work, but I could barely put Kassel's book down; and I intend to re-read it several times, and several more after that. As a broadcast media student and disc jockey, I would say that "America's Favorite Radio Station" is probably a more useful reference tool than most textbooks I've read. It delivers factual information in layman's terms about the broadcasting and acting industries in general, making it a very valuable book for both students and professionals in either industry. All of this information is well researched and organized in the most logical sequence possible. At the same time it contains personal recollections, stories, individual career highlights before, during and after WKRP, provided by those involved with the show, thus making it entertaining reading for fans. I was only 5 years old when the show went off the air after its original run, but thanks to syndication, i have had the opportunity to grow up watching and becoming a very affectionate fan of WKRP In Cincinnati, and as I continue to enjoy the show in its syndicated version for hopefully many more years down the road, Kassel's book will certainly continue to act as an insightful and entertaining companion piece.

It was interesting to read how the show got to be made. Great interviews and everyone involved except some major directors. The writing was college term paper level, but fun to read and to remember how wonderful the show was. It was written around the time that the New WKRP was on, and that show was awful. A good quick read.

I'm a huge fan of WKRP, and I was excited to get this book and learn some behind the scenes stuff. This book has that, of course, but I was hoping for more. More on the specific episodes, maybe, but the writers didn't seem to be interviewed much for the book. He gets the stars, of course, and the producers to a degree, but it's not as chock-full of stuff as I'd like it to have been.

If you're a huge fan, it's fun enough for the money. If you're a casual fan, I wouldn't bother. And if you're not a fan at all, why are you reading this review at all? (And what's wrong with you?) :)

It's great to finally see a behind-the-scenes look at one of the best television shows ever made. The book is filled with stories about individual episodes, stories from the actors, as well as a complete episode guide. It's a great way to remember this classic series.

That being said, the major problem with this book is its numerous grammatical errors, and primarily problems with apostrophes and possession. For example, referring to a guest appearance by Bert Parks, the book refers to "Park's performance" rather than "Parks' performance." Another page refers to the success of the television program "Happy Day's."

There are problems with some of the arguments put forth in the book as well. At one point, the author supposes that part of the reason "WKRP" received higher ratings in summer repeats after its cancellation was that "viewers, realizing that the episodes would be edited for time in syndication, may have wanted to get one last look at the full-length shows." Trouble is, most viewers don't really konw that "syndication" is, much less do they know that episodes are edited for rebroadcast.

Overall, for a dedicated fan, or even for just the casual fan, it's a great book that will provide behind-the-scenes information. Readers with any English education beyond high-school, however, will find themselves struggling to get past the apparent lack of proofreading.

I've been a longtime WKRP fan since the show debuted on CBS in the fall of 1978. I watched every episode to follow the antics of the competent(Andy Travis, Jennifer Marlowe & Bailey Quarters), the incompetent (Herb Tarlek, Les Nessman & Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson), and those nutty DJ's (Dr. Johnny Fever & Venus Flytrap) of a second-rate radio place floundering at the bottom of the ratings...and what happens when the format is switched from "elevator music" to rock & roll.
Michael Kassel does a fine job in identifying the cogs which make the engine called "WKRP In Cincinnati" run. While WKRP was known for its greatly-inspired comedy, the show was clearly blessed with having a terrific person in its corner, producer-writer-creator Hugh Wilson. Wilson knew that a good sitcom isn't just about laughs, but about the characters which generate those laughs. He also had a team of talented writers & actors who were able to flesh out those characters in key episodes, which gave the show a fresh perspective.
The book's outside appearance is much to be desired. It suffers from, in what I term, the "textbook blahs"--it's almost devoid of style & color. But this is a minor complaint. As they say, you can't judge a book by its cover. The good stuff is all inside, and plenty of it, as Kassel packs the book with commentary from cast & crew (taken from interviews), touches upon the headaches had with network politics (such as changing time slots & fights over creative content), the production processes leading up to showtime, and even the show's cancellation & its impact/influence on the public. Here too, are the episodes which made us laugh ("Turkeys Away", "Fish Story"), made us think ("In Concert", "Clean Up Radio Broadcasting"), and made us care about the characters ("Who Is Gordon Sims?", "Out to Lunch"), but in unique ways.
Included are cast profiles, episode listings, and crew credits. Kassel updates the information with a "whatever became of me" section, as well as touching upon the new syndicated WKRP show (which, sadly, didn't survive beyond its first season).
A great read about one of television's best programs & a must-read for die-hard WKRP fans.