[IMG:L]Baby, If You’ve Ever Wondered… Howard Hesseman and Loni Anderson Broadcast Their Feelings About the DVD Debut of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’
By TV hit sitcom standards of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, WKRP in Cincinnati seemed to delight in breaking the rules, much like the kind of edgy rock radio stations that inspired it: it bypassed a “name” star in favor of eight unknowns, it resisted the urge to build itself around “breakout” characters, catch-phrases were few and far between and – in its most subversive and revolutionary trick of the time – its characters only got deeper and more complex over its four seasons – and funnier because of it.
Its loyal cult of dedicated fans tuned in faithfully over the series’ original run, even as CBS maddeningly moved it, in the words of its opening theme song, up and down the dial, through some twenty-plus timeslots. Even more faithful have joined the ‘KRP cult though the decades, finding the show in syndication on networks like Nick at Night, and now after an intensely long wait the show is finally making its DVD debut (albeit without some of the critical hit music of the era that underscored some of sitcom’s funniest moments, due to pricey licensing issues).
Hollywood.com tuned in to two of the legendary series’ stars, Howard Hesseman and Loni Anderson. And if you ARE wondering whatever became of them, they’re still livin’ on the air in Cincinnati.
Give It to Us Straight Doctor: Q&A with Howard Hesseman
“When I read the pilot script for WKRP I said ‘From a half dozen guys I know different aspects of Johnny Caravella’s personality that I can draw on.’ As an actor you don’t know which guy I’m doing at any moment hopefully, but a number of them have said ‘Where are my residual checks?’”
Fly Us to the Moon: Q&A wih Loni Anderson
“Before we stepped out in front of the audience for the pilot, Tim Reid said, ‘Let’s all hold hands and remember this moment, because it’s never going to be the same again.’ Like your first kiss, it really just a moment to remember… We were so crazy with each other that we could hardly leave after we’d finish rehearsing.”
Get WKRP in Cincinnati – Season 1 (1978-1979) on DVD at Buy.com.
