WKRP in Cincinnati is one of those shows that aired in the late 70’s that you’d have to be a fan of in order to remember but it was something that a lot of people still think about fondly no doubt. The comedy of it was that the show could make use of such songs as Dogs by Pink Floyd in such a calm and subtle way. All Johnny Fever had to do was sit there and just zone out to the song and he was doing his job. So yes, a DJ’s job is a lot more than just listening to records and occasionally talking on the mic, but from this point of view things look so chill in the recording room that you might have had to occasionally put a mirror under Johnny’s nose just to make certain he was still breathing.
Arthur never really seemed like the most confident station manager but it could have had more to do with the fact that his mother owned the station than anything. In a room he didn’t seem to have a lot of confidence but in other areas of the business he had to at least know what he was doing. The whole cast of the show was just fun to watch since they all brought their own unique style to the set and managed to make it work in a confused jumble of personalities. People that enjoyed the show were likely sad to see it go after a while, but that’s the way of TV shows really, they come and go according to the ratings and not much else. What’s popular one day could be less than popular the next, so really when it comes to TV shows it’s best to just go with the flow and see where it will take you. Dr. Johnny Fever never seemed to have much of an issue when he was sitting there listening to music, comfortable zoning out and waiting for something to happen.
At some points in history being a DJ might have been one of the best jobs to have. You could say pretty much anything the station would allow and remain a comfortable distance from the people you were speaking to at the same time. You’d get the chance to spin records and listen to music all day and you could possibly discuss matters of the world with your own opinion all day with people so long as you were civil. Some stations didn’t even require that. The job hasn’t changed all that much but now it seems to require a lot more than it used to, as the people in the front office want their people on the mic to actually have some sort of education before they start in on any subject. But all in all it still seems like a fun and interesting job to have. WKRP in Cincinnati just made it look like even more fun.
Nostalgia must be coming back in a big way if we’re seeing more and more mentions of old shows. Awesome-sauce.
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