WKRP In Cincinnati: The Complete Series
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
While it’s true that Shout! was unable to obtain the rights to every single song used on WKRP between 1978 and 1982, that’s no reason not to celebrate this 13-disc DVD collection. Tons of original music has been retained, with the Stones, McCartney, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, The Police, Marvin Gaye, AC/DC, Elton John, Neil Young, and lots more all included. While anything less than 100 percent may be too little for the most stringent of sticklers out there, there’s no doubting the gargantuan effort that Shout! has invested to make this the most “complete” Complete Series we’re going to see. This new collection is quite a landmark for fans of old school, “taped live in front of a studio audience” sitcoms. And it will almost certainly win over new fans, as the music rights issues had a damaging effect on the series’ legacy over the years. In a way, WKRP has ended up fading more significantly from the pop culture consciousness than many other shows of the era. That has a lot to do with its general absence from the home video market and the hacked-up syndicated episodes. The no-frills packaging is efficiently simple: one standard DVD case for each of the four seasons plus a slim-line case with the bonus features disc, all housed in a sturdy cardboard box. The bonus disc isn’t terribly exhaustive, containing four featurettes for a total of about an hour and 20 minutes. The best feature is the 2014 reunion (well, partial reunion at least). Not actually listed on the packaging is “A Look Back at WKRP in Cincinnati with Gary Sandy” (who was only able to “attend” the 2014 reunion via telephone). The video is 1.33:1 full frame. WKRP was shot on standard definition videotape so this is the best it will look like on home video. Even with the lower resolution, you’ll be amazed at Loni Anderson’s hair. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The mix is fine between the dialogue and the records being played on the air. The episodes are Closed Captioned. This is most likely the best set you are ever going to get, so go for it.-Luis Melendez
I know what everyone gets wrapped around the axle about: The music. (Well, it is a show about a Rock & Roll radio station.) But the music substitutions are rare, reasonable, and well done. I compared a couple of spots to my ancient VHS broadcast copies where I had suspicions. But the replacements were incidental and smooth. If there were more, then I just didn’t remember and couldn’t tell. The “important” stuff is all there. Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded” as Less dons the toupee, Jennifer’s doorbell, Tiny Dancer, et al. There was one spot where they re-dubbed Andy’s voice as he left the booth and Johnny had just started a record (obviously the original audio wasn’t separate) but it was perfectly done. Either a perfect impression, they brought Gary back, or probably lifted the same words from another spot in the show. Oh, and I’m not enough of a music historian to tell if Johnny was playing the right artist and version of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. But it was good enough for me.-psue-psue-psuedonym
DVD Wholesale Main Features:
Actors: Gary Sandy, Gordon Jump, Howard Hesseman, Loni Anderson, Richard Sanders
Directors: Rod Daniel
Format: Multiple Formats, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: Afrikaans
Region: Region 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 13
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: October 28, 2014
Run Time: 2250 minutes
ASIN: B00KYCA4QY
