This critical episode guide is based on the author's viewing of the broadcast syndicated versions of all 90 WKRP episodes. Additional information for this guide was obtained through the author's interviews with the cast and production crew.

This episode guide is not in any way affiliated with the cast, crew, producers, distributors, or owners of the series WKRP in Cincinnati; information is presented here for critical review purposes only.

Episode 0023
"Baseball"
Written and Directed by Hugh Wilson
Les, whose violin lessons had robbed him of an athletically active childhood, has accepted a softball game challenge from Clark Callahan, the blow-hard station manager from WPIG AM & FM. Reluctantly, the rest of the gang decides to take on the PIGs.

During the game, Les is shifted from position to position. But he isn't the only one with problems; Arthur "Moose" Carlson struggles desperately to reclaim his illustrious college baseball past — he'd like to hit the ball. Down nine to zip, Jennifer begins distracting the WPIG players as the rest of the WKRP gang picks up the pace. The score tied, it's up to "The Moose" and Les to save the day.

Except for the teaser, the entire episode was shot on location with remote camera work by Marvin Rush. Clark Callahan was played by Ross Bickell, who was Loni Anderson's husband at the time of the taping — Ross had been one of the hopefuls who had tried out for the part of Andy Travis.

Bucky Dornster................Bill Dial
Clark Callahan................Ross Bickell
Umpire........................Wyatt Johnson

Episode 0024
"Jennifer Falls in Love"
Written by Paul Hunter
Directed by Will MacKenzie
It is not a good day at WKRP for either Les or Jennifer. Les, who found out that he is the lowest paid broadcast journalist in town, wants a raise. Jennifer's problem is not as easy to understand — for the first time in her life, she is really in love. Her new man is blonde, beautiful and "every girl's dream." What's the problem? "He's poor!"

In the beginning, Jennifer's romance goes well — her and Steel Hawthorne are a handsome couple that has meaningful discussions on topics such as the sort of toothpaste they use. But when Steel asks Jennifer to loan him $200 to fix his van, the relationship ends. Hurt that Steel has done to her what she does to other men, Jennifer becomes very depressed. Carlson, however, makes her feel better, noting that Jennifer, unlike Steel, never asks for favors.

Meanwhile, figuring there is strength in numbers, Les gets Venus to join with him in a demand for a raise. Venus gets the raise, but all Les gets is the gate. In the end, however, all is well when Andy and Carlson each give Les an additional $10 a week.

In an attempt to impress his mother, Arthur decides to run for the Cincinnati City Council. Andy, pleased at the prospect of having Carlson help the city instead of WKRP, quickly offers to do anything to help Carlson win. With Herb as the campaign manager, however, the campaign becomes an uphill battle.

Although Bailey uncovers the fact that Carlson's chief opponent Charles Tillman is a heavy drinker — he once feel face forward into a plate of lasagna at a "Friends of Armenian Dinner" — she makes Carlson promise not to use that information during an upcoming TV debate. During the debate, however, when Tillman attacks Carlson's clown-like make-up job — a sort of reversal on the Nixon-Kennedy debate — Carlson accidentally spills the beans about Tillman's drinking.

After that bombshell, Carlson begins to lead in the polls. Not wanting to win that way, Carlson begins to sabotage his own campaign, putting out posters with a mean-looking pose, insulting members of various civic groups, and making it appear that he has beaten his wife. In the end, The Big Guy loses the election big time.

Charles Tillman...............Howard Witt
Mitzi Monahan.................Lillian Garrett-Bonner
Wendel Brooks.................Howard Morton
Barry Schifrin................Dick McGarvin

Episode 0026
Episode 0027
"For Love or Money, Part I"
"For Love or Money, Part II"
Written by Mary Maguire
Directed by Will MacKenzie
Deciding to take control of the situation, shy Bailey asks Johnny out for a date. Johnny agrees to go. However, when Buffy Denver, an old flame from Johnny's L.A. days, calls to arrange a meeting, Johnny forgets all about the plans he made with Bailey.

Hoping to impress Buffy, Fever, on Herb's advice, gets the loan of Jennifer's apartment for the evening. This proves to be a mistake, for the luxurious apartment only feeds Buffy's real desire — to sue Johnny for palimony. As Fever feels the rope tighten around his neck, poor Bailey, stood up by Fever, waits at the station.

This episode proves the common law that only one thing in life is certain -- at one point, someone you know will end up selling life insurance. When Herb Tarlek starts moonlighting for the Associated Amalgamated Company, Ltd. Insurance Company, the staff runs for cover — all except Les Nessman, who, in one of his famous deep depressions, becomes Herb's first victim.

Herb sells Les a ton of insurance — including insurance on a boat that Herb also sold to Les. When the newsman crashes his mobile news scooter through the front window of a luck-less British couple, all Herb cares about is finding out whether Les mailed in the policy — unfortunately for Herb, Les did.

Depressed that he put the poor couple in the hospital, Les goes to visit them. At first they don't want to see Les, but, after they learn about the insurance, they all become good friends, except for Herb, who loses his job with the insurance company.

Episode 0029
"Put Up or Shut Up"
Written by Blake Hunter, Steve Marshall,
& Steven Kampmann
Directed by Will MacKenzie

Herb, who has entered the WKRP lobby singing "If You Think I'm Sexy," is being more relentless than ever in his pursuit of Jennifer. His wife and children have gone to Lucille's mother's house for ten days, and Herb is on the prowl. With a musical promise to Jennifer that "Our Day Will Come," Herb walks back to the bullpen leaving Jennifer is shock.

Bailey suggests that Jennifer call Herb's bluff. Balking at first, Jennifer decides to give it a try. But when Herb takes the lovely Ms. Marlowe up on her offer, Jennifer is at her wits end.

But maybe Bailey was right; indeed, Herb begins to have second thoughts about going out with Jennifer. When Les tells Herb that the whole thing is just a plan to call the salesman's bluff, however, Herb decides to go through with the date. Nevertheless, once he is at the apartment, all Herb can do is hyperventilate and sweat. In a touching moment, Herb — with Jennifer's tactful help — decides that if he and Jennifer can't be lovers, at least they can be friends.

This is also the episode in which Fever has problems with LSD flashbacks. Finally getting over the flashbacks, Fever has a quick relapse at the end of the episode when he sees Herb and Jennifer singing "I Love You Just the Way You Are."

Episode 0030
"Baby, If You've Ever Wondered"
Written by Bill Dial
Directed by Rod Daniel
It's a scary day at WKRP — The Arbitron ratings book has arrived. Their fate packaged in "a plain brown wrapper," Carlson is afraid to open it. Telling the others to leave the office, Andy and Carlson begin to check out the numbers.

Surprisingly, the news is good. For the first time in seven years, WKRP's numbers have gone up instead of down, and the station has moved from 16th to 14th place. Fever and Venus, who showed the best numbers, along with the rest of the gang, are pleased. All except for Andy, who feels that the format change alone would have accounted for the two place move. Becoming depressed, Andy feels that he hasn't accomplished anything in his year at the station.

Sensing Andy's frustration, Venus gets to the heart of the problem. It seems that Andy is caught between his desire to make the station prosper and his affection for some of the station's less-than-perfect employees, namely Herb, Les, and Carlson. Saying that Andy can't fire the little guys without firing the Big Guy — and Carlson can't be fired because his Momma owns the station — Venus convinces Andy that WKRP is more than just a place of business; it's a family. Tired of "packing and unpacking up and down the dial," Andy realizes that WKRP, for better or worse, is his home.

Trivia: The Numbers Game: While Venus and Fever had good numbers overall, Les had lost 6% of his 65-and-older audience. By the way, Herb's commission on sales was 5%, and Carlson also got a 10% cut for each spot sold.

As Arthur prepares for an expensive fishing trip in which he plans to stalk the elusive Bone fish, his wife Carmen drops by with a surprise — she's pregnant. Stunned, Carlson doesn't know how to react — after all, Carmen is over 40. However, realizing how much they both want another child, Arthur and Carmen agree that it is good news.

But Momma doesn't agree — she is concerned about Carmen's health and wants Arthur to tell Carmen to have an abortion. Coming up with a number of good reasons to follow his mom's advice, in the end Arthur and Carmen opt to let nature take its course.

Great moment: After Arthur and Carmen resolve the question of abortion, Carlson asks Venus to play something soft and sweet. Reluctantly, Venus plays "We've Only Just Begun." As the Carlsons dance in Arthur's office, Venus sits in the booth, staring in disbelief at the spinning Carpenter's album.

Episode 0032
"God Talks to Johnny"
Written by Hugh Wilson
Directed by Will MacKenzie
Fever is sure that God is talking to him — requesting that Fever, of all things, become a golf pro. Soon, the rest of the staff begins to doubt Fever's sanity, and Fever himself begins to think he is going crazy. Checking into a hospital, Fever is met by Carlson, who has come down to talk with Johnny. Saying that there is nothing wrong with hearing God's voice, Carlson sets a worried Fever at ease.

Episode 0033
"Bailey's Big Break"
Written by Steve Marshall
Directed by Will MacKenzie
Andy is listening to audition tapes for a second newscaster, much to Les' dismay. When Bailey presents an audition tape of her own, Les just laughs. But Andy likes the tape and gives Bailey the job.

As the days go by, however, Les keeps Bailey busy with menial chores, denying her a chance to go one the air. Bailey takes the matter to Andy, who orders Les to let Bailey deliver a newscast. When Bailey proves to be more than competent, Andy decides to give her a few regular broadcasts of her own. Les falls into a deep depression.

Not wanting to hurt Les any longer, Bailey decides to back out of the job. Ashamed of how he has acted, however, Les convinces Bailey to continue doing the news.

Dr. Fever, upset about the five-week-old garbage strike afflicting Cincinnati, suggests that his listeners dump their trash outside of city hall. When Fever learns that upwards of 300 people have taken his advice — plunging the station in legal trouble — he becomes aware of his own power and develops a case of mike fright.

Drowning his sorrows at Snookies bar, Andy, Venus, and Bailey try to convince Fever to go back on the air. Repeating the advice that Fever once gave her, Bailey tells Fever to pretend that he is talking to only one person. Back on the air, Fever apologizes for the trouble he started. The problem resolved, Fever again gets carried away and tells his listeners to dump their garbage at the Mayor's house.

Trivia: WKRP's lawyer in this episode was the tiny Elgar Neece, played by Christian Seaborn. In the fourth season episodes "Pills" and "Circumstantial Evidence," actor Max Wright played WKRP lawyer Frank Bartman.

Episode 0035
"Les' Groupie"
Written by Steve Marshall
Story by Paul Hunter
Directed by Rod Daniel
When a sexy female named Darlene calls into the booth asking for a date with one of WKRP's on-air personalities, everyone is surprised to find out that Les is the object of the fan's affection. Les doesn't know what to do, but on Fever's insistence, the newsman decides to take a chance.

Though he is flattered at first by the attention, Darlene, who moves in with Les, makes the newscaster's life a living hell. Les struggles to tell Darlene it is over, but he can't seem to summon the courage to do so. When Darlene stops by the office and pulls up Les' tape-outline office "walls," however, Les lets his anger do the talking.

Trivia: This episode noted that Les had a vicious dog named Phil, which helped to answer the question why Les Nessman always had a bandage — Phil was tearing poor Les apart.

Andy's sister Carol is in town and Andy wants Fever to take her out. Being the good guy that he is, Fever agrees — especially since Andy is willing to pay the DJ $50 for the favor. However, when Venus arrives at the station, he and Carol hit it off rather well and Venus decides to show Carol around the Queen City.

When Andy discovers that Venus is out with Carol, he begins to get upset — especially when Venus doesn't show up for his air shift.

When Venus and Carol finally return to the station, Venus and Andy get into an argument. Realizing that he is being a bigot, Andy apologizes and invites Venus and Carol over to Snookies. In an attempt to prove that he really isn't prejudiced, Andy insists that Venus dance with Carol. Snookies, however, isn't exactly a bastion of racial understanding. As Venus and Carol dance, a redneck tries to stop them. Preserving his dignity, Venus, along with Andy, punch the racist's lights out.

Episode 0037
"Jennifer's Home For Christmas
Written by Dan Guntzelman and Steve Marshall
Directed by Rod Daniel
In their first Christmas episode, the gang begins to fear that Jennifer is going to be alone for the holidays. With only the best of intentions, each of the WKRP staff drop by and bring Jennifer a present — a Christmas tree. Sitting amongst the make-shift forest of holiday cheer, Jennifer announces that she has to leave — she's going to spend Christmas in Behtlehem.

An interesting bit of business in this episode involves Johnny, who slowly gets loaded on the holdiay punch in Jennifer's apartment. Also note that series writer/producer Steve Marshall plays a bit role as a delivery man.

Henri.........................George Gaynes
Delivery Man #1...............Don Diamond
Delivery Man #2...............Steve Marshall

Les is upset when Andy hires former Cincinnati Red's Manager Sparky Anderson for the station's new sports talk show. But Les gets the last laugh when Sparky's show fails miserably. When Carlson and Andy confront Sparky with the news, Sparky says, "Every time I come into this town I get fired."

This episode was filled with a number of great comic moments. When Jennifer says that she never missed a Red's game Sparky coached, Sparky surprises the lovely Ms. Marlowe, reciting the exact box (110), row (6), and seat number (8) in which she sat.

There's further fun in Sparky's interview with Derek Doogle, the captain of the Cincinnati Skids indoor soccer team who seems more obsessed with food than sports.

Hugh Gillin, who played WPIG's Howard Sternworthy in "Love Returns," makes his second guest appearance as the owner of Sunlux Petroleum, Sparky's sponsor.

Episode 0039
"The Americanization of Ivan"
Story by Hugh Wilson
Written by Dan Guntzelman & Steve Marshall
Directed by Hugh Wilson
If there's two things in this world that Les knows about, it's hogs and communists. Thus, when a delegation of Russian hog experts pay Cincinnati a visit, Les promises to give the "commies" a little taste of "capitalistic journalism."

Fearing the worst, Andy has Bailey go along with Les to the conference. Ivan, the leader of the delegation, quickly develops a crush on Bailey and asks her to help him defect.

Bailey brings Ivan back to the station. Andy, thinking his life isn't exciting, is thrilled at the opportunity to help the Soviet defect. However, they quickly learn that you can't defect in Cincinnati; Cincinnati's U.S. Immigration Office's branch is too small — indeed, the office still has a picture of Nixon. "They never sent me a Carter," explains Mr. Anderson, the branch officer played by Sam Anderson (his second character role in the series).

Back at the station, Bailey and Andy decide to drive Ivan to the Cleveland Immigration office. Before they can leave, however, the rest of the delegation arrives. Ivan tells the rest of the committee that he was merely posing as Andy and Bailey's friend to see the "capitalistic exploiters" first hand. However, when he tells the group to prepare to leave for Cleveland — their next stop — Ivan makes it clear that he still plans to defect.

Though the Russian jokes and dialogue ("Come along, you nin-com-poopies," etc.) seem a bit dated today, they were still fresh in 1979.

Ivan Popasonaviski............Michael Pataki
Interpreter...................Alex Rodine
Mr. Anderson..................Sam Anderson.

Herb has arranged a great deal with Shady Hills Rest Home — he'll get Andy to run their tasteless spots and they'll keep Herb's dad for a reasonable rate. But when Herb Tarlek Sr., a retired salesman who dresses in the same tasteless fashion as Herb, arrives at the station, he makes it clear to his son that he has no intention of spending another minute at that "Shady Place."

Though Herb tries to get his dad to go back to the home, it's to no avail. In the end, Herb agrees to let his dad take up with a 33-year-old nurse and go out to California — Herb even gives his dad a little "pin money" to begin the trip.

Trivia: Herb collects salt and pepper shakers that his dad used to bring him after coming home from sales trips. Also, the dollar bill Tarlek Sr. used to win his liar's poker hand with Venus and Fever has six "nines."

Comeuppance: Soon after Parks taped this episode, he was fired from the Miss America Pageant. In August 1990, it was announced that Parks had been rehired to appear on the program to sing the "Miss America" theme.

Episode 0041
"The Doctor's Daughter"
Written by Lissa Levin
Directed by Frank Bonner
Laurie Caravella, Johnny's daughter who he has not seen in twelve years, shows up at the station. Nineteen and all grown up, Laurie has decided to come and live with her father. Johnny is pleased to have her in town and asks her to stay at his apartment. But there's one problem -- Laurie's jerky boyfriend Justin.

Though he tries to be a friend instead of a father, Fever eventually has to lay down some rules, including one excluding Justin and Laurie from sharing the same bed. Justin gets fed up and decides to leave, giving Laurie an ultimatum. Torn between her father and her "old man," Laurie chooses Justin.

Trivia: There's a picture of Fever with Mick Jagger on Fever's apartment wall, possibly serving as a reminder of the Doctor's previous success. Also, this was one of the few episodes in which Johnny willingly played a hit record -- in this case, "The Long Run," by the Eagles.

Additional Cast:
Laurie Caravella..............Patrie Allen
Justin........................Derrel Maury
Salesman......................Milt Overman

Venus is flattered by and interested in the $35,000 Program Director offer from rival station WREQ. Instead of being happy for their pal, the rest of the staff tries to figure out how to keep Venus from leaving. When Carlson and Andy talk about giving Venus a raise, Herb gets a great idea of his own — hoping to get a raise for himself, he decides to spread the word he's been offered a job at Channel 71 TV. The scheme backfires, however, and everyone on the staff simply congratulates Herb on his move.

Meanwhile, Venus finds out that WREQ, an automated station, just wants him for his color. He turns the offer down. Back at the station, Herb confesses his lie to Venus. Saying that he can't tell Andy or Carlson about it, Herb cleans out his desk and leaves.

Andy, not knowing that Venus has turned down WREQ, comes in to offer Venus a $2,700 raise. Venus says he will take it — on one condition; Andy must offer $1,000 of that money to Herb. Dumbfounded, Andy agrees.

Great moment: When Herb wants to spread the word around about his new job, he naturally turns to Les, the station blabber-mouth. "Don't tell anyone," says Herb. "And Les — Don't tell them soon."

Everyone at WKRP is excited about the upcoming Who concert, except for Carlson, who must take his son to the event. Fever, unable to find a date, agrees to go along with the Carlsons.

The next morning, Carlson, who ended up enjoying the show, enters in good spirits. He has a rude awakening, however, when the rest of the staff informs him that 11 kids died outside the concert, a tragedy eventually blamed on the problems of festival seating (general admission).

As the staff tries to make sense out of the senseless waste, Carlson begins to blame himself — after all, the station gave away tickets and promoted the event. Soon the staff begins to wonder whether Carlson will switch the station format back to elevator music. But Carlson begins to feel better when he learns that Cincinnati plans to eliminate festival seating. "Aw, this is a great town," says Carlson. "We're responsible people here."

One of the series most touching episodes, "In Concert" is almost like two separate shows. The first act, before the tragedy occurs, is played mostly for comedy. Particularly interesting is Carlson's cold-fighting aqua-mask, which Fever describes as "Disco bondage head gear." The second act — post tragedy — is a complete reversal, with heavy drama and pathos. The switch is so jarring that it actually reinforces the importance of the tragedy and made for an overall quality episode that handled the subject with great compassion and responsibility.

The final scene, underscored by Bill Evan's "After the Rain," is particularly powerful, with the following superimposed over the frame:

"On December 27, 1979, the City of Cincinnati passed an ordinance prohibiting "festival seating" or general admission."

Episode 0044
Episode 0045
"Filthy Pictures, Part I"
"Filthy Pictures, Part II"
Written by Dan Guntzelman & Steve Marshall
Directed by Rod Daniel
When Carlson asks Jennifer and Andy to pose for a publicity photo for the Kiwanis Club's Charity Fashion Show and Bazaar, he has no idea of the trouble in store. The sleazy photographer — picked by Herb, of course — has taken candid nude photos of Jennifer while she was changing.

After several failed attempts at securing the illicit negatives — including one in which Herb must pretend he's gay to get the photos — Johnny finally comes up with a scam that works. Pretending that he is a men's magazine publisher, Fever, along with Bailey, cons the photos out of the photographer's greedy hands.

Everyone is at each other's throats when WKRP loses the Cincinnati Broadcaster's Most Improved Station award. Les, who lost for best news personality, is particularly upset. It doesn't help matters any that Fever won for "Best Air Personality" and has let it go to his head.

Feeling the need to have everything out in the open, Andy calls a staff meeting. In the quasi-group encounter session that ensues, the staff, realizing that they are a family, finally resolves their differences.

This episode is a mother lode of psychological character development, particularly in the final scene. As with most WKRP episodes, the humor does not become a slave to the pathos. Indeed, in the final scene when the problems are resolved, Fever excuses himself, fearing an impending "group hug."

It is also very interesting to note that while Sanders had written the episode, his character was no more prominent than any of the others. When most sitcom stars write an episode for a show, it is usually one that primarily concerns their character. "Most Improved Station" was a refreshing change from that convention.