http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6708

There will be music substitutions, of course....

[bigred]WKRP In Cincinnati: The Complete First Season[/bigred]
[lilred]April 24, 2007[/lilred]



One of DVD's most requested titles, [title]WKRP in Cincinnati[/title] is a blast from the past and an absolutely golden oldie. But this first-season set is bound to cause static with fans who have eagerly anticipated its release. Because of pesky music rights, the songs don't remain the same. "Hot Blooded" is not playing when mild-mannered newsman Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) puts on a toupee in anticipation of an awards-dinner date with bombshell station receptionist Jennifer (Loni Anderson). It's "Beautiful Dreamer" and not "Fly Me to the Moon" that chimes when Jennifer's doorbell is sounded. Any number of generic songs have replaced the contemporary and classic rock so vital to WKRP, which is, after all, set at a radio station, albeit one that is best known for its farm reports. Enter Andy Travis (Gary Sandy), the new program director charged with turning the station around, beginning with changing the format to rock & roll. Andy, the series anchor, is something of the head guard at a nut farm. In seasons to come, he will wonder if he is one of the nuts, which include: "Big Man," Mr. Carlson (Gordon Jump), who is easily flustered, especially by his formidable mother, the station owner; polyester-clad sales director, Herb Tarleck (Frank Bonner), hopelessly old school and on the make for "Jenni-poo"; and morning DJ, Johnny Caravella (Howard Hesseman), a former "boss jock" now reduced to playing "You're Having My Baby" by the Hallelujah Tabernacle Choir. Also on staff is Bailey (Jan Smithers), Mary-Ann to Jennifer's Ginger, and who lacks the confidence to assert herself at the station; and Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid), whom Andy hires to be the nighttime DJ. It's a seamless ensemble of likable characters on par with The Mary Tyler Moore Show's WJM news team. WKRP is one of those rare series that hit its irresistible groove from the get-go. Hesseman sounds all the right notes as Johnny, reborn as Dr. Johnny Fever (ranked no. 73 on the Bravo "100 Greatest TV Characters" chart).

As the season unfolds, the hits just keep on comin', including the classic "Turkeys Away," about a Thanksgiving stunt that goes hilariously awry ("As God is my witness," Mr. Carlson insists, "I thought turkeys could fly"), the "Goodbye Johnny" two-parter in which the (briefly) departed Johnny's replacement is involved in payola (resulting in Mr. Carlson mistaking cocaine for foot powder), and "Never Leave Me, Lucille," in which Jennifer desperately tries to reunite Herb with his wife. Purists may balk at the replaced songs, but the sharp writing and performances provide WKRP's real music.

Features:
• "Do My Eyes Say Yes?" Featurette
• "A 'Fish Story' Story" Featurette
• 2 Commentary Tracks featuring Creator Hugh Wilson and Cast Members Loni Anderson and Frank Bonner

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MXPE6U/?tag=imwan-20

It's a pity not all cast members are still around to contribute to the commentaries.

http://www.answers.com/topic/wkrp-in-cincinnati

WKRP in Cincinnati - Season One is slated for April 24, 2007. While the DVD set will include the original music that the current syndicated version lacked, there will be some musical substitutions, but Fox has tried hard to keep the music within the spirit of the original song used in the scenes where music must be replaced. Unlike the recent syndicated run, which used a limited number of generic rock music to replace the original music, Fox has hired a music coordinator to replace the music they were unable to get rights to with appropriate sound-alike numbers.

I'll be very interested in seeing how the substitutions go. Who knows, I may be pleasantly surprised.

http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2007/03/wkr ... ot-ok.html

I know I'M not getting this

The press release is inaccurate. The DVD set actually has less original music than the syndicated version, with virtually no original music remaining. Furthermore, scenes have been cut where the dialogue doesn't match up.

Example: Pink Floyd's "Dogs" in the "Turkey's Away" episode. Carlson says "Do I hear dogs barking" and Fever responds "I do." That whole protion of the scene is cut (aprx. 40 sec.) since it wouldn't make any sense with generic music. This scene was uncut in the syndicated version and used to be available on VHS in the 90's with all the music intact. Ironically, in the commentary track, Hugh Wilson says he's good with the generic replacement. I'm not sure he even noticed the scene had been cut as he was talking it up w/ Loni Anderson and Frank Bonner.

I'm in. This version will have to do as I don't think I have enough years left to see a fully faithful release.

So...did anyone bite on this yet? How bad are the music substitutions? (Let's try to be realistic about these, please...not just say "They all suck!"...unless of course they do...)

The music substitutions are substantial... There's virtually no original music left and it's all been replaced by generic music! Some scenes have been cut down or altogether to work around the missing music since the dialogue wouldn't match up.

For example - the scene where Pink Floyd’s "Dogs" was originally used (and still is in the syndicated version) for the "Turkeys Away" episode. That scene is now cut from 90 seconds to 50 seconds and generic music replaces the essential Pink Floyd track. The scene cuts away when Fever catches Carlson snooping around the turntable after he checks to see if he’s awake. The following is the 40 seconds of dialogue we lose along with the music:

Fever: Gripping music, huh?
Carlson: Yeah, that’s good alright!
Carlson: What’s the name of that orchestra?
Fever: Pink Floyd
Carlson: Oh, is that Pink Floyd?
Carlson: Do I hear dogs barking on that thing?
Fever: I do
Carlson: Good, aren’t they?
Carlson: Hey, here’s a thing called “Pigs on the Wing” What’s that one sound like?
Fever: I don’t do requests
Carlson: Well, just keep up the good work
Fever: Givin’ it all I got
Carlson: So I see

On a side note, when Pink Floyd reuinited a couple of years ago for Live 8, its catalogue received a huge spike in sales, they in turn donated all the additional profit to charity.

If Fox could have licensed about a half-dozen of the essential songs (i.e. Dogs, Hot Blooded, etc.) it would have mage the set acceptable to most. It's really a shame that Fox didn't put a little more effort into this one as this is one of the greatest shows in televison history.

This is such a shame. Could you imagine what American Graffiti would have been like if they had substituted generic music for the original songs? I only hope that these licensing deals are done differently now.

I have to ask how astronomical these music rights might be. I would have to believe that the producers of "The Sopranos" shell out a hefty chunk of change to include stuff by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones on the soundtrack of the show, and undoubtedly pass along much of those licensing fees to consumers who are willing to shell out anywhere from $60 to $100 per four-disc season set on DVD. Or is there something I'm missing here in my amateur number-crunching? Are the WKRP producers (or the "Wonder Years" producers) the ones unwilling to pay for or afford the music rights, or does market research demonstrate that that the typical consumer will pass on a boxed set of sitcom episodes that retails for more than, say, $40? Or is there a loophole affecting WKRP's music rights that was closed by the time the Sopranos hit the airwaves?

The other show rumored to be affected by these music licensing fees is "The Larry Sanders Show"--has anybody gone through the new "best of" set and see if, in fact, only episodes lacking costly musical performances were included on those DVD's?

I have the Larry Sanders set. I have little memory of specific music performances in the original series, but on this set they did include They Might Be Giants, Ben Folds Five, Clint Black,Wu-Tang Clan,Colin Hay,Smash Mouth, Paul Westerburg and T Bone Burnett.

By the way, I love the plethora of extras but I do want each season. I have the season one set. I've seen each episode, but it has been a long time and that's why my memory of specific music performances isn't that great.

Music licensing is different now. When they add music to a current show, they also negotiate the home video rights at that time. Back in the day, they didn't go past negotiating syndication rights for the immediate future.

Ironically, WKRP was shot on video, as a loophole at the time, to substantially lower music licensing expenses. It's too bad it wasn't shot on film as the video quality really suffers for it.

As if Fox didn't screw this DVD package up enough already...the picture on the DVD box cover of downtown Cincinnati is a new photo that includes Great American Ballpark, home of the Reds, which was built in 2003. I guess the licensing would've cost too much to include a picture of Cincinnati circa 1978

I just finished all three discs and wanted to offer my review.

I only heard what sounded like two original songs and one of them was cut by about 3-5 seconds. I have a few of the VHS tapes and went back and A-B'd them in sync. (I have a VHS/DVD player.) The video quality is 100% better as the tape picture is very faded and bland. The new disc quality really jumps out at you and is very nice. The songs do absolutly suck!. They not only don't fit the shows but don't even sound like they came out of the late 70's. I was also disappointed in the extras or lack of them. The two "bonus" extras at the end of disc three are very short and thin. The only people interviewed on these and the two commentaries are "Jennifer" , "Herb" and the creator Herb. What they have to add is great but not nearly enough.

I flet like I had been robbed like the 2nd Scooby set that is missing the 8 Movies. (and still aren't out yet). I had heard there was a music licensing issue with the recent Saturday Night Live first season box, which I have, but have not seen yet? Was that the case from anyone who has gone through it yet? I did notice they have already changed the cover with a different picture and reduced the quality of the box in thickness so maybe something got changed after the fact.

Overall I give the WKRP a "B" because I loved the show when it first aired and have been wanting this set for a long time. I am going to overlook the music issues. Otherwise it would be a "C"

Really? I hadn't noticed that...

I've gotten halfway through SNL Season One, and haven't noticed any musical perfs missing...

What IS annoying, though, is that they edited the episodes to run straight through, so you don't get to see the still shots leading into the commercial breaks.

I watched season one of SNL and had absolutely no problem with it. I'll not be buying WKRP though.

I give you credit for watching the entire season. I puchased my set months ago and it is like pulling teeth to watch some of them. I am really surprised that the show was renewed based on the first season. I still four shows left to watch and I'll probably only watch them so I can put the set away and not have to be reminded of it.

Well....I can't say I completely enjoyed it. I actually watched it all within a 2 week time span, but I doubt I'll ever watch again besides maybe a few scattered things. I'm thinking that the next 5 seasons or so would have to be far better, but who knows when or if they will be released and whether I will make the impulse buy as I did with season one.

Very, very true.

Other than "The Big Guy" who's passed on?...

Jeff