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WKRP in Cincinnati Season 4 Episode 22

Up and Down the Dial

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 4/21/82

Just as WKRP hits #6 in the ratings, Mama Carlson announces that she plans to switch the format of the station to 24 hours a day of news.

Fan Episode Reviews (1)

As good as when it started.

10

By costello7, Apr 13, 2009

It says a lot about a show when, four years and 89 episodes after it debuted, the cast and crew were still turning in a brilliant and laugh-out-loud funny episode such as this one. It says even more that, over 25 years after this episode first aired, it still has me laughing out loud. The episode's plot has the station finally succeeding--reaching #6 overall in the Cincinnati market. Heck, Dr. Johnny Fever is #1 overall in Morning Drive. As a former DJ myself, I can say with some authority that it doesn't get much better than that. And that turns out to be the problem. Mama Carlson presents Andy with a report from her very expensive consultants who say that the station's Top 40 format has peaked and, since AM won't be able to compete with FM in the long run, they advise a change to an all news format. Mrs. Carlson intends to take that advice. Without spoiling the episode, there is what Mrs. Carlson's butler, Hirsch, calls "An interesting turn" when an inebriated Johnny Fever confronts Mama Carlson. This episode stands as a fine example of the series at it's best, with wonderful acting and interplay between these well established characters and even more wonderful dialogue (with some light physical comedy to boot) that will have you laughing from start to finish. And, for those of us who have, at one time or another, existed in the world of radio, the plot line was realistic and faithful to its subject matter. WGN America is currently airing this series, in digitally re-mastered form, and it still holds up. One of televisions better sit coms, in my humble opinion. Catch it if you get the chance.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Tim Reid	Gordon "Venus Flytrap" Sims
Howard Hesseman	Johnny "Fever" Caravella
Gordon Jump	Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson
Loni Anderson	Jennifer Marlowe
Richard Sanders	Les Nessman
Gary Sandy	Andy Travis

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Nicholas Hormann	Charles Von Sanker	Guest Star
Ian Wolfe	Hirsch	Guest Star
Carol Bruce	Mama Carlson	Special Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (3)
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- Johnny: Statistics, right? I don't trust 'em. Statistically speaking, anybody who's led the kind of life that I have should look completely wasted.
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- Andy: Can you give me three solid reasons why Les should be fired?
  Mama Carlson: Yes—he's incompetent, unprofessional, and very weird.
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- Johnny: You weren't by any chance listening to my show this morning, were you?
  Andy: Oh, yeah.
  Johnny: Well, I want to say up front that I meant no offense to Mr. Carlson's mother. I wasn't using "bloodsucker" in a bad way.
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NOTES (2)
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- The episode title is a lyric from the show's main theme song.
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- Shooting script dated March 4, 1982.
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