miles-husoy Review of The New WKRP in Cincinnati

The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991–1993)

Reunited we fall...or why reunion shows never work unless you're Star Trek

[2/10 · 30 December 2012]

10. This is a reunion show, as mentioned above. 9. Only 1/3 of the original cast bothered to show up, thus supplying only 1/3 of the humor. 8. It's never a good idea to call something "the new version" of anything as it will only make fans long for the original (just like The New Leave It To Beaver). 7. Had this show started out as a new concept, people might not have noticed right away that it wasn't really that funny. But when you have the original to compare it to, it can be downright painful (just like Saturday Night Live after the departure of the Not Ready for Primetime Players). 6. Dr. Johnny Fever is NOT a regular. That factor alone hurts the show. 5. This show was syndicated, which means no major network would buy it. More often than not, the networks would never know a good show if it lived next door. This time, however, they made the right choice. 4. Who are all those other people? They have no personalities. They might as well be rejects from Murphy Brown or Newsradio. 3. Herb, Les and Mr. Carlson are funny, I'll give them that, but here they have nobody to get their laughs off of. 2. In the original WKRP, the premise was that Andy had to bring rock to the station against Mama Carlson's wishes and deal with all the buffoons. What exactly was the premise behind this show? Was there even a premise at all? You know a show's in trouble when someone says, "Uh, they're still running the station with Herb, Mr. Carlson and Les." AND FINALLY... 1. The Number One reason for this show bombing (and by that, I don't mean "the bomb")...Tawny Kitaen. Any show that's desperate enough to use her as the resident bimbo/sex symbol is desperate indeed. Any time you see her name (or the names of Pamela Anderson or Barbi Benton) in the opening credits, you know right away that what you're watching is utter crap. What a shame to blacken WKRP's great name this way.