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WKRP in Cincinnati Season 4 Episodes
Season 4 Episode Guide
22 Episodes 1981 - 1982
Episode 1
An Explosive Affair: Part 1
Wed, Oct 7, 198124 mins
WKRP has received a bomb threat from a group calling itself Black Monday. Andy, who is the first to know, nonchalantly deals with it as he believes radio stations, especially the more popular ones, receive hoaxes like this threat all the time. But the other staffers are a bit more concerned when they learn about the threat. It isn't unless Les finds out and mentions that there was a threat and resulting actual explosion at a Dayton TV station last month by Black Monday that Andy takes it a little more seriously. As such, Andy gets the DJs to go out to the transmitter in the country to do their broadcast - which interrupts Johnny and Venus trying to connect with Johnny's Chinese bookie to make bets - while the rest of the staff evacuates the offices as the police's bomb squad sweeps the entire building. As the sweep concludes, Andy becomes more concerned about the threat and not because of what the police found or didn't find. This threat coincides with a visit to the station by Joyce Armor, who had the receptionist job before Jennifer. Joyce, who always had ambitions to become a broadcast executive and who has since reached such a position in Cleveland, was as beloved by the office staff, especially Mr. Carlson, as Jennifer. Mr. Carlson and Joyce miss most of the kerfuffle about the bomb threat having headed out for lunch together before most of the action. However, Mr. Carlson himself has to deal with, unexpected to him, some implied action of his own at the restaurant and possibly beyond lunch.
Episode 2
An Explosive Affair: Part 2
Wed, Oct 14, 198124 mins
Taking into consideration his home life with Carmen always busy with the baby and his affection for Joyce, Mr. Carlson, adorned with Old Spice after shave, decides to meet Joyce at her hotel room. He isn't sure however what he will do when he gets there, namely in terms of succumbing to her "proposition". He may get his answer once he spends some more time with Joyce. Meanwhile, after the bomb squad sweep of the Flimm Building has come up with nothing, Andy has figured out that the group calling itself Black Monday has actually planted the bomb at the transmitter where he has sent Johnny and Venus to do the broadcast initially believing that the bomb threat was meant for the office. Andy is unable to communicate with them, with Johnny and Venus not answering the phone (unaware that Johnny has actually destroyed the phone in his frustration in not being able to place a bet with his bookie on a long shot that actually came through) and the on-air transmission between the control booth and the transmitter only working one way, right now in the opposite direction. Subsequently, with the bomb scheduled to go off at three-thirty, Andy learns exactly where the bomb is located in the transmitter. That makes Andy and Jennifer's mission more urgent with the DJ's lives on the line. What may be the DJ's saving grace is Johnny's paranoid fear of the telephone company.
Episode 3
The Union
Wed, Oct 21, 198124 mins
The latest ratings have just been released, and WKRP has moved up to tenth in the market, another increase over the previous year. Mr. Carlson wants to celebrate, both publicly by having the DJs announce their thanks on the air on behalf of the station to their listening public for this increase, and privately with his WKRP family. What he has only told Jennifer and Andy is that he wants to hold a celebratory dinner in a week's time, when he will announce staff raises to show appreciation for their contribution to this success. Concurrently with the ratings release, the Brotherhood of Midwestern Radio Workers is doing a union organizing drive with the Cincinnati radio stations, including WKRP. All non-managerial staff, which includes Johnny, Venus, Bailey and Les, have been contacted, they unaware of Mr. Carlson's intentions, with Johnny and Bailey supportive of unions in general and their want for increases at least to what is considered a living wage, and right wing Les on the other side considering unions as Communist. Somewhat aware of the union drive in the city, Andy tries clandestinely to find out what is going on at WKRP. Upon finding out that there is talk of unionizing, Mr. Carlson sees even the talk of such as a personal attack against him, he who reconsiders the wage increase, as he sees the offer as a gesture that should be made rather than an outside organization like a union telling him it has to be done. Mother Carlson wants to play hardball in quashing any notion of a union entering her company. The questions then become what Mr. Carlson and Andy are gong to do in light of this situation under the rules of union organization, and how the likes of Johnny, Venus, Bailey and Les will respond. Meanwhile, Jennifer is receiving very public and thus visible signs of unwanted affection from a French suitor, Henrí.
Episode 4
Rumors
Wed, Oct 28, 198124 mins
In the process of Johnny being flatly turned down by all the male co-workers he asks for a place to crash for a few days while his own apartment is being fumigated, Bailey gladly allows Johnny to stay with her. And in the process of Johnny asking for a day off, Andy instead suggests that he take the whole week off to recharge his juices, with Rex Erhardt, the midday DJ, asked to fill in Johnny's regular morning time slot and Bailey further gladly allowing Johnny to stay with her the entire week so that he indeed can treat the week like a vacation. These two items lead to a number of issues. While nothing sexually is going on between Johnny and Bailey - although Johnny would gladly oblige if Bailey asked - salacious gossip easily flows at the station about Bailey and Johnny, which Bailey does not appreciate and which may inadvertently affect how any of her superiors, whether it be Andy, Mr. Carlson or Herb, treats her professionally. And paranoid Johnny believes that Andy has the ulterior motive of giving him, as the old man past his prime, the week off to test Rex in his time slot in Andy's ultimate goal of either firing him, or worse giving him the least desirable Sunday morning time slot.
Episode 5
Straight from the Heart
Wed, Nov 4, 198124 mins
Les is being given an award for a news broadcast. Herb is going on vacation, but Jennifer is worried when Herb takes insurance papers with him. He checks into a hospital for heart tests and asks Les to stay with him. They go to a porn movie.
Episode 6
Who's on First?
Wed, Nov 11, 198124 mins
Herb is still in the hospital waiting to take his heart tests. With his absence from work being indefinite with he scheduled to go on vacation following whenever his release, Mr. Carlson and Andy believe that they need to get a replacement for him, Andy seeing this person as working under Herb whenever he returns. Mr. Carlson has second thoughts when Herb learns that "he is being replaced", with Mr. Carlson not wanting him to feel threatened. Although Andy doesn't think it's the best idea, he and Mr. Carlson decide to accept Jennifer up on her offer to fill in temporarily for Herb under Mr. Carlson's guidance. Jennifer and Mr. Carlson's first task is to meet with Philadelphia concert promoter Pat Perillo, who is in town for only the day and who Herb had only spoken to on the telephone about entering into a contractual agreement. Meanwhile, Johnny is running around the station trying to borrow money from someone - anyone - to pay off a $562.16 gambling debt to Guido Scalici, with the possible consequences for not paying back the debt immediately being painful for Johnny. With these two items taking place concurrently, what ends up happening is that the station becomes the center of "who's who" as Pat, believing Mr. Carlson is Herb, wants to meet Mr. Carlson to confirm what he's heard from Herb to make him feel more comfortable in signing the contract with its "side" payment, and as Johnny tries to evade Dave, the thug Guido sent to collect on the debt or else proverbially break his legs.
Episode 7
Three Days of the Condo
Wed, Nov 18, 198124 mins
Johnny, deep in debt, he who has never been able to manage money let alone care too much about finances such as paying bills, comes into a one time only windfall of $24,000. His approach to this windfall is true to the way he was before he had the money in that he doesn't seem to grasp how to manage it, he basically wasting over $1,000 the first day alone on meaningless stuff, not really seeming to realize at that pace he will soon once again be broke. The other staffers, but especially Venus, try to convince Johnny to make wise investments with the money he has left, they eventually able to convince him to invest in real estate, namely a condominium unit in Gone with the Wind Estates, one of the station's advertisers. Through the process of being a home owner, Johnny quickly comes to a realization about himself, that realization which may come at a price.
Episode 8
Jennifer and the Will
Wed, Dec 2, 198124 mins
Jennifer's friend, an octogenarian dies. Now the man's wealthy. She told him not to leave her any money but she learns that she's named in his will. Everyone assumes he left her something. She goes to the reading and the man's greedy relatives are also there.
Episode 9
The Consultant
Wed, Dec 30, 198124 mins
Andy is meeting with Mother Carlson in their continuing "negotiation" in light of Andy being able to keep a union out of the station and he now spending her money on things like the completed lobby renovation and staff raises. As such, Mother Carlson has hired a radio consultant aka a radio doctor as a measure somewhat to keep Andy and his resulting spending under control, thus once again retaining the upper hand in their negotiation. The consultant is to act as her eyes and ears in she not having the time to be so herself. Andy is worried enough as it is about the consultant even before he learns that the consultant has been monitoring the station remotely for several days already without Andy's knowledge and thus without Andy being able to prepare for the consultant's physical arrival at the station to meet all the players. Andy is relieved to learn that the consultant is Norris Breeze, a friend and former colleague. But in meeting with Norris for the first time in this capacity, Andy learns that Norris has an ulterior motive: a good report to Mother Carlson only if Andy, on behalf of the station, subscribes to his radio programming services. With Andy having no intention of relinquishing the programming function from within the station, he has to figure out a way to neutralize what will be Norris' negative report to Mother Carlson and thus the demise of the station as he knows it.
Episode 10
Love, Exciting and New
Wed, Dec 9, 198124 mins
Les knows that Andy has been secretly out on the town with Mother Carlson - the two on the first name basis of Lillian and Andrew - which means that it can't be long before everyone at the station knows about their liaisons. Andy is worried enough as it is about anyone knowing, but he doesn't want Mr. Carlson in particular to find out. Andy's ulterior motive is to get on Mother Carlson's good side in order for her to replace the transmission tower that was blown up by terrorists. But as the information of their liaisons slowly makes its way around the station short of Mr. Carlson's office, Andy begins to wonder, from comments that are made, if Mother Carlson truly does believe they are dating in the romantic sense, comments such as from Mr. Carlson who says he hasn't seen his mother this happy in a long time. Andy has to decide how far he is willing to go with Mother Carlson to get what he wants, namely the transmission tower.
Episode 11
You Can't Go Out of Town Again
Wed, Jan 6, 198224 mins
The Carlsons are preparing to go away for the weekend to their twenty-five year college reunion, about which Mr. Carlson has mixed emotions. He is somewhat excited about it, but realizes that he was far from being big man on campus. In fact, Mother Carlson rented a house for him and some of his friends to use as an unofficial fraternity - the Omegas - upon not being accepted into a certified fraternity. His happiest memory of college is his first date with Carmen, when she invited him to a sorority dance, with them skipping the dance altogether and spending that evening at the diner at the Eat and Sleep Motel. As such, they decide to relive that memory by staying at the motel for the weekend. The Carlsons' weekend could be affected by a secret Carmen has been keeping about that night. Meanwhile at the station: Herb is testing what he calls his theory of reverse psychiatry; Bailey is irked at Andy for not taking stronger action to get her a computer to do her financial work; Les is fixated on the fact that he is suffering from a cold, which he mixes with his geopolitical views during his newscasts much to Andy's chagrin; and Venus just wants some alone time in the control booth during his broadcast so that he can entertain his latest lady friend, Jackie.
Episode 12
Pills
Wed, Jan 20, 198224 mins
Johnny is in the process of recording the first of three promotional spots for one of Herb's new clients, Dave Wickerman, when in the middle of the recording Johnny, all of a sudden, stops and accuses Wickerman of being "reptilian". The reason?: Johnny can read between the lines of the copy that Wickerman's over the counter weight loss pills are truly speed in another form, and that the promotional spot is marketing the product as energy enhancers to kids. Andy and Mr. Carlson get involved in the matter, and discover that as abhorrent as Wickerman's product is to them, the pills are legal and Wickerman has an iron-clad contract with them for the three spots to air eighteen times for two weeks. While Johnny and Venus try to take matters in their own hands by operating their way within the contract - their tactics which have surprising results - Andy and Mr. Carlson have to decide whether to do what they feel is morally repugnant by associating with Wickerman or not run the spots and potentially be sued for doing the morally right thing. Through it all, Herb sees the sale as a sale, or does he?
Episode 13
Changes
Wed, Feb 3, 198225 mins
Many people at the station are in a contemplative mood this day. Bailey wonders about larger issues concerning the proverbial cosmos, while Les is fixated on the specific of the nature of Russian women. And Herb and Venus begin to think about their own image in speaking to each other. Herb, who spends much money on his wardrobe, begins to believe that people laugh at the way he looks behind his back, something that he never believed before in thinking he dressed well. And Venus begins to believe he isn't "black" enough as Andy has scheduled an interview for him later that afternoon with reporter Rick Jesperson, who represents what is considered the militantly black Black Life magazine. Herb and Venus will get a different perspective of their self-image crisis when Herb meets with prospective client Ted Jeffries and when Venus has his interview with Rick.
Episode 14
Jennifer and Johnny's Charity
Wed, Jan 13, 198225 mins
A fire at the Vine Street Mission that destroys the kitchen. Johnny starts a donation fund and asks Jennifer to ask her wealthy friends to contribute. She throws a party and all goes well -until the homeless show up to show their gratitude.
Episode 15
I'll Take Romance
Wed, Feb 17, 198225 mins
Herb has managed to sign a sponsor for Les' newscasts, a computer dating service called I'll Take Romance. To check it out for himself for the future, Herb, paying the $200 fee, has signed Les up for the service, it immediately finding the perfect match for him in the form of a woman named Lorraine Marvin. Unable to find a date for himself for the event, Andy gives Les his two tickets for the Cincinnati Broadcasters' dinner and dance to which to take Lorraine, the two who will "double date" with Mr. Carlson and Jennifer filling in for a conveniently sick Carmen. The fact that Lorraine ends up being a beautiful woman has unintended ripple effects throughout the station. But in the process of the double date, Jennifer discovers that Lorraine is not what she appears on the surface, with I'll Take Romance being a front for prostitution. The problem for Jennifer is how to tell Les, who is falling for Lorraine.
Episode 16
Circumstantial Evidence
Wed, Feb 24, 198225 mins
Venus is arrested on suspicion that he is the mastermind behind a series of robberies of a jewelry wholesaler located in the same building as WKRP. The arrest stems from he being given up by Jessica Langtree, a woman Venus had sneaked into the building after hours so that the two could have a date in the bullpen during his shift. Despite Venus believing the date going well, Jessica ditched him he now assuming so that she could commit the actual robbery with whoever else her accomplices. Other evidence working against Venus: he had played a pre-recording for about an hour that evening so that he could devote his attention to Jessica; although Andy was at the station that evening, he can't vouch for Venus' whereabouts except for a few minutes during the time of that recording being played; Venus had on his possession a diamond earring, one of the stolen pieces from a robbery, that earring which in fact was a gift from Jessica; and the security guard at the wholesaler saw someone fitting Venus' description of a black man with facial hair running from the premises with a satchel. Despite the other WKRP'ers being Venus' character witnesses, can Venus actually be convicted with only this circumstantial evidence with only Jessica providing what could be considered a direct account - a false account - of the proceedings?
Episode 17
Fire
Wed, Mar 17, 198225 mins
It's 5:30 on a Friday afternoon. Venus is on the air and Les is still in the office. Herb and Jennifer have just left for the weekend, Andy, Mr. Carlson and Bailey are just about ready to leave, and Johnny, in an error of am/pm, has just arrived thinking his morning shift is just about to start. Things for everybody takes a turn when there are the sound of fire engines getting closer and closer, everyone eventually finding out that the fire is in their building on the fifth floor. Even after the WKRP'ers on the fourteenth floor learn that the fire is a small one and under control, they are still panicked in the fact that Mr. Carlson is their fire warden, and that the one and only stairwell is filled with smoke, meaning that they are trapped. However, those on fourteen learn that Jennifer and Herb are stuck in the elevator between 8 and 9, they who have only each other to rely on, especially when the emergency phone and the power go out.
Episode 18
Dear Liar
Wed, Mar 24, 198225 mins
Andy wants Les to do a story about a Children's hospital but he's more concerned about the rutabaga. So he sends Bailey to get the story. So she goes and spends some time with kids. She goes back to the station and writes what she experienced. She leaves it on her desk. Les who is still being hounded by Andy sees what Bailey wrote and uses it. When Bailey hears it she freaks out because what she wrote was just made up.
Episode 19
The Creation of Venus
Wed, Mar 31, 198225 mins
Partaking in some hijinks believing they are alone at the station during Venus' shift early in the evening, Andy and Venus are caught off guard by what is to them a surprise visit by Mother Carlson, who has arrived to meet with who seems to be her absent son, he probably forgetting about their appointment. With time to kill and catching them in a potential mistruth, Mother Carlson asks to hear the story about about how Andy came to hire "Gordon Sims" and how he morphed into "Venus Flytrap", which may be different than what Andy and Venus had told her four years ago.
Episode 20
The Impossible Dream
Mon, Sep 20, 198224 mins
Mother Nessman is visiting from Dayton, her visit coinciding with Les' birthday. As such, Jennifer wants to throw the Nessmans a surprise birthday/welcome party at her apartment. But Mother Nessman's visit has repercussions on both Les and Andy, as she has placed into Les' head that it's now or never that he pursue his dream: a career in New York City. Long ago, Les originally thought of working for the New York Times, but with television as the medium on the rise instead has thoughts of being a national news anchor specifically for CBS. Beyond Mr. Carlson letting Les take his two week vacation now instead of the summer to pursue this dream which places a kibosh on what was Andy's long planned ski trip to Aspen, Andy wonders if they should be up front with Les not only about his zero chance of making it in New York City but he in the process probably making a fool of himself.
Episode 21
To Err Is Human
Mon, Aug 9, 198225 mins
Kiss the Cook. Hundreds of cardboard figures of Herb at his barbecue instead of Venus promoting shampoo. When an ad for one of the station's sponsors that's supposed to show Venus somehow ends up with a picture of Herb because of a sloppy oversight mix-up, the sponsor wants to drop them. Jennifer offers to go talk to the manager using her obvious appeal to convince him not to, but as it turns out the guy is blind, and she has to resort to charm - which she also has in spades.
Episode 22
Up and Down the Dial
Wed, Apr 21, 198225 mins
With a serious demeanor, Andy calls a staff meeting, which everybody believes is him either with bad news or to chew them out for something. Instead, with the ratings out a week earlier than expected, he gives them the good news that they have moved up to #6 in the market, with Venus #1 in his time slot - #3 overall - and Johnny #1 overall, although the news isn't quite as good for Les' newscasts, which Andy tries to deflect. And the station is finally in the black financially. Regardless, Andy is surprised when a Charles Von Sanker arrives at the station purportedly hired by Mother Carlson as the new news director to start in two weeks time. Andy eventually learns directly from the horse's mouth that Mother Carlson hired Mr. Von Sanker not to replace Les but rather to replace Andy himself in implementing a radio programming consultant's report, about which she told no one at the station, to change the format from rock 'n' roll to all news in her push to become #1 in the market. In she doing so, no one, including Andy, will be out of a job, everyone reassigned to other jobs if they decide to stay. After learning of a conversation Mr. Carlson had with his mother, Johnny needs to get some things off his chest with her. In the process, he learns her true motivations, which may change the entire complexion of the situation.