The WKRP in Cincinnati Page A page discussing this hit series and a list of the places Les wore bandages
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WKRP in
Cincinnati can be considered the quintessential ensemble situation
comedy. The characters consisted of a carefully selected, and
many-times copied, group that was perfectly balanced in ethnicity,
talent, attractiveness, intelligence and stupidity. All of the great
situation comedies have followed identical groupings to great
success, but few as well as WKRP. The following is a listing, in
order, of the plots to all 90 episodes.
A popular story about the series is that on the first day of shooting, the actor playing Les hurt himself and had to wear a bandage. The staff decided to make it a running joke so that he wore a bandage in every show. Immediately after each episode plot, I indicate where Les wore a bandage for that show. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only listing of it's kind. The locations are given in italics on the right side of the page.
UPDATE!!! I was curious why this outstanding series has never been released in a complete DVD box set. Several Internet sources all agreed that such a set with the original music may be almost impossible. The problem is that each and every song played on the show, and many times there were several played in each episode, has to be negotiated for release by the agents owning the rights to it. The complexity and magnitude of such an undertaking may not be justified by the anticipated sales. One producer got around this by replacing the rock and roll music with generic tracks that have no licensing restrictions. The 8 episodes released in VHS using this technique are available through third party sales at Amazon.com, but the poor reviews suggest they may not be worth the cost.
NEW!!! WKRP DVD review!
In spite of the previous paragraph, I was surprised to discover that a company called Raredvd.tv is offering the complete series with original music on a 12-DVD set. I ordered one only to discover that the DVD quality was so poor as to be unwatchable. There is so much digital graininess that in many close-ups it's hard to recognize the characters. Worse still, many of the episodes have almost constant digital dropouts and frame freezes. I tried playing several episodes from the collection on different DVD machines and they were all equally terrible. These were by far the worst DVDs I've ever tried to watch.
Episodes:
1. Pilot: Andy Travis arrives and changes the station's format to rock and roll --- Right forehead
2. A small group of old people protest the format change --- Left little finger
3. The shady preacher Little Ed uses the station to get rich --- Les is not in this episode
4. Station sponsors a rock concert featuring Scum of the Earth --- Right elbow
5. Rumors spread that Les is gay --- Right little finger
6. Bailey gets the chance to produce a talk show --- Back of head
7. An out-of-work DJ holds Johnny hostage at a remote broadcast site --- Left forehead
8. Carlson gives turkeys away at Thanksgiving --- Outer left hand
9. Johnny takes a DJ job in LA --- Left index finger
10. Johnny returns to discover his replacement is taking bribes from a recording studio --- Right chin
11. Andy's old girlfriend, now a famous singer, comes to town --- Left knuckle
12. A fan gives Johnny her baby --- Right thumb
13. Johnny takes an on-air drinking test --- Right little finger
14. Johnny mistakenly gives away $5,000 in a contest --- Left thumb
15. Mama Carlson comes to the station for her annual review --- Les is not in this Episode
16. Les wins an award and a date with Jennifer --- Left ring finger
17. The station is threatened by a tornado and has to host Japanese visitors --- Left middle finger
18. Carlson's young son is kicked out of a military academy --- I haven't seen this episode
19. Herb and Lucille split up --- Right bicep
20. A mortician buys commercial time --- Left knuckles
21. Jennifer's childhood friend comes to visit, expecting her to marry him --- Left side of neck
22. Carlson discovers that Venus is an Army deserter --- Right little finger
23. WKRP challenges WPIG to a baseball game --- Back of left hand
24. Jennifer falls in love with her handyman, Steele --- Right middle finger
25. Carlson runs for public office --- Left middle finger
26. Bailey falls for Johnny while an old girl friend is trying to sue him - part I --- Left forehead
27. Bailey falls for Johnny - part II --- Les is not in this Episode
28. Herb sells insurance --- Left temple
29. Jennifer accepts a date with Herb to try to scare him off --- Outer right forearm
30. The radio ratings book indicates the station's doing better --- Right thumb
31. Carlson's wife announces she going to have a baby --- Left side of neck
32. Johnny thinks he hears God talking to him --- Les isn't in this episode
33. Bailey finally gets to do some announcing on air --- Right little finger
34. Johnny suggests, on air, that everyone drop their garbage off at city hall --- Left elbow
35. Les get involved with a fan --- Right ring finger
36. Andy's sister visits and gets interested in Venus --- Back of left hand and little finger
37. Everyone brings a tree to Jennifer's for Christmas --- Back of right hand
38. Carlson hires, then has to fire, a famous baseball manager for a show --- Right forearm
39. A Russian defects to WKRP --- Left thumb
40. Herb's dad pays the station a visit --- Right side of neck
41. Johnny's daughter comes to live with him --- Right side of nose
42. Venus considers taking a job at a different station --- Right forearm
43. WKRP sponsors a rock concert that turns deadly --- No bandage
44. A shady photographer takes nude photos of Jennifer --- Left hand
45. Nude photos - part II - the staff put together a scam to get the photos back --- Left hand
46. Johnny wins an award and Carlson holds a grievance session --- Back of head
47. Les is kidnapped by a crazy pilot --- Left thumb
48. Jennifer buys a house --- No bandage
49. Herb's family is featured on a reality TV show --- Left glass frame
50. The staff go to Dayton to secure a big Jeans account --- Right wrist
51. Carlson's wife has a baby --- No bandage
52. Carlson doesn't give Xmas bonuses and is visited by Xmas past and future --- Right thumb
53. Herb has jury duty, Andy takes his job, and Venus takes Andy's --- Left little finger
54. The heat's off during a snow storm and Johnny's warming scotch loosens tongues --- Right neck
55. Herb buys a painting during Carlson's church's charity auction --- Left hand
56. While Carlson practices a speech, the staff have daydreams --- Right index finger
57. Herb accidentally kills his daughter's frog --- Right forearm
58. Johnny takes on a TV disco job - part I --- Right ring & little finger
59. Disco Johnny - part II --- Right ring & little finger
60. Venus explains the atom to a young hood --- Left wrist
61. Jennifer is the advice lady on a call-in show --- Bridge of nose
62. Bailey protests tearing down the WKRP building --- Right ring finger
63. Les discovers his real father was a communist --- Left index finger
64. Herb's drinking gets out of control --- Right wrist
65. The Carlson's plan to repeat their wedding vows --- Upper left cheek
66. The station gets robbed and Herb buys a gun --- Right earlobe
67. Johnny's ex-wife and fiancé pay him a visit --- Left thumb
68. C.U.R.B. tries to get Carlson to clean up the station's song selection --- Right wrist
69. The staff consider joining a union --- Right middle finger
70. Previous secretary returns and the station gets a bomb threat - part I --- Right middle finger
71. Bomb threat - part II --- Right middle finger
72. Johnny moves in with Bailey while his apartment is worked on --- Left thumb
73. Herb has a heart problem - part I --- Left middle finger
74. The staff switch identities while Herb's in the hospital - part II --- Left middle finger
75. Johnny gets some money and buys a condo, then wants to weasel out of it --- Left elbow
76. Jennifer's old fried dies and makes her executrix of his will --- Right middle and ring finger
77. Mama Carlson hires a radio consultant --- Left sideburn
78. Mama Carlson may be falling for Andy. (One of the best!) --- Tip of right little finger
79. At a class reunion, Carlson learns the truth about his first date with his wife --- Right knuckle
80. A shady diet pill seller buys time on the station --- Right forearm
81. Venus and Herb changes styles --- Right temple
82. Jennifer and Johnny sponsor a charity --- Left ring finger
83. Herb plays matchmaker to Les --- Right pointer finger
84. Herb and Jennifer are trapped in an elevator during a fire --- Right wrist
85. Les steals a fake story from Bailey about a child support center --- Three spots on left hand
86. Venus is framed for a jewel robbery --- Right thumb
87. How Venus came to work at WKRP --- Right forehead in flashback
88. Les plans to go to New York and apply for an announcer's job --- Left index finger
89. Herbs puts his picture in place of Venus' on an ad poster --- Left middle finger
90. Mama Carlson plans the turn the station to an all-news format --- Right forehead
This list indicates that Les' most-damaged body part was his right little, or pinky, finger. It had to be bandaged seven times during the show. Both his left and right middle fingers tied for a close second with five injuries each.
